Alyse Ringenberg, RN, BSN

4 Hamilton-Medical Surgical Unit

2006 Mentor of the Year

"As a nursing student at Bradley University, I did my clinical rotations at four hospitals. I’m a Peoria native, and I knew I was going to stay in town after graduation, so I picked the hospital where I wanted to work based on my experiences as a student. When I walked down the halls at Methodist, people would say ‘hi’ to me—I didn’t even have to do anything, and they’d smile!

"I also decided to work at Methodist because of the support that new graduates get here from experienced nurses. I have a lot of friends who’ve done travel nursing and worked in San Diego, Hawaii, and other places. I could have gone, but the people I work with at Methodist are my family. They’re here to help me with anything—we work together as a team—which enables me to deliver the best care to my patients.

"I’ve been through a lot at home during the past seven years I’ve worked here. Since my son’s birth two years ago, I’ve gone from full-time to part-time and changed shifts. My boss is wonderful. She’ll do anything for me. She adjusts my schedule to whatever fits my family life so I can focus my time on other things besides work. The flexibility is fantastic, especially now that I’m back in school to become a family nurse practitioner. And Methodist is helping to pay for my continuing education through tuition reimbursement, even as a part-time employee.

"Being a nurse at Methodist makes my days better. I actually come in to work wanting to come. And I love being a mentor. The new grads teach me so much. I enjoy educating and mentoring them, but it’s a reciprocal relationship."