Two degrees and a master's degree, nurse by profession, five daughters, Elena Pasqualotto received the honor of Cavaliere della Repubblica from Napolitano
"Let me dedicate this recognition to all those who work in the healthcare sector and every day, away from the spotlight, they dedicate themselves to patients with great passion, great professionalism and at a rapid pace”. As she speaks, the voice of Elena Pasqualotto still betrays emotion. She is among the women who received the honor of Cavaliere della Repubblica from Giorgio Napolitano on the occasion of the Ceremony at the Quirinale for International Women's Day. And in fact, her life deserves a special mention in terms of ability to reconcile family, work and personal interests. Nurse, mother of five daughters, with two degrees and a passion for the sea and swimming, Elena, with her young age and always smiling, is a fine example of all-female energy.
His alarm goes off at five every morning. First the washing machine, then the dishwasher and preparing breakfast for everyone. At six she leaves home, when the children and husband are still asleep. An hour later, her shift began as head nurse in a ward of the Campus Bio-Medico University Hospital. “I've been doing this job for fifteen years and I love it like the first day. I couldn't imagine myself without it”. With five pregnancies behind her, Elena is keen to point out that "my maternity leave always starts in the eighth month and has never lasted one day longer than the one established by law".
However, he speaks with equal pride about the other half of his life, his private life. In the afternoon, after the shift, just enough time to get to the schools, pick up the girls and off with the second job of "mother 5 daughters". “It's now that the work begins, other than in the lane!” – Elena smiles. Homework, then the shopping, swimming lessons for the girls and catechism for the third and fourth in order of birth in her happy marriage. “My husband helps me a lot. He accompanies the girls to school every day and despite the fact that his job as a doctor imposes unpredictable hours on him, as soon as he manages to free himself, he immediately finds a way to make himself useful, play with the girls and talk about how the day went. We don't have close relatives, but together we form a winning team that allows us to reconcile everything”. Of her wife who went up to the Quirinale, Sergio limits himself to revealing her nickname with which he has called her for some time: "Simply wonder woman".
Before taking on the nursing direction of a hospital ward, Elena worked for ten years in the operating room and then in the coordination of the hospital outpatient clinics, then located in via Longoni. Elena has something to say about the idea that people have of the profession of nurse, always with a smile and politeness: "There is an old mentality that is difficult to eradicate. The nurse is seen as the person who puts in and out the bedpan, makes the beds and pricks. In reality, we are called upon to guarantee all-round assistance, staying close to the patient during the day and working closely with the doctors”. With a Masters in Health Management, Elena collaborates every day with the nurses of her team in the elaboration of care plans tailored to the specificities of each patient. Then there is the management of the nursing staff on three shifts, the supply of all the medicines and materials necessary to treat the patients, the organization of hospitalizations and beds. The secret in the relationship with the patient? For the neo-Cavaliere nurse it is enclosed in three elements: “Patience, empathy and a smile on your face”. He says nursing was not a calling for her, but rather a love at first sight. “I was about to enroll in Law - Elena says - when I saw a film about the nurses of the Pamplona hospital in Spain. I was struck by the competence and elegance of these women and then, from my hometown near Verona, I decided to go and study at the Campus Bio-Medico in Rome, which based on the experience of the University of Pamplona had then opened one of the first nursing degree courses in Italy”. As soon as she graduated, Elena enrolled again at the University. This time: degree course in pedagogy. Meanwhile she has already started working in the hospital, she gets married and during her studies her first two daughters arrive. “I still managed to graduate the second time in time. My mom was already very sick and I absolutely wanted her to come and see my graduation day. It was a great motivation. We finally managed to celebrate that day together".
After fifteen years of work in the healthcare world, when we ask her what she thinks of the debate that has been inflaming the country in recent weeks, her gaze immediately becomes serious: "Bad news is causing more and more sensation in healthcare. It's hard for the good ones to pass. There are certainly problems, often also due to lack of resources, but there would also be many beautiful stories to tell that happen every day”. He has no doubts about his work: “I would never abandon it. I couldn't imagine myself without it. The best thing is falling into bed in the evening, dead tired and seeing everything that happened during the day in the hospital flash before your eyes, just before falling asleep.".
