Sister Kate's Many Lives

It’s uncanny how Sister Kate Willegal’s co-workers and students are so quick to describe her the same way – as being “so calm.”

Likely because they realize anybody else attempting to wear as many hats as she does, and as well, would be perpetually frazzled and near hysterical trying to keep it all under control.

Sister Kate is a Sister of St. Benedict of Ferdinand, a full time associate professor of nursing at Vincennes University Jasper Center, a part time nurse at Memorial Hospital in Jasper, Ind., and is working to complete her doctor of nursing practice degree.

She admits her biggest challenge is balancing all those demands. But a daily morning and evening prayer routine with fellow sisters, and personal prayer, keeps her grounded and is the support to carry her through all her activities. It keeps her on an even keel when potential chaos lurks around every corner the rest of her day. Others readily notice her composed demeanor, and say it helps keep them in check, too.

Suzanne Burgess, Memorial Hospital’s director of post surgical, pediatric, clinical education, and support services, says, “Sister Kate is truly a calming force to both patients and the staff. She is highly intelligent, but has this peaceful way of caring for her patients. Regarding my staff, the whole department can be in disarray sometimes because of all the patients coming in and going out. Sister literally is able to calm the nurses with her voice, and formulate a plan. She is beautiful as a nurse-in-charge, because of this calming presence. She has brought peace to the floor. It’s an extremely unique gift.”

It’s a gift that others can sense in her, too, and Sister Kate is well aware of it.

“Sometimes, when patients know I’m a sister, they kind of understand the way I treat people,” she says. “Some patients can tell, even before I’ve said I’m a nun, they’ll say, ‘I knew there was something different about you,’ or ‘there’s something peaceful about you.’

“My hospital co-workers have said when I’m on the floor things are very calm, and that it spreads. A student told me I’m very patient, very open with them, and fun to learn from.”

One student from her Medical-Surgical Nursing class, Tara Holt, thinks the way Sister Kate lives her life as a religious contributes to her calmness. “It’s got to be stressful for her to have all of us asking a hundred questions. But she’s very calm, you can tell it’s the Lord, it’s the Spirit. That keeps her calm with us. And she puts us all at ease, knowing you can say, hey, pray for me, I need help this week. There’s a confidence there that you feel like you can go to her with anything.”

Another student, Bev McCormick, says, “She’s a wonderful instructor, extremely patient. She doesn’t make people nervous. We all say if we could make up our own families, we would put her in our family.”

Sister Kate has been a Memorial Hospital post-surgical staff nurse for six years and has taught nursing courses for four years.

She became a nurse because she “always liked to care for people.” She received her nursing degree from the University of Southern Indiana, followed by her master's degree in nursing in 2011.

Noticing Sister Kate’s people skills, a fellow nurse and one of her professors suggested she might make a good teacher. “They said I was very patient, flexible, very calm, and I don’t get too crazy,” she said, smiling. “It turned out I really enjoyed being with the students, seeing them progress, and helping them become nurses. I just get energized by it.”

She had 32 students in her Medical-Surgical Nursing class last semester, and has 32 students in a Mental Health Nursing course this semester. A lot of her nursing work at the hospital occurs on weekends.

“As a nurse, I just feel that the spirit of healing is within me, and I thank God for it, it’s a gift. Every patient I care for I see as someone needing healing. Often it’s not just physical healing, sometimes it’s just the presence of being with someone. I really do get energized by that part. It’s the instinct of wanting to care for one another. Saint Benedict said the care of the sick is foremost of all, and I keep going back to that.

“As a teacher, hopefully I model for my students what a good, caring, compassionate nurse is, and I help the students become who they want to be.”

Ironically, what many students want to become is a nurse as competent as Sister Kate.

Like a badge of honor, student Jennifer Kellems remembers Sister Kate telling her that she “admired me.” “Coming from her, that really means a lot,” said Kellems. “Because she’s a nurse I’d want to build up my skills to be like. So for her to say that, it almost made me cry. Because I’d like to be more like her. I admire her, the way she is. Nursing takes a lot out of you. You’ve got to have that gentle spirit when you’re dealing with people who aren’t so gentle all the time. And she knows her stuff. She will explain it in a way we understand it.”

Fellow student Margaret Spooner feels it’s often Sister Kate’s actions that speak louder than her words. “That’s why you know that’s who she is.” Spooner has asked Sister Kate to pray for her on occasion. Another student is already looking forward to going back to Sister Kate even when she’s not in her class anymore, “if I need prayer, or just somebody to talk to.”

As giving as Sister Kate is as a teacher and a nurse, a capstone project she is working on as part of earning her doctorate of nursing degree may become her biggest contribution yet to improving the quality and delivery of local healthcare.

Her project is to develop an infrastructure at Memorial Hospital in Jasper that creates interprofessional education among various departments, with the goal of enhancing patient care. The hope is to change and upgrade how myriad hospital personnel and areas work together, and to be able to recreate the process in other hospital systems.

“It’s a need for the hospital,” says Sister Kate. “And the interprofessional research we’re doing now is a very unique initiative for a hospital.” The research phase is part of the first year of the three-year project. It’s targeted to lead to a new interprofessional infrastructure at the hospital by July 1, 2015.

As a department director within the hospital, Burgess owns the initiative, but makes it clear Sister Kate is leading the team. “Our chief nursing officer looked at what Sister Kate could bring to the organization, and our administration is fully supporting her project,” says Burgess. “It’s in our strategic plan, under innovation. It’s just the respect that we as an organization have for her.

“Sister Kate is a huge blessing to me personally, as well as the hospital. With her doctorate she’s working on, the hospital has completely embraced a partnership with her. We have formulated a team around who she feels will be instrumental in the interprofessional education and research. She is bringing something completely new to Memorial Hospital. We’re breaking down silos, and she’s leading the hospital in that. It’s going beautifully so far. The goal is to recognize each other’s strengths, to benefit the patient.”

Burgess notes that many patient satisfaction surveys are returned with positive comments about Sister Kate. “It’s her attentiveness to their needs. It’s not just passing medications and doing dressing changes, it’s focusing on the patient and giving 100 percent dedication.”

Burgess also cites how being a Benedictine sister helps Sister Kate in her nursing work. “I believe it enters in because of her training, because of her being centered personally. She’s healthy mentally and emotionally, and I believe that comes from her being such a strong member of the Sisters of Saint Benedict. She brings that here, without a doubt. She is truly an angel on earth.”