Nurse Jennifer grew up with many nurse role models in her life. Her grandmother was an LVN, her aunt was an ortho-surgical nurse, and her sister and three of her cousins were all nurses. At a young age she was introduced to the field when caring for a kid with Angelman's Syndrome, a genetic syndrome that affects the nervous system heavily. Through the care of Jennifer and her family they taught him how to walk at the age of five as well as taught him to communicate with some basic sign language. Through this her love for nursing was solidified and she found that caring for others truly ran in her blood.
Before she became an LVN, Jennifer took evening CNA classes while working as a primary care aid in home health. In 1997 she graduated from nursing school at the age of 22 and since then has worked in nearly every possible field of nursing.
Through her nursing journey she tried nearly every form of nurse she could, helping and providing her best care in every form. At one point, she was experiencing some of the heaviest burnout she had felt in her nursing career, when she stumbled upon an ad for correctional nursing with SHP.
Describing this time Jennifer said, "I felt as if God had put an ad in my face and said, "Look at this, it will be perfect," and he was right. I was completely burned out at the time. This job has been a breath of fresh air for me.
Jennifer has been extremely appreciative and very vocal about the pleasure of her time at SHP. She has stressed that it gave her a new sense of purpose taking care of a group of under-served patients and a sense of freedom. The openness of her schedule allows for her to attend her children's events things she regretfully had missed in other previous jobs. Her career at SHP allows her to share a compassion for care and nursing that she previously has only dreamed of.
We at SHP are glad that Jennifer enjoys her position with us and are incredibly thankful for her hard-work and dedication she has put forward every day at her position in Erath County. Thank you Jennifer for taking your time to help us share your story of how you became a nurse, got into the nursing field and found your career here at SHP for our Nurses Week 2021 Spotlight.