People of the U: Najhawan Billingsley

Published on Monday, September 26, 2022

By: Ruth Cummins, ricummins@umc.edu

For registered nurse Najhawan Billingsley, critical care is all about relationships – both with patients, their families and his coworkers.

“If a patient is unable to talk, I develop a rapport with their family,” said Billingsley, a nurse in UMMC Grenada’s critical care unit. “If a patient is able to communicate, we develop that rapport.

“It’s a rural community, and we see a lot of patients over and over again, with different ailments. We develop a family relationship,” he said. “Because of my young age, sometimes it’s like grandson with grandmother or grandfather.”

A graduate of Tougaloo College and the nursing program at Alcorn State University, the Belzoni resident began work on the night shift, but today works days, nights, wherever and whenever he’s needed.

“My responsibilities include maintaining cardiac and sedation infusions, assisting doctors and respiratory therapists in intubating patients, and ensuring that patients get better and are given optimum care so that they can be transferred to the floor,” he said.

“Najhawan is the nurse who exceeds the call of duty to ensure everyone he encounters receives optimum care,” said Regina Givens, Billingsley’s supervisor and director of acute care services at UMMC Grenada. “In the short time he has worked with us at UMMC Grenada, he has proven to be a valuable asset to our critical care team.”

Billingsley said he’s grateful for the relationships he has with his coworkers, from his chief nursing officer to his manager to the doctors and nurses at bedside.  When he’s not at work, he enjoys spending time with Chad, his Shih Tzu, traveling with his best friend, exercising and hanging out with his parents.

He hasn’t been a nurse that long, but Billingsley knows what his avocation is.

“What I love most is that I am able to care for and heal people as much as I can,” he said.