In honor of Angela Spruill
In high school, Angela Spruill knew she wanted to work in health care but didn’t know the specific field until she took a class that allowed her to visit hospitals and doctor’s offices. She loved the job the nurses did and decided to attend UNC’s School of Nursing. “It was the hands-on part of the job that attracted me,” she says. “Knowing that I’d be working directly with the patients and their families is what I really liked.”
For eight years now she’s been with the Bone Marrow Transplant program at UNC where she trains new nurses, mentors students and manages the tricky staff schedule. So adored is she that patients have been known to bring her baked goods and ask for her by name when they return to the hospital. In 2007, she earned an Oncology Excellence Award for Nursing and later was named as one of the Great 100 Nurses in North Carolina.
Angela, very aware of the lack of suitable minority bone marrow donors, announces them in the community, including her church congregation. But her true love is day-to-day nursing. “Just knowing at end of the day that I did a good job is all I need.”