by Vickie Jenkins – Writer/Photographer
Growing up in Verden, OK, western Grady County, Stevie McMillan, LPN, had her advantages of being raised on a farm. With a lot of animals, even when Stevie was little, she had the signs and desires of a nurse; taking care of all of the animals that surrounded her. She would make them feel better, even if she was just pretending that they were sick, or so the story goes. “I even had the little nurse’s bag and all of the medical supplies that any nurse would surely need to heal an animal. I never wanted to be a vet but you would think so since I was so crazy about my animals,” she commented.
Not far from Verden, OK, there is a small town called, Burns Flat, OK. This is the home of the Western Technology Center where Stevie went to school, received her nursing license and began her journey as a nurse.
Stevie McMillan, LPN is the Clinical Operational Specialist at Accentra Home Healthcare, located at 300 N. Meridian. Accentra’s goal is to provide the best outcome for the patients. They provide nursing services, therapeutic services and medical social services.
Stevie has been a nurse for five years with her first job working for a skilled unit facility in Chickasha, OK. “I have been with Accentra for two years and I love my job here. It is nice to wake up, wanting to come to work because I enjoy seeing the patients and the co-workers so much,” she commented.
“My favorite part of my job is interacting with the patients. It is nice to have one-on-one time with them. That is why I prefer working in home healthcare over a hospital. I feel like the patients like the fact that they can stay in their home while the nurse comes to them. They like being able to watch their own T.V. shows from their own chair and be able to sleep in their own bed. I think just about anybody would prefer that,” she said. “We usually see about twenty patients a week and there are five nurses here. We travel a fifty-mile radius in some of the surrounding areas,” Stevie added. Asked Stevie why she thought this specific job was so special to her. Stevie replied,” Oh, this job is very special to me. When I was little, my mom was handicapped and I saw how much she struggled, realizing how the nurses took care of her and how my mom depended on them. At the time, I also saw some of the negative things; like when the caregivers weren’t that great with my mom. I think it was at that point, I knew that I wanted to be a nurse so I could care for patients the way like they should be taken care of. A nurse needs to have a compassion for others and want to be a nurse,” Stevie explained.
What qualities make a good nurse? “I think a good nurse definitely needs to have the compassion and desire to care for others. Above anything else, that compassion needs to be there. They need to know if they want to be a nurse, choose wisely; there are so many different areas a nurse can go into. They will know it when it happens,” Stevie said.
A typical day for Stevie begins early in the morning. “I communicate with the patients; find out what they need, take care of phone calls and anything else that needs to be done in the office. I also go out to the patient’s house whenever they need to be seen. Sometimes, we are at their home about forty-five minutes, but we stay longer if we need to. I’m in triage so one disadvantage is not being able to see the patient and only talk to them or leave messages through a telephone conversation. We miss out on so much if that is the case,” Stevie explained.
Stevie is married to her wonderful husband, Chez and they have two daughters, Rylee, fifteen years old and Gracee, fourteen years old. The girls are involved in basketball and golf. “Having two teenage daughters keeps my husband and me pretty busy,” she said. “I like to hunt and fish and do pretty much anything outdoors,” she said with a smile. As far as owning pets, we have one dog; a loving mutt, Hammer. We also have a herd of cattle,” she added.
To sum up her life in one word, Stevie said, “Amazing.”
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· RN/OR CIRCULATOR
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