Christina Van Der Weide of Mercy Health St. Mary's in Grand Rapids has been named the "Most Interesting Nurse in the World."

Halo Communications has named Christina Van Der Weide the Most Interesting Nurse in the World. She wins a $5,000 vacation. Five finalists from across the country were named earlier this month.

Van Der Weide is currently working full-time nights in the emergency room of Mercy Health St. Mary's in Grand Rapids. She began her nursing career in Alberta, Canada, when she was 19. She has worked in general and ortho surgery, medical telemetry, palliative/oncology, LTC on a Native American reservation, pain clinics, rehab, ambulatory care and the ER.

Outside of work it starts to get even more interesting. Van Der Weide has trained and competed in Thai boxing, Brazilian Jujitsu, mixed martial arts and Krav Maga (Israeli self-defense). She spent eight months training for an Olympic triathlon, half marathon, and Ironman to raise funds for cancer research in honor of her brother. Her traveling and volunteering has brought her to Mozambique, Iraq, Bangladesh, Russia, Latvia, France, Switzerland, Belize, Guatemala, Israel, Palestine, Greece, Trinidad, India, the Netherlands, and the UK.

Van Der Weide has also done just about every outdoor sport you can think of including white water rafting, paragliding, hang gliding, riding ostriches, caving, bungee-jumping and other things that sound like scary fun. Yes, she sounds interesting, but let's hope none of us ever has the pleasure of meeting her while she's working at the ER.

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