Nursing Alum Wins Major Award

by Deborah Laker

ORU alumnus Matthew Ortiz, who serves as the Oncology Program Manager for Providence Health Care, recently received the national Oncology Certified Nurse of the Year Award. The 2012 graduate was selected by the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation Board of Directors as the country’s most “shining example of oncology nursing.”

Ortiz credits his success to the mentorship he received at ORU, where he was introduced to the idea of nursing the whole person: body, mind, and spirit. He first heard of Oral Roberts University through a group of alumni in 2006, while on a mission trip to Thailand.

“I came out for [Quest Leadership] Weekend and really had a miraculous encounter with the Lord,” he said.

Once he set his mind on pursuing an education at ORU, he was drawn to studying nursing due to a life-changing experience: when he was 17, his older sister died from leukemia.

“I remember being in the hospital with her and seeing nurses in action,” he said. “It just made me want to be that person for somebody else.”

He enrolled in the Anna Vaughn College of Nursing, dedicating his life to bring healing to others.

While at ORU, he received a scholarship from the Cancer Treatment Centers of America in exchange for a work commitment. He began working as a nurse aide, caring for cancer patients at their Tulsa location.

Ortiz graduated in 2012 and immediately enrolled in a new graduate nursing program at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America.

After two years of working in Tulsa, he learned of an assistant nurse manager position in Spokane, Washington and put himself in the running for it.

“I was already passionate about leadership from the different programs I participated in while at ORU. So I took that step and applied.”

Ortiz was promoted. After serving as the night-shift assistant nurse manager he was transferred to working the day shift, allowing him more interaction with patients.

He describes his time as an assistant nurse manager as a “really great experience,” especially because he gets to work with “an amazing team of passionate nurses while caring for cancer patients.”

In 2015, Ortiz earned his oncology certification, an additional credential to his nursing license dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.

Ortiz’s current position involves a lot of background administrative work in two hospitals. Although he misses interacting with patients, he is grateful that, through creating various programs to improve treatment experiences, he has a greater impact on cancer patients. These programs range from creating support groups for breast and gynecological cancer patients to supervising a major process change for the hospital.

Ortiz’s years of experience as an oncology nurse along with his impressive record of volunteering for the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation led to his supervisors nominating him for the national award last year.

When he received a phone call informing him he had won the national award, Ortiz was speechless.

“I thought they were going to tell me, ‘Thanks for applying but you didn’t get it,’” he said, “so I was really humbled and blessed. Very surprised.”

One of the projects Ortiz believes made him stand out in the selection process was his Quality Improvement Project. Along with the help of nurses at Providence, Ortiz decreased the time between a patient’s arrival and when they start their chemotherapy by 60 to 70 percent.

“It’s a very efficient process now from when they check-in to administering chemo, resulting in being able to discharge sooner, having a less anxious wait time, and just a better overall patient experience,” he said.

Ortiz thanks the professors who invested in him at ORU in the Anna Vaughn College of Nursing for giving him a vision and preparing him for the workforce.

“I owe the success to the people who believed in me and took a chance on me.”

 

[Note: Mr. Ortiz was due to receive his award in person at a ceremony on May 1, 2020, but due the COVID-19 pandemic, that ceremony has been postponed to an as-yet-undetermined date.]