Like Mothers Like Daughters

Somebody had to go first.

In this case, it was Tammy Dukatz (MSN ’93), who was in SON’s very first cohort of the master’s program to become a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA).

Two years ago, OU transitioned its CRNA program from a master’s degree concentration to a Doctor of Nursing Practice-Nurse Anesthesia (DNP-NA) program. Gwen Dukatz (BSN ’12), Dukatz’s daughter, enrolled in that first cohort, making them a rare pair of mother-daughter inaugural students.

In another coincidence, Gwen Dukatz met future classmate Britney Smith (BSN ’15) at a Grand Rapids, MI conference before their school year began. Their mothers knew each other,and the pair now are on target to graduate together in August 2021.

Smith’s mother, Andrea Claerhout (BSN ’99, MSN ’04), recognized Dukatz as a guest educator in one of her OU classes, where she taught on diabetes and the impact insulin has on patients, a passion which continues to this day. They bonded after discovering their daughters would be in the same cohort and realizing OU’s CRNA program appears poised to be a mother daughter tradition.

“It's almost surreal that I went through a program here 20 years ago and now my daughter is going through the same program,” said Dukatz who has worked for 40 years at Beaumont Hospital. “There are faculty there who taught and trained me that are now teaching Gwen.”

Dukatz admitted to watching some of her daughter’s online lectures. She even discovered another generational connection when she recognized a familiar sounding voice. Gwen Dukatz’s anatomy professor played a clip of her own father who had taught the same subject to Tammy Dukatz years before. Tammy Dukatz remembered his voice as her former teacher and came in to investigate.

“It was a nostalgic moment for me,” Tammy Dukatz said.

The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far from the Tree

Neither Smith nor Gwen Dukatz had any intention of following in their mother’s footsteps when they began their nursing career; the desire to become CRNAs was completely organic.
For Smith, watching her niece go through several surgeries clinched it for her.

“Fortunately, my sister was able to choose who she wanted to care for her daughter at Children’s Hospital,” Smith said. “The relationship my sister developed with the nurse anesthetist was rare. The comfort and reassurance she provided touched my heart. I think that is when I knew that I wanted to be that support for someone else,” Smith said.

For Gwen Dukatz, it took longer. A graduate from Michigan State University (‘08), she began her career as a social worker helping teens. After five years and changes in her work environment, she enrolled in nursing school because she wanted a different type of environment and to grow professionally. Nursing school proved rewarding and she fell in love with every specialty she was introduced to. Before she started the journey however, she followed her mom’s advice to take a chemistry course.

“It was the academic ‘test’ to prove to herself that she could handle the demand of nursing curriculum,” Tammy Dukatz said. “I already knew from her experience working with teens that she would be outstanding working with patients.”

Gwen Dukatz did see similarities between social work and healthcare - both involve case management and direct care. “I knew from social work that I didn’t care much for the case management aspect. But I like direct care, which is what you do as a CRNA,” so she pursued the specialty.

Smith’s mom was overjoyed to see her daughter follow in her footsteps. “To pass on something I love, something I'm passionate about that can make a difference in the lives of others is amazing. I am incredibly proud,” she said.