Seeking New Opportunities with RN Tameka McCabe

18 years ago, Tameka McCabe joined VNS Health as a fundraiser coordinator on the Development Department team. Today, Tameka is Director of Wound Management for Home Care. How did she go from fundraising to wound management? For starters, Tameka likes to seek out new opportunities. It also helps that she works for an organization that encourages team members to take advantage of career path opportunities.   

Here, in her own words, is Tameka’s career path story.

My First Six Years at VNS Health

I started at VNS Health in 2006 as a fundraising coordinator. I’d been doing marketing at an insurance company before that, but I was ready to move to health care, which had always been an interest of mine. When VNS Health hired me to work in in their Development office, I knew I could apply the skills I’d acquired in marketing to fundraising.

Over my six years in Development, I was ultimately promoted to Senior Development Associate. In that position, I was responsible for identifying individuals who could potentially donate to the agency, tracking the revenue received from charitable contributions, and managing our support team.

Time to Pivot!

Working in fundraising gave me the chance to see the tremendous impact that nurses make in the community. I had already completed a master’s degree in public health, and I decided I wanted to go to nursing school. I attended school in the evenings and weekends and earned my associate degree in two years, but it was challenging! My social life was virtually nonexistent. VNS Health was very supportive, allowing me to take time off when I needed to. The tuition reimbursement was a big help as well.

From Nurse Intern to Home Care Nurse

Not long after receiving my nursing certification, I enrolled in VNS Health’s nurse internship program. I chose that option because I really wanted hands-on clinical experience and patient interaction. In 2012, I became a full-time home care RN, working on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Moving into a Clinical Leadership Role

After six rewarding years in the field as a home care nurse, I was ready to see what was out there from a management perspective. I first transitioned to a Clinical Field Manager role, supervising home care clinicians in Brooklyn for two years. Then, in 2019, I was offered the position of Clinical Intake Manager, which was exciting because I got to explore yet another facet of how we serve our community.

In that role I worked with different hospitals, interfacing with hospital personnel to discuss cases, while also managing the referral process and supporting intake employees—all with a focus on ensuring continuity of care for discharged patients. Then COVID hit, so everything had to happen remotely. It was a crazy time.

Launching VNS Health’s Wound Management Program

In 2022, I was given the opportunity to pioneer a role that hadn’t existed before at VNS Health: Director of the Wound Management Program. Wounds are very prevalent in the aging population we serve, and VNS Health Home Care wanted to put a system in place to optimize and streamline the wound-care process.

I oversaw the program’s full rollout, which included implementing a new software system that standardizes how we capture wound images and document wounds and patient progress. We also expanded the Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurse (WOCN) team. These specialized nurses are primarily responsible for reviewing wound care cases and making treatment recommendations. The wound care program also supports and educates clinicians on the systems we implement around wound care. This position is particularly exciting because it allows me to be both strategic and proactive, as I collaborate with leadership and clinicians to help make VNS Health a real leader in managing wounds for the patients under our care.

Final Word

If I were to offer one piece of advice to my colleagues at VNS Health, it’s this: Never be afraid to seek out new opportunities. Take some time to explore the organization and see what else is out there. If you see something that interests you, don’t hold yourself back. Every role I’ve had at VNS Health provided me with skills and experience that I was able to use and build on for my next role—and I got a lot of support along the way.