Rhonda Hinrichs has served as the practice administrator for primary care and urgent care at St. Peter's Health for the past decade.

Hinrichs started her career in nursing nearly 30 years ago in 1987 in Seattle, Washington on a gynecology and oncology floor. She spent approximately two years there before moving back to Montana and working in intensive care in Billings. She would then work as a cardiology coordinator in Billings before moving to Helena in 2001.

That year, Hinrichs started part-time in St. Peter's ICU. She would go on to work in the "cath lab" office part-time in 2003. Later, Hinrichs was asked if she wanted to get into a management position. She interviewed for her current job but spent two years turning it down before changing her mind.

According to Hinrichs, the choice to become a nurse was one of circumstance.

"I remember I was trying to decide between nursing and social work," Hinrichs said. "I think we are both cut from the same cloth."

Hinrichs said she had planned to go to college in Moorehead, Minnesota for social work. The recruiter would keep calling her asking if she was ready to enroll. However, Hinrichs wasn't ready to move away from her friends and family in Montana, so she opted to attend nursing school at Montana State University.

Her decision to pursue nursing was based on her desire to help others.

"I like to help people. I also like to problem solve and be resourceful," Hinrichs said. "I get angry patients sometimes and it is my job to win them over and make them feel heard."

It's this empathetic bedside manner and the ability to listen that make a good nurse in Hinrichs' eyes. Hinrichs said she knows how to be empathetic but also knows how to keep her boundaries and not become distraught at the loss of a patient. She described herself as practical and understanding the circle of life.

Listening is the most important skill a nurse can exercise, according to Hinrichs. This is applicable to both a nurse's bedside manner and in a management position, said Hinrichs.

"You could miss medical signs if you don't listen," Hinrichs said.

Being in management, the hardest part of the job to Hinrichs is disciplining her employees. Hinrichs said it can be hard knowing you impact their livelihood. She said the day this becomes easy for her will be the day she shouldn't do it anymore.

The most rewarding part of the job for Hinrichs is the people she gets to work with every day. She said her employees are her family and they treat each other as such. After 10 years in her position, Hinrichs knows the people she works with well.

"Rhonda is a strong leader with a great sense of community responsibility. She is very dedicated and selfless," Krystal Jerome wrote in her nomination for the nurse appreciation award. "When the pandemic hit, the safety of others came first. She made sure we were educated on the latest COVID facts and had what we needed to work safely. She also made sure our patients were cared for as quickly as possible."