Maurice Turner

Maurice Turner of Springfield, Doctor of Nursing Practice. 

莫里斯在斯普林菲尔德的贝斯特医疗中心的重症监护室担任护士，同时他完成了医学硕士学位 Doctor of Nursing Program at Elms College. He is on track to graduate in May 2024.

多年前，当他决定从事医学事业时，他就开始了一场个人马拉松，现在已经到了最后的冲刺阶段.  他来自牙买加，16岁时来到美国. 高中毕业后，他开始做长途卡车司机. 这意味着要在全国各地穿梭，有时要离家数天甚至数周. “I was making a ton of money but I was homesick. I was always on the road.”

他的姐姐当时是一名执业护士(LPN)，建议他进入护理行业, 告诉他这是一个很好的职业，这个行业需要更多的人. “She planted the seed and I looked into it.“他去学校成为一名护士，很快就在一家养老院找到了工作. Wanting to advance in his career, he returned to school to become a registered nurse, and this led to his employment at Baystate. 他最初是在神经科，治疗中风或脑损伤的人. More recently he transferred to the ICU in 2017. “I really love it,” 他说.

但他仍然渴望推进他的护理教育，并开始考虑回到学校攻读护理实践博士学位. DNP是护理的最高步骤，将允许他作为护士执业者工作.  

But before choosing a DNP program, 他想确保自己在合适的学校上了合适的课程. 他开始向他认识的所有执业护士寻求建议.

“There is a nurse practitioner that I work with. She is by far my favorite. 我喜欢她的知识，以及她总是掌握一切的方式。. “I asked her where she went to school, and s他说 Elms.” 

Many of the others also recommended Elms College. “It always came back to Elms,” 他说.

DNP项目压力很大，但他说他知道这一点. 他说，榆树学院的不同之处在于教师的支持程度. “I do feel supported. 我总是可以发邮件询问发生了什么事. I get good feedback, support, and guidance.”

The classes are small and the faculty do get to know you. He said he is always amazed whenever he talks with Teresa Kuta Reske她提到了他们几个星期和几个月前的一些谈话. 他想知道她怎么能记住这些，但答案很简单，他说.

“You see, it’s small and you get to know each other. They get to know students,” 他说. 

“It’s almost like a family thing. It’s professional but welcoming. They have the support you need to help push you through.”

Once he gets his DNP, he wants to work as a nurse practitioner in primary care, preferably at a neighborhood-based health clinic. “I want to work with minorities. I want to be in the community.”

He said that as a Black man, 他意识到少数族裔患者就诊和被就诊的重要性. “We need more representation.”  For issues of trust and relatability, 对于有色人种社区的病人来说，由看起来像有色人种的医生和护士来治疗是很重要的, 他说.

He tells the story of one patient, a black man in his late 50s, from one of his clinical work as part of his DNP work. For several years, the man would come in for an examination, 每年，医生和护士都会建议他做一次结肠镜检查，以筛查癌症. Each year the man would refuse. 当莫里斯来做年度体检时，一位白人护士把这一切都告诉了他. 他记得她说他会拒绝，但莫里斯无论如何都应该问问结肠镜检查的事.

当他向那个人建议这个程序时，他问他是否有必要. Maurice said the test was the best way to screen for cancer, 黑人男性结肠癌的死亡率高于其他人群, 主要是因为他们倾向于推迟检查，直到发现癌症并开始治疗时为时已晚. The man agreed to have a colonoscopy.

他说，他在临床试验中的经历再次证明，他做出了正确的选择，一个人在正确的情况下可以对其他人的生活产生深远的影响.

“我在诊所里看到的东西巩固了我的想法，”他说.

“That’s my goal; that’s my passion.