Angel Mason didn’t always want to be a nurse, but when her grandmother received excellent care at a Michigan hospital, she had a change of heart.

“I didn’t originally want to be a nurse,” she said. “My mom, aunt and sister-in-law are all nurses, but it wasn’t my dream. It wasn’t until my grandmother was in the ICU and the care she received was so amazing. The nurses were so gentle. We had a lot of family in there and they were so patient with us and took time to explain everything they were doing. I went home and told my husband ‘I think I want to go to nursing school.’”

After completing nursing school and working in Michigan for a few years, Mason and her family moved to Tucson where she got a job as a registered nurse at TMC on the Adult Medical/Surgical unit. That was eight years ago. Now, she serves as nurse manager of the same unit. She found her calling and loves helping patients and their families have the same experience she did with her grandmother all those years ago.

“It truly became a love and a passion,” she said. “I think it really was always a part of me.”

Moving away from the close-knit, family-oriented hospital she started at in Michigan was intimidating at first.

“I was worried about being the new girl,” she recalled. “But when I came to TMC, it was no different. I felt so comfortable and welcomed, and I quickly developed relationships in the unit. I think that’s what has kept me here. It’s the people.”

Mason loves the fact that she has always had good relationships with her managers and with the executive team.

“I feel that being able to have a working relationship with your executive team and your directors and even having your nursing staff on text is hugely important. And, I don’t think a lot of other systems have that,” she said. “The culture of family is evident in all of our interactions – with staff and our higher-ups. I think that is the prominent feel at TMC.”