Providers, Maternal-Fetal Medicine Center of Arkansas, Conway Regional
At the Conway Regional Maternal-Fetal Medicine Center of Arkansas, Dr. Dawn Hughes and nurse practitioner Stacey Johnson work to provide high-quality, efficient care to high-risk obstetrics patients. The duo said trust and communication are everything when it comes to teamwork, and having a friendship that extends beyond the office allows them to better support one another in the workplace. Working together provides the strength of more than one perspective, allowing patients to benefit from multiple layers of expertise and insight.
How did you get into this career?
Johnson: I worked in labor and delivery and really liked the challenges of caring for high-risk patients. That experience led me to pursue a career focused on caring for high-risk pregnancies.
Hughes: During medical school, I fell in love with surgery and caring for women. OB-GYN was the perfect fit. As I moved through residency, I realized that I really enjoyed the challenge and problem-solving that come with high-risk pregnancies.
Tell us more about the work you do.
We specialize in caring for high-risk pregnancies, creating personalized care plans tailored to each mother and baby. Our goal is to guide patients through complex situations with expertise while also offering reassurance, education and compassion every step of the way. We take the medicine seriously, but we also know a calm, supportive presence can make all the difference.
How do your working styles complement each other?
Hughes: We balance each other well. I tend to focus on the big picture, making sure there’s a clear overall plan for the pregnancy, while Stacey is incredible at managing the details and ensuring every step of that plan is carried out seamlessly.
What is the secret to collaboration and compromise in business and everyday life?
Respect. When you truly respect the people you work with, you trust that they’re bringing thoughtful ideas to the table, and that makes it much easier to collaborate, compromise and grow together.
What else should readers know about you?
We take our work very seriously but not always ourselves. We believe you can provide exceptional, high-level care while still creating a warm, approachable environment for patients. At the end of the day, we’re here to support families through some of the most important — and sometimes most stressful — moments of their lives, and if we can bring a little reassurance and even a few smiles along the way, that’s a win.
What lessons have you learned from working alongside one another?
We’ve learned that trust and communication are everything. When those are strong, everything else tends to fall into place.
