WACO, TX — This week is National Nurses Week, a profession we all have come to appreciate in a pandemic. Even before the pandemic was a thought, nurses are the backbone of a hospital.
This week is dedicated to honoring those who do so much for those in pain.
"It's a very, very rewarding career," Director of Ambulatory Nursing at Baylor Scott & White McLane Children's Medical Center, Melissa Rennert said.
One mother-daughter duo is getting to celebrate Nurses Week and Mother's Day as Melissa Rennert began her career 20 years ago and now her daughter Laney just began her nursing journey in August of 2020.
"I remember her [Rennert] getting her BSN, her MSN, I'll watch her get her doctorate soon. I wanted to go through that too," Laney Rennert said.
20 years ago Laney was able to pin her mom when Rennert officially became a nurse and that gesture was returned as Laney accepted a job from Baylor Scott & White starting in the same position her mom once did.
"I'd been away for five years and honestly, I picked [BS&W] because I missed my mom," Laney Rennert said.
Becoming a nurse is something Laney saw herself doing but it was a long battle to get here. She's thankful to rely on her mom for help when she needed it in school, and she can continue to do so by working in the same building.
Although they have the same last name Laney wants to make sure she creates her own path in the nursing field.
"I want to be my own person," Laney said.
Her mom being there, she says is just a bonus.
Rennert has a lot more experience under her belt but Laney has grown up seeing what her mom has worked toward. Rennert says her favorite part of the job is the children and the amount of strength they have.
"They can be sick and have some terminal diagnosis and they're still living day to day and everything's a new day," Rennert said.
Laney is excited to start her journey and already has plans to continue her education. This nurses week is extra special for these two because they've celebrated Rennert for many years but now they're celebrating them both on this National Nurses Week.
"I think it's a little bit more fun this year because I get to share it with her," Rennert said.
Nursing is the nation's largest healthcare profession with more than 3.8 million Registered Nurses nationwide. The Federal Government projects 200,000 nursing jobs will be needed each year through 2026.
