Nurse Stories

Jaci Null

Director of Nursing
RN

Jaci Null remembers wanting to be a nurse when she was a child, but when it came time to choose a job she found herself gravitating towards the cosmetics counter at her local department store instead. She enjoyed the glamour of it, as well as the fun interaction she had there with clients both regular and new.

But in 1993, personal issues demanded she take a different path – mostly as a means to help support her son, who was only four at the time. She enrolled in college and graduated with her Bachelors Degree in Nursing. An opportunity to enter the healthcare industry arose, as a part-time nurse at Golden LivingCenter – Uniontown, and she jumped on it.

“It was ironic in a way, I guess,” she said, “since I’d originally wanted to be a nurse, but it was also the right thing to do. I loved it the minute I got into it, and when you enjoy what you do, it shows in the outcomes of your work.”

While Jaci felt an immediate love for the connections she developed with her residents, she found herself also enjoying the challenges and unpredictability this new position brought upon her and how each day was different than the one before it.

“The minute you pass through the door,” she says, “your plan changes and you have to adapt. I love that. Some days are better than others, of course, but the residents are wonderful no matter what. They just make your day.”

Since first becoming a nurse, Jaci found herself moving quickly up the ranks at her LivingCenter, from part-time nurse to full-time nurse to nurse manager to Assistant Director of Nurses and finally to Director of Nursing Services, her current position. She has also received her administrator’s license and hopes to become executive director of her own facility.

“That’s the thing with Golden Living,” she says. “They have a lot of opportunities for advancement, and I’m proof of it. Also, the company recognizes you for what you do. We’ve been recognized many times -- our facility has won many awards over the years."

In her current role, Jaci oversees the nursing department and works closely with her facility’s executive director. One of the qualities she likes most about this position is the opportunities it offers her to interact with her staff, many of whom have worked with her for years.

But as with her clients in the cosmetics industry, it’s her interaction with residents that proves most rewarding.

“We have a breakfast buffet every morning, and we all work there, even the administrative staff,” says Jaci. “The residents just light up when they see you and you connect with them. It just makes your day.”