Teresa was born in Radford, Virginia. Her family relocated to Blountville, Tennessee when she was a year old. She loved growing up in the beautiful rolling hills of East Tennessee. It is a friendly place where people not only know one another but go out of their way to help each other.
“When I was growing up, I wanted to go into medicine, healthcare. I just knew at an early age. As a child, I was fascinated by the body and healthcare and I used to read medical textbooks for fun,” Teresa said with a chuckle. As she grew up, this desire to pursue a career in the medical field only got stronger, though she didn’t know exactly which branch of medicine she wanted to study right away. “I got a scholarship to King as a Chemistry major in 1982. Initially, I was intent on becoming a pediatrician but that changed. It was around that time that I decided that I wanted to be a nurse. Back then, King didn’t yet have a nursing program, so I transferred to ETSU to study nursing and earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing there.”
Teresa, then went out into the workforce and became a trauma nurse. It was during this application of her skills in the real world that Teresa would be challenged like she never imagined possible. It was working these long hours under tremendous stress that her character and leadership would shine through. While out in the field she recognized that changes were necessary and that the practice of nursing was in trouble. But to make any significant impact she felt she needed more education. King University had finally established a nursing program and Teresa decided to return to school for a master’s degree. In 2008 she earned her master’s in nursing from King, did post-grad certificate study through the University of Tennessee, and would earn a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee, also becoming certified as a nurse educator.
“Nursing was for me; it was this part of the medical field that I recognized that there was a lifestyle that would allow me to have a career and a family. The nursing model was a better fit for me. The roles and responsibilities,” Teresa said. During her time as a nurse, she would experience culture within the nursing community that bothered her. Teresa would come to recognize many problems within the profession leading to toxic cultures which were counterproductive to the profession. Many of these problems began in academia, which led her to higher education.
“What has driven me is changing the culture of nursing and healthcare,” Teresa said. “The old-school style of nursing is how I was educated and what I saw when I first entered the field. It was very authoritarian, very hierarchical, you were taught to be obedient, always say yes, never question, never think outside the box and it has led to the current burnout crisis.” Burnout is recognized as a systems issue, leading to emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and personal disengagement (decreased productivity). Her research focus is RESILIENCE, specifically for clinicians and other healthcare workers, to promote professional fulfillment and personal well-being, while mitigating the risk for burnout. Much of her work is built upon the narratives of Holocaust Survivors. She is the author of “Stephens’ Model of Resilience” which is the foundation of RN P.R.E.P. (Personal Resilient Enhancement Plan), her evidence-based program which guides nursing students and nursing professionals through a process described as the “4 P’s of Personal Resilience”. More recently, her work has evolved to focus on the development of RESILIENT TEAMS to collectively address the systems issues within organizations that lead to clinician burnout.
Her goal became not only to be the best nurse that she could be but to be a leader in forging a healthier work and learning environment. My dream is to redefine what it means to be a good nurse. Get away from the old traditions and habits. “I want to promote critical thinking, empower nurses to use their skills confidently in a safer care environment. I want them to be able to practice at the full level of their training. We face opposition from those who are tied to tradition and precedent. Change has been slow in coming to nursing because of the power dynamics often tied to tradition. We are making great progress, however; and I believe we are at the tipping point. As the older generations are retiring, new leadership is moving in, and they aren’t raised under the old models that are now known to be detrimental to workplace culture. The newer nurses are much more innovative and there is a lot of hope, and we are seeing a lot of change. Younger leaders are doing great things if they have the proper infrastructure, redefining what it means to be a good leader and nurse. It is definitely different than how I was taught in the 1980s. We may face continued resistance for a while longer, but I am hopeful because of the increased awareness and initiatives taking place across the U.S., beginning in academia.” Teresa said.
“Following your North Star is something I teach. It means being true to who you are. Doing what is right isn’t always easy, but it is always right. Many years ago, as a trauma nurse, in practice, we had a patient who was brought to us. He was severely impaired. He was homeless and had drug issues. We treated him and made him stable enough to be released. But the reality was that he had nowhere to go. That really bothered me. Where could he go? Would he end up back on the streets, back to doing the same old thing? I paid for him to get a cab to go to the shelter, to the Salvation Army, and to get food. I paid for the Salvation Army to take care of him for a few nights. Several colleagues didn’t like that I became so involved. “Quit caring or you will never survive in this field,” they said.
“Inside I knew that if I quit caring it would be time to leave. It made me uncomfortable that I was shamed. In my eyes, I had done what was right. A few weeks later I was back, working in the trauma ward. A secretary out front called me and said that there was someone there to see me. ‘Who is it?’ I asked. ‘He didn’t give his name,’ the secretary said.” Teresa went out to meet the man. “He looked like a gentleman, very clean and put together. He had a fresh haircut etc,” she said.
“I don’t know if you remember me,” the man began, “but you took care of me a few weeks ago. You paid for me to go to the Salvation Army and get food, you saved my life. While I was recovering, I met Christ. I am a different person now. I have a job and a life, and I have something for you.” The man handed Teresa an envelope. Inside the envelope was money. It was the exact amount of money that she had given the cab driver that night.
“It was God’s way of telling me, follow my moral compass and don’t worry about the criticisms. Listen to God and his nudging. Doing what is right, is always right. That is a story I share with my students. You can always trust that God will always lead you in the right direction,” Teresa said.
Working with clinicians in general Physicians, Social workers, therapists, nurses trying to change the culture. Teresa will keep doing that as long as she can. It is very intense and exhausting work. Currently, Teresa works as the interim Dean of the School of Nursing at King University. She is extremely busy working to change the culture of nursing and healthcare, attending conferences, sharing her ideas as the keynote speaker for thousands in the medical profession across the country. “I am also a consultant. It is work that I enjoy. As for the future. I will let God lead me from here.”