Patients of Monument Health’s Heart and Vascular Unit (HVU) can be at any stage in their health care journey, but they all deserve the best quality care. Nurses like Theresa Dooner, RN, are by their side during their stay at HVU.

“We take care of people on the inpatient and outpatient side,” Theresa said. “Sometimes people have a heart attack while out there living their best life, and then they come here. Some patients are here with known issues or disease. They can be here for scheduled procedures or interventional procedures. I take care of these types of patients before surgery.”

Growing up, Theresa had an aunt who was special to her who was a nurse, as were her aunt’s two daughters and other close family members.

“I think because of that it just kind of imprinted on me that it was a noble calling,” Theresa said. “It’s in my nature, I think. I’m Native American and was raised in a culture of caring for others.”

Caring for others is a culture in HVU, and not only in the aid of patients. Having spent all of her time as a nurse in HVU, Theresa has high praise for her peers.

“This is where I grew up, essentially, and I love my team. If I need help, everyone is willing to help even if they’re not my neighbor or my assigned aid; everybody’s willing to come help anyone else. The preceptors that I had when I first started out were very informative. They gave me all of the education I needed to be successful. They were very supportive.”

Theresa has been a nurse for about three and a half years. She found herself drawn to nursing later than some, but a family history in the field made it feel almost inevitable. Once immersed in it, she realized life experiences had prepared her well, making the timing feel just right.

“I didn’t become a nurse until later in my life, but I feel like motherhood set me up successfully for nursing because I find that I communicate with patients how I communicate with my children: with empathy and a lot of patience.”
Communicating to patients about procedures, medications and management of their conditions is a key part of being a nurse, and Theresa said it is one of her favorite parts of the role.

“I love providing education to my patients because it’s a chance to take something they may not fully understand or have fears about and put it into terms they will understand; given with a supportive intent,” she said. “When they understand their condition or their disease, then they understand why we’re doing the things that we’re doing. They put the pieces together and they feel more successful after they’re discharged. When they’re grateful for understanding what you’re explaining to them, it’s a good feeling. It’s my favorite part of the job.”

Receiving gratitude from patients is more than a simple act, Theresa said. It often renews a nurse’s resolve to keep striving for the best.

“One instance of a patient being so kind and so generous and so thankful sticks out the most in all of my time here. He was so generous and so kind and giving that he ended up gifting me a star quilt for when my oldest daughter graduated 8th grade,” she said. “In Native American culture, if somebody does something that you want to honor them for you present them with a star quilt, and he did that for me. I hadn’t experienced something like that. It was amazing. I don’t know what part of his heart I touched, but I always think how if everybody could be that nice, do you know how great this world would be? That’s probably the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me.”