Nurse Stories

Roxanne Thompson

Clinical Nurse Consultant
RN

Roxanne Thompson grew up watching her mother work in the nursing profession. Although she didn’t think that she wanted to follow suit, she chose to become a certified nursing assistant in the early 1990s. Roxanne realized how much she enjoyed working with patients and only then did she decide to pursue nursing as a career.

Once she became a nurse, she worked in a hospital and home health for about five years. However, with three small children, she decided to make a career change that would allow her to spend more time with her family. Roxanne decided to become a high school teacher, but she never lost her love of healthcare. She taught the Health Occupations program at her school, which prepared students for future careers in healthcare.

While she taught, she decided to work as a nurse part time at Golden LivingCenter – Lumberton, which allowed her to build rapport with the administrators. Eventually, Roxanne felt the tug to return to healthcare full time. After teaching for about five years, her children were old enough that she felt comfortable accepting a position as Director of Nursing for Golden LivingCenter – Lumberton. “I had helped out in various capacities over the years,” she explained. “I had started helping in management roles. I learned a lot through those processes and formed some good relationships. When they had an opening for Director of Nursing, I considered that position. I decided that the time was right for both myself and my family for me to go back into nursing.”

Although Roxanne had worked in hospitals during the beginning of her career, she felt a connection with an older population. “If you’re fortunate enough in life to find something that really fulfills you like that, you’ve really been blessed,” she said. “It’s where I’m most comfortable and most challenged. It’s the most rewarding. You can really see how you can make a positive effect on the patients’ care and their overall quality of life.”

Roxanne’s career took a turn into management when she stepped into the executive director role for her LivingCenter. She always wanted to help out where she was needed. “I had a vested interest in my facility. It’s a small community, and I wanted to give the community the consistency of the same leadership,” she said.

Now, in the same spirit of going where she is most needed, Roxanne is transitioning to Clinical Nurse Consultant. She is now in charge of overseeing and offering support to directors of nursing in four different LivingCenters. “I realized that instead of just impacting one LivingCenter, I could impact many,” she said. “I think that moving to a district level but still having only a few facilities, I’ll have the opportunity to spend time in the LivingCenters. Instead of having one family I’ll have four families.”

Carrying on her family’s tradition, Roxanne’s oldest daughter has chosen to pursue a career in healthcare administration in long term care. Roxanne’s mother is also a certified geriatric nurse practitioner and is pursuing her doctorate in nursing.