An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : Media : News : News Article View
NEWS | May 28, 2020

Family Nurse Practitioner Gives Back to Army in Face of COVID-19

By Noriko Kudo

CAMP ZAMA, Japan -- Lt. Col. Dolores Toney says the U.S. Army has given her so much, so it only makes sense that she has spent her combined 22-year career returning the favor.

“I’ve always wanted to give back to the Army,” says Toney, 51, a family nurse practitioner assigned to U.S. Army Medical Department Activity – Japan here.

Toney, originally from the Philippines, has familial ties to the Army; her uncle enlisted and fought in the Vietnam War. In 1984, when she was 15, Toney immigrated to the United States from Manila with her family. She joined the Army after graduating high school, serving a three-year enlistment.

Fourteen years later, after earning her bachelor’s in nursing, Toney was commissioned as a second lieutenant. She attributes the Army for affording her the educational opportunities to enter the nursing field, and says her service “compelled her to keep growing and learning professionally,” which led her to earn her doctoral degree. This, in turn, has allowed her to function more autonomously as a nurse practitioner, Toney says.

Family nurse practitioners, Toney explains, are advanced practitioners with prescriptive authorities, “blending clinical expertise in diagnosing and treating health conditions, with an emphasis on disease prevention and health management.” FNPs, she says, help bring a “comprehensive perspective and holistic approach” to health care.

“I see and treat patients in the whole spectrum, from pediatrics to geriatrics,” Toney says. “I try my best to establish a trusting relationship with patients within the time constraint and really listen to them without judgment.”

Toney says she does not take her responsibility as a medical worker lightly. She feels privileged when patients open up and “share their fears and personal experiences and thoughts,” despite the vulnerability this requires.

“My job is very rewarding, especially when I’ve made a positive impact in someone’s life [and] knowing that I helped facilitate that change,” Toney says. “There’s nothing more gratifying than seeing a patient [of yours] improve.”

Toney has spent her medical career giving back to the Army by treating her fellow Soldiers and anyone else who comes into her waiting room. But one of her most fulfilling professional experiences came during the height of a historic pandemic that is currently affecting the entire world: A few months ago, MEDDAC-J received its first patient who had tested positive for COVID-19.

Treating the patient at such a relatively small clinic brought with it many challenges for Toney and her staff, including unknown, evolving and conflicting information on the coronavirus itself; social distancing; anxiety over the virus spreading within the facility; and testing and protective equipment shortages.

However, Toney says, the command team at MEDDAC-J responded quickly by establishing virtual health consultation capabilities, deferring preventative screenings, and revising the clinic’s templates to focus care on those patients with acute injury and viral illnesses.

“I think my experiences and knowledge helped me react to these unprecedented circumstances professionally and calmly, and helped the staff focus on their scope of practice as well,” Toney said.

Though the specter of COVID-19 remains a concern, the clinic’s daily mission of providing safe and quality care has not changed, Toney says.

“The medical field has always been fraught with uncertainty and discomfort—that is what the job entails,” Toney says. “[But] I’d like to think that everyone who chooses to be in the medical field is driven by altruism.”

Toney says she hopes she and her staff are able to learn from these experiences in order to be optimally prepared for the next time the Army faces a similar crisis.

She recalls the commitment she made when she entered the medical field.

“We are on the front lines.”
CONNECT WITH USINDOPACOM
Facebook

Like Us
X
363,198
Follow Us

ENGAGE & CONNECT MORE WITH PACOM

                                                 

IN THE USINDOPACOM NEWS
Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Meeting With President Wesley Simina of the Federated States of Micronesia
Graphic intended for use as a placeholder for Statements and Press Releases without accompanying imagery.
March 22, 2024 - Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout...

AUKUS Trilateral Statement
Graphic intended for use as a placeholder for Statements and Press Releases without accompanying imagery.
March 22, 2024 - The Honourable Richard Marles MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Australia; the Right Honourable Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Defence, United Kingdom; and Lloyd J. Austin III, Secretary of Defense,...

U.S., India launch Exercise Tiger TRIUMPH 2024
Courtesy Photo
March 21, 2024 - Indian and U.S. combined armed forces began Exercise Tiger TRIUMPH 2024 with the arrival of amphibious transport dock ship USS Somerset (LPD 25), March 18 and an opening ceremony March 19.This is the third time U.S. and...

USACE: Ensuring Safety Every Step of the Way
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Japan Engineer District (USACE JED) is the premier Department of Defense (DoD) military construction (MILCON) agent in the Pacific, providing facilities-related design and construction work in Japan for all military services and agencies. With over 60 years of experience in designing and constructing facilities in Japan, JED possesses the experience in Japanese standards and specifications, regulations, construction practices, maintenance requirements, and culture needed to ensure facilities are built with the utmost safety and professionalism. Photo by Charles Maib.
March 21, 2024 - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Japan Engineer District (USACE JED) is the premier Department of Defense (DoD) military construction (MILCON) agent in the Pacific, providing facilities-related design and construction work...

THAAD Battery in Guam Successfully Completes Table VIII Evaluation
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense launcher used by E-3 Air Defense Artillery THAAD Battery as part of their Table VIII certification in Dededo, Guam, March 13, 2024. The THAAD battery, equipped with a state-of-the-art missile defense system, is tasked with defending Guam against ballistic missile threats. (U.S. Army Photo by Maj. Trevor Wild)
March 21, 2024 - In a testament to readiness and operational excellence, Task Force Talon's E-3 ADA THAAD Battery conducted a Table VIII evaluation for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system stationed in Guam, March 11-15,...