CAREERS IN NURSING
WORLD TRAVELER ENJOYS OK LIFESTYLE: GILBERT MEDICAL CENTER
by Vickie Jenkins – Writer/Photographer
Meet Meriecha Gaines, LPN in Texas and CMA in Oklahoma, working for Wade T. McCoy, Southwestern in Texas where she received her LPN. She has been working here in Oklahoma for Dr. McCoy for 3 years.
Meriecha is an Army brat and Air Force wife. She has traveled the world throughout her life. She went to school in New York and moved to Germany her junior year. “It was a real culture shock moving around so much but it was worth it,” she said. “I have lived in New York, Arkansas, Texas, Colorado and Germany twice.” “I have traveled so much,” she said. “I have visited 15 countries. The hardest adjustment I had was moving from Germany to Texas; it was so different. I like living in Oklahoma now and the friendly people here,” she commented. “You just don’t see that in other places,” she added. “I’ll have to admit, my favorite place to live was Germany. It’s beautiful there. Germany has a lot of similarities to Oklahoma. The people are friendly there too, like in Oklahoma. When my kids graduate high school, I would love to take them to visit Germany. It would be a real treat for us to visit Germany as a family.”
In your opinion, what makes a good nurse? I ask. “I think a good nurse needs to be caring and compassionate. They need to have a real desire to help others. I think every nurse knows that too,” she said.
Asking Meriecha what her favorite part about her job is, she replied, “Oh, giving shots, I give really good shots. The patient never feels them. I’m good!” she said, laughing. “No, seriously, I think the favorite part of my job is the people that I work with. They are awesome! We all work together, and we are quite the team. I also like seeing the satisfaction of helping a patient. Well, for me, anyway.” She said.
A typical day for Meriecha is seeing about 40 patients a day. “All of us here in the office work as a team and we all do the same jobs. We really work well together. We check in the patients, order labs, give shots, take vitals, and assist the doctor if needed. It makes for a busy day, but I like it that way,” she added.
Meriecha tells me quite the love story of how her and her husband, Marquis reunited after many years apart. “We were friends in New York and he ended up moving to Germany. Both of us went our separate ways and years later, ended up reuniting in Germany again and dating. I went on to college after graduation and he joined the Air Force. We later met again in Texas. That’s when we both heard wedding bells.”
Did anyone influence you to become a nurse? I ask Meriecha. “Yes, as a matter of fact, there was one very important nurse that influenced me and my life. When my son was 5 years old, he was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, later having open heart surgery at age 9. I admired the nurse that found the issue, she took care of him, never giving up on him. It was at that time, I knew that I wanted to always be there for my son. I wanted to be an advocate for him. And I was!”
My son, Javon is doing well now. He is 12 years old and loves to play basketball. He is playing on a travel team. I love to watch him compete. Our next big stop is Vegas. My daughter, Aleena, is 11 and she plays on a competitive team too. Most of my spare time is watching them compete,” she commented.Wade T. McCoy’s M.D. is located in the Gilbert Medical Center, located at 7530 N.W. 23rd St. Bethany, OK 73008.
– Nursing Program Coordinator-Durant Campus
– Nursing Faculty/Simulation Coordinator-Durant Campus
– Nursing Faculty-Ada Campus
East Central University School of Nursing is seeking a full-time Program Coordinator. Coordinator responsibilities include assisting the Director in the management and basic administration of the program at the Durant campus. This position is classified as faculty, is 12-month and generated 0.75 FTE for program coordinator and 0.25 FTE for faculty teaching. and a full-time nursing faculty/simulation coordinator on the Durant Campus; and a full-time faculty on the Ada campus. Also ECU is seeking to fill two 10-month, full-time faculty positions, at Durant and Ada campuses, respectively. Activities required of all faculty in the School of Nursing include innovative teaching in classroom, laboratory, clinical and simulation settings; curriculum planning, implementation, and evaluation; student advising; recruitment and retention activities; service to the department, college, university, and community. Simulation coordinating involves planning, developing, maintaining, and effectively implementing learning activities in the nursing simulation laboratory to provide students with
quality instruction and a safe learning environment. Qualifications: Unencumbered RN license in practice state. Masters in nursing required and 2 years clinical experience, preferably in med/surg, critical care, or other acute care clinical area. Doctorate in nursing preferred. Experience in nursing clinical simulation, experience with integrated technology systems and tools and/or nursing education is preferred. To apply view full-ads at: https://www.ecok.edu/administration-and- finance/employment-services/job-opportunities
