Jonathan McGee was working as a nurse at Duke Raleigh Hospital’s Medical-Surgical Intensive Care Unit when the pandemic struck in 2020. He was amazed at the level of support Duke offered him and his colleagues. They always had personal protective equipment available and never had to worry about being furloughed, like some of his friends did working in other health systems. 

“Duke took care of me and therefore my family during the pandemic,” McGee said. “When I decided to go deeper into my nursing practice by pursuing my nurse practitioner degree, Duke was the obvious choice. I wanted to build more relationships with excellent clinicians and researchers. I wanted to accept more of what the university had to offer.” 

Now a student at the Duke University School of Nursing, McGee is pursuing his Master of Science in Nursing to be an Adult and Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner. His goal is to keep working with Duke as a nurse practitioner in an intensive care unit. He also plans to continue his academic work with the Duke Divinity School and its Institute of Theology, Medicine and Culture. 

McGee earned his initial undergraduate degree in philosophy, focusing on biomedical ethics with an eye towards law or medical school. But as he studied, he discovered a paucity of patient and nursing voices in the conversations on medical ethics, so he decided to focus on a profession poised at the bedside.  

“Good, ethical medicine will rise naturally from the nurturing of good clinical relationships,” he said. “Clinical practice that is virtuous – that seeks to know and accompany the patient in every moment, especially the most routine and mundane, will beget clinicians with a sense of their patient’s good.” 

McGee’s goal is to continue developing a good ethical sensibility, especially in the everyday sense of medical ethics. He believes Duke is the best place to learn those skills and to feel the continued support from his professors. 

“The Duke experience has been a whirlwind of opportunity,” he said. “I have met so many people wanting to draw me further into practice. There are so many people here wanting to invest their time and mentorship in me and my colleagues.”