Stilwell Memorial Hospital is more than just a workplace, it’s a family – where every member of the family is passionate about what they do and the impact they have on our local community.
We’re excited to share a story about our Family Nurse Practitioner Adrian Unger, written by Stilwell Democrat newspaper editor Renee Fite.
Read the story below or on the Stilwell Democrat’s website.
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Health care as a profession is not for the faint of heart, but for those who love the field and the people and are dedicated, it’s a dream job.
Adrian Unger, a family nurse practitioner at Stilwell Physician Clinic, is a perfect fit for her chosen profession. In the clinic, she is kind, caring and attentive, listening when patients are explaining what they are experiencing. She asks questions and is serene as her patients respond, not hurried or quick to move them out the door.
“I have always been interested in medical field, since I can remember, a young child,” Unger said. “My mother would always have me take care of anyone in our family who got injured. She did not like to see blood; it made her queasy. I have always been fascinated by the way the body works.”
Unger also endeavors to empower and teach patients how to make better health decisions for themselves by providing information and alternative options for their care. One patient asked her about toenail fungus. She said the medicine for that can be hard on the liver.
“How would you feel about trying a home remedy first? Tea tree oil and Vick’s Vaporub have helped some people. You alternate the oil and Vick’s every night, rub it in on all the toe and toenail,” Unger said. “Don’t give up; it takes about a year of using it to make a difference.”
She first started working for Stilwell Memorial Hospital in 2003 as a certified nurse aid (CAN) while in the licensed practical nurse (LPN) program at Stilwell Indian Capital Technology Center, graduating in 2004. She continued to work for Stilwell Memorial Hospital as an LPN, while she was in registered nurse (RN) School at Connors State College, graduating in 2007.
In 2013, Unger went to work at Tahlequah City Hospital, where she remained more than five years, while getting nurse practitioner certification. She completed that in September 2018 and went back to working at the Stilwell Physician Clinic in October 2018.
“My dream was to always come back to my hometown and take care of the people from this community,” Unger said.
Unger decided to pursue her nurse practitioner license to have more autonomy with patients.
“I have always had hands-on jobs as a nurse. I worked on the med/surg floor for many years, where you may get to see patients recover or expire from an illness or the normal end-of-life process,” she said. “I worked in the ER for many years, where you see most patients on potentially the worst day of their life, and then you may never see them again.”
She worked in the operating room for many years.
“You only see the patients for a brief moment awake before they are sedated or in recovery waking back up,” she said. “I have enjoyed every single job I have ever had as a nurse, but I wanted to know what happened to the patients after they were discharged or treated, so that is why I went back to nurse practitioner school. I thought if I could be a part of their routine care, treatment plan, and patient education, I could possibly help keep them from having to go to the ER and hospital.”
It’s the people who make the job a joy.
“I love my patients, I love being a part of them improving their lives, I love seeing them make positive lifestyle changes,” Unger said. “Regardless what the change is, if it is a patient with diabetes or high blood pressure getting it under control, a patient with opioid dependance going into remission, a patient struggling with weight get their BMI normalized, or a patient struggling with anxiety be able to do things they have been avoiding.”
She also enjoys working at Stilwell Physicians Clinic/Memorial Hospital.
“The administration is as dedicated as I am in striving to making a positive difference in your community,” she said. “I would like this community to know there is a place you can get help with your health care concerns or issues, no matter your financial situation or ethnicity and to not be afraid to seek help when your need it.”
Stilwell is a great place to raise a family, she said.
“I have been married to my beautiful husband, Johnny Unger, for almost 24 amazing years, we have two beautiful children: J.J., 15, and Jaelyn, 12. We enjoy the outdoors, hunting, fishing, hiking, hunting for crystals or any unusual, beautiful rock, and spending time with our loved ones and friends,” Unger said.
It’s a wonderful place to call home.
“I love Stilwell because it is a rural town that is close enough to bigger cities, but still just far enough away to avoid the bigger city mayhem,” she said. “I love that you can find God almost any where you look in Stilwell. Stilwell has some of the most beautiful landscape I have seen, with clean, fresh water everywhere.”
