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TRS Healthcare’s 2024 Nurse of the Year winner Jacqueline Jones, RN, has had a long and successful nursing career. From her commitment to her family to her incredible work as a healthcare professional, Jacqueline is tireless in the care she shows to others.
Jacqueline hadn’t always planned to become a nurse, but when life led her in that direction, she became a truly outstanding professional in the field.
She first became a certified nursing assistant (CNA) in 1991, shortly after her eldest daughter was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes.
“When I went and talked to the nutritionist, she told me she was just going to teach me the bare minimum to take care of my child. So, I started reading up. I really needed to get into understanding what was going on with my child, so I took up nursing,” explains Jacqueline.
Through this experience and education, Jacqueline was successfully able to manage her child’s condition using what she learned as a CNA.
It didn’t take long for Jacqueline to progress in her field. She later completed her training and qualifications to become a licensed practical nurse (LPN), during which time she was pregnant with her second child. But she was eager to continue growing her knowledge and career as a nurse.
In 2000, Jacqueline decided to go back to school and become a registered nurse (RN). After working as a registered nurse for a few years, she decided to give travel nursing a try.
“I got to the point where I didn’t like being in one place long. I didn’t like doing the same thing all the time, but doing the same thing in a different environment changes the whole thing,” she says.
Jacqueline started working with TRS Healthcare in 2009 and has completed more than 40 travel assignments with the company, many of which included contract extensions.
“She gives her all every single day and is a dedicated patient advocate,” says Jacqueline’s recruiter, Virginia Johnson, who nominated Jacqueline for the 2024 Nurse of the Year award. “She is one of the most selfless and conscientious individuals I have ever known and always puts patients and family before herself.”
Virginia and Jacqueline have been working together for more than five years, and in that time, Virginia says she has never met a more dedicated individual. “[She] keeps her family together and thriving, regardless of the situation. I am honored to be her recruiter.”
Similarly, Jacqueline says her connection with Virginia is a major motivator in why she wants to continue traveling with TRS Healthcare.
“Over the years, we have truly become more sisterly than I have with any of my recruiters before,” says Jacqueline. “She’s awesome. She’ll make recommendations and tell me, ‘I know what you need and what you want’, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, you do.’”
As for how it felt to be named TRS Healthcare’s 2024 Nurse of the Year, Jacqueline says she was blown away. “I just got out of the hospital…and I’m like, ‘Wow, to think that out of all the nurses that are with TRS, and I’m the Nurse of the Year?’ That was great!”
For Jacqueline, travel nursing is all about learning new things everywhere you go. “There’s always a teachable moment,” she adds.
When she isn’t traveling, Jacqueline loves spending time with her children and grandchildren, as well as reading, doing crossword puzzles, playing Sudoku, and crocheting.
From educating herself to help her family to continuing to grow as a travel healthcare professional, Jacqueline consistently goes above and beyond to serve the people around her.
Congratulations, Jacqueline!
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