Stephanie Ball joined connectRN™ in 2022 when her daughter, also a nurse at connectRN™ told her about the app. Stephanie is an RN based in Pennsylvania whose goal is to bring love back into nursing. Although she landed on nursing serendipitously, she is a true example of what it means to be a servant leader. She applies her nursing expertise with deep compassion and care for the patient. When she’s not picking up shifts, she’s spending time with her family or furthering her education. She’s about to enroll in school to become a nurse practitioner!
At connectRN™, she’s worked over 150 shifts and has reached Platinum status. We’re lucky to have her on the team and feel honored to share her story with you.
Stephanie: Hi! My name is Stephanie and I am a connector and clinician.
connectRN: What drew you to nursing initially?
Stephanie: I was never on the path to being a nurse. I was on the path of becoming a certified public accountant, and what happened? Well, I was involved in a very bad car accident, which left me unable to do some of the duties that I needed to do as an accountant like looking at grid paper, looking at the computer for hours at a time. And that left me without the ability to do that.
So I became a displaced worker.
I was offered the opportunity to go into an LPN Program which they paid me to go to school and that is how my nursing career began. I entered the LPN Program back in 1994.
I passed my boards on October 26th of 1995, and secured my first position in November of 1995 at the hospital where I did my clinicals. I worked at that facility on Med/Surge Neuro from the time I went into the position until the day the doors closed at Medical College of Pennsylvania on Henry Avenue.
I was an LPN for 25 years before getting my RN Associates degree in June of 2020. From there I went into Grand Canyon University. I obtained my bachelor's degree and then went into the master's program, obtaining my master's degree in July of 2024 in nursing education.
This is year 30 for me, and still going. Nursing is my passion. Everything about nursing I love.
connectRN: Where did your philosophy of care come from?
Stephanie: When I started out my first day off of orientation I got pulled to another unit and my first night I gave my patient the bath and got her ready, you know, for the morning. And this patient passed away.
It kind of freaked me out. And the next night a patient died on my assignment. So now I'm really freaking out. On the third night, the patient died on my assignment.
So now I'm crying. I'm full on in tears, and I'm like, ‘Oh, my gosh! I'm what is happening. I'm going to lose my nursing license.’ And they had the doctor come over, and I was hysterical because I'm like, ‘this must not be for me, because I just can't get it right. Oh, my gosh!’ And from there the doctor was explaining to me what I did.
‘You were in that room,’ he said. ‘I heard you. You were talking to her, and you were giving her a bath, and you were explaining to her about her surgery and what you did. You made her feel so much at peace that it was okay to let go,’ he said. ‘And that is the compassion and the love that patients need. You're doing a great job. and I want you to keep doing this.’
So I never let go of that. I never let go of those words. I always talk to the patient. I'm always explaining to them what's going on and giving them that love and nurturing compassion.
connectRN: Can you tell me about a patient interaction that really impacted you?
Stephanie: This was early on in my career. It was an older gentleman, he was 92, and he was blind. He only had a son left. He was put in a facility because the son couldn't care for him alone. And he fell and broke his hip. His son didn’t want to repair his hip because he wouldn’t be able to walk.
For some reason, this gentleman thought I was his granddaughter, and I accepted. So I’d say, papa, we're going to turn over. And he would be in so much pain it would break my heart.
Every day that I worked, I would even switch with another nurse to make sure that I had him in my assignment because he was so special to me, and he got bathed down every night, lotioned up, back-rub, sheets changed. And every morning when I left, he was freshly tucked in, and I’d always say, he had better be that way when I come in at 11 o'clock for my next shift, because, if not there were going to be some words, because he can't do anything for himself.
I bought him treats, and he would say, ‘baby girl, is that you?’ And I would say, ‘Yes, Pop, Pop, it's me.’
I came into work one night, and he was gone. He had passed away, and it really affected me, but knowing that I had cared for him, and in his last days I loved him gave me joy.
And today. This is how I operate, I always lead with kindness and respect, and you'll find that patients smile more. They'll talk to you more. You get to learn about them.
You know it's all hustle and bustle, but I take the time to ask questions about the patient. I always ask questions. I ask questions about their life. I learned so much from my patients. I learned so much about being a nurse from my patients, not just from book work in the clinical you learn from your patient.
connectRN: It's so important to just get to know the person holistically. That's a really awesome part of the job, even though you're so busy with maybe a lot of patients.
Stephanie: Right.
connectRN: What do you think is the most challenging aspect of nursing that people outside of the profession don't really understand?
Stephanie: People outside of the profession don't understand how patient condition affects us. When you work with a patient, especially in long-term care, you're like family, because I am the extended niece, nephew, granddaughter, grandson. We become attached to the patient in this setting. We are their family. People outside of the profession don't understand when something happens to them, how it affects us mentally.
So outside of the profession, they don't understand how tough it is to be not only on your feet for 10, 11 hours out of the day and that the average size of the patient now is 265 pounds plus and we must turn this patient. They don't understand how hard it is.
They think it's just giving some pills and typing in the record. And it's not. There's a lot more to it, and a lot of people who pass judgment on us, I say, come, spend the day with me. And then once you spend the day with me then tell me how you feel about it, and a lot of times we can change your mind to let them know that this is not an easy job.
connectRN: How do you think we can inspire more people to become nurses?
Stephanie: Going to nursing school is very hard. You take an oath that you are going to do what is legally, ethically, and professionally correct.
You must take a look inside yourself and ask yourself: Can I lead with love and respect? Can I nurture someone who is not my family member? Can I adapt to fast changes?
Look inside yourself and ask yourself those questions. If you can check those boxes off, go for it, and guess what? You'll have a great career in nursing, leading with love because that's what it is about: leading with love.
Anyone who wants to be a nurse, I don't care how old you are: Go for it. I am here to inspire you to encourage you to help you along the way, if I can because we need nurses who love.
That's what nursing is: love, compassion, nurturing kindness.
connectRN: How do you take care of yourself after shifts?
Stephanie: After work I take my shower, I watch some television, and I unwind. Sometimes on my day off, I'll take a nap because your body is tired working three 12-hour shifts in a row.
It's a lot on the body, especially as you get older. And for me, nearing the 60 age mark. It's a lot on you.
I spend time with my family. My older sister. She's my best friend. I do stuff with my daughter. She is also a nurse, which I'm super duper proud of. She is almost completing her associate's degree. She has been the LPN for 5 years, and I'm so proud I'm so proud you just don't know!
I am right now in the process of completing my application to return to school to get my nurse practitioner license. So I will be in school come September.
connectRN: Can you tell me a little bit about your experience with connectRN™?
Stephanie: Actually, my daughter turned me on to connectRN. And I have found my path with connectRN to be rewarding. It allows me to go to many different facilities to do not only bedside, I have run the facility as the nurse Supervisor.
The rewards are amazing. I am a Platinum Connector. I am, I think not that far off from the top tier. So I'm working on that right now to get to the top now. I'm almost there! Just a couple of shifts off.
connectRN: So close!
Stephanie: Yeah, I'm so close, right? And so I'm just finding that. My career at connectRN has been great! I tell everyone I know.
connectRN: We really appreciate having you on our team. Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me and tell me about your nursing stories. I feel like we’ve only just scratched the surface!
Stephanie: Thank you for the opportunity. I am just this one little bitty nurse who is looking to change the face of nursing and restore love and compassion back into this field because we need it, and we need it so badly, and we need it immediately.
Written by: Rachael A. Brady
Rachael A. Brady is connectRN’s Marketing Manager, New Care Settings. She focuses on brand awareness and clinician engagement in our newest care settings: Home Health and Hospitals.
