“Don’t laugh” were the first words Tiffany said when asked what she planned to study in her freshman year of college at the University of Missouri Columbia. “My initial plan in life was to become an emergency medical technician (EMT) and an accountant,” she admitted. “It’s literally the reason I went to Mizzou because they have a great accounting program.”
When she got to the summer welcome program, she realized that accounting wasn’t the path for her. “I asked myself, ‘Is this the way I want to help people?’ and the answer was no,” she said. “I don’t think I’m a standard desk job person. And becoming an EMT, working on an ambulance and getting that experience is what appealed to me. It became clear that that was how I wanted to help people.”
To broaden her options in the medical field, Tiffany selected a major in nursing. Before she came to Mid-America Transplant, she worked for nine years as a nurse in the ED, ICU, and high-risk labor and delivery. She also went on to get her paramedic license after nursing school and had experience working on the ground in the ambulance and then also as a flight nurse paramedic.
While she loved what she did, Tiffany says the demands of the role did take their toll. “In flight nursing, we did 24-hour shifts. And the base I was at was anywhere from 60 minutes to an hour and a half away from home. A lot of the time is spent on the road.”
Having more of a work-life balance was one of the reasons that Tiffany decided to look at transferring her skills to a role within Mid-America Transplant. Another reason was to learn from a completely new perspective. “The great part of nursing is that your options are kind of endless,” she said. “Working in organ and tissue donation is a set of skills that you don’t hear a lot about in nursing schools.”
Although it was a new world for her to learn, Tiffany already had a family connection to donation and transplantation. “My uncle received a kidney from his sister 33 years ago, so she was his living donor,” she said. “It was a perfect match. It’s still functioning to this day and he’s the longest-living kidney recipient that his transplant center has ever had.”
Tiffany says she didn’t quite understand the impact for her uncle until she came to Mid-America Transplant and he started talking to her about it. “We have some pictures of when I was a baby sleeping on his lap while he was hooked up to a dialysis machine,” she said. “It ends up being a full circle realization that these are the people we serve, this is why we do what we do, and this is an example of that impact.”
Tiffany now works in Hospital Services, the department that facilitates partnerships between Mid-America Transplant and nearby hospitals for all things related to organ and tissue donation. She works to understand the processes of the individual hospital and how she can incorporate Mid-America Transplant’s mission into the work they do every day. “A lot goes into facilitating organ and tissue donation,” she said. “The role we have in Hospital Services ranges from educating nurses and staff physicians on possible donor candidates to making sure processes are followed, as well as creating the best environment to serve the donors and their families.”
In a nutshell, Hospital Services Specialists serve all departments. “We’re kind of the glue that holds it all together,” she added.
Tiffany credits her previous roles for the communication skills that have been key to her work in organ donation. “What I’ve learned from every job is that when you’re talking to people, everyone has a story,” she said. “We may have shown this family or this donor more love than what they’ve ever seen in their life. The choices someone makes doesn’t define who they are as a person. They are still someone’s sister, father, son, etc. To have the privilege and honor to show that love during their journey is pretty impactful.”
When people ask Tiffany how she’s able to deal with the things she sees every day, she’s steadfast in her answer. “If I can bring even one percent of good to people who are dealing with the death of a loved one, I’ve done my job. That’s why I do what I do. Death doesn’t have to be as certain as what people make it to be. There can be life after death, thanks to organ and tissue donation.”
If you feel a calling toward organ donation, consider joining an organization committed to a lifesaving mission and find a rewarding career with Mid-America Transplant. View our current job openings.