Take 5 with Tracey Weeks

Tracey is a Raleigh native, avid N.C. State University athletics fan and a lifelong nurse and educator. Here, we get to know Tracey and his passion for nursing and educating health care providers.

Q: February is Heart Month – What do you LOVE most about working at WakeMed?

I never thought that I’d be a WakeMed employee most of my career. I love the fact that I’ve had so many opportunities at WakeMed. I love and believe in our values and mission. While I’ve worked here my whole career, I’ve also been a patient here – as have many of my family and friends. Having had a heart bypass at WakeMed in 2017, I experienced that care firsthand – in addition to all we do to promote heart disease awareness and prevention. I love the fact that we provide the best care to everyone!

Q: Tell us about your journey to become a nurse.

Growing up, I had always planned to go to medical school to become a doctor. But, after experiencing some health issues during high school, I didn’t feel I could commit to the many years of school it would require. During my last two years of high school, I was in a class called Health Occupations, which was taught by a registered nurse. In my senior year, I was hospitalized several times and my teacher (who was also a family friend) would visit me and emphasize how important nurses were in health care. She thought I would be a great nurse and that I would find a nursing career very rewarding – and here I am 38 years later.

Q: How did you transition into the education space?

I joined WakeMed right out of nursing school in 1986. The first half of my career focused on bedside nursing in a wide variety of clinical areas – including surgical, critical care and imaging areas. When a rare job opportunity opened up in Nursing Education, I was so excited to apply. My 10+ years in nursing plus my experience working as a life support instructor helped me land the job – I felt so lucky and excited.

Q: You also serve as a Training Center Coordinator for the American Heart Association – tell us about that role.

WakeMed is an American Heart Association (AHA) Training Center, which allows us to provide life-saving emergency response classes (including basic, pediatric and advanced life support) to WakeMed employees free of charge. Last year alone, we trained 3,400 individuals. In my role, I ensure our classes are following AHA’s standards and guidelines – and that we’re providing enough training to meet the growing demand. Finally, I’m responsible for recruiting qualified instructors and keeping instructors and colleagues apprised of any changes to the guidelines as they are released.

Q: As a nurse/health care professional, why are you passionate about CPR training? 

Clinical evidence tells us definitively that early defibrillation and/or high-quality CPR has a significant impact on a person’s chances of survival following a cardiovascular event. This makes education so important because even performing basic CPR (hands-only), until a qualified team can take over, can make a huge difference in survival. Through my years in bedside nursing, I was personally involved in performing CPR on patients experiencing cardiac arrest. I know firsthand that many patients survived because our team performed CPR. I even have colleagues who have performed CPR outside of the hospital setting – which makes that training even more important.

This blog is adapted from Heart to Heart Magazine. Subscribe today.