Christina Barker
December 2025
Christina
Barker
,
BSN, RN
Infusion/Oncology/Palliative Care
Indiana University Health Bloomington
Bloomington
,
IN
United States
Christina’s compassion and personal touch in caring for her patients are beyond compare.
Christina has always been a compassionate nurse. Not only does she put her patients first, but she is also a mentor and teacher. She is available to lend a helping hand and advocates for her OIT team. I’ve always trusted her, and she shines a beacon of hope to all those around her!
I am blown away by the heart she pours into the nurses, physicians, pharmacists, and patients as the manager of OIT. She is both a compassionate leader and a fierce advocate. Christina creates a safe environment, communicates clearly, and never complains. She has balanced the sudden deaths of two employees with grace, compassion, hard work, and support.
I truly don’t know how she does all that she does. We are so very lucky to have her expertise, experience, and support.
Our Oncology and Palliative Care team describes Christina as modeling what true leadership looks like in nursing – compassion in action, integrity in practice, and humanity at the heart of every decision. When members of our team have faced personal health and family crises, she has shown what it means to be supported without judgment. She shares her own story, reminding us that growth often looks like “two steps forward and one step back,” and encourages us to focus on what matters most without giving up.
Her open-door policy isn’t just a phrase – it’s how she leads. When concerns are brought to her directly, she listens, takes responsibility, and follows through with meaningful change. That kind of humility and accountability defines her leadership.
Christina is a hands-on manager, stepping in without hesitation to answer calls, coordinate patient care, and ensure no one falls through the cracks. We’ve seen her advocate fiercely for patients who faced barriers like transportation and depression, even when others were ready to give up. She finds creative solutions, so those patients continued to receive care closer to home, never losing sight of their dignity and worth.
Christina’s compassion and personal touch in caring for her patients are beyond compare. It is not unusual for her to reach out to her friends/coworkers to meet her patients' needs. However, one day, when Christina reached out to me in the early morning, I knew this situation would be different.
Christina explained that she had worked for over four hours the day before to arrange transportation for a patient needing to come in to have a drain placed. After working for four hours, she had finally arranged to have an EMS team pick the patient up at her home and bring her into the hospital for her procedure. The team that was doing this pick-up was doing it on their own time. They cleared it with their leader to be able to use an ambulance.
What is so special about this patient is that Christina would take hours of her own time and ask people to consider volunteering their time to help her. This patient was in her mid-forties and suffering from stage 4 cancer. She had made the decision to transition to hospice and wanted to spend her last days at home surrounded by her mom and her teenage children.
Before she could transition to hospice, she needed a drain placed for comfort and pain control. The patient needed to get to the hospital, have her procedure, and get home prior to being enrolled in hospice. She was so weak that getting into a car with only her mom or kids to help was not possible. She needed ambulance transportation.
Christina called several ambulance services and could not get a service to agree to pick her up at home, bring her in, and agree to transport her home. That is when she switched tactics and started pulling the heartstrings of her coworkers and friends to find a way to make this happen for this lovely patient. After finally making arrangements to get her to the hospital, Christina let herself call it a day. That took her until 10 pm.
At 7 am, that is when Christina picked up the fight again to ensure that this patient got the care she needed, got home, and would be able to enroll in hospice so that she could live the remainder of her time in comfort with her young family. This story and hearing Christina explain it to me brought tears to my eyes because this patient, this woman, was a daughter and a mother, and beyond that, she was around my age. Thinking about what I would want for myself, and what I knew Christina would do to get me home with my kids in this scenario, I knew I would move heaven and earth to make this work for Christina and this woman who needed us.
We worked with about 10 team members to make plans to get this lovely woman home that day. There was open communication among the team members, and it was clear that we all shared the same goal. That woman received her drain that day, and she went home and enrolled in hospice within the next 24 hours. She sadly passed shortly after that.
Christina’s warmth and heart never cease to amaze me, and this story touched me to the point that it really filled my cup and reminded me why we get into healthcare and the lengths we will go to meet our patients’ needs. It’s amazing to have colleagues like Christina, and having her in my life and working with her is a huge piece of what makes my job enjoyable.
More examples shared by Christina’s team:
During times of great loss, Christina has led with grace and steadiness. After the tragic and untimely deaths of three colleagues and team members within three months, she arranged for grief and counselling resources, facilitated presentations on recognizing burnout, and made sure every team member of our oncology and palliative care teams felt seen and supported.
Christina balances empathy with action, protecting her team, listening deeply, and maintaining a culture of psychological safety.
One example of her staying with us is when an angry patient crossed a line. She immediately stepped in to protect our staff, yet still treated the patient with compassion. She modeled how to de-escalate with dignity and showed us that firmness and empathy can coexist.
Christina actively supports educational advancement, ensuring we know about available resources and celebrate every step forward. Because of her leadership, our team’s morale is stronger than ever. She seeks feedback on how we want to be recognized, making it personal for us.
When we picture her in action, we see leadership grounded in compassion and teamwork. She embodies the heart of nursing leadership – showing up, listening, protecting, and inspiring others around her to do the same. She is not only a manager; she is a role model who reminds us why we became nurses.
I am blown away by the heart she pours into the nurses, physicians, pharmacists, and patients as the manager of OIT. She is both a compassionate leader and a fierce advocate. Christina creates a safe environment, communicates clearly, and never complains. She has balanced the sudden deaths of two employees with grace, compassion, hard work, and support.
I truly don’t know how she does all that she does. We are so very lucky to have her expertise, experience, and support.
Our Oncology and Palliative Care team describes Christina as modeling what true leadership looks like in nursing – compassion in action, integrity in practice, and humanity at the heart of every decision. When members of our team have faced personal health and family crises, she has shown what it means to be supported without judgment. She shares her own story, reminding us that growth often looks like “two steps forward and one step back,” and encourages us to focus on what matters most without giving up.
Her open-door policy isn’t just a phrase – it’s how she leads. When concerns are brought to her directly, she listens, takes responsibility, and follows through with meaningful change. That kind of humility and accountability defines her leadership.
Christina is a hands-on manager, stepping in without hesitation to answer calls, coordinate patient care, and ensure no one falls through the cracks. We’ve seen her advocate fiercely for patients who faced barriers like transportation and depression, even when others were ready to give up. She finds creative solutions, so those patients continued to receive care closer to home, never losing sight of their dignity and worth.
Christina’s compassion and personal touch in caring for her patients are beyond compare. It is not unusual for her to reach out to her friends/coworkers to meet her patients' needs. However, one day, when Christina reached out to me in the early morning, I knew this situation would be different.
Christina explained that she had worked for over four hours the day before to arrange transportation for a patient needing to come in to have a drain placed. After working for four hours, she had finally arranged to have an EMS team pick the patient up at her home and bring her into the hospital for her procedure. The team that was doing this pick-up was doing it on their own time. They cleared it with their leader to be able to use an ambulance.
What is so special about this patient is that Christina would take hours of her own time and ask people to consider volunteering their time to help her. This patient was in her mid-forties and suffering from stage 4 cancer. She had made the decision to transition to hospice and wanted to spend her last days at home surrounded by her mom and her teenage children.
Before she could transition to hospice, she needed a drain placed for comfort and pain control. The patient needed to get to the hospital, have her procedure, and get home prior to being enrolled in hospice. She was so weak that getting into a car with only her mom or kids to help was not possible. She needed ambulance transportation.
Christina called several ambulance services and could not get a service to agree to pick her up at home, bring her in, and agree to transport her home. That is when she switched tactics and started pulling the heartstrings of her coworkers and friends to find a way to make this happen for this lovely patient. After finally making arrangements to get her to the hospital, Christina let herself call it a day. That took her until 10 pm.
At 7 am, that is when Christina picked up the fight again to ensure that this patient got the care she needed, got home, and would be able to enroll in hospice so that she could live the remainder of her time in comfort with her young family. This story and hearing Christina explain it to me brought tears to my eyes because this patient, this woman, was a daughter and a mother, and beyond that, she was around my age. Thinking about what I would want for myself, and what I knew Christina would do to get me home with my kids in this scenario, I knew I would move heaven and earth to make this work for Christina and this woman who needed us.
We worked with about 10 team members to make plans to get this lovely woman home that day. There was open communication among the team members, and it was clear that we all shared the same goal. That woman received her drain that day, and she went home and enrolled in hospice within the next 24 hours. She sadly passed shortly after that.
Christina’s warmth and heart never cease to amaze me, and this story touched me to the point that it really filled my cup and reminded me why we get into healthcare and the lengths we will go to meet our patients’ needs. It’s amazing to have colleagues like Christina, and having her in my life and working with her is a huge piece of what makes my job enjoyable.
More examples shared by Christina’s team:
During times of great loss, Christina has led with grace and steadiness. After the tragic and untimely deaths of three colleagues and team members within three months, she arranged for grief and counselling resources, facilitated presentations on recognizing burnout, and made sure every team member of our oncology and palliative care teams felt seen and supported.
Christina balances empathy with action, protecting her team, listening deeply, and maintaining a culture of psychological safety.
One example of her staying with us is when an angry patient crossed a line. She immediately stepped in to protect our staff, yet still treated the patient with compassion. She modeled how to de-escalate with dignity and showed us that firmness and empathy can coexist.
Christina actively supports educational advancement, ensuring we know about available resources and celebrate every step forward. Because of her leadership, our team’s morale is stronger than ever. She seeks feedback on how we want to be recognized, making it personal for us.
When we picture her in action, we see leadership grounded in compassion and teamwork. She embodies the heart of nursing leadership – showing up, listening, protecting, and inspiring others around her to do the same. She is not only a manager; she is a role model who reminds us why we became nurses.