Kristine Hoiland is a nurse practitioner in the Medical College of Wisconsin Division of Hematology and Oncology. But that’s not the only thing Kristine does. She also works with international aid organizations, bringing her nursing skills to vulnerable patients in places like Haiti, Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Nigeria, Uganda, Pakistan and Ukraine. Today on WTMJ Conversations, she talks with WTMJ’s Libby Collins about her beginnings in travel nursing, working in an active war zone, being in New York City in the beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic, and much more. It’s all ahead on this edition of WTMJ Conversations.
A partial transcript is provided below, courtesy of eCourt Reporters.
LIBBY COLLINS: The Russians had bombed hospitals in Ukraine.
KRISTINE HOILAND: Yes.
LIBBY COLLINS: Were you aware of that at the time, and was it in the back of your mind that you could be in a situation that would be extremely dangerous?
KRISTINE HOILAND: Yes, and I was prepared for that by my organization. Before I deployed to Ukraine, they did share the hard reality that this is a war zone. And they do everything that they can to protect us, but the reality of being in a wartime country was always there. The air raid sirens would go off daily, sometimes in the middle of the night. And so, if I ever had a moment of feeling at peace, that was an abrupt reminder that there was a war going on.
