Dorthea McMahon
February 2023
Dorthea
McMahon
,
MN, RN
STAT/ABCC
University of Washington Medical Center
Seattle
,
WA
United States
Ever-present and capable, Dorthea lit a path through stormy years… those who know her best (and those who know her from a distance) experienced her greatest attributes – illuminating the dark through humor and in sharing her common humanity.
While this isn’t the first time nominating Dorthea McMahon for an award, it may be my last… after an inspiring forty-two years of an exceptionally productive Nursing career, Dorthea has left an indelible mark on the lives and infrastructure of this medical community. Dorthea exemplifies the attributes of a gritty, fortifying, and enduring leader with the compassion, care, and empathy the world exalts in nurses.
Though deserving, I can’t thoughtfully distill this woman’s career to a few sentences... I can, however, share how through the midst of profound change and uncertainty beginning in 2020, Dorthea has been a bedrock of stability for many in an environment shaken, stirred, and deep-fried by a pandemic. Ever-present and capable, Dorthea lit a path through stormy years… those who know her best (and those who know her from a distance) experienced her greatest attributes – illuminating the dark through humor and in sharing her common humanity.
In Dorthea’s expansive career she has moved through the ranks of nursing – from staff nurse, to RN3, nurse manager, and her current role as assistant administrator. These aren’t roles and honors given for participation, but rather duties taken on to nurture and develop cohesive teams, perpetually evolving to the needs and from the constituents available at that time. Witty and creative, Dorthea was a natural leader in forging the Resource Team in 2002 – a team that does it all, goes everywhere, and supports everyone, just as Dorthea does.
Known to bake cookies, host gatherings, rally the troops, purchase group gifts, lend an ear, join the party… Dorthea brings light, irreverence, and empathy from the expanse of joyful moments to the painful ones. Just recently, she purchased an icemaker for our kitchen space, hearing the woes of her direct reports for cold beverages!
The landscape of UWMC has been shaped by the values, inventiveness, and drive of Dorthea McMahon – whether you know it or not, if you work here, you are impacted by her work. She has described her work as a calling, and I have every understanding that is so… it has been a lot to carry, and no part of her life or her family’s has not been impacted by this work.
The good she has done extends to every corner and every job class of our hospital – I know with great intimacy how our payroll specialists will miss her operational savvy, translating contracts and memorandums into the functional workings of executing payroll deadlines with consistent precision.
Sure wish we could keep her!! Thanks for this moment to help toast her accomplishments and remind the rest of us to do our part in carrying on the legacy she has helped us build. It is a moment of great thanks to a kind and extraordinary leader.
Though deserving, I can’t thoughtfully distill this woman’s career to a few sentences... I can, however, share how through the midst of profound change and uncertainty beginning in 2020, Dorthea has been a bedrock of stability for many in an environment shaken, stirred, and deep-fried by a pandemic. Ever-present and capable, Dorthea lit a path through stormy years… those who know her best (and those who know her from a distance) experienced her greatest attributes – illuminating the dark through humor and in sharing her common humanity.
In Dorthea’s expansive career she has moved through the ranks of nursing – from staff nurse, to RN3, nurse manager, and her current role as assistant administrator. These aren’t roles and honors given for participation, but rather duties taken on to nurture and develop cohesive teams, perpetually evolving to the needs and from the constituents available at that time. Witty and creative, Dorthea was a natural leader in forging the Resource Team in 2002 – a team that does it all, goes everywhere, and supports everyone, just as Dorthea does.
Known to bake cookies, host gatherings, rally the troops, purchase group gifts, lend an ear, join the party… Dorthea brings light, irreverence, and empathy from the expanse of joyful moments to the painful ones. Just recently, she purchased an icemaker for our kitchen space, hearing the woes of her direct reports for cold beverages!
The landscape of UWMC has been shaped by the values, inventiveness, and drive of Dorthea McMahon – whether you know it or not, if you work here, you are impacted by her work. She has described her work as a calling, and I have every understanding that is so… it has been a lot to carry, and no part of her life or her family’s has not been impacted by this work.
The good she has done extends to every corner and every job class of our hospital – I know with great intimacy how our payroll specialists will miss her operational savvy, translating contracts and memorandums into the functional workings of executing payroll deadlines with consistent precision.
Sure wish we could keep her!! Thanks for this moment to help toast her accomplishments and remind the rest of us to do our part in carrying on the legacy she has helped us build. It is a moment of great thanks to a kind and extraordinary leader.