Nurse Alli Bullard thought she had her career path planned out.
She set aside her aspirations of becoming a nurse to pursue her other passion —education. After graduating from Auburn University Montgomery with a bachelor’s in education, she began working at her grandmother’s daycare and loved working with preschoolers. But in 2017, her grandfather had open-heart surgery. Bullard knew she had to revert to her original plan of becoming a nurse.
“I knew then. After seeing his whole process and getting better, I knew that cardiology was where I wanted to be. I was meant to be a nurse. I’ve always known that helping people was what I wanted to do,” says Bullard.
So she returned to school that year and received her registered nursing degree from Virginia College in 2019. The same year, she was hired at East Alabama Medical Center (EAMC) and now works in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit.
Bullard was named an honoree in the Opelika-Auburn News’ Heart of Health Care Initiative. Daily Nurse proudly honors Alli Bullard as our Nurse of the Week for her passion and dedication to helping patients.
She says connecting with the family of the patients she works with is incredibly important. As she thinks back to her grandfather’s surgery, she understands how difficult the process can be and aims to make it easier for her patients’ families.
“If I do not make a connection with my family, then I haven’t done my job. But, they also need to know that you can call me and ask me the questions, and I’ll be straightforward and honest to tell you what I can tell you,” says Bullard.
As Bullard continues to serve the Auburn-Opelika community she loves at EAMC, she is also working on her bachelor’s of science in nursing at Jacksonville State University. She says the most rewarding part of her job was seeing her patients back on their feet and living a normal life.
Nominate a Nurse of the Week! Every Wednesday, DailyNurse.com features a nurse making a difference in the lives of their patients, students, and colleagues. We encourage you to nominate a nurse who has impacted your life as the next Nurse of the Week, and we’ll feature them online and in our weekly newsletter.
