South Carolina’s Best Nurses

JOAN CAIN, MS, FNP-BC, ACHPN
Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner
Medical University of South Carolina Hospital

While caring for a chronically ill patient, Joan Cain got to know her well. Instead of a hug, she asked Joan to lightly tap foreheads before she left the room. As her illness progressed, she simply pointed to her forehead each time Joan headed out.

“She was just so weak, it became a ritual,” Joan recalled. “It became quite impactful, especially as she was coming to the end of life. It was one of the last things we did.”

Moments like this flash through her mind as she reflects on a more than 40-year nursing career. Cain’s grandmother was a nurse, and her patient care stories prompted Cain to pursue the only profession she ever considered.

After serving patients in general medicine, urology, child and adolescent psychiatry and geriatrics, Cain advanced to nursing home administration. Preferring patient care over paperwork, she enrolled in a master’s degree program and became a family nurse practitioner.

“I wanted to get back to the bedside,” she said. “I feel that’s what I’m meant to do.”

After serving as an FNP caring for patients in an emergency room, at an HIV/AIDS clinic and at a private practice in New York, she moved to South Carolina and joined MUSC in Palliative care. For the last 10 years, she’s served the adult inpatient population at MUSC Charleston.

“I’m here to support patients and families when they’re most vulnerable,” she said. “Giving them some comfort, peace and help with symptoms is just so rewarding.”

MATTHEW BURGESS, BSN RN, PMH-BC
Institute of Psychiatry Acute Care Unit
Medical University of South Carolina Hospital

Matthew Burgess lost his mother to cancer after her decade-long battle. Through her treatment, he noted the impact of her nurses on her care and her experience.

“After her passing, I felt I needed to do something more meaningful to help people, so I pursued a career change towards healthcare,” he said.

Burgess studied science, specifically neurobiology, which led him to concentrate on mental health. He pursued nursing, based on his mother’s experience, but also to have the opportunity to spend significant time with patients.

Today, he serves the MUSC Institute of Psychiatry on the Acute Care Unit, caring for patients with severe mental illness. He’s integrated his love of teaching and precepting students and new nurses into serving as an adjunct clinical instructor for the College of Nursing.

“There is a stigma about mental health in our general culture, and for patients receiving inpatient care in particular, which is reflected in how I see how patients are treated by the broader medical system,” he said.

Through his efforts, he hopes to impact care for these patients.

“I love hearing students reflect on how their perspectives have changed after a semester of mental health clinical experience,” he said. “The vast majority of them will not work in mental health, but I’m very hopeful that they will bring those new perspectives into their future healthcare settings to help to reduce the stigma and increase the quality of care.”

JAE ARDA, MSN, RN, CEN, TCRN, CPEN
Trauma Clinical Practice Nurse Expert
Adult Emergency Department, Medical University of South Carolina

Before joining the military, Jae Arda’s significant other underwent cancer treatment. She provided hour-long rides to chemotherapy after working overnight shifts, often sleeping on the floor of the infusion suite.

Arda was particularly impressed by the primary nurse who she describes as caring for the whole patient — both of them.

“She understood that how I was doing directly affected my significant other’s wellbeing. That nurse went out of her way to make sure both were comfortable,” she said. That level of awareness and compassion stuck with Arda.

While exploring a few different career paths, Arda’s thoughts continually returned to that experience, prompting her enrollment in nursing school.

Today, as a clinical practice nurse expert in the emergency department, Arda blends patient care, quality improvement, nursing advocacy and education.

“In the emergency and trauma care setting, I get to work across disciplines to improve systems while also developing nurses into strong, confident clinicians and promote interdisciplinary collaboration and relationships,” she says. “I really value collaboration — working closely with nursing, emergency medicine and surgical teams to reinforce that great care is always a team effort. I also carry that into my humanitarian work, connecting specialty care and education to resource-limited settings.”

Problem-solving in a team environment thrills her most.

“I often work with nurses and newer physicians who are still building experience and I find it really rewarding to help them navigate challenges. More than just giving answers, I like helping people build the confidence and skills to solve problems on their own.”

WEATHERLY BRICE, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, NE-BC
Manager, Nursing Professional Development
Medical University of South Carolina Hospital

Weatherly Brice lives by the mantra of French essayist Joseph Joubert who reminds us that “to teach is to learn twice.”

While she strives to continue her personal learning journey and develop new skill sets, she’s also committed to championing professional development as a specialty practice to ensure that patients receive safe, high-quality and competent care.

Brice has influenced practice at the state, regional and local levels and served as a board director for the Association for Nursing Professional Development (ANPD), which advances the specialty of nursing professional development to enhance healthcare outcomes. She also is a founding member of the first ANPD affiliate in South Carolina.

“Throughout my career, I discovered a love for teaching, often through patient education, clinical instruction and mentoring students,” says Brice, who first served as an obstetrical nurse after being inspired by a passionate nursing instructor. “That passion led me to nursing professional development, where I have spent over 20 years blending education and practice.”

Two women impacted Brice’s initial decision to pursue nursing. Her grandmother became a nurse after losing her brother in World War II, becoming a trusted resource for neighbors and her mother was an elementary school teacher who left a lasting impact on the community for 40 years. Their inspiration is reflected in her work every day

“I hope that through my nursing career, I honor in some small way the legacy of these two remarkable women,”
she said.

DORA GLENN, BSN, RN, TCTCN
Blood & Marrow Transplant Team
MUSC Cellular Therapy Program

As a child, Dora Glenn considered a future as a nurse or teacher. Seeing nurses in action when a close family member sustained an injury cemented her fate. Their knowledge and compassion compelled her to help, and she donned the purple gloves to assist with menial tasks.

“Having the chance to feel that I was able to help with her recovery, I knew that when I grew up, I wanted to be a nurse to help people and hopefully inspire others one day to be a nurse,” she said.

Glenn began her career as an inpatient nurse to gain experience and then transferred to the outpatient clinic at the Hollings Cancer Center. She completed her bachelor’s degree and committed to furthering her career in oncology.

She received the 2019 MUSC Outpatient Nurse of the Year Award, and for the last five years has served as a cellular therapy coordinator under the Cellular Therapy Program, working as part of a multidisciplinary team that ensures all requirements are met for treatment to proceed. After working primarily with adults, she recently transitioned to pediatric coordinator.

“I want to support the patient and family through the process and take the stress away from them so they can focus on the goal of getting better,” she said. “I am inspired every day by the strength of our patients and families and proud that I am a small part of their journey.”

TARYN FLYNN, BSN, RN, CEN
Adult Emergency Department
Medical University of South Carolina

After college, Taryn Flynn spent several years in South America as a translator and group leader at a medical clinic in rural Honduras. She worked closely with three volunteer nurses from the U.S.

“Watching how they cared for patients and worked as a team left a huge impression on me,” she said. “By the end of those two weeks, I knew that nursing was what I wanted to pursue.”

For 11 years, she has cared for critically-ill patients in the emergency department as a bedside nurse and charge nurse. The roles have shaped her ability to deliver care and provided vast rewards.

“From the outside it looks chaotic, with panic alarms, radios going off and people running around,” she said. “No matter what challenges arise on any given shift, people step up to do what’s best for patients. Some of my closest friendships have come from this work; the experiences shared during those long shifts together are unlike anything else.”

As she nears completion of a doctoral nurse practitioner program, Flynn is finalizing a hospital-wide mass casualty preparedness project that includes education, simulations and debriefings.

“When we are already short-staffed or out of beds, I find myself thinking about treating even more patients who need immediate care,” she said. “This project has shown me how powerful and necessary interdisciplinary collaboration is when it comes to mass casualty preparedness. It’s not achieved through policies alone—it requires frontline engagement, continuous practice and teams working together across the entire health system.”

Farrin Freeman, MSN, FNP-C

A close relationship with her grandmother growing up led Farrin Freeman to a career as a nurse practitioner, dedicated to preventive medicine and early detection. Her grandmother, also a nurse, passed away in 2006 after battling cancer.

“Witnessing her journey deeply impacted me,” she said. “That experience solidified my desire to help others during some of the most difficult times in their lives.”

Today, her greatest motivation is living a life that would make her grandparents proud. She does so by serving patients in the MUSC North Charleston primary care office, educating them on screening and preventive measures such as mammograms, Pap smears and colonoscopies. She previously served as an oncology nurse, finding fulfillment being involved in patient care during “such a critical and hopeful time in their lives.”

Freeman also is inspired by her husband Josh Freeman, a nurse practitioner working in surgical administration. “Watching his dedication to improving patient care and driving meaningful change motivates me to do the same,” she said.

She feels rewarded when her current patients share that she is the first provider who truly listens to them: “I [am] thankful that God has blessed me with the ability to connect with patients in a way that helps them feel safe, heard and empowered to take an active role in their health journey.”

As a nurse practitioner clinical educator in the MUSC College of Nursing, she shares with students her story of persistence. While completing her nursing prerequisites, she left school to be closer to family and enrolled in a local program. She was disappointed to be placed at a hospital 45 minutes from home. But, a year later, she met her husband there, which she calls one of the greatest blessings of her life.

She often tells her students and colleague alike, “What may feel like an obstacle or disappointment can ultimately lead you exactly where you are meant to be.”

Amy Williams, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC

Amy Williams grew up in a family dedicated to service. Her paternal great-grandparents were Italian immigrants pursuing the American dream as farmers, and, although they didn’t have much, they always donated food to those in need. One grandmother volunteered for Head Start and the Boys & Girls Clubs and the other at a local hospital. Sometimes Williams joined her.

“That’s when I came into contact with nurses for the first time,” Williams said. “It seemed like an amazing profession – getting to help people – and that really spoke to me.”

Williams is similarly service-focused, with a nursing career dedicated to caring for others, first at the bedside on a pediatric-infant-toddler med-surg unit and later as a nurse practitioner in a pediatric neurology practice. After working with critically ill children, having difficult end-of-life discussions with teenagers and counseling parents of sick newborns, she joined a primary care medical home practice through MUSC’s Department of Pediatrics.

“Getting to have those really deep and rich and meaningful relationships with patients and families in a medical home setting is really something very special, and something that has informed. … and motivated me to do a lot of the work that I’ve done as a result of that role,” she said.

Today, Williams teaches advanced health care policy and advocacy in MUSC’s College of Nursing graduate program while dedicating her professional efforts to improving early childhood health care services for families in need. She leads grant-funded projects, holds state board appointments and serves on a national think tank working alongside key leaders.

Her message shines through in her service work. “There’s a natural evolution in academia when you pair clinical practice with really looking at, day in and day out, what scientific evidence shows is most important for the populations,” she said. “It’s all about zooming out from the exam room and really understanding what patients and families and larger community needs exist so that we can leverage legislators, stakeholders and those with decision-making and spending capacity to be able to provide some of these routine things that all children and families need to be healthy.”

CARRIE L. CORMACK, DNP, CPNP, FPCN, FAAN

Early in her career, Carrie Cormack cared for a teenager with burns over 80% of his body. Among her most meaningful moments were sitting at his bedside overnight while his mother rested. Following his discharge many months later, his mother updated Cormack on his rehab, return to school and other successes.

“Life wasn’t easy, but I was glad to know that I had played even a small part in his journey,” she explained. “That experience taught me one of the most powerful lessons in nursing – that healing isn’t always about what we do or say but about being there, fully present, when someone needs it most.”

That lesson, she said, shaped her approach to her various roles, from caring for families facing life-limiting diagnoses to mentoring nurses across the globe in palliative care. “The power of presence, compassion and human connection remains at the heart of everything I do, whether I’m at the bedside, in the classroom or collaborating with colleagues around the world,” she noted.

Cormack serves the Medical University of South Carolina as a distinguished professor in palliative care and associate professor, palliative care lead, focusing on preparing nurses to care for individuals and families facing serious illness. She works with nursing leaders from across the globe through the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium, sharing gold-standard principles in palliative care. “Witnessing how culture and spirituality shape the experience of illness and caregiving around the world has deepened my understanding of what it means to provide truly compassionate, human-centered care,” she explained.

She also continues service as a perinatal nurse practitioner and remains inspired by her patients and their families, particularly their resilience, love and courage in the face of unimaginable challenges. “They remind me daily of the power of empathy and the privilege it is to be invited into such intimate and sacred spaces,” she said. “Their strength fuels my passion for palliative care and motivates me to continue teaching and mentoring others to approach this work with compassion and grace. [They’re] all part of the same mission – to ensure that every person facing serious illness receives compassionate, skilled care.”

TRISHA PETITTE, PHD, APRN, FNP-BC

While Trisha Petitte has seen many patients throughout her career, nothing means more to her than knowing how much they value her care. After a long shift, whether in hospice nursing, on a cardiac care unit or in family practice, their gratitude is all the reward she needs.

“Hearing them thank me for my work and say things like ‘You’ve been the best nurse we’ve had’ really sticks in my mind about how grateful they are to have had me take care of them,” she said.

Specifically, a hospice patient in rural West Virginia comes to mind. Suffering from COPD and on oxygen, the woman had few visitors and looked forward to Petitte’s monthly visits. “I got to know her more on a personal level in addition to taking care of her,” she said. “I went through a lot of ups and downs with her.”

Petitte joined the Medical University of South Carolina in September as an assistant professor in the School of Nursing. While she dedicates much of her time to shaping the next generation of nurses, she continues to see patients in a family practice clinic.

“I fully believe that it’s a very important part of our role as professors that we have those direct, real-world experiences that we can share with our students and vice versa,” she said. “It’s the richness of the environment that you can share all of your stories and come up with what might be new ways of practicing or what might be better ways of helping our patients lead the healthiest lives possible.”

Nursing was actually a career shift for Petitte, who first worked as a phlebotomist while in a public administration master’s degree program. She spent about a dozen years working on grants for cardiovascular, asthma and diabetes programs but knew deep down that that she wanted to be more hands-on with patients. That’s when she enrolled in an accelerated BSN program.

Petitte said she’s continually inspired by resilient patients who bounce back from health crises and by fellow nurses and nurse educators with their dedication to their patients and evolving ideas to improve patient care and outcomes.