The room was quiet except for the veteran’s voice. He carried severe PTSD and depression from injuries sustained during service, a condition that affects up to 7 out of every 100 veterans at some point in their lives.1 But that day, in Dr. LaDonna Thomas’s office in Durham, North Carolina, he was not talking about war.
He was reciting poetry. “He was the poet laureate for his high school,” Dr. LaDonna Thomas remembers. “One of the favorite poems that he would recite while he was in my office was by Russell Sharp.” She listened carefully. Then she made a decision. “I made it a point to learn it.” The lines stayed with her:
Isn’t it strange how princes and kings
And clowns who caper in sawdust rings,
And common people like you and me
Are builders for eternity.
Each is given a bag of tools,
A shapeless mass, a book of rules;
Each must fashion, ere life is flown,
A stumbling block or a stepping stone.
“And I still, to this day, remember it because I made it a point to learn it,” she says. “And so yeah, that was, you know, I think, what stood out to me the most.” That holiday encounter became more than a memory. It became a reminder that healing is not always clinical. Sometimes it arrives in the form of a poem.
Meet Dr. LaDonna Thomas
Dr. LaDonna Thomas is a Doctor of Nursing Practice and certified adult nurse practitioner. In January 2021, she was elected to the North Carolina Board of Nursing in the APRN position. In that role, she collaborates with fellow board members to help shape nursing policy across the state.
“For me, it was an honor,” she says. “North Carolina is the only state that elects its board members. All other states are appointed. So, I was elected by my peers, and so it was a true honor.”
Her peers recognized her leadership. But long before that election, she had already chosen the work that defined her calling: serving veterans.
Why Veterans?
“What made me choose to work in a veterans facility as opposed to the civilian environment,” she explains, “I think it is rewarding working with veterans because they add such value and they’ve sacrificed a lot, you know, fighting for our freedom and our country. So, it’s very rewarding just hearing the story that they have.”
Veteran care requires more than medical knowledge. Many veterans carry experiences that continue long after their service ends. Some live with PTSD. Others face depression or chronic conditions linked to their time in uniform. Dr. LaDonna Thomas meets those realities with patience and respect.
She listens. She honors the stories that veterans bring into the room. She understands that behind every chart is a lifetime of sacrifice.
“No, Thank You for Your Service.”
At the end of each visit, she offers a simple gesture of gratitude. “You know, at the end of each visit I say, ‘Thank you for your service.’” One day, a veteran responded in a way she did not expect. “One of the veterans and this may have been that same World War II veteran said, ‘No, thank you for your service.’ The moment stayed with her. “I just found that, you know, very enlightening for me.”
In that exchange, care became mutual. Respect flowed both ways. The line between provider and patient softened into shared understanding. That is the kind of connection federal healthcare makes possible.
A Chapter with Matrix Providers
No one walks this path alone. From family and colleagues to mentors, Dr. Thomas credits the people around her with shaping who she is as a clinician and as a person. Her work serving veterans in Durham did not happen by chance. Matrix Providers helped make that opportunity possible.
During her time working with Matrix Providers, Dr. LaDonna Thomas stepped into a federal healthcare setting where her skills and sense of purpose aligned. Her experience left a lasting impression.
“I definitely would recommend Matrix Providers to other colleagues, if they were looking for employment,” she says. “I think it’s a great company to work for. It’s like family. I would say that we had rapport, we had a sense of respect for each other. And I think…overall, it’s a good company.”
Her words reflect the same values she brings into patient care: rapport, respect, and connection. With Matrix Providers, she cared for veterans whose lives spanned generations. She experienced moments that reshaped her understanding of service. She built professional trust among her peers and earned their confidence at the state level. Her journey shows what can happen when purpose meets opportunity.
Begin your journey in federal healthcare with Matrix Providers
Matrix Providers is a healthcare staffing agency that connects qualified clinicians with federal healthcare facilities nationwide, including military treatment facilities and medical disability examination sites serving veterans.
Dr. LaDonna Thomas’s story is one example of what meaningful federal healthcare work can look like. Through the right placement, clinicians can serve those who have served, grow professionally, and experience moments that leave a lasting mark.
If you are a healthcare professional seeking purposeful work in a mission-driven environment, Matrix Providers can help you explore opportunities in federal healthcare settings nationwide. Your next chapter could begin with a single decision to serve.
Reference
1. How Common Is PTSD in Veterans?” PTSD: National Center for PTSD, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 26 Mar. 2025, www.ptsd.va.gov/understand/common/common_veterans.asp.