Magazine

In the 21 years he’s given to the nursing profession, Justin Fontenot, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, knows that the patients with whom he’s interacted have changed his life. The intimate connections the profession has afforded him to the people in his care, and the ways in which that work affirms their mutual humanity, have underscored his desire to leave the profession a more inclusive field than when he entered it.

Marisa Streelman had considered a career in medicine long before a health careers program at her Flint, Michigan high school offered her the opportunity to preview a handful of hospital jobs prior to college. Although Streelman initially had planned to become a physician, after having been exposed to the work of nursing teams at the hospital, she noticed how much more patient interaction nurses experienced than physicians did — and that was the work with which she felt most connected. It was then that Streelman realized she’d be better off studying nursing.