Marta Heffner likes nothing better
than a new challenge. So when Washoe
Medical Center in Reno needed a nurse
practitioner to coordinate research and
help develop programs for Nevada's first
institute for neurologic brain disorders,
she jumped at the opportunity.
Now having been on the job for 18
months, Heffner wears so many hats, it's
hard to count them. As part of coordinating
research and developing new programs,
she accompanies doctors on
patient rounds, educates medical staff,
acts as a resource contact for nurses,
organizes new services, educates the public
and is a liaison between the institute
and private-practice doctors.
Overwhelming?
Nah.
A born multi-tasker, Heffner thrives
on having her hand in several different
projects at once.
"Nurses are good at that," she says.
She is the poster woman for can-do attitude.
Tell her to start something from
scratch, and she wastes no time fretting
about how to begin. She enjoys the
process of breaking big tasks down into
steps and figuring out to tackle each one.
But it's more than organizational
skills that she brings to the institute.
"It's a high degree of passion," says
Mike Klepin, service line administrator for
neurosciences. "There's an intensity about
Marta that she carries through to each task."
Washoe Medical Center last year opened
the Washoe Institute for Neurosciences, the
only one of its kind in Nevada and the only
nationally recognized neurosciences institute
that is community rather than university
based.
The institute offers the latest technology
and research for diagnosing and treating
strokes, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis. Its
Washoe Comprehensive Stroke Center was
recognized by the National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Symposium as a model for rural stroke programs.
Heffner is working with the center's
medical director, Dr. Paul Katz, to educate the
community and health-care providers about
stroke symptoms, treatment and prevention.
They travel to rural hospitals to evaluate their
capabilities and set up protocols for treating
strokes, and are spreading the word to the
public about how to recognize warning signs
and the importance of getting medical attention
quickly.
Stroke is the third leading cause of death
and the No. 1 cause of adult disability in the
United States, yet most people don't know the
warning signs.
Heffner says the Reno job attracted her
because it was a chance to help start something
from scratch. "This is full of new
things."
Before coming to Reno, Heffner was an
advanced registered nurse practitioner in the
neurology department at the University of
Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. She has worked
in a variety of positions in her 24-year career,
broadening her expertise whenever curiosity
led her in a new direction. She has master's
degrees in nursing and education, and a postmaster's
family nurse practitioner certification.
She has worked as a hospital staff nurse, a
clinical instructor and at one time started and
ran a home-health agency. As a research coordinator,
she coordinated a host of studies on
treatment for strokes and neurological diseases.
Much has been written
about the problem of burnout
in nursing. But Heffner is too
busy learning to get burned
out. "I love nursing," she says.
It was practicality rather
than passion, though, that led
her to the field. She figured as
a nurse she'd always be able to
find a job and support herself.
She was right, of course,
but she has stayed in nursing
for deeper reasons.
"You're at the most meaningful
moments of life and
death. That's a special gift."
Heffner doesn't see nursing
as a second choice in medical
careers something to do if
someone can't become a doctor.
Nursing is special in its
own right, she says. "I don't
have a desire to be a minidoctor."
She was president of her
class at nursing school
at the University of
Oregon in Portland,
and she credits her professors
for encouraging
and empowering students
to go out into the
world and make a difference.
"None of us
has stopped," she says.
Heffner speaks
directly, and she's quick
to laugh. She describes
herself as outspoken
and a straight shooter.
"If you know me, you
know where I stand."
She attributes her
can-do attitude and
quest to learn and grow
to her supportive parents,
especially her
father, now 84, who is
always figuring out new
things to do and learning
how to use new
technology.
The secret to success?
"It'll happen if you
want it to happen if you
make it happen," she says.
"Life has thrown me all kinds
of curves, and every time one
that came long, I took it. I
just have a great time. I love
life."
