Second calling

For many people who decide to change careers and become nurses, the decision isn't difficult. Returning to school, studying and doing clinical service are overcome by the willingness to work in a meaningful career.

"Nursing is what I was called to do," said Dennis Jones, health community preparedness director for the Georgia Division of Public Health, based in Atlanta. "I felt called to care for people."

In his first careers, Jones, RN, BSN, started and sold three companies in diverse fields: computer software, real estate and video rental. He even studied for a semester at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur during his search for more meaning.

"It just wasn't quite where I felt I needed to be," he said.

Jones' wife, Nena, had finished her master's degree in nursing at Emory University.

"We even talked about doing medical missionary work, and I have a brother who's a missionary in South Africa," he said. "We often do missionary trips with our church (Hickory Flats United Methodist in Cherokee County)."

Jones turned to nursing. In the early 1990s he received his associate degree as a registered nurse, then — while working at Piedmont Hospital — he earned his Bachelor of Science in nursing in 1997.

A move into management in the emergency department at Piedmont allowed Jones to bring his business expertise to the table, but, when he had an accident at home, his life changed.

"I tell people that I literally fell into the job I have now, because when I fell off the roof at home, my injuries kept me bedridden for six months," Jones said. "During my recuperation, I was asked to create the hospital disaster plan, and I've been in disaster planning ever since."

Jones' work led him to consult with hospitals across the state, and, after Sept. 11, 2001, his experience in disaster planning was in great demand. He was hired by the Georgia Department of Human Resources, Division of Public Health, in September 2002, chiefly to manage disaster planning. He's one of nearly 60 professionals in the nation who specialize in hospital preparedness for disasters.

"The Georgia program was much like a startup company," he said. "I was the first one on staff, and now we have 13 people in the organizational chart. It's obvious that everything I've done in my career has led me to where I am today."

Natural transition

Sonya Willard, who will graduate from the Medical College of Georgia's nursing program at the Athens campus this month with a Bachelor of Science in nursing, worked in administrative support and finance jobs until she was in her early 30s.

"I wanted to do more, and my children were old enough so that I could go back to school," she said. "I did lots of research to find out what area of nursing I wanted to pursue, and direct patient care kept coming to the top of the list."

Willard did her clinical studies at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville and is working in the hospital's intensive care unit.

"Nursing is a natural for me," Willard said.

She's become involved in nursing organizations and serves on the board of the Georgia Student Nurses Association.

"Nursing has changed my life and opened many doors for me," she said. "I've traveled to many foreign lands and served on my local as well as state nursing association boards. It means too much to me, to be able to make a difference. I love nursing."

A desire to do more

In 1988 Tobias Fonge, RN, BSN, moved to the United States from Cameroon, where he had taught English at a French-language university.

"I wanted to do something more than I was doing in Cameroon," he said.

Fonge's sister lived in Houston, so he moved to the United States, thinking he would pursue a career in journalism or international business.

"My sister kept telling me to get the right picture of my employment opportunities in my head before I made a decision," Fonge said. "She encouraged me to look into a nursing career, because it was practical and good nurses will have job security."

A classmate from his boarding-school days in Africa was living in Gainesville, and the two reconnected. Fonge moved to Georgia to pursue a licensed practical nursing degree at nearby Lanier Technical College.

After graduation, Fonge worked in the cardiology and intensive care units at Northeast Georgia Medical Center and then at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. In 1998 he returned to Gainesville and now is a nurse in Northeast Georgia Medical Center's cardiology department.

"I love my job, because it gives me the chance to serve people without expecting anything in return," he said. "It's about much more than the money; it's about seeing the differences that nurses can make in people's lives."

No regrets

Susie Gentry holds three bachelor's degrees: in therapeutic recreation, in business administration and accounting, and in nursing.

"I loved working with therapeutic recreation but wanted to do more, so I became a CPA," she said. "And I liked being an accountant, but it did nothing for my heart and my spirit.

"At the end of the day, I wanted to see that I could make a difference, and being on the front lines in nursing truly does."

Gentry, RN, BSN, felt so strongly about being a nurse that she sold her car and her condominium so that she could afford to return to school.

She also received a scholarship from Emory University, with an agreement that she would work at Egleston Children's Hospital — now Children's Healthcare of Atlanta — for two years after graduation.

Now she is director of critical care services at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

"Some of the nurses that trained me as a student are on my team here at Children's," Gentry said. "There are amazing people here. I can honestly say that I wouldn't have appreciated working in nursing if I'd started at age 25 . . . I've never regretted a single step of the path that brought me to nursing."