By Matthew N. Skoufalos
After 35 years in the OR, 58-year-old Mary Hamlin, CST/CSFA at McLeod Health in Florence, S.C., has a long view of what it takes to be successful in the nursing profession. At minimum, she says, is a commitment to understanding the needs of both doctors and patients. And to Hamlin, passion equals commitment.
“I have a passion for what I do,” she says. “I love the OR. I love taking care of my patients and my doctors, and McLeod has just been really good to me.”
In January 2012, Hamlin was named the CST of the year by the South Carolina State Assembly of the Association of Surgical Technologists. She had previously been named co-surgical technologist of the year for in-house hospital staff by her McLeod coworkers. For someone who hasn’t sought any accolade, Hamlin said she found the distinctions to be somewhat surprising, especially the latter.
“It’s like I got an award for something that I like doing,” she said. “It was nice that my peers noticed that about me, but I love what I do.
“I thank God for that, too,” Hamlin says. “When I get up in the morning, the first thing I say is, ‘Lord, what do You want me to do for You today?’”
Hamlin says she’s learned to anticipate the needs of her surgeons after so many years on the job, but there is always more on the horizon. In her position, Hamlin must demonstrate a familiarity with neurosurgical specialty cases, procedures for which she also serves as a technician. Likewise, she also recently earned her first-assist certificate, and is working to acquaint herself with the responsibilities of that position as well.
“I was told I must know their jobs, the circulator’s job, and my job too,” she says. “As a surgical technologist, you’re the backbone of the OR,” Hamlin says. “Not only do you have to learn about one or two doctors, but the idiosyncrasies of all the surgeons.”
“Whenever you come into a room, the first thing you need to do is say, ‘what case am I doing today, who is the doctor, and what do I need?’” she says.
Although McLeod has an established system whereby each surgeon fills out a specialty card before operating, Hamlin keeps her own list of each doctor’s favorite tools to check against it.
“I don’t like the doctors having to wait on me, and I don’t like the patient to wait on the table for something I could have gotten ahead of time,” she says. “I think ‘what if it were my family member on the table?’ Every patient is special to me.”
Even when bad days happen in the OR, says Mary Hamlin, staff can work not to take it personally.
“I know a lot of times people say things because they’re in a rush, but it takes two to argue,” she says. “Sometimes the doctors can say things that can hurt your feelings, but I know they have a lot on their plate. Just keep doing your job and keep your mouth shut, and at the end of the case, they’ll say thank you.”
Throughout her career at McLeod, Hamlin has maintained a parallel one in the U.S. Air Force. After 44 years of government service, she expects to retire a Chief Master Sergeant, thanks in no small part to the flexibility offered by McLeod.
“Whenever I have to go on a [military] mission or I’m activated, they have been very gracious in allowing me to do that without any drama or hesitance,” Hamlin says. Although she only reports two weekends per month and two weeks per year, she is grateful that McLeod has been “very caring with me leaving.”
It’s a good thing, too, because Hamlin is the superintendent of air space medicine at her base, with oversight for optometry, the lab, public health, bio, and physical exams. She is responsible for keeping enough staff on-hand for drill weekends.
“I love going over the physical exams and immunizations,” she says. “Just being there, I can jump in and get my hands dirty. One thing I learned being a leader is not to ask my people to do anything I wouldn’t do or I can’t do.”
Hamlin’s husband, Donny, is a policeman at the Florence County complex and is also a military retiree. They both entered the service together, and are planning to leave at approximately the same time. The couple has been blessed with two children, LaVance and Kiesha, and seven grandchildren, which Mary Hamlin says keeps her young.
“When I get all of them together, it is just wonderful,” she says. “I love having all of them there at the same time. The older ones are so patient and take time with the younger ones. I teach them that they must look out for each other.”
Even given her extensive background and impressive resume, Mary Hamlin returned to nursing school at Florence Darlington Technical to finish her degree. Where does she see herself ending up? The operating room, of course.
“I still want to scrub,” she says. “My passion is scrubbing.”
“My mother told me to get all the education that you can get; that’s something no one can take away from you,” she says.
Hamlin adds that her mother also taught her never to depend on anyone but herself—a motto that she says has sweetened her decades-long marriage. She tells her husband, “I married you because I love you—not because of what you can give me.”
“The only person I really depend on, because I sometimes let myself down, is Jesus,” she says. “He’s the rock in my life.”
