MORGAN MCCALL
BSN, RN, CHPN
Morgan McCall, the clinical coordinator for the palliative care program of LTC Health Solutions, had no idea she wanted to be a nurse when she was in college at Charleston Southern University, let alone to eventually work in hospice and palliative care.“I was an undeclared major,” she said. “After two years of college, I went to my career advisor, and all I knew was that I wanted to help people, so I gave nursing a try.”She felt it was a calling when she was one of 40 accepted into the program out of 120 who applied. Working in hospice also came to her as a “sign.” A family member of hers was battling a disease, and, on the morning that the family member passed, she got a call from Agape Hospice asking if she would like to interview with them. After working there for three years, she transitioned to palliative care.“I now work with patients earlier in their disease process,” she said. “There are no words to describe the countless interactions I have had over the past five years. I am grateful to have been blessed with the opportunity to work with each and every one.”
SUSAN D. NEWMAN
Ph.D, RN, CRRN
It was serendipitous for Dr. Susan D. Newman to end up in the specialty of rehabilitation as a nurse.“When I graduated, hospital positions were scarce,” she said. “There was an opening at the Roper Rehabilitation Hospital, so I applied and here I am.”Newman grew to love working in rehabilitation, especially working with people who had spinal cord injuries.“The whole focus of our practice is to help people regain their maximum independence after a disabling health event or injury so they can continue to live full and productive lives,” she said.Currently, Newman is an associate professor in the Ph.D program at MUSC’s College of Nursing. She focuses her research on developing interventions to optimize the health and independence of people with spinal cord injuries.Newman advised new nurses to “be curious.” She said, “Understand why we do the things we do as nurses. Seek out the evidence that informs our practice. This is what led me into a career in research – I wanted to understand what interventions would best help people with spinal cord injury.”
ANNEMARIE SIPKES DONATO
DNP, APRN, FNP-BC
As a family nurse practitioner with LTC Health Solutions and Agape Hospice, Annemarie Sipkes Donato really gets to know her patients personally, and that is her favorite part of being a nurse. “Compassionate care of patients and their families in their home is very rewarding to me,” she said.Donato just returned to working fulltime as a nurse after teaching at MUSC for 20 years. “I always taught my students to treat their patients as they would want to be treated,” she said. “I also always encouraged them to really study where they wanted to work as a nurse. There are many different areas and so many new opportunities to seek.”She also said that being open-minded about all the different areas of nursing will lead to success in the specialty they choose.For Donato, hospice was definitely the specialty that became her passion.“Having the opportunity to see patients in their homes inspires me to give the best care possible so that patients and their families have the resources available to them to live the best quality of life,” she said.
BERRY S. ANDERSON
Ph.D, RN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
Berry S. Anderson realized his passion for psychiatric nursing during his last semester of nursing school. A mentor led him down the path of psychiatry, and he began his career as a staff nurse over 20 years ago at the Institute of Psychiatry at MUSC. He now teaches nursing at MUSC and works as a research nurse manager in the Brain Stimulation Laboratory.“Now, I get to combine my passion for teaching psychiatric nursing with my passion for research,” he said.Anderson’s research focuses on the use of brain stimulation technologies to understand brain function and treat psychiatric disorders. He has conducted many professional brain stimulation presentations, most notably at the International Society of Neurostimulation and the American Psychiatric Nurses Association.Anderson’s advice to anyone thinking of becoming a nurse is, “Take a chance and work outside of your comfort zone. Don’t follow the herd – be yourself.”
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