Dee Morgan, Health Services of North Texas newest Women’s Health clinician, never expected to become a nurse, much less build a career devoted entirely to women’s health.
“If you had asked me when I was 19 if I was ever going to be a nurse, I would have said absolutely not,” she says with a laugh.
Born and raised in North Texas, Dee first earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Baylor University. Her path began to change as personal and family health concerns brought her into closer contact with the medical world. While supporting her father through lung cancer and navigating her own experience with Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS) and infertility, she found herself wanting to understand more about the medical system. Eventually, that curiosity led her back to school. Dee earned both her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing from Texas Woman’s University, becoming a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner.
But even then, women’s health was not the plan. After nursing school, Dee envisioned herself working in an operating room. Instead, an interview at Parkland Hospital unexpectedly led to a position in labor and delivery.
“I was like, ‘Let’s do it. Let’s give it a shot. If I hate it, I hate it, and I can try again,’” she remembers. However, She did not hate it. She loved it.
Over six years at Parkland, followed by nearly three years in labor and delivery at Baylor Scott & White All Saints, Dee cared for women through routine and high-risk pregnancies, deliveries, surgeries and some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. The work also showed her how easily patients can be left without the information they need to understand their own bodies.
One encounter with a pregnant 16-year-old patient became a turning point for her. As Dee explained the induction process and pain-management options, the teenager asked how the baby was going to come out. No one had ever prepared her for what was happening.
“In my head, I’m like, ‘Who failed her?’” Dee says. “We need a better system. We need better people in the system that are willing to sit down and educate.”
That experience inspired Dee’s next step in life. She wanted to reach patients earlier in their care, creating a welcoming space where they could ask questions, understand their options and make informed decisions before arriving at a crisis point.
“There should not be anybody, regardless of your age or ethnicity or financial background, who walks into labor and delivery and does not know what is happening to their body,” she says.
That commitment to education shapes every patient interaction she has today. Whether Dee is discussing birth control, pregnancy, menopause or PMOS, she begins by listening. Then, she helps the patient understand what is happening and lays out the available paths forward.
“I would want to be heard and validated and given all my choices and educated,” she says. “I want to treat my girls how the younger Dee should have been treated.”
Her personal experience with PMOS gives that work particular meaning. Dee remembers receiving a diagnosis without anyone fully explaining the condition, its long-term effects or what it could mean for her fertility. Today, she makes sure her patients receive the information she once needed.
“I will present you with your menu options,” she says. “This is a collaborative discussion after I teach you about what this stuff is.”
For patients who feel nervous or hesitant about seeking care, Dee wants them to know that an appointment does not obligate them to make an immediate decision.
“I’m always here to listen,” she says. “Even if we don’t end up doing anything, just listening and knowing what is going on with your body and knowing what your options are is where I will go with that.”
She describes her role with patients as part clinician, part advocate and part trusted family member. She is the big sister, mother, daughter or auntie who can step in and say, “Oh, honey, let’s get you sorted.” Her guiding principle is simple: care for every patient the way she would want someone to care for her, her daughter or her little sister.
Outside the health center, Dee is a self-described homebody enjoying her “old lady crafts and hobbies era.” She spends her time making sourdough, working on arts and crafts and relaxing with her husband and dogs. She is also a devoted fan of rhinestones, glitter and pizza.
