Meet Geremy Wooten of Wellstar Health System in Marietta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Geremy Wooten.

Geremy, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am a Certified Clinical Nurse Leader for the Wellstar Health System in the metro Atlanta area. I have been a professional registered nurse for ten years total; with expertise ranging from critical-care, trauma, oncology, and medical-surgical nursing practice. I graduated with my Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN) Degree from Valdosta State University in 2009. After practicing as a critical-care nurse/travel nurse for about six years, I decided to pursue my Masters in Clinical Nurse Leadership (CNL); in which I graduated with that degree in 2018 from the University of West Georgia. Shortly after graduation, I received an offer to work for the Wellstar Health System as Certified Clinical Nurse Leader. The CNL is a master’s educated nurse whose main focus is geared towards care coordination, outcomes measurement, transitions of care, inter-professional communication & team leadership, risk assessment, implementation of best practices based on evidence, and quality improvement.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
A smooth road? Lol…Pardon me? Quite the opposite, I promise you! I switched schools twice before FINALLY getting accepted into nursing school after being denied three times. Once in nursing school, that’s where the REAL challenges came into play. The sleepless nights of studying, repeating exams that I failed, and driving an hour plus to my clinical sites, all were very tough obstacles that I had to overcome. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, lol. After I finally graduated nursing school; I FAILED my RN licensure exam. I felt so DEFEATED! However, I knew I had to keep pushing forward. Luckily the job that I had lined up allowed me to retake my licensure, but I would have to work as a nurse assistant until I passed my board exam to become an RN. This was actually very humbling to me and molded me into the nurse that I am today.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Wellstar Health System – what should we know?
The Wellstar Health System is the largest health system in the Metro Atlanta area (consisting of 11 hospitals). As a certified Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL); I ensure that my patients are cared for utilizing evidenced-based nursing practice; which ultimately improves their overall health outcomes. I am most proud of Wellstar for our commitment to delivering world-class healthcare to the communities that we serve. I believe all hospital systems aim to deliver quality care to their patients. However, what sets Wellstar apart in my opinion, is our team members. Wellstar has some of the most compassionate, caring, and humanistic individuals that I have ever had the pleasure of working alongside.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Empathy, compassion, humility, and humbleness all are key qualities that I believe have contributed to my success as a professional nurse. I always tell people that nursing is 90% compassion, 10% smarts. You can teach ANYBODY about the practical/functionality aspects of being a nurse. You simply cannot teach compassion; you either have it or you don’t.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @iv_que

Image Credit:
@bnb_visuals

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