Smiles of Amare: Becca Pape, RN

“My favorite part of being a nurse is the families.”

Becca Pape loves taking care of open-heart surgery patients in the ICU, but she didn’t always know she wanted to be a nurse.

“I was in the Army, and I used my GI Bill for my first bachelor’s degree,” she said. “I could only find a job making $15 an hour, and none of them really offered the potential to progress.” While working in a cardiologist’s office, staff members suggested she return to school to become a nurse, and she’s glad she did.

“My favorite part of being a nurse is the families,” she said. “You don’t really know the patient when they’re on the ventilator or when they’re asleep, and hearing stories from the families and getting to know them, whether it be a good outcome or end of life, you’re there with them, and you get to know them and help them.”

Becca has been a nurse for three years and a travel nurse with Amare for the past year.

“I feel like family. When I was staff, I felt like I was just a number,” she said.

Recently, Becca received Amare’s Core Values Ambassador Award. Each quarter, Amare recruiters nominate care providers for the award. Senior Recruiter Brittney Jackson nominated Becca.

“Brittney and I know what’s going on in each other’s lives, and she really does care.”

“We definitely are friends,” Brittney said.