Methodist Mansfield Medical Center An advanced certification nurse and continuing education instructor, Karen Yates has devoted the past 28 years furthering cardiac and stroke education in the pre-hospital and hospital community in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Most of those years have been spent in the Methodist Health System serving as EMS/Biocare manager, emergency department manager, emergency department clinical education and assistant nurse manager of the Short Stay Unit. She’s also worked as a staff nurse in the Surgery/Trauma ICU and the Neuro/Ortho Trauma Unit. Currently the emergency department cardiac/stroke coordinator at Methodist Mansfield, Yates also owns and operates a business that specializes in EMS continuing education. She provides EMS education at three local fire departments for emergency medicine training and has educated more than 12,000 paramedics. On her days off, she coordinates the EMS continuing education programs for two cities in Tarrant County and one city in Ellis County. “EMS has remained my first love,” says Yates. “I am often asked to speak at local, state and national nursing and EMS conferences.” Yates, who has earned several specialty credentials in emergency care, is an active community volunteer with the Dallas Area Crisis Response team, Texas Line of Duty Death Task Force, Area 10 Special Olympics, Shattered Dreams teen program, Tarrant County Race for the Cure and the EDS Byron Nelson Golf Classic. She also helps coordinate free sports physicals for more than 400 middle and high school athletes. What drew you to the health care field? When I was in my early 20s my company sent me to a first aid and CPR class. That lit the spark that brought me to my current role in nursing. After taking courses at the American Red Cross I became a volunteer for them. This furthered my interest in emergency health care. I then went to EMT and paramedic training. After working as a paramedic for several years I became interested in nursing. Who is your biggest inspiration? My biggest sources of inspiration have been the patients and families that I have had the pleasure of working with in the past 28 years in health care. I have had the honor of being with a mother while she delivers her first born to holding a patient’s hand while they take their last breath. What is your advice for people getting into the health care field? My biggest advice would be to only go into health care if you really have a passion for helping others. Health care is a calling, not just a job. You must truly love people and want to help them through their most difficult of situations. You will never find a career that will give you greater satisfaction than health care. – Betty Dillard