Marlene Crenshaw, RN
Long Term Care
Marlene went into nursing not only because of her love for science and problem solving, but also her desire to help improve the quality of peoples’ lives.
After graduating from her nursing program, Marlene worked in the Detroit’s inner-city during the community unrest in the 1960’s. “I worked in post-anesthesia recovery at Henry Ford Hospital just before the Detroit riots started, but after moving out of the city was connected to the growing unrest in the city through my peers.”
Marlene took time off to raise a family. When she returned to nursing she found her real niche in long-term care.
Marlene says, “In long term care we work in teams to problem-solve and, with sometimes limited resources, make what is often the last days of a person’s life quality days. What a privilege.”
Marlene sees herself as a team builder and mentor. She feels that her professional responsibility is to contribute to the comprehensive plan of care for a patient and their family and to help her staff – both nurses and paraprofessionals – realize their potential and practice to the best of their ability.
“Everyone brings a gift to nursing. My job is to help people realize what they can do to improve themselves while providing the best care they can for their patient; these are complimentary.”
To someone thinking about entering nursing, Marlene suggests: “Nursing is physically and emotionally demanding, but creative and thoughtful work.
Nursing is about working collectively toward a goal of improving the life of another. Nursing is a process; it is about lifelong learning, sharing and caring.”