Title: Registered Nurse
Company: Baptist Health
Location: Muldrow, Oklahoma, United States
Diane Stephenson, Registered Nurse at Baptist Health, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Nurses for dedication, achievements and leadership in Nursing.
Ms. Stephenson’s career spans nearly two decades in the healthcare industry, marked by a deep commitment to patient care across multiple specialties. In 2026, she began serving as a registered nurse in the emergency room at Baptist Health. Concurrently, Ms. Stephenson works pro re nata in the intensive care unit at Mercy, maintaining her clinical skills during a period of transition following organizational downsizing at Baptist Health.
Apart from her work at Baptist Health and Mercy, Ms. Stephenson has continued to serve as a flight nurse with Pafford Air Medical Services since 2017. In this capacity, she transports critically ill patients of all ages by fixed-wing aircraft to facilities equipped for higher levels of care. This work demands independent clinical decision-making under pressure and has been especially vital during public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
From 2014 to 2020, Ms. Stephenson served as a registered nurse in labor and delivery at Baptist Health while also working on an as-needed basis in the intensive care unit to maintain her critical care certification. Her responsibilities included providing care to mothers and newborns and teaching breastfeeding classes as a certified lactation counselor. Ms. Stephenson’s earlier tenure from 2007 to 2014 was spent in the intensive care unit at Baptist Health, where she managed complex trauma and neurological cases. Throughout her career at Baptist Health, she has demonstrated unwavering loyalty and adaptability by taking on overlapping roles in both intensive care and labor and delivery settings.
Ms. Stephenson’s academic foundation began with an associate degree in allied health from Carl Albert State College in Poteau, Oklahoma, in 2007. She also earned an Associate of Applied Science from Carl Albert State College that same year. Building on this foundation, Ms. Stephenson completed a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at The University of Texas at Arlington in 2021.
Further advancing her career, Ms. Stephenson has earned advanced credentials in her field. She is a certified critical care registered nurse, certified flight registered nurse, certified transport registered nurse and certified lactation counselor. She also holds an obstetrical nursing certification alongside her registered nurse license.
Ms. Stephenson’s professional affiliations include membership in the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and active involvement with the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing. These organizations have provided opportunities for continued learning and professional development while connecting her with peers dedicated to advancing standards within emergency and critical care nursing.
Beyond clinical practice, Ms. Stephenson has contributed significantly through civic engagement and community service. Dedicating much of her adult life to ministry focused on supporting others’ well-being, she served from 1999 to 2008 as a youth pastor before serving as pastor until 2024. Ms. Stephenson also volunteered extensively within her church community and taught breastfeeding classes, drawing upon her clinical expertise.
Throughout her career, Ms. Stephenson has achieved several significant milestones that highlight her impact on the field of nursing. Among her most cherished honors was winning the DAISY Award from The DAISY Foundation in 2025, an accolade she values deeply because it was awarded based on a nomination from a patient’s family who credited her with saving their loved one’s life. Ms. Stephenson was also named a finalist for Nurse of the Year in the critical care category by the March of Dimes and placed among the top three nurses statewide. Furthermore, she was twice recognized as Flight Nurse of the Year by Pafford Air Medical Services through peer nomination.
A hallmark of Ms. Stephenson’s success is her ability to remain calm under pressure while prioritizing patient needs above all else, qualities honed through years spent caring for critically ill patients amid staffing shortages and challenging circumstances that included transport emergencies or pandemic surges. Ms. Stephenson credits much of her growth to mentorship from experienced nurses whose compassion and expertise set enduring examples early in her career.
Looking ahead, Ms. Stephenson plans to complete her master’s degree, which she is pursuing at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, with anticipated dual credentials as a family nurse practitioner and acute care nurse practitioner. Her goal is to transition into practice as a nurse practitioner within an intensive care setting where she hopes to gain hands-on experience performing advanced procedures. Ultimately, Ms. Stephenson aims to transition into clinic-based primary care or participate in medical mission work abroad.
Ms. Stephenson encourages aspiring nurses to enter healthcare motivated by genuine compassion rather than financial incentives, emphasizing that true fulfillment comes from serving others with empathy and purpose. Her legacy is defined not only by clinical expertise across critical care transport nursing, obstetrics and emergency medicine but also by steadfast dedication to family, faith, community service and lifelong learning, setting an inspiring example for colleagues and future generations alike.
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