Far & Away Gabriele Stevens reflects on the unexpected 40 year long journey of a nursing career that has taken her from the bedside to the mission field and the other side of the globe. By Jackson Boren
16
loma linda nurse
W
HEN GABRIELE STEVENS, 80’, arrived as a student at La Sierra College in 1976 and at Loma Linda University School of Nursing in 1977 she had already lived on three continents, and found herself re-immigrating to the United States from Austria, after marrying her husband, also an LLU medical student 80-A. The decision to pursue nursing was a practical choice, as Gabriele came from a family of healthcare professionals and missionaries. Upon completing her studies and graduating summa cum laude in 1980, she developed a passion for sciences and medicine. She considered applying for medical school but ultimately chose to continue on her path with working in the nursing profession as well as focusing on raising her four children. After moving to Colorado with her family, unable to find a job as a new grad, Gabriele found employment at a staffing agency where she was floated to many different hospitals and units in greater Denver Metro. Thus began a most challenging and stressful season of her career as a novice clinical bedside nurse. “I worked as a specialty float pool nurse. I had to ask many questions, remain humble and teachable for what seemed like an interminable stretch until gaining proficiency, skills, confidence and wisdom.” Over the next two decades, Gabriele continued to work as a float pool nurse in areas ranging from Medical Surgical to ICU, Telemetry to Labor & Delivery and even as a recovery room nurse. She ultimately worked as a PACU nurse for a significant period until 2001 when she was faced with an empty nest at home and the dissolution of her marriage. “Needing to redefine myself as more than daughter of, mother or, part-time nurse of, I inadvertently stumbled into a new vocation
