“We’ll get through this together”: Interview with Rosanna Ferrer, Registered Nurse
Rosanna Ferrer is a Registered Nurse, currently working in Vancouver, BC, Canada as a Team Leader with a Home Health Team. She leads teams of Nurses, Physiotherapists, Social Workers, and 250 Community Health Workers who take care of the frail and elderly in their homes. Rosanna is also a Faculty member of the training in Power Academy, a teacher of Level 1, 2, 3 and the children’s course.
Rosanna took the time to tell us about her journey to being a spiritual student and teacher and what she has experienced as a frontline worker during the Pandemic.
Tell us about your journey into nursing and spirituality.
I come from a family of Registered Nurses. Even as a young child, I’d play with my Aunt’s stethoscopes, listening to my dolls’ non-existent heart beats!
In the earlier years of my career, I specialized in Palliative Care, working in downtown Toronto. I would help people transition in the last moments of their lives. Downtown Toronto is so culturally diverse that I took time to study world religions at the University of Toronto so that I could take into consideration the spiritual rituals of my patients. I learned that ‘love’ was the common language that crossed all beliefs and philosophies.
Being surrounded by death was a Holy and peaceful experience. As their nurse, patients would often share with me the golden nuggets they learned in their lives. I remember lessons like, “you can’t change anyone”, “floss your teeth”, “be true to yourself”. I could feel their Truth and it taught me to listen to the energy around them.
I wanted to learn more about the unseen world of energy so I studied Therapeutic Touch and Healing Touch. Eventually, I found the Training in Power Academy and took Level 1. Early into my studies with the Academy, I learned to heal others and myself and step into my spiritual adult self, to take the lead in my full life, including my professional life.
We are almost a full year into this pandemic. How do you see this impacting those who work in Health Care?
A year into the pandemic, I am seeing staff with mental, emotional and spiritual fatigue. The front line workers are hanging in there, being very courageous and doing their best to balance all parts of their lives. Some are homeschooling their kids while juggling work, while others have had to take time off to stay with their young children as childcare workers refuse to come to their homes.
Others are not only challenged at work but are also dealing with increased stress and abuse in their homes. Some staff are dealing with family members who are ill with covid or have passed away. The team supports them as best we can and they return to work when they are ready.
How do your meditation tools help you to navigate a hospital environment?
My meditation tools help me to keep my energetics clean, I stay grounded and steady when faced with upset clients, families and staff. I use my energetic tools to bring calm, peace, love, patience, kindness into the work space. Staff will say to me, “I just come into your office because everything feels better, my mind gets quiet”. I clean the staff up energetically, I listen to their Spirits and help them to get grounded again.
I can stay present and not get pulled into the emotional drama, so that I can bring wisdom and calm to a chaotic environment at times. More importantly, I have the tools to keep myself energized and clear and increase my self care if needed.
What do you feel is important for others to understand about the experience of Front Line workers right now?
Frontline workers are faced with supporting the patients who are struggling with their health challenges and dealing with the social isolation. The demand on them is in every dimension, which includes mental, emotional, physical and spiritual. A simple kind word goes a long way: a smile, a thank you, a quick text to let them know you’re thinking of them. All these little gestures are greatly appreciated and helps them continue on.
We’ll get through this together!