Nurses Week Highlight #11

Lori Harris is a Registered Nurse and the Ansbach Army Health Clinic telehealth nurse. She hails from Belding, Michigan, and has been a nurse for 10 years. She previously served in the U.S. Army, but this is her first nursing position serving a military community. Harris knew from the time she was about 10 years old that she wanted to be a nurse, but the waiting list for getting into nursing school was really long. Once she was out of the military, she used her GI Bill to attend nursing school, and said working for the military is where she wants to be. “It’s a different population of people that I’m a part of, so it’s who I want to serve.” Telehealth is rapidly growing and patients don’t have to drive three hours to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center to spend 20 minutes with a provider, Harris said. She loves being able to help someone people, and said taking the time to listen or help a patient with something, and  “to know that they can build that confidence in you, that’s what you are there for.” She said the most challenging thing about being a nurse is managing patient expectation. “You don’t always go to the doctor when you feel the best and it can be a challenge to know that you may not always make them happy, but you do everything you can in that situation.” Harris likes to be active to help with stress, and said that she goes to work each day to fulfill everything she can for as long as she can, understanding that she has to leave some things at work.

Pictured: Harris demonstrates how the telehealth machine works on Claudia Aikens, Ansbach Army Health Clinic licensed practical nurse.