Jennifer Ringler
Jennifer Ringler is honored to serve those who have served the country.
As a case manager in the cardiology department at Omaha VA Medical Center, registered nurse Ringler is extremely proud to be surrounded by veterans and their families every single day. In fact, it reminds her of her own family’s penchant to serve.
Ringler’s large extended family includes her grandfathers, father, father-in-law, uncles and cousins who have represented various branches of the military and most of the wars through the years. An aunt and three cousins are nurses. Her grandmother joined the Army Nursing Corps near the end of WWII.
In her home, Ringler has a photo of herself with her aunt and grandmother that holds a special place in her heart — with all of the women in their white nursing uniforms and white caps. Ringler actually still has her grandmother’s nursing cap and wears it as a member of the Nebraska Nurse Honor Guard, a team of active and retired nurses who volunteer their time to participate in services for their fallen colleagues.
When she told her grandfather, who had fought in WWII, that she was going to work at the VA hospital, his eyes teared up.
“He told me how important it is to serve our veterans and give back to them as they had once given to us.”
But it doesn’t end there. Ringler’s husband is an ER nurse at the VA, former EMS fire chief and still an active part of the fire department today as an RN.
The Omaha native has spent the last 16 years of her 25-year career at the VA hospital. She started there as a local travel nurse for a brief stint, fell in love with it and decided to stay. She had previously worked in the cardiac unit at another hospital. In her current position, Ringler coordinates patient care with a multidisciplinary team of specialists and educates patients and their families on the treatment pathways and medications being administered to them.
“Sometimes, especially in the cardiology unit, it’s difficult for patients and their families to understand the complexity of the care that we give and how necessary it is,” said Ringler, registered nurse, MSN. “For example, heart failure patients are typically on a lot of medications, so it’s important to take the time to sit down with them and explain the reasoning behind everything we do. Yes, that can often be challenging, but it’s something I love to do. My job is to take that fear out of them by providing them with the education they need so they are not so fearful of treatment.”
Jennifer Ringler receiving her Heart of Healthcare award
It’s because of this dedication to the profession and her life-altering work educating her patients that Ringler was recently recognized as a recipient of the Nurses – Heart of Healthcare award. The nominees underwent a voting process by a committee of nursing administration and faculty members at Clarkson College.
“I feel like nurses in general are humble when it comes to being recognized for doing a good job,” she said. “Working on a team as we do, we are always making sure everyone has the support they need to do a good job, so I feel like I’m being recognized for a team effort. I certainly couldn’t do my job without my wonderful co-workers.”
Her advice to up-and-coming nurses: “Know your worth.”
“Don’t be afraid to work within your full scope of practice and don’t be afraid to change jobs. When I switched from the cardiac unit as a critical care nurse at my previous hospital to the VA, I was initially concerned I wouldn’t have the same depth and connection to the patient that I had then.”
But her work at the VA has opened up an entirely new set of skills that includes more in-depth work with the entire healthcare team, in addition to her work with the patients.
“The moment I started working here, even back when I was considered a traveling nurse, I just fell in love with it,” she said. “This is a very special population of patients who are so very grateful for their care. They are very cognizant of one another and the work that the medical team does for them.”
Just as Ringler is grateful for their service.
In addition to cardiology, Omaha VA Medical Center provides primary care and specialty health services, including urgent care, mental health care, treatment for spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries, palliative and hospice care, suicide prevention and more.
