#WeAnswerTheCall - In Conversation with Nureya Khimani and Noorshan Nanji

In recognition of National Nursing Week, we were honoured to sit down with two incredible nurses who also happen to be Thrive Health employees, Nureya Khimani and Noorshan Nanji, to discuss their experiences, challenges and how their work as nurses helps them find innovative solutions at Thrive Health to improve the delivery of healthcare.

What made you want to become a nurse?

Nureya Khimani, our Clinical Content Analyst and Registered Nurse, answers: "I was always interested in healthcare but never really knew what I wanted to do in the field. While doing my bachelor's degree, I volunteered for a public health agency where I worked alongside Registered Nurses. I learned how nurses extend their knowledge beyond the hospital setting and take on various responsibilities. Therefore, I applied for nursing school and fell in love with nursing." Nureya worked in Acute Medicine for eight years, with three years of experience as a Clinical Nurse Educator and an ICU Nurse. She joined Thrive in 2021 and now works once a week in Post Anesthesia Care.

How do you bring your nursing background into your role at Thrive?

Noorshan Nanji, our Clinical Solutions Team Lead and a Registered Nurse, took a similar path. She developed an interest in public health while doing her undergraduate degree. Knowing that clinical experience would allow her to make a greater impact, she ultimately decided to pursue her nursing degree. Noorshan describes how her experience as a nurse helps her succeed in her role at Thrive: "Nurses can utilize their skills to advocate for their patients and improve their care," she explains, "Nursing knowledge can be applied beyond frontline work. We experience the struggles of patients and providers and are aware of how little time is available to them. By working on the frontline, I understand Thrive’s goal of improving efficiency for healthcare providers and can identify where our products can improve our healthcare system. I am passionate about creating a product that benefits practitioners, is easy to use for the patient and will empower them to take charge of their health.”

Noorshan has been working at Thrive since 2020, and her role has expanded to lead the design of our clinical care plans, bridging her nursing and technical knowledge. She has been working in the Stroke Unit for four years.

What is the most rewarding, and most challenging aspect of being a nurse?

Nureya explains, "The best part about being a nurse is the positive impact we make on people's lives. Utilizing our skills to help people through a traumatic event and get a second chance at life is an amazing feeling. We also play an important role in comforting patients and their families and explaining situations to them. There is so much happening around us, but working with the team to facilitate patient care is the key to maintaining functional operations and positive experiences. In addition, educating new grads and watching them transform into confident and knowledgeable nurses is extremely rewarding".

However, she reveals that her job also brings immense challenges: "Nursing is emotionally and physically demanding. We encounter tragic situations, and there often isn’t time to take care of ourselves or process our feelings. We often face threats to our health and physical safety while doing our job. Even after working for so long, it’s still daunting not knowing what to expect when starting a shift. However, despite the downsides, I love working as a nurse. The positive aspects are much more significant to me, so I’ve stayed with it for so long".

At Thrive Health, we are lucky to have our nurses-in-residence bringing their firsthand knowledge to our platform design, in a way that empowers patients and increases efficiency for providers. We know from our nurses that there is room for improvement in our healthcare systems and hope to take a step in the right direction.

To learn how our technology fuels meaningful relationships between providers and patients, connect with us below.