Nursing: A career that rewards

I did not know from an early age that I would become a nurse. I grew up in the small town of California, Mo. I worked in a nursing home kitchen as a teenager.  I saw the Certified Nursing Assistants feed and care for patients in the dining room and realized I wanted to do more. I soon pursued my CNA and worked under an LPN who oversaw all the care in the nursing home. Verna, the LPN who provided oversight for the care of all the patients, made an impression upon me, especially when patients became ill and needed medical treatment.

As I finished high school my mother said to me, “Why don’t you become a nurse?”  Off to Kansas City I went. I attended Avila College where I obtained my BSN and started my career at Truman Medical Center.

At TMC, I was given the opportunity at my first nursing leadership position, providing oversight for two nursing units. I remember the immediate reward and recognition we received when patients and their families expressed gratitude for the care we delivered. I believed then, as I do now, that in leadership we can effect a greater population of patients than just the patients we are caring for and make a greater impact on nursing and how care is delivered. 

I went back to school at UMKC to pursue my Master’s in Nursing even though I did not know if I wanted to continue in the administrative track or on the clinician side as a Clinical Nurse Specialist. During this time, I was recruited to Research Medical Center where I continued leadership in many different departments and eventually became a director of nursing.  Lee’s Summit Medical Center recruited me to become a director of nursing and eventually the chief nursing officer. I followed the chief executive officer from Lee’s SummitCenterpoint Medical Center in March 2008. to

As I reflect back over the last 22 years, I am so proud to be a nurse.

Nursing is one of the most respected careers, with the public putting much faith in our profession. To me, it has been a very personally rewarding career. I am continually thankful for the opportunity to serve our patients, their families and our community. 

In my current role as chief nursing officer at Centerpoint Medical Center, I take pride in the nurses who provide excellent care to our patients and their families everyday. There have been so many changes in health care with increasing technological advances in care and advancements in evidence-based care. Nursing will continue to advance providing high quality, high touch care assisting our patients and families to navigate through the health care system. 

Lynn Barrett, RN, serves as chief nursing officer at Centerpoint Medical Center.

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