DEMOPOLIS – Some people couldn’t last 40 minutes in the sometimes pressure-filled world of hospitals, Nettie Mack has spent the past 40 years of her life there.

On October 15, Mack will celebrate 40 years on the job at Bryan Whitfield Memorial Hospital.

As a graduate of John Essex High School and 1965 alum of the Good Samaritan School of Nursing in Selma, Mack said she began working at the hospital soon after graduation.

“I applied here after I graduated and I’ve been here ever since,” Mack said. “I started in mid-surgery ER then I went to labor and delivery.”

Currently serving in the ICU, Mack said the hardest part of her job is giving families hurtful news, but the great people she works with can help ease the situation.

“My co-workers make the challenges I face at work a lot easier,” she said. “ICU is the most challenging so I enjoy it the most.”

Mack said learning to defibrillate a patient was the most difficult task she was faced with when first moving to ICU. But added that her first attempt was successful under the leadership of Dr. Paul Ketcham.

Born and raised on Highway 28 in Demopolis, Mack is married with six children who are all supportive of her career.

“They are alright with it,” Mack said. “They are supportive of anything I do and anytime I’m upgrading my career, they are happy.”

As president of missionary at the Small Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church in Jefferson, Mack enjoys spending time with her family and friends when she isn’t busy in ICU.

“I like to visit my grandchildren and cook,” she said.

Mack said she will probably work at BWMH until she is ready to retire.

“I will probably work part time in between travels,” she said. “I’ve been to almost every state in the U.S. and I want to travel more.”

Mack said she picked a medical career because she figured it was the only career field she would do well in.

Apparently, she is doing more than well with 40 years of service under her belt and still going strong.