How Nursing Excellence Changes Lives at St. Jude

At the start of Bella Fortner’s treatment, her doctor predicted that she would someday return to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as a nurse or doctor. Bella remembers telling her mom that was the last thing she wanted to do.  

But her experience with St. Jude nurses changed her mind.  

Bella came to St. Jude at age 15 with acute T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma. Now entering her senior year of college, she is spending her summer at St. Jude as a nursing extern. The Nursing Extern Program gives undergraduate nursing students a chance to gain hands-on experience.  

“What stands out to me is St. Jude nurses’ compassion,” says Bella’s mom, Tina. “They inspired my daughter so much that she wants to grow up and be just like them. To me, that is the greatest gift they give — they are role models. I don’t think they always realize just how far-reaching the impact they have can be.” 

Magnet recognition

The care Bella received reflects the compassionate, high-quality nursing that St. Jude strives to provide every patient and family. That commitment to care recently earned St. Jude Magnet Recognition® with Distinction from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). It is the highest level of recognition for nursing excellence. The designation reflects outstanding nursing care, innovation, professional development, and strong patient outcomes.  

The award also reflects the key role nurses play at St. Jude. Nurses are part of important discussions and decision-making. They are supported in earning specialty certifications, pursuing advanced degrees, and leading quality-improvement initiatives. Nurses have led projects to enhance patient care and safety, including fall-prevention awareness efforts, healthier inpatient food options, and improved discharge education for families.

Jessica Eddy, nurse manager at St. Jude, says, “One of the things that Magnet promotes is giving bedside nurses a voice. It ensures the nurses who provide direct patient care have a seat at the table and play an important role in decisions that impact patients and the profession.”   

For St. Jude nurses, the Magnet Recognition® with Distinction is more than an award. It reflects the extraordinary work they do every day to support children and families through some of their hardest moments.

Earning this prestigious award is an honor, but St. Jude Nursing is about much more.  

“It’s real,” Tina says. “These nurses are changing people’s lives.”

Care that goes beyond medicine 

The recognition confirms something many patients and families already know from experience: St. Jude nurses provide care that goes beyond medicine. 

Tina says that St. Jude nurses take the time to listen to patients, families, and caregivers and make them feel like valued members of the care team. 

That level of care often builds lasting relationships. When Bella was treated at St. Jude, she found comfort in familiar nurses who took the time to learn what helped her through difficult procedures. 

At the beginning of treatment, having her port accessed (when a nurse uses a special needle to give medicine or take blood through a device under the skin) was stressful. But her nurses learned how to help her.  

“They knew what made me comfortable,” Bella says. “They knew I liked to lie on my right side, and they remembered all the little things that helped me relax. They would distract me by showing me something on a screen so I didn’t know I was getting poked.  

“Those details might seem small,” she adds, “but when you are a patient, they make a really big difference.”  

Supporting nurses, strengthening care 

Nursing excellence at St. Jude is built on exceptional training and patient care. It is also built on a culture that truly values its nurses. 

“Not only are we being innovative and trying to really be at the top of what we provide for our patients, but we also do that for our nurses,” says Christina Zeig, an inpatient bone marrow transplant nurse.  

“Knowing that I, as a nurse, am being taken care of, and knowing that we have an organization and a leadership team that supports us is helpful and healthy.”  

That support benefits patients too. Nurses provide expert care, but they also focus on emotional needs, family concerns, and small moments that mean a lot. That might mean distracting a child during a blood transfusion or smiling at a patient and saying, “You can do this.”  

Coming full circle 

Bella reflects on her experience and the nurses who inspired her to choose nursing as a career. 

“I can’t express my gratitude enough to all the nurses who have cared for me and made me want to go into nursing,” she says.  

Bella’s return to St. Jude as part of the nursing team was a meaningful milestone.  

“The first time the nurses saw her on the other side, it was an emotional moment,” Tina says. “There were tears of joy because she had gone from being a patient to someone following in their footsteps. She is not their colleague yet, but maybe one day she will be.”  

Bella shares a strong bond with nurses whose own experiences brought them to St. Jude.  

“A lot of the nurses have their own personal connection to St. Jude, and I think that is what makes it so special,” she says. 

“I remember nurses telling me they had been diagnosed with cancer as kids, too. They could not know exactly how I felt, but they understood what I was going through.” 

Bella says those shared experiences helped her feel understood as a patient. They also help guide the care she provides as a nursing extern. 

“Now, having experienced both sides, being able to give back and support other patients means so much to me,” Bella says. “That is what makes St. Jude special — so many of the nurses have a personal story and a reason they are here.” 

Bella graduates from college next spring. This winter, she will apply for a nurse residency program as she prepares to begin her career as a registered nurse.