At OneWorld, we provide excellence in care.
OneWorld’s Health Assistants and Medical Assistants – who have varying levels of training and certifications – comprise the nursing staff team. Their responsibilities are vast and depend on clinical setting, but typically a member of this team is with a patient from start to finish. Team members receive on-the-job training. What matters more, though, said Associate
Director of Nursing Tania Murrell, is a willingness to overcome barriers and to “find pathways to yes.” She said community members who have faced barriers themselves bring passion to the work. “We’ve been blessed that way, that sometimes our own community has the gifts that propel us going forward,” Murrell said.
Charting a course of healing through connection Every time a young patient came in for an appointment, she remained silent. Staff at the School-Based Health Center knew not to expect a verbal response from her – she was shy and reserved. But that didn’t stop staff from attempting to age, regardless of what’s going on at that day for that visit,” said Associate Director of Nursing Tania Murrell, who oversees members of the nursing staff team. “They have to find a way to connect with all of them, and they do.”
It’s a character trait that underlies all the technical abilities that are required of nursing staff. Murrell said members of the team – Health Assistants and Medical Assistants – thrive on making a difference, taking care of their community and challenging themselves. “They don’t do it so that it’s highlighted, they do it because that’s what feels good for them,” Murrell said. “That’s what morally they find correct, and so they want to live by that.” Many incoming nursing staff at OneWorld are early in their careers. While prior experiences vary, staff members often start as Certified Nursing Assistants, or CNAS (at OneWorld, CNAs are called Health Assistants). Medical Assistants (MAs), by contrast, have an associate’s degree – about two
build rapport with her. Elizabeth Chavez-Troester, Certified Clinical Medical Assistant 5, waved hello to the student in the hallways. She learned the student liked cats, so every time the student came in, Chavez-Troester gave her a cat sticker. She hoped, eventually, the student might feel confident enough to speak to the staff. One day, after a co-worker took the student’s vital signs during an appointment, Chavez-Troester heard a voice. She asked her co-worker to repeat herself … but it wasn’t her co-worker. “It was actually the patient,” Chavez-Troester said. “It just threw us by surprise because we had never heard her speak until that day.” It was just a brief sentence, yet that first sentence aloud came after six to eight months of continued effort to build connection. Creating a sense of safety takes time. “Our team has to know how to connect with patients and gain their trust regardless of their
years of training compared with a much shorter CNA program.
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EXCHANGE | ISSUE 3 2025
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