In tribute to a special nurse who is going to make a difference

A point of personal privilege, please. Last week, the Georgia Board of Regents officially approved the Jane J. Yarbrough Nursing Fellowship at the Wellstar School of Nursing at Kennesaw State University. Jane J. Yarbrough. The beloved Woman Who Shared My Name.

This is no small thing. When fully operational, the fellowship along with a nursing scholarship in her name will fund tuition, books and fees for non-traditional students – meaning those seeking a second career – to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Nursing as well as provide the resources for faculty to advance nursing education and research at KSU.

Longtime readers of this space know her story because I’ve shared it a number of times, but I share it with you one more time. She grew up in the dark ages when young women were encouraged to become secretaries, get married, have babies and leave the business world to the guys. This, despite being a straight-A student in high school, a member of the National Honor Society and possessed with a great love for medicine, particularly nursing. She dutifully stayed home and raised two kids while her husband began his climb up the corporate ladder at Southern Bell which eventually landed him a stint in Washington, D.C. I cannot point to an “aha!” moment at which this occurred but upon our return home it was decided that with our two children away at college, it was time for Momma to scratch that nursing itch and head off to college herself. To Kennesaw State. To nursing school. In her ‘40’s.

To say it wasn’t easy would be an understatement. First, there was algebra. (If any of you nurses out there who are reading this use algebra in your daily duties, would you let me know how? And why?) Fortunately, her friend and neighbor, Jane Hoover, was a former math teacher and tutored her successfully through the years.

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Also, there was one particular instructor who was convinced she was too old to undertake the pressures of the nursing profession and discouraged her at every turn. (I hope she is reading this.) It didn’t work. She persevered and prevailed, thanks to her intelligence and tenacity and a lot of family support. Her dream came true. The former stay-at-home Mom was now a nurse. A registered nurse. After earning her degree at KSU, she worked in the hospital as a registered nurse for a brief time, and then went on to a rewarding career as an occupational nurse for Delta Air Lines. In addition to her nursing duties, she was also the family bookkeeper, banker, shopper, chef and organizer as well as wife, mother and grandmother. She excelled at them all. She was exceedingly modest, kept a low profile and was more than willing to boost mine. At the risk of sounding trite, she was the wind beneath my wings. It was painful to see her slowly slip away, unable to remember names and places. I had always assumed that with my pedal-to-the-metal lifestyle, I would go first. Of course, things don’t always work out the way we plan.

One plan that did work was her family’s decision to honor her journey from a young wife who put her dreams aside for her family to someone who had the courage to go to college, get her degree and then go on to a career at a time when many of her contemporaries were winding down theirs. What better to do that than to go back to the place that changed her life, Kennesaw State University and the Wellstar School of Nursing? And what better way to honor her than by providing assistance to those who seek a career change and a desire to join the nursing profession, where there is such a critical need? The Jane J. Yarbrough Nursing Scholarships will allow deserving students to do just that. More than that, the Jane J. Yarbrough Fellowship will allow a chosen faculty member to look at issues from improving teaching skills to enhancing relationships with local hospitals to researching how to attract more people to enter the profession and remain a part of it.

The Beloved Woman Who Shared My Name would be slightly nonplused at all the attention she is getting. But it is deserved. She is going to make a positive difference for generations to come, just as she made a difference while we had her with us. Rest in peace, Jane Yarbrough, RN. You have earned it.

You can reach Dick Yarbrough at [email protected] or at P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139.