HARLINGEN — After many years of service as a nurse at Valley Baptist Medical Center, Marcia Fuller is putting down her stethoscope and trading it for time with family and traveling.
Fuller will be retiring from nursing in April after 48 years of service.
“I don’t remember wanting to be anything else but a nurse,” Fuller said. “I’ve enjoyed it tremendously.”
Fuller has seen it all as a nurse. She has assisted all ages of people injured and ill over the span of her career.
“You have to be prepared for anything that comes through the emergency room because it’s the front door of the hospital,” she said.
Fuller has worked in all areas of nursing but she truly loved the emergency department.
“A good memory is that I learned something every day,” Fuller said. “And my goal was to be caring for people and making my co-workers feel a part of the place where we are working.”
Fuller is certified in emergency nursing and pediatric nursing.
Since 2000, she has been teaching incoming trauma and pediatric nurses in helping the ill and injured regardless of age at the hospital.
She has trained hundreds of nurses during the past 16 years.
Fuller said she is looking forward to retirement.
She plans travel, cook more and make her own schedule.
However, she still plans to be involved with nursing by serving on local nursing boards.
She also plans to become the president of the Texas Emergency Association in 2017.
“I feel experiences I have learned are important and I would like to share it, and give back to the community,” she said.
Originally from Nebraska, Fuller moved to Texas soon after graduation from the University of Nebraska.
The Nebraska native is still a Big Red fan and intends to be in the stands next fall rooting for the Cornhuskers college football team.
“Nursing was really an exciting part of my life,” she said. “I’m looking forward to spending more time with family and friends.”
