A Summerville native and Georgia Northwestern Technical College nursing student is being praised for her quick thinking and compassion after helping a patient experiencing a medical crisis during a recent clinical rotation.
Stephanie Wilson, 33, is a lifelong Summerville resident who attends GNTC’s Walker County Campus in Rock Spring. She is expected to graduate with an Associate of Science in Nursing degree in December.
Wilson is currently in her third semester of clinical rotations at a hospital in northwest Georgia. During a recent rotation, she recognized that a patient’s condition was rapidly deteriorating and immediately sought help, allowing the appropriate medical team to quickly intervene.
“Stephanie recognizing the patient’s rapid deterioration and responding promptly is what made the difference in this case,” said Heather Akers, an instructor of Associate Degree Nursing at GNTC. “She sought immediate help when she observed something wasn’t right, and that quickly brought the appropriate care team to the bedside to intervene.”
After the patient was stabilized, Wilson turned her attention to the patient’s family.
“Once the patient was stabilized, I witnessed Stephanie comforting the patient’s family,” Akers said. “The aftermath of such an event is a troubling sight to see sometimes, and Stephanie took the extra time to acknowledge the loved ones and provide comfort.”
Akers said Wilson’s actions demonstrated both the clinical skills and compassion required in nursing.
“Stephanie responded exactly how she was trained — with professionalism and compassion,” Akers said. “I am very proud of her.”
For Wilson, providing comfort to patients and their families is personal. She said nurses comforted and cried with her when her father died four years ago, an experience that reinforced the importance of compassion in healthcare.
“Patients are people, not just a diagnosis, so I respect their dignity in their time of need because they are vulnerable,” Wilson said. “Nursing enables me to be the smiling face or helping hand they see on what may be the worst time of their life.”
Wilson described the recent incident as her first experience responding to an emergency as a nursing student.
“It was my first experience in an emergency and something I will never forget,” she said.
Wilson credits her GNTC training with helping her recognize the warning signs and respond quickly. Nursing students begin by learning basic skills such as checking vital signs and practicing patient safety before progressing into disease processes, patient assessments and clinical rotations.
“Nursing students have to think critically on the spot, and GNTC prepares us to do this,” Wilson said.
Her path into nursing began years earlier. Wilson was already a mother when she graduated from high school in 2011. She earned a diploma in Medical Assisting from GNTC in 2013 and later worked in pediatrics.
After gaining experience in healthcare, Wilson decided she wanted to continue her education and become a registered nurse. She returned to GNTC because of her previous experience with the college and its convenience.
As a nursing student, Wilson has completed clinical hours in assisted living, labor and delivery, mental health and medical-surgical care. Those experiences have helped her decide that she wants to begin her nursing career providing bedside care in a medical-surgical unit.
“GNTC has helped me become more confident and communicate with patients on a level that is beneficial to them,” Wilson said. “I’ve also developed greater patience and adaptability because every patient is different.”
Wilson, a Summerville native and mother of two boys, also received a scholarship from the GNTC Foundation in fall 2026 to help her complete the nursing program.
“You have to want to be a nurse,” Wilson said. “It’s hard work, but it’s rewarding.”
