National Nurses Week is celebrated annually from May 6 – 12, but this year, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s especially important to recognize our nurses for the care they provide patients and their contributions to the mission of Baylor College of Medicine.

“From nurses working in our Baylor Medicine clinics to the group of nurses working daily in the Incident Command Center on Baylor’s response to the pandemic, these health professionals represent a vital part of the healthcare team. In fact, survey data has shown that the only person people trust more than their doctor is their nurse,” said Dr. James McDeavitt, senior vice president and dean of clinical affairs.

This year, one Baylor nurse, Stoney Snider, was selected as one the Top 15 nurses in the Houston area in the Houston Chronicle’s Salute to Nurses program. Three others, Christine Hunter, Kelli Leake and Jennifer Mauney, were selected among the Top 150 local nurses. Learn more about them below.

Stoney Snider, B.S.N
Lead registered nurse in the Transition Medicine Clinic, which serves as a medical home for adults with special needs

What made you decide to become a nurse?
I had a somewhat unconventional route to nursing, as I actually first got a bachelor’s degree before pursuing nursing. When graduating, I still was not sure what I wanted to do, mainly because I had so many different passions. For example, my faith is very important to me so I considered ministry. I also am interested in mental health, and love teaching. So when I researched what the nursing profession entailed, I quickly realized that I could include all of my different passions all in this one career. After realizing that, I knew right away that nursing was what I wanted to do!

What is your educational background?
Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Baylor University; B.S.N from University of Houston – Sugarland

How long have you worked at BCM?
Almost 4 years!

What is the best thing about being a nurse?
Having an opportunity daily to help improve someone’s situation from a medical perspective, but also from a relational perspective. I feel that nurses are in a unique position to not only provide direct medical care for a patient, but also to be a listening ear, an advocate and, in turn, an opportunity to provide a friendship.

What is the most challenging aspect of being a nurse?
Seeing that some patients face a lifetime of daily hardships due to their medical condition

How have you been dealing with the COVID-19 crisis in your area?
Day by day! The situation changes daily, so I’m doing my best to stay up to date from a professional aspect as a healthcare provider, as well as do my part as a Houstonian in the community to help decrease the spread. I also have recently volunteered to assist as a tester at the drive-through testing site here at Baylor.

What is your favorite thing about working at BCM and in your particular clinic and/or department?
Hands down, my patients and my team. My team is supportive, cohesive and truly cares about promoting the best health and well-being for our patients and their caregivers. I have never been part of a multidisciplinary team that works as well together as our team, and I am blessed to work with them! I also believe I get to work with the most amazing patients and their families who inspire me daily. Seeing the challenges they face on daily basis due to their medical conditions has given me a perspective on life that I would have never understood in any other work setting. This perspective has truly changed my life for the better, and I am thankful every day to get to be a part of their care!

What would you tell a young person considering nursing?
I would tell them, “Do it!” Nursing really does provide someone with so many different types of practice and opportunities, all of which I believe are rewarding, and isn’t that what everyone aspires to have out of a career at the end of the day?

---

Christine Hunter, B.S.N.
Director of Clinical Research
Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Clinic
Department of Neurology

What made you decide to become a nurse?
My aunt was a nurse, and it was something I wanted to do since childhood.

What is your nursing educational background?
I earned an Associate’s Degree in Nursing and then completed a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

How long have you worked at BCM?
More than 30 years.

What is the best thing about being a nurse?
Our patients are the best. Nursing is a very diverse career with so many opportunities. As a research nurse, it is very exciting to see medications or therapies that we studied move into the care realm and know that patients are receiving them because of our small part in the studies.

What is the most challenging aspect of being a nurse?
Our patients can be challenging, because sometimes there is not much we can offer but support. This can be frustrating.

How have you been dealing with the COVID-19 crisis in your area?
We are seeing research patients as directed per protocol but many visits have been transitioned to phone or video encounters. Observational studies are continuing virtually but in some interventional trials, we have to see the patient for infusions or drug dispensing activities and safety monitoring. We have put on hold may other research activities until we can resume them safely.

What is your favorite thing about working at BCM and in your particular clinic and/or department?
Our patients. But also the faculty, staff and trainees/fellows that I have had the pleasure to work with over many years. Our team has some of the nation’s finest movement disorder specialists, and many of the “trainees/fellows are rising stars in their universities and communities. I have had the privilege of being mentored here at BCM by Dr. Joseph Jankovic who is a world renowned movement disorder specialist. I am very blessed and have had many opportunities for growth in my career.

What would you tell a young person considering nursing as a career?
Do it! Nursing is very diverse and there are so many opportunities – hospital nursing, research nursing, nurse practitioner, nurse anesthetists, legal field, home health, large university hospital systems, community systems just to list a few. Nurses are needed everywhere. You will not be disappointed.

---

Kelli Leake, B.S.N., M.S.N
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women

What made you decide to become a nurse?
I always had the desire to go into the medical field. When I was 14 years old I volunteered as a candy striper at a local hospital. It was really working close with the nurses and seeing their role and how they cared for patients that lead me to make nursing my career. This year makes 25 years in the nursing profession for me!

What is your nursing educational background?
I completed my Bachelor of Science in Nursing at UT Health Science Center School of Nursing in Houston in 1995 and my Master of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner at Texas Woman’s University in Houston in 2001.

How long have you worked at BCM?
I started in 2005 at the Baylor Teen Health Clinic and moved to Baylor’s obstetrics and gynecology clinic in 2007 where I currently work.

What is the best thing about being a nurse?
Sometimes you are present for the absolute worst time in someone’s life, or the happiest time, or sometimes just the final minutes of someone’s life. But the loving care nurses provide make a lasting impact on the life of that patient. I feel very honored that patients put their trust into me to provide their healthcare.

What is the most challenging aspect of being a nurse?
I think right now in this time of a worldwide pandemic creating a crisis in healthcare, nursing has moved into the immediate spotlight of some of the healthcare workers on the front line caring for these patients. Every nurse moved into their profession with a passion and dedication of caring for patients, but I think few nurses ever imagined working during a health crisis of this magnitude with a disease that could potentially take their own life. I don’t work on the immediate front lines caring for patients with Covid-19, but I can tell you that I am filled with a great pride and appreciation for my profession and for those nurses that are working on the front lines, literally risking their lives going to work every day.

How have you been dealing with the COVID-19 crisis in your area?
We had to make some rapid changes to adapt how we care for our patients with the onset of the pandemic. We are now seeing a fraction of our patients in clinic and using telehealth and a drive-through clinic to help provide visits for our patients.

What is your favorite thing about working at BCM and in your particular clinic and/or department?
We have a great sense of team work in our office.

What would you tell a young person considering nursing as a career?
The world will always need nurses. No matter what advances in technology that may come about, nothing can ever replace or replicate the human aspect to nursing care.

---

Jennifer Mauney, B.S.N., M.S.N.
Instructor, Department of Pediatrics – Critical Care Medicine
Advanced Practice Provider, Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Texas Children’s Hospital

What made you decide to become a nurse?
I am the first nurse in my family. My grandmother’s and mother’s battles with cancer during my childhood inspired me to be in a career where the gift of helping people is foundational. In my undergraduate studies I had an amazing course, “Dance in Medicine,” which allowed me to work with hospitalized patients and facilitate holistic care through art. That experience with patients and healthcare providers gave me incredible insight into the impact of nursing. Years later, after practicing as a register nurse in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in Florida, I was again inspired and encouraged by fellow intensivists and nurse practitioners to train to be an acute care pediatric nurse practitioner.

What is your nursing educational background?
I earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Florida State University. Later, I attended Duke University for my Master of Science in Nursing with the specialty of Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. I’m currently in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program at Duke.

How long have you worked at BCM?
I have worked at BCM for 9 years.

What is the best thing about being a nurse?
Providing care as part of a multidisciplinary team is one of the best things about being a nurse practitioner. The nurse practitioner role has so many engaging and complex layers – patient management, education, quality improvement, advocacy, research, leadership, and a never-ending learning mindset. here are limitless opportunities to grow and to serve the community within this lifetime career.

What is the most challenging aspect of being a nurse?
One of the most challenging parts of being a nurse practitioner is balance. Like all of my fellow healthcare colleagues, I recognize there can be a struggle with burnout. I think the ongoing national conversations and the focus in teaching health professional students about resiliency and career mentorship are incredibly important to help address these challenges.

How have you been dealing with the COVID-19 crisis in your area?
This has truly been a surreal time for our community, our colleagues, and our patients and their families. Within the CICU we have addressed the challenge of newly structured patient care rounds with a focus on maintaining the multidisciplinary and family-centered approach, social distancing, efficiency and navigating new technologies. Working during these times of crisis highlights the ingenuity, dedication, and flexibility of our teams and the importance of each individual team member.

What is your favorite thing about working at BCM and in your particular clinic and/or department?
It’s hard to pick a favorite. The patients and their families are amazing! Their determination, love and advocacy are both humbling and inspiring. They are always teaching me, and they don’t even know it. Then, there are the truly remarkable and dedicated colleagues I have the privilege to work with every day. Everyone’s commitment to these patients, their families, students, trainees, innovation and to each other’s successes exemplifies the mission of the college.

What would you tell a young person considering nursing as a career?
A career in nursing is an incredible life of service filled with endless opportunities and a lifetime of learning. It is a career where you will have the privilege to help people in both their most difficult and most joyous hours of life. It is a career in which you will grow and change. It is a career that is completely worth it!