A nurse’s precious memory leads her to change lives

Letecia Jones, a staff nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, carries a distinct, poignant memory of the day she knew she would become a nurse. In caring for her son, Keith, who was born with an immune deficiency with complications that would take his life at age 9, Jones had already gone through on-the-job training that no parent wants, but that parents of sick children must master.

“The doctors and nurses who took care of Keith would say to me, ‘You should go to nursing school,’” Jones recalls. At the time she didn’t believe that a nursing career was within reach. “No one in my family had gone to college and I never thought I could do that.”

Keith changed her mind not long before he died. “One day when he was in the hospital and needed something I said, ‘Let me go get your nurse.’ He looked at me and asked, ‘Why don’t you just be my nurse?’” Jones says she stared at her son in shock and said, “You think I could be your nurse?” Her son’s answer was decisive: “Yes, you are my nurse.”

From patient care tech to nurse to nurse practitioner

Her son’s faith in her spurred Jones to begin her career as a patient care technician at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. “The goal was always for me to be a nurse,” she says. She went on to earn her nursing degree from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville with help from the tuition reimbursement BJC HealthCare provides. A nurse for the last six years, Jones cares for fragile babies in the neonatal intensive care unit.

However, Jones didn’t stop after becoming a registered nurse. On May 13 of this year, she will receive her master’s degree in nursing from the University of Missouri, Kansas City and will become a neonatal nurse practitioner. The master’s program is “tough,” she says, but she persevered so she can be more engaged in her patients’ medical decisions. 

Firsthand understanding

Every day, Jones brings keen empathy and compassion to her role as a nurse. “I’m a nurse, but I’m also a parent who has been through my own son’s illness,” she says. “I understand the grief and guilt parents feel. I listen to them and let them know that what they’re feeling is normal.” For Jones, her work is not only her professional commitment and passion but her deeply personal way of honoring her son’s memory.

Joyous outcomes

The best part of nursing is helping sick babies and their parents achieve good outcomes, Jones says. She described caring for twins born at 22 weeks who were patients in the neonatal intensive care unit for months. So intense was her desire to help these twins and their family that she often worked seven days a week to help take care of the babies. “I picked up so many extra shifts so I could be there for the twins and their parents,” Jones says. The day the twins were discharged from the hospital, Jones felt the spark of joy ignited by helping patients get well.

A team that’s like family

Jones calls her nursing team “a little mini-family.” Her team’s generosity and support helped her complete her graduate degree, with colleagues who were willing to trade shifts to accommodate her exam schedule.

The importance of mentors

For new nurses starting out, Jones stressed the value of having mentors to help guide the way, a role she intends to play for new nurses from the Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing.

A changed life

“Nursing has changed my life,” Jones says. BJC HealthCare provided tuition reimbursement while she earned both of her degrees, a contribution she says was invaluable to her success. “BJC really supports you through your journey and makes a way for you to improve your life. I’m one of many firsts in my family, not only the first to go to college, but also the first to go to graduate school, buy a home and travel the world.”

For more information on BJC HealthCare, visit bjcopportunity.org.  

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