Striving for Excellence

by Vickie Jenkins, Staff Writer

The Children’s Center Rehabilitation Hospital is a private, nonprofit hospital serving children with complex medical and physical disabilities. The main areas of service are, long term nursing and rehabilitation care, pediatric medical rehabilitation, and outpatient series, general pediatrics, physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy.
Among the many employees that care for the children is one friendly, outgoing individual; his name is Austin Eaton, RN.
Austin was born in Prague, Oklahoma. At a very young age, he had a real desire to help others and knew that he wanted to be a doctor or a nurse when he got older. Even though there weren’t any other family members that were in the medical field, Austin was determined that he would change that. Austin went to school for nursing at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, OK.
Austin has been a nurse for almost two years. “Before I was a nurse, I worked here at The Children’s Center as a tech. I knew this was a great place to work; helping care for all of these children. I love my job. In fact, in the near future, I plan on continuing my education, hoping to become a practitioner. It would be nice to come back here and care for the children,” he said.
In your opinion, what qualities make a good nurse? “In my opinion, the most important thing is to strive for excellence. A nurse has to be caring, and willing to do the hard stuff too. The caring is not always easy, but the nurse needs to know that they are there for the children. That includes doing some things even when we don’t really want to,” he replied. “Believe me, it is all worth it in the end when you get that feeling of satisfaction,” he added.
“When it comes to TIME, time management is so important. Some of the children are considered to be in critical condition. When you least expect, a few minutes or even seconds can make a difference. The children count on these nurses. We want to be that nurse to your child and to be there for them in any situation,” Austin replied.
The favorite part of Austin’s job is taking care of the children, of course! “I love how The Children’s Center is such a happy place. I get to care for the children and play with them. I love the fact that I actually get to be around the children and enjoy their company,” he said. “Yes, the best part of my job, definitely the children. Hands down, it’s the kids here,” Austin said. “The kids need me and I need the kids,” he added.
Austin is not married, yet! He is engaged to a wonderful girl and they plan on getting married October 2019. Presently, there are two special pets in their lives. A dog named Nebula and a cat named Rigby.
Austin is quite the outdoorsman. “I like to do anything that is outside. I like to take walks, go hiking, and enjoy the outdoors. I started Brazilian Jiu Jitsu recently and plan on taking up bow hunting soon,” he said.
I asked Austin to describe himself. “Well, he said. “I am usually happy, outgoing, genuinely caring, and I have a lot of energy. On the other hand, I can be calm and collected, somewhat of an introvert,” he replied with a laugh. There are a few words that describe Austin’s life, and he is set on them. Austin tries to put those words to good use every day. “I live by determination, excellence, perseverance, consistency, keeping my focus on what’s important, maintaining the other values. It seems as though I am definitely a leader. I am strong and bold and determined. I am a leader and a team player. I am a hard worker that strives for excellence in everything I do.”
“I love working at The Children’s Center. I feel like I am on a great adventure right now and I can’t wait to see what is going to happen next,” Austin said.