Page 31 - University of Martland Nursing Forum - Winter 2017

“I get very excited about working with students who don’t know about nursing and helping them learn.”
Davenport reviews correct responses to an examination with students in her undergraduate NURS 414: Complex Nursing Care of Comorbid Conditions class.
the transition of one to another,” she says. “The excitement of caring for patients and families, of being a part of a really fast-paced environment one day a week, is very fulfilling. ... Being in the hospital, in the MICU, for part of my job allows me to stay in touch with what I love most about nursing: the patient care.” In fact, Davenport says that “registered nurse”
is her favorite title; she includes it before her PhD in her signature line because she says she’s “putting my most important credential first.”
Davenport says she also enjoys the great variety of background experiences she encounters in her students. “I get very excited about working with students
who don’t know about nursing and helping them learn, and I have an opportunity to work with nurses who have been at it for
a fairly long time and are working their way through their doctoral education,” she says. “I get to watch them as they mature and reach new heights in their profession. It’s so incredibly rewarding.”
Even in her role at UMMC, Davenport teaches. Her efforts range from what she calls “tap dances,” informal mini-lectures that might arise from a discussion about a particular patient, to lectures for large groups of recently hired MICU nurses. And her colleagues have recognized her effectiveness at doing so; in May, she won
the UMMC School of Nursing Colleague Award for excellence as a mentor
and educator—and at the same awards ceremony, the hospital’s MICU won
the coveted Chief Nursing Officer Award for Team Excellence. Perhaps knowing you’re appreciated takes the edge off
of the long hours and the sometimes grueling work.
“It’s a privilege to still be able to
take care of patients, but it’s incredibly physically challenging,” Davenport says.
“I go home and my feet hurt, my back hurts, I have a headache. I never know when I’m getting lunch. And after all that, it’s still
the best gig in the world.”
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