The Bermuda Nurses Association has named Lisa Symonds as its Nurse of the Year.

As an ‘angel of mercy’, Mrs. Symonds said taking up the profession was not so much a career choice but a “calling”.

She said: “It is a profession you are called to and I feel I’ve been called to it. Although I’ve moved around many places, my heart is always with my patients and their concern for nursing standards.”

Mrs. Symonds, 43, was presented with her award at a luncheon to mark Nursing Week at Four Ways Inn, Paget.

She was one of six nominees, whom last year’s winner Joanne Armstrong described as: “just awesome”.

Mrs. Symonds, a point of care coordinator at King Edward Memorial VII Hospital, was joined by: Angria Bassett, of the Women’s Treatment Centre; Loumeeka Orgill, of the KEMH Dialysis Unit; Chandra Persad, of the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute’s Learning Disability Programme; Marionette Zuill, who works with the Department of Corrections; and Nathan Trott, of KEMH. Receiving her award from Acting Health Minister Phil Perinchief, Mrs. Symonds said: “I am sure I will uphold the nursing profession and make you all proud.”

Mr. Perinchief said his mother and sister had joined the nursing profession and he had always admired nurses’ dedication to their work.

“I want to thank this nurse Lisa Symonds,” he said.

“In my own experience nursing has always been in my family from a young age and nurses have always been, for me, the quintessential and ultimate care givers.

“The expression ‘from the cradle to the grave’ is true. It’s been a fine and a fitting day today, but I think Nursing Week should be a year, as what you do and the care you give, it is certainly shortened when it’s just one week.

“As Minister responsible for Health, I want to thank Lisa for a job well done and all the nurses who went before her.”

Mrs. Symonds was also presented with a sculpture from Dockyard Glassworks entitled ‘Angel’, a hurricane lamp, watch and jewellery, a bouquet, gift certificates, dinner and travel vouchers.

Bermuda hospitals chief David Hill thanked all the nurses for their hard work. “Without our nurses we’d have no care,” he said.

Mrs. Symonds, of Paget, told The Royal Gazette: “I feel as though there’s a calling from God. It seems like a natural thing for me to care for people. I just love caring for them.”

She was nominated to the selection committee by a patient and a colleague. In their submission they described her as “going above and beyond the call of duty, especially when working on special projects such as Touch Point, BNA Nurses’ Week and other conferences”.

The nomination said: “She comes with an abundance of energy and exemplifies care and compassion for her fellow staff members and her patients.”

Mrs. Symonds, a past president of the BNA and member of the Bermuda Nursing Triad, was also said to “truly care in her heart about her patients”.