When she walked in the doors at JPS Health Network 17 years ago as an LVN, Yolanda Contreras wasn’t sure she was going to be able to cut it as a nurse.
Today, Contreras is not only an experience and invaluable caregiver, she has risen through the ranks to serve as the Intensive Care Unit Clinical Mentor at JPS. The student has become the teacher, and Contreras is in charge of teaching new nurses what it means to care for patients whose lives hang in the balance.
“I was 20 when I started and I remember the first thing I thought when I reported for my first shift was that I was in way over my head,” Contreras said. “It was very intimidating. Still, somehow, I knew I was going to love it.”
It's an honor to teach nurses to do things the JPS way like other nurses taught me."
Yolanda’s path to nursing began when she was working at a nursing home as a housekeeper. A friend who was an experienced nurse saw her work habits and the way she interacted with people and became convinced Contreras had a career in scrubs ahead of her.
“It seemed a little scary. But it made me very excited,” Contreras said. “It definitely seemed like something I needed to pursue.”
When she arrived at JPS, Contreras didn’t know what to expect. She was only 20 years old and most of the people she worked with were about 10 years older than her.
“I was worried they would think I was too young,” Contreras said. “But they really mentored me and taught me how to be a nurse at JPS. They’ve been my best support system, like family, and they’ve shown me everything I’ve needed to know.”
Her path started on the 11th floor of the patient tower. It led to Telemetry, then to the Emergency Department which Contreras called a “life-changing” move.
“Working in the ED really showed me that I could handle whatever came my way,” Contreras said. “I never thought when I started working here that I would be good enough to work in the ICU. Now I have the responsibility of being part of the leadership team. Working here has been an incredible opportunity.”
Critical Care RN Nathan Welbourne is one of Yolanda’s young nurses in the ICU. He said he can see how well she was trained by her predecessors, because Contreras is now passing on all the knowledge she soaked up over the years to him.
“I started with her as a tech and transitioned to be a nurse,” Welbourne said. “She’s really my work mom. She looks out for me. She is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. But she’s not afraid to really get in there and do the hardest parts of the job… To go tell the family when there is bad news or to advocate for patients to the doctor. She’s taught me so much, I can’t thank her enough.”
Contreras said she finds mentoring young nurses to be every bit as rewarding and exciting as it was to be a young nurse herself.
While her career has been filled with opportunities to advance, she’s remarkably content to continue what she’s doing now into the foreseeable future. Contreras said, although she’s been at JPS for close to two decades, she still has a lot to give.
“This is really the place for me,” Yolanda said. “It’s an honor to teach nurses the JPS way to do things like other nurses taught me.”