40 years of learning at IU Health

Emogene Jones currently serves at IU Health University Hospital as a clinical nurse, in dialysis. But over her 40-year career at the Adult Academic Health Center, she has continued her education and served in several different roles.

Emogene Jones, a clinical nurse, has been working at the IU Health adult academic health center for 40 years. But throughout her four-decade long career, her role has changed several times. Jones is a lifelong learner whose desire to expand her knowledge and try new things has brought unique opportunities, from phlebotomy to nursing.

Phlebotomy and medical coding

In 1983, Jones began her healthcare journey when she attended Nurse Aide school. During this time, she heard about a three-month phlebotomy training program at Methodist Hospital and decided to give it a try. While training in the lab, her preceptor said, “If you’re going to hire any of these students, hire Emogene. She’s a good worker.”

Sure enough, Jones was hired in the Methodist Hospital lab where she served as a phlebotomy tech and computer tech. But her desire to keep learning didn’t stop there. In 1990, she stumbled upon an opportunity Methodist Hospital offered, to learn about medical coding. Soon after, she began also working as a medical coder at the hospital until 2003.

Exploring a path to nursing

Whenever Jones heard about programs to continue expanding her education, she did not hesitate to take advantage of them. She soon discovered a “College at Work” program within Methodist Hospital and began working toward her associate's degree in nursing.

“I went through College at Work for nursing and graduated in 2014, which brought my career full circle from doing Nurse’s Aide school in 1983, to becoming a nurse in 2014,” Jones explains. “I started on the med surg floor and then later I wanted to try working in dialysis.”

Choosing to work in dialysis at IU Health University Hospital, where she still works today, was a personal decision for Jones. She has several family members who have been dialysis patients.

A journey driven by a desire for personal development

“I love being a nurse. I like to take care of people,” Jones says. “I love my boss and my coworkers. I’ve had some great bosses.”

The hospitals, especially Methodist Hospital, feel like home to Jones in many ways. “I know Methodist pretty well. I spent 17 years on the night shift in the lab. While I was working one job, I was always taking classes toward something else at the same time. The hospital was very supportive.”

Jones has always been driven by a desire to grow and try new things. She sought out new roles for the sake of expanding her skills—not for a pay raise. “One of my biggest lessons is you often have to take a loss to gain,” she says. “When I was coming from phlebotomy to being a computer tech, I knew that the computer tech job paid less. But I said in my interview, I wanted to learn something new. So, I would have to take a loss, to gain new experiences that mattered to me.”

Outside of work, Jones enjoys being involved in her church community and spending time with her husband, four children and several grandchildren.