Experts
Dotty Reid
Golden LivingCenters
Dotty Reid has been with Golden Living and its predecessors for
12 years. For the past three and a half years she has been the
National Director of Clinical Education. Although Dotty’s
focus is now on educating nurses, she didn’t realize that this was
her passion until she had already been in the nursing profession
for many years. “When I first went into nursing, it wasn’t really
to be an educator,” she explained. “I came about that later.”
Dotty’s decision to become a nurse came when she was young. “I’m
a product of the Civil Rights era. Back in those days, in the
1960s, there were not that many choices for a woman of color,” she
explained. Dorothy originally wanted to be an attorney, but she
decided to pursue nursing instead. “I was fortunate enough to get
into what was considered then to be one of the most prestigious
Nursing Schools in the country, Bellevue, NYU. I always wanted to
help people, so nursing fit the bill,” she said. “When I look back,
I made a fabulous choice. I love being a nurse and what they can
offer to the community at large. I have had no regrets.”
As Dotty has progressed through her career on both the East and
west coast, she has held the positions of nurse consultant,
director of nursing and clinical payment specialist, to name a few.
When she was working as a clinical services consultant for golden
Living’s predecessor, she realized that she enjoyed the teaching
aspect of her job. “When I moved to North Carolina, I discovered
that UNC had a program to teach nurses how to become “Nurse
Educators,” she explained. “I was encouraged to go for it. I was
able to take advantage of the tuition reimbursement program so I
got my teaching certificate in nursing education.”
What Dotty especially loves about working for Golden Living is
the company’s openness to new ideas. “We’re given the opportunity
to explore our ideas. When you collaborate with other people, you
can end up with something bigger and better than you originally
imagined. That’s really great,” she said.
All in all, Dotty’s passion has inspired others to see the
potential in themselves. “The greatest part of my job is creating
an environment that has opportunities that encourages learning,”
she explained. “I think when people feel good about what they do,
they have great pride and an increased sense of self esteem”
For Dotty, her career brings her both personal fulfillment and
joy. “My joy is twofold. When I can create an environment where a
nurse feels comfortable enough to ask for help, I know they believe
that the classes and workshops at Golden Living are a safe place to
learn. The second piece of that is the fact that I still see nurses
push themselves beyond their own expectations and succeed,” she
said. “That is joyful.”