A Real Humanitarian: In General

by Vickie Jenkins, Staff Writer

Meet Travis Barnes, RN at The Children’s Center Rehabilitation Hospital in Bethany, OK. Travis grew up in Oklahoma City attending Oklahoma City University. After a few years as an RN, Travis moved to Seattle, Washington, returning to Bethany, OK, accepting a job at The Children’s Center Rehabilitation Hospital in Bethany, OK.
What qualities make a good nurse? “I think a nurse needs to be compassionate, honest, patient, dependable and to sum it up, one hard-working-machine,” he replied with a laugh.
Travis says that his favorite part of his job is when the children actually get better and get to leave to go home. “I see the kids come in here, and we get to work with them and then, we get to see them leave. Most of all, we get to see that child smile when the leave for home. It makes it all worth it.”
The biggest challenge for Travis is when the unexpected happens. “Being a nurse, we expect that to happen but there is always that rapid change and uncertainty. Sometimes, that can be one of the biggest challenges for me,” Travis said.
When Travis was little, he had high hopes of being a professional soccer player or a world traveler. That was going to be his career. Apparently, his parents had other goals for him. He has quite a few relatives in the medical field and they have been for quite a few years. His parents, his older sister, his sister-in-law and brother-in-law put it this way, our family stays very healthy!
What advice would you give to someone going into the medical field? “I would tell them that going into the medical field has many opportunities and the possibilities are amazing! You do need to stay positive when it comes to patient care. You will have some bad days but if you do, know that the one incident doesn’t determine your whole field. Just work hard and know that it is well worth it,” he replied. “Just keep a positive attitude, have a good support system and keep your head up,” he added.
A typical day for Travis keeps him busy. Travis is a charge nurse and lead staff nurse. One day a week, his work is done at Children’s Hospital at OU, working with a pulmonologist, lab work, ventilators, and chest x-rays, etc. “What a great experience working with the doctors. What a great experience and I am learning a lot each day,” Travis said.
I asked Travis to describe himself. “Oh, I am a very calm guy, very laid back. I am compassionate, helpful, friendly, patient and a bit comical at times. I guess you could say I am a real humanitarian in general,” he said.
Travis is married and has a beautiful 11-week old baby girl who goes by the name of Ingrid Magnolia. Travis likes to spend time with his family and enjoys all sorts of sports. “I like fishing but I just enjoy the outdoors.” Travis still holds on to a bit of his little boy dream and continues to play soccer and would still like to be a world traveler. “My wife and I would like to do some international traveling. I enjoy helping others out and I am an advocate for the little guy. I am a person others can rely on and a true advocate for society,” he added.
Along with work, family life and a little spare time, Travis has 5 pets to take care of; 3 dogs and 2 cats. “You wouldn’t want a cat, would you?” he asked.
Asking Travis if there was a funny incident or a funny story about himself that he would like to share, he paused for a moment and said, “Well, my car broke down on the way to my wedding. The problem was the fact that the timing belt went out. I wasn’t too late to my wedding and everything worked out, obviously. I can laugh at it now. At the time though, it wasn’t very funny,” he said with a smile.
If you were to sum up your life in one word, what would it be? “Resilient.” Last but not least, what is one thing that you would like for a Christmas present this year? “I would want my daughter to sleep more than 2 hours,” he said with a laugh. “I am pretty sure my wife wants the same thing for Christmas too.”