Courtney Boyce

I would probably attribute my success to my passion. I am very passionate about what I do. I'm very passionate about helping others. That's really where my core value comes in. I truly believe that God put me on this earth to heal others, and that's kind of my goal - to be a good, influential being on this world and help heal people in whoever I can. I think maybe that's just my deep passion for healing. It's what drives me every day and keeps me moving forward, even when things get challenging in the healthcare field.

The best career advice I ever received was to always keep pushing forward and reach for the stars - that you can do anything. I come from a very small rural area in Arizona, Benson, and in rural areas when you're from a small spot, you don't always get the same kind of opportunities. When I was young, I had a great mentor who told me to reach for whatever, that I can do anything. From a small town where a lot of people don't leave, when she pushed me to kind of reach for the stars, it was really meaningful. I told her I wanted top 10 in a national competition, and she said that's gonna be pretty hard, but she encouraged me to reach for the stars and said we can do it. I actually took that national competition that year and placed 10th in the nation. That advice to shoot for the stars, even from a small town, has stayed with me throughout my career.

I would say never give up. Honestly, shoot for the moon, because you'll hit the stars even if you miss it. You won't miss it - like, for yourself, you can never not achieve anything. You can be anything you want. As long as you believe you can do something, you can do it. Coming from my own experience as a younger woman in the health field, it's been hard to gain and earn respect, but I want young women to know that they shouldn't let that stop them. Keep pushing forward and believe in yourself, because you truly can accomplish whatever you set your mind to.

The biggest challenges in my field right now are political imbalance and difficulty with funding on lower levels. I would also say there's a general lack of human connection. When you go to the doctor or the hospital, there's not a lot of interaction because we're so taxed as providers, but as a patient, all you need is somebody to kind of be there for you. It's a system that's sadly crumbling right now, and I can see the progression of it needing to change. I think that's why I decided to go private - because I wasn't making the same impacts, and I was regulated so heavily. All of that has made the system what it is now, and it's not patient-friendly, and that's what it should be. There should be a lot more support, especially when things go awry. The healthcare system needs to get back to connection and being good humans to one another.

I would say respect is a big one. Being a younger woman in the health field, it's been hard to gain and earn respect, and I think that respect is something I very much do in giving as well as receiving. Another core value to me is being a genuinely kind human. I think sometimes, sadly, in this world we forget that we're all just human, and we're all here to try to make our way the best we can. Especially in healthcare, when there are so many politics within it, I think it's important to bring it back to connection and being good humans to one another. That's what's most important to me - that human connection and genuine kindness.