A nurse’s job is unlike any other.

Nurses must be in tune to patients’ needs and be willing to place those needs above their own, all while incorporating a caregiver’s personal touch.

Mary Hall, a 26-year veteran nurse at Vidant Beaufort Hospital, certainly fits the criteria, and her peers agree, as she received the 2016 Juanita Jackson Award for Nursing Excellence.

National Nurses Week is May 6-12, and the Juanita Jackson Award is one way to celebrate the work nurses do.

Hall received 38 nominations from 10 different disciplines within the hospital, according to Pam Shadle, manager of marketing at Vidant Beaufort.

A Chocowinity native, Hall said she always knew from childhood that she wanted to be a nurse.

After receiving her degree from Beaufort County Community College, Hall went to work at Vidant Beaufort, formerly named Beaufort County Hospital. She has worked in the operating room, in a long-term care facility and now on the medical/surgical floor.

Hall has also participated in skills fairs, and mentored nursing students from BCCC, Pitt Community College and East Carolina University. One of the criteria of the Juanita Jackson Award requires a nominee to be involved in educational and community aspects of the job.

“I was very surprised,” Hall said of receiving the award. “They pulled one over on me.”

Despite her strong sense of humility, Hall’s peers had no trouble reserving only the highest praise for her, describing her as “trustworthy,” “selfless,” “a team leader” and “filled with love and compassion.”

“It’s awesome working with her and seeing how much she does care about her patients,” said coworker Allyson Ayers. “I couldn’t do my job without her.”

Hall has seen many changes over the years, but the biggest ones were moving from paper to electronic charts and the less-invasive technology used in surgeries today. But through it all, she said she can’t pick her favorite job discipline at the hospital — each one fit her needs at that particular time in life and each one made her happy.

“Even with all the changes, the essence of what nursing is hasn’t changed,” said Lou Montana-Rhodes, vice president of patient care services. “We’re still very much that profession that is pulling patient care together. … That’s part of why we get up and come do what we do.”

That “essence of nursing” shines through in Hall’s work every day, whether a good or bad day.

Hall said she hopes to make a difference with patients, and even after 26 years, she knows she is in the right place.

“When I come to work, I do strive and I hope every day is a good day,” she said. “Maybe I have done a lot of right things.”