Inside Duke Medicine
Meet a Great Nurse: Rita Oakes
posted August 11th, 2010Rita Oakes, RN, a certified occupational health nurse specialist in Employee Health, is one of nine DUHS' nurses named a Great 100.
Rita works daily with new Duke employees making sure they pass preplacement physicals, medical qualifications and have the right vaccinations to work in the hospital. Part of her job also includes covering the Blood and Body Emergency Hotline.
Rita has been a nurse for 27 years and has been in the employee health specialty since 1998.
"Occupational health is a specialty all on its own," she says. "The good thing about it is it lets you use just about every area of nursing, from psychiatry to infectious diseases."
Rita says her role is very challenging, but she wouldn't have it any other way.
"The resources here at Duke are tremendous," she says. "I really like working in a large institution like this, because I can learn as much as I can."
Read more about the other eight DUHS nurses named to the Great 100 Nurses in North Carolina.