Nurse teachers continue working to make a difference
Every morning, Houston’s workforce awakens and gets ready to go to work. Among them are more and more baby boomers who have ignored their parent’s example of retiring at age 65.
No one’s lining up to get their gold watches here. In fact, the average retirement age in the U.S. has risen steadily in the past 20 years and is likely to extend even further. Close to half (49 percent) of boomers (the youngest will turn 50 this year, the oldest 70) are still working, and one in 10 predicts they will never retire.
Some boomers — especially educators — say as long as they have their health and remain relevant in their fields, they plan to continue to teach, which is fortunate for tomorrow’s workforce, and especially nurses, where shortages continue to plague nursing faculties.
Patricia Handley, BSN, RN, has been teaching in the nursing program at Lone Star College at Tomball the last 13 years and recently was the recipient of the coveted Good Samaritan Foundation’s Award. After graduating from Magnolia High School in 1959, she began thinking about a career in nursing as a 20-something employee at Texas Instruments.
“My cousin, who was slightly older, had been studying nursing, but was dismissed from nursing school because you couldn’t be married and a student,” Handley said. “My job at TI, mostly filing in the marketing department, was not meaningful to me, but I enrolled in the Hermann Hospital School of Nursing, where I was capped and pinned after earning my Licensed Vocational Nurse. “My first job was in the original Hermann Hospital, a building with Spanish architecture, where I worked in the Coronary Care Unit.”
Her love of nursing led her to go on to earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) at Houston Baptist University School of Nursing and her Master of Science in Nursing at Texas Woman’s University.
Handley has always been a woman of deep faith with a belief she could help her fellow man best in the hospital, where so many are most vulnerable.
“Plus, I always have loved learning,” she said.
Handley continues to work in order to help her disabled child, but more than that, she said she loves sharing her experience with and working with students.
“We have older students who have always wanted to be nurses and it’s a joy to see them reach their goals. I see many nurses go on from Certified Nursing Assistant to Licensed Vocational Nurses to RN,” she said,
“so they absolutely know patient care, from the ground up, and that’s exciting. Moreover, I can relate to these students and the difficulties they’re going through.”
Does teaching get into your blood?
“Absolutely,” she said, “and I look forward to going to work every day.”
Becky Shuttlesworth, BSN, RN, a stimulation coordinator for the nursing program at San Jacinto College, has been a nurse since earning her nursing degree from TWU in 1974.
“My mother was a nurse during WWII in England,” she said. “I also wanted to be in a caring profession, as did my sisters.”
Celebrating her 65th birthday in less than two weeks, Shuttlesworth said she doesn’t feel like she’s 65.
“I began nursing in the hospital before going to Tanzania and working there as a mission nurse, which seems like yesterday,” she said.
She also works as a precept, training new graduates and getting them ready to take patients on their own. “I love it,” she said. She started teaching in the late 1980s, thanks to an ad in the newspaper.
“Because they revamped San Jacinto’s program, that job went away, but I started thinking about returning to the classroom and took another position in January 1991, and I’ve been there ever since,” she said.
“I can’t think of anything else I want to do,” she said. “Being involved in a person’s education, the pleasure of seeing the light bulb when the student masters the skill. There’s nothing better than having a hand in helping students reach their goals.”
Then she said: “Nursing is unique in that it’s not a job. It’s a calling. It feeds your soul. You’re helping someone (the patient and their family) during a difficult time. They need you — you’re their advocate. It’s an important part to play in that person’s life. Nurses truly can make a difference.”
Shuttlesworth said both she and her husband have taken good care of each other.
“I plan to work into my 70s. I’m in no real hurry to stop — and nobody’s asking me to stop,” she said.