{"id":47402,"date":"1998-12-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1998-12-18T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/1998\/12\/18\/omahan-fulfills-dream-to-be-a-nurse-after-21-years\/"},"modified":"2022-08-29T10:59:31","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T15:59:31","slug":"omahan-fulfills-dream-to-be-a-nurse-after-21-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/1998\/12\/18\/omahan-fulfills-dream-to-be-a-nurse-after-21-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Omahan Fulfills Dream to be a Nurse After 21 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/FONT><\/B><\/p>\n

Its been 21 years, but her dream of being a nurse is now a reality.<\/p>\n

JoPhena Simpson, 35, graduated from the University of Nebraska Medical<\/p>\n

Center College of Nursing Dec. 18.<\/p>\n

She can tell you the defining moment in her life when she decided she<\/p>\n

wanted to be a nurse.<\/p>\n

She was 14-years-old at home with her newborn son when a visiting nurse<\/p>\n

came to her house. The nurse, whose name she cant remember, came to visit<\/p>\n

her and gave her a complimentary layette for her son, who is now 21.<\/p>\n

She didnt treat me differently or talk down to me just because I was<\/p>\n

young, Simpson said. The way she treated methat was when I made my decision<\/p>\n

to be a nurse and the type of nurse I wanted to be. I was just impressedthe<\/p>\n

way she treated me with respect.<\/p>\n

After graduating from high school in a first-step toward her professional<\/p>\n

goals, she earned a medical assistant diploma in 1983 from the Nebraska<\/p>\n

College of Business. A couple of years later, she was considering going<\/p>\n

to nursing school but was talked out of it. She also was frightened about<\/p>\n

the new discovery of AIDS and what that may mean to her as a health care<\/p>\n

provider.<\/p>\n

So, she began doing clerical work. But nursing was always in the back<\/p>\n

of her mind. Finally, in 1992, she decided to pursue her dream. She applied<\/p>\n

to and was accepted at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, which is where<\/p>\n

she began coursework to eventually attend UNMC to earn a bachelors of<\/p>\n

science degree in nursing.<\/p>\n

Things were rolling along, but life got in the way.<\/p>\n

In 1995, she got divorced and became a single mother of three children,<\/p>\n

ages 17, 13 and 10. She also entered the UNMC College of Nursing.<\/p>\n

As if life wasnt challenging enough, Simpson suffered losses of family<\/p>\n

members.<\/p>\n

During one semester, her brother got sick, and then her father died.<\/p>\n

In the summer, her grandmother and brother passed away.<\/p>\n

 I think these obstacles in my path were my determination to get<\/p>\n

through school, Simpson said. How I got through was by the grace of God.<\/p>\n

He helped me. I was so determined to finish.<\/p>\n

While she was going through school, she also worked part time for the<\/p>\n

Visiting Nurse Association during the week and weekends and then full time<\/p>\n

in the summer.<\/p>\n

Its been a long haul. I feel wonderful. Im almost in shock that I<\/p>\n

can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, she said.<\/p>\n


 UNMC College of Nursing Professor Mary McNamee, Ph.D., said Simpson<\/p>\n

is a mild-mannered, concerned, caring person. Simpson currently works part<\/p>\n

time for the VNA at the Hospice House.<\/p>\n

If you were a hospice patient, you would love to be cared for by JoPhena,<\/p>\n

Dr. McNamee said. She will make an excellent nurse.<\/p>\n

With many challenges behind her Simpson is ready to give the kind of<\/p>\n

care that was given her 21 years ago.<\/p>\n

I think its very important that nurses talk with patients, she said.<\/p>\n

Plenty of time is spent trying to get the patient well, but I think that<\/p>\n

it helps the patient feel better when the nurse can spend some time talking<\/p>\n

with them.<\/p>\n

UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the state. <\/p>\n

Through its commitment to research, education and patient care, UNMC has<\/p>\n

established itself as one of the country’s leading centers for cancer research<\/p>\n

and treatment and solid organ transplantation.  More than $34 million<\/p>\n

in research grants and contracts are awarded to UNMC scientists annually. <\/p>\n

In addition, UNMC’s educational programs are responsible for training more<\/p>\n

health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution.<\/p>\n


 <\/p>\nCHDAgnbuJ dsERmAGe Tg<\/a><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Its been 21 years, but her dream of being a nurse is now a reality. JoPhena Simpson, 35, graduated from the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing Dec. 18. She can tell you the defining moment in her life when she decided she wanted to be a nurse. She was 14-years-old at home […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","department-press-release"],"yoast_head":"\nOmahan Fulfills Dream to be a Nurse After 21 Years<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Its been 21 years, but her dream of being a nurse is now a reality. 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