I wish I could say that I always wanted to be a nurse. I was pregnant with twins when I was laid off from my job as a mortgage underwriter in the first housing crisis in 2003. Unable to find work, I went back to school. I had talked extensively to a nurse educator at the bedside when I was inpatient awaiting the birth. I knew that I loved to teach and was fascinated by her job. I started my nursing prerequisite courses when my twins were 6 months old. I completed my LPN certificate when they were 16 months old; my associate’s degree (ADN) when they were 3.
Once I started practicing in the Birth Center of a tertiary care center, I was hooked. I started precepting new hire RNs when I had been in my position just over a year. I completed my Bachelors (BSN) just 5 years after I had been originally laid off. In 2010, I started teaching clinically in the ADN program that I had completed. I completed my Masters (MSN) in nursing education in 2012 and accepted a position as the educator in the Birth Center. I discovered that not only was nursing a passion, but nursing education – all facets of it, is what drives me. I started working on my Doctorate (DNP) in May 2015 – the same month I accepted a position as an assistant professor of nursing at VTC. I teach exclusively in the VTSU online RN-to-BSN program. I graduated from my Duquesne University with my DNP in May 2017.
Working as a nurse manager, I had to learn many things “on the fly” about business and budgeting. I had some advantage due to my previous life in the finance world, but needed HR and business concepts. I completed my MBA with a concentration in Healthcare Administration at Castleton University in 2020. In addition to teaching in the BSN program, I am also a senior leader at a small hospital in Vermont since Jan 2021. My position is AVP-Operations and I oversee the procedure-based service lines – Birth Center, Emergency Department, Surgical Services. Additionally, the foundational services of the organization – Lab, Environmental Services, Facilities and Nutrition Services. In June 2023 I was asked to be the interim Chief Nursing Officer when the position was vacant – I am not sure how interim the interim is but will serve to the best of my ability.
When not working, I am home with my awesome husband, 3 teenagers (twins and a brother), 2 yellow labs Rosie and Ginger (affectionately called the Ding Dongs), 3 kitties, and 2 cows. I love to knit and read spy novels.
