Striving for Excellence

by Vickie Jenkins, Staff Writer

Northwest Surgical Hospital is where you will find a team of excellent doctors and outstanding nurses. From orthopedic surgery, joint replacement to reconstruction, you will be in good hands. A nice-sized hospital that is conveniently located at 9204 North May Ave. Oklahoma City, OK.
Meet Dusty Ervin, RN and Director of Nursing who is a caring individual who enjoys her job. With a cheerful smile, she begins to tell me about herself.
Growing up in Luther, OK, Dusty enjoyed her childhood and always knew she would grow up to be a nurse. It must have been that natural TLC that she had as her compassion grew and she decided to carry it a little farther. “It was definitely my calling to be a nurse,” she said.
Dusty was a nurse at Orthopedic Associates, an ambulatory Surgery Center, where she worked for 19 years. “I decided I would move to more of a management positon, so I came here to Northwest Surgical Hospital a few months ago. Orthopedic Associates was a small surgery center and I think this hospital is equivalent in size, which I like. I’ve had a lot of experience in the medical field, including business management. Right now, I am happy to focus on the employees and the patients. I want to put my nursing and business skills together.”
In your opinion, what makes a good nurse? “I think a nurse should have plenty of compassion, be respectable, honest and caring,” Dusty replied.
When I asked Dusty to describe herself, she replied, “Let’s see…I have a lot of compassion for others. I am a patient person and I strive for excellence in everything I set out to do,” Dusty commented. “We have something that we call the Value System and I like to instill that in every nurse. It’s called, Cares Values. C-Compassion is required A-Attitude is valued R- Respect is demanded E-Excellence is expected S-Service is commended. I like for our nurses to embody that value system and pass it on to our patients,” she replied.
“As far as the employees go, we have a wonderful group of employees. We have 8 excellent doctors that come here consistently, outstanding nurses, a Paramedic and a Patient Care Tech. The hospital has 3 operating rooms and 9 inpatient beds, 2 Pre-op rooms and 2 PACU. This hospital is quaint and a really nice place; the patients get kind of a boutique care or so they say. The patients seem to like it better than a big hospital,” Dusty commented.
Dusty’s hobbies include shopping, hanging out with her friends, and running, but most of all, she likes spending time with her kids. “I also ran in the Memorial Marathon this last year. I really like to donate my time for worthy causes like that,” she said. As far as pets, her family is the proud owners of three Schnauzers and one Lab. “That’s a little bit of a hobby,” she added.
One of Dusty’s qualities about herself is the fact that she is a very honest person. “I also have a sense of humor. I think anyone in the medical field should have a sense of humor. It makes things go a little smoother,” she said. “Well, it does for me anyway.”
Commenting on advice for someone going into the medical field, Dusty said, “I would tell them to just have some compassion for others, be able to work as a team, get along with everyone, be caring and don’t be afraid to form a solid relationship with your coworkers.”
Dusty’s typical day keeps her busy. “I’m in charge of all the nurses, their work schedules, scheduling the doctors for surgeries and just making sure everything is running smoothly. Even though this is a small hospital, we are always busy,” she said. “Of course, team work is so important around here and we all work together.”
Is there anything interesting that you would like to share about yourself? I ask. “Well, my husband is a nurse too. In fact, he is the Director of Surgical Services at the North Community Campus. Technically, we work for the same company. We are both capable of taking care of each other if we get hurt. Our children are really in luck,” she added.
Ending on a little humor, I asked Dusty what her very first job was. She laughed and said, “My very first job was working at Mr. Pizza in Harrah, OK. They don’t even exist now!”