Empathy forged by early surgeries

By John Brieske

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

When he was born, Michael Jicha had birth defects that required “dozens” of surgeries when he was a child. He spent much of his childhood in the hospital and remembers competing in wheelchair races with other children there.

Barry Williams, Special Michael Jicha
, Northside Hospital

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• Profiles of the other winners

“Many of my earliest memories as a child are from the hospital. I felt at home there,” said Jicha, 46.

If experience really is the best teacher, Jicha learned about empathy for sick people at an early age.

“I’ve spent a lot of time in my life in the hospital,” he said. “I know what patients are going through. I can use that experience to help them when they’re there.”

Chris O’Hanion, a friend of Jicha’s, has been a beneficiary of that commitment to care in the Emergency Room at Northside Hospital in Atlanta. Jicha has treated O’Hanion as well as his friend’s father, grandmother and aunt.

“He is consistently dependable to be there to offer compassionate, professional and empathetic care to patients from all walks of life,” O’Hanion wrote in his nomination.

Jicha, who has been a nurse for almost 21 years, including 11 years at Northside, is known for his dedication to the job. In fact, he recently worked three or four shifts with a stress fracture in his left toe before he was convinced to have it treated.

The nurse was hand-picked to care for an unidentified U.S. senator when he was treated at the hospital because of his “unrivaled bedside manner and ability to make even a man who was in extreme pain laugh just a bit and feel better during an uncomfortable procedure,” O’Hanion wrote.

O’Hanion also cited Jicha for treating “his patients with dignity, even when the rest of the world doesn’t.”

“For most of my life, the most valued member of my family was my grandmother,” Jicha said. “I try to treat patients like I would treat her.”

In a profession where recognition can be scarce —
especially given the importance of the work — praise is appreciated.

“I tell young nurses that if they want a pat on the back, they usually need to do it themselves,” Jicha said. “In this particular instance, I’m being recognized. I’m very honored to receive this kind of praise. I’m very proud of that.”

Jicha extends his nursing to animals, caring for two cats with diabetes until they passed away recently. He and his wife have three dogs: Cleo, Caesar and Rosemary, who was used as bait in dog fights until the Jichas took her in. Rosemary had a mangled leg that was ultimately amputated, but she is doing well now.

“In the ER I’m working with a patient for a couple of hours. With pets, it’s more emotional,” he said.

For Jicha, nursing is not just a job, it’s a calling.

“My experiences with hospitals as a child had a tremendous influence on me becoming a nurse,” he said. “I would have a hard time with any job where I felt I didn’t make a difference. Our jobs really matter in the scheme of things.”