Autumn Massey

​  I graduated from South Florida State College with my associate degree in nursing in 2021. I am currently employed as a circulating registered nurse in Lakeland, FL and am enrolled in the BSN program at Keiser University. I grew up in the middle of nowhere Texas and followed my family to Florida shortly after graduating high school to pursue my career in nursing. I have many siblings who are nurses, and I always admired their dedication to and the way they treated people. I knew from a very early age that I wanted to be a nurse. After some time working as a circulating nurse, I knew I wanted to know more. I wanted to be the best advocate for my patients, especially when they cannot speak for themselves. I enrolled in the BSN program to help further my education and understanding of patient care.

            I have since participated in two mission trips to Vietnam in 2023 and 2024 with one of our orthopedic surgeons. The Operation Walk Florida mission trip took me to rural Vietnam to aid in providing the underserved in receiving total knee and hip replacements. I learned many lessons from these trips including cultural diversity and patient centered care. The gratitude shown by these patients over something I do every day opened my eyes to what quality healthcare and patient-centered care means to patients. The impact on the lives of those patients has made me continue to further my education and participate in community outreach programs.