Growing up, Minerva Gonzales decided to go into healthcare so she could take care of patients just like her mom.
“My mother was a home health aide and she would tell me all the time about the wonderful things she did for patients and I just thought it was the greatest thing ever, so I wanted to help people like my mom did,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales is the interim nursing program director, associate dean for the College of Health Sciences and Human Performance and associate professor of nursing.
Gonzales is now celebrating her 25th year in nursing. She earned a bachelor’s of science in nursing from Texas Tech University and a master’s of science in nursing from Angelo State University. She also earned a doctor of nursing practice, healthcare systems leadership from Chamberlain College of Nursing.
A native of Brownwood, Gonzales went to college right out of high school at age 17. She got her nursing license in 1998, which she called “one of the most exciting times ever.”
Because Gonzales was always wanted to be a teacher, she went for a doctorate because that’s what universities generally demand.
Most recently, she worked at Medical Center Hospital for 18 years before coming on board full time in 2016 at UTPB.
Gonzales was director of nursing education at Medical Center Hospital. Before that, she was clinical liaison at Rehab Care, a private company. The company was sold, which she said was perfect timing because the position at MCH was open.
“They took a chance on me,” Gonzales said.
The transition from being a full-time nurse to academia was difficult.
“It’s two very different worlds. In a hospital setting, it’s go, go, go, go, go. You’re 100 miles an hour. You get to academics and it’s not quite as fast. You have a lot more time for planning because it’s shifted. Now you’re looking curriculum and different pieces, not so much the day to day that’s occurring in the hospital. I found that very difficult because for 18 years, all I knew was the go, go, go,” she said.
There have been people that have gone back to practicing because they miss the pace and the patient care.
Probably the biggest change she has seen are the technological advances.
“I’m really going to date myself here, but we used to chart on pen and paper. Everything was on paper. That’s just the documentation side,” Gonzales said.
In healthcare in general, the greatest thing she’s seen evolve is the teamwork between the different disciplines.
Previously, people would guard their turf.
“I think there’s just more of a mutual respect. When I first started, the doctors told us what to do and that was that. … Now what you find more is this ongoing conversation to ensure patient safety. It may have been that I started in a smaller hospital, but as I’ve progressed and moved from one organization to another, it’s just gotten better each time,” she said.
Doctors now listen to the whole disciplinary team more than they used to.
“That’s really what you’re looking for is everybody holds an expertise, so you’ve got pharmacists involved; physical therapists involved; nursing and respiratory. I think collectively they listen to the team,” Gonzales said.
UTPB has seen a huge increase in applicants.
They have 144 clinical students. The goal is to continue to grow so they can help their community partners get the nurses they need.
“We’re always assessing each semester. We assess to make sure that they will be good nurses. We are as faculty and as the director, we have to sign off on them with the Board of Nursing. If they aren’t, we’re not going to sign off on them. But that means that we have to make sure we’re creating that environment for them to be able to learn to be good nurses, so it’s a huge responsibility,” Gonzales said.
The program has full-time faculty, part-time and clinical adjuncts, who serve as instructors in the clinical setting and they are generally still practicing.
“… When we ask our students, or even our potential students, why do you want to be a nurse? They all genuinely want to help. But I think there’s also some level of comfort knowing that we will always have a job. I think we saw that with COVID when so many were either out of work or couldn’t work. Healthcare, it’s nonstop so you will always have a job,” Gonzales said.
Part of being in the medical profession also means staying up to date.
“… We have a saying and it’s lifelong learning; continuing your education is staying up to date. It’s ensuring that we don’t get stagnant and that’s for healthcare in general. The benefit for patients is that we’re staying on top of the ever-evolving world of health care,” Gonzales said.
To maintain their nursing licenses, they have to have 20 continuing education hours every two years.
Asked if she has applied for the dean of nursing position, Gonzales said she hasn’t.
“I really like being in my role and I guess I’m happy where I am,” she added.
Gonzales, who has two daughters, is married to Rickey George.
