November Staff Spotlight: Rocel Maano, RN

This month, we’re excited to share our first Staff Spotlight blog post with Rocel Maano, RN, who is our November Employee of the Month.

Let’s get to know Rocel Maano, RN, our November Employee of the Month and a Registered Nurse at Hidden River.

How long have you been with Hidden River? 

I’ve been with Hidden River since June 2021 – so almost two-and-a-half years now!

How did you get started in this field?

Psychology was always an unavoidable fascination with me, so it only made sense to pursue it as a career. I studied at and received my B.A. from Rutgers University, majoring in psychology and minoring in sociology and criminology. 

During my last semester, while studying biological psychology, I realized that I also had a strong interest in the health sciences and wanted to explore that as well. So I decided to go to nursing school and got my registered nurse license. I started working as a RN at RWJ Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in the children’s inpatient psychiatric unit in 2019 and have been working in children’s psychiatry ever since. 

What is one thing that you wish people knew about your job?

It may sound obvious, but I think it’s always worth repeating and reminding ourselves in healthcare: “Treat the person, not the disease.” Patients may have the same diagnoses and similar symptoms, but every patient is different and needs care tailored specifically to them.  

What is your favorite part of your workday?

It’s hard to say because I think there are a lot of parts that could count as my favorite, but at the end of the day, most importantly, it would have to be witnessing the individual progress patients make with their eating disorder.

What is your favorite quote?

Currently, my favorite quote is: “Whenever you’re going through a bad day, just remember that your track record for getting through bad days has been 100% so far.” 

What, if anything, are you currently watching or reading?

I just started reading The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression by Andrew Solomon. I highly recommend watching his TED Talk, “How the worst moments in our lives make us who we are.” Very insightful and inspirational. 

Name some things you are passionate about in your free time.

In my free time, I love spending time with my family, especially just taking the time to sit down, talk, and have a meal together. I also love trying new foods, baking, reading, doing escape rooms, and volunteering for the Medical Reserve Corps. We recently raised over $14,000 for pancreatic cancer research at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, which is amazing!

What’s one thing people don’t know about you that they would be surprised to find out?

One thing most people don’t know about me that they would probably be surprised to find out is that I have a huge candle collection! I actually keep a Google spreadsheet on it, showing each candle’s brand, name, price, year it was produced, fragrance, etc. Most of them are from Bath & Body Works. I currently have 143 candles and counting!  

What’s the best part about working at Hidden River?

That’s another hard question! But I’d have to say that the best part about working at Hidden River has been working with a diverse and talented staff. I truly enjoy working with everyone on the team and love that I’m always learning something new from them. I also love my little nursing family I have here! 

For more information about eating disorder treatment at Hidden River, please visit our website.