Staff spotlight

Tara Rushing started at UMMC as a graduate practicum student in the Early Intervention department in January 2007. Upon graduation, she began her career as a Certified Child Life Specialist at the Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital. During her time at the children's hospital, she was responsible for providing daily therapeutic and normalization activities; providing age-appropriate and developmentally-appropriate education regarding new diagnoses, treatments and procedures; providing distraction for children during procedures such as lumbar punctures, PICC line placement, NG tube placement, etc.; led field trips, parties, etc.; and provided grief and bereavement support for children and families when needed. In July 2013, due to health concerns, she made the tough decision to leave the clinical setting.

Since transitioning to the SON as the admissions counselor, she stated her favorite part of the job is that she still gets to use her interpersonal and "teaching" skills. Rushing holds pride in watching prospects become students and, ultimately, nurses. She also enjoys helping establish new student resources and program pathways with partnering community colleges and universities across the state.

Rushing grew up all over the state of Mississippi. Her parents went back to college with four kids, so the family moved every five years once they were accepted into the University of Mississippi (UM). She has lived in Petal, Oxford, Eupora and Florence. Florence has been her official home since 1998. She is married to Michael, and they have two wonderful children, Alli, 9, and Joseph, 8. Jumper, an active lab mix, is the family pet. Her family has a farm with 30 horses, dogs, and cats. Michael's parents currently have four dogs and two cats, so no matter where they are, there is always plenty of love to go around.

She is currently working on her Ed.D. in Higher Education at UM. When not working on schoolwork, she enjoys hanging out with her children, crafting, swimming, riding horses and camping. Managing a balance between work, life and continuing her education can be challenging at times, but she proves it is possible! She is also one of the troop leaders for Alli's Girl Scout Troop. Rushing enjoys true crime podcasts and reading dystopian and historical fiction books. In May, she celebrated 16 years of service with UMMC, including 10 with the SON.