VHC Health (2021 - present)

Operating Room

I went to nursing school after 15 years of doula work, planning to become a midwife. After a year, I moved to the operating room (OR) for a better work-life balance.

The OR environment is fast-paced and dynamic, where teamwork, precision, and adaptability are essential. On any given day, I may be scrubbing or circulating cases in general surgery, orthopedics, neuro/spine, ENT, GYN, or plastics.

As the scrub nurse, I work directly within the sterile field. I help the surgical team by preparing and handling the instruments and supplies. I ensure strict sterile technique, anticipate the surgeon’s needs, and confirm that all supplies and instruments are accounted for.

When I am the circulating nurse, I oversee the broader aspects of the surgical procedure from outside the sterile field. My role requires me to be everywhere at once—ensuring patient safety, confirming documentation, positioning the patient, handling specimens, and acting as the primary communicator between the sterile team and the outside world.

The OR environment can quickly change from calm efficiency to urgent problem-solving. This requires sharp critical-thinking skills and the ability to stay composed under pressure. No matter which service I am in or which role I am assigned, teamwork is at the core of everything I do. I collaborate with surgeons, anesthesiologists, preop and postop nurses, other staff members to ensure the best patient outcomes.

The OR is demanding, it is also deeply rewarding!

VHC Medical Brigade (2023 - present)

Comayagua, Honduras

Once a year, I have the privilege of going to Honduras for a week to do surgeries. This organization's work is outstanding, and the team they put together every year is top-notch.

We do eye and urological surgeries at Centro Médico San Benito Jose. We do GYN and general surgeries at Santa Teresa Hospital. I scrub general cases at Santa Teresa, including hernia repairs, gallbladder removals, and ostomy reversals.

In 2024, the Honduran team at the hospital asked me to scrub a stat c-section because their team was busy with another c-section. Helping a mom deliver her baby as a scrub nurse was a full-circle moment!

GWU Hospital (2020 - 2021)

Mother-Baby Unit

Note: When I graduated from nursing school, I thought I wanted to be a midwife. I ended up moving the OR instead, which I love! Below is what I wrote about my initial time on the mother-baby unit.

I am thrilled to be working on the postpartum unit at GW Hospital. It is the perfect starting point on my path toward DNP-Midwifery:

• As a midwife, I really need to understand the postpartum period. I’m not sure I’d take a year off from L&D to purposefully gain postpartum experience, so this is a perfect opportunity to learn.

• As a mom having just done an accelerated nursing program, I am looking forward to a little easier on-boarding and a more predictable day-to-day work environment. Don’t get me wrong - my heart and soul is in L&D and midwifery - but I welcome a chance to slow my roll for just a bit.

• With all the breastfeeding experience I’ll be getting, I plan to work on my IBCLC so I can better serve my postpartum nursing mommas as a midwife.

• Mid-pandemic, I’m a bit relieved to know that by the time most of my patients are on the floor, we will know their COVID status. It isn’t foolproof, but it does decrease my exposure quite a bit. And with one virtual school pod running out of my house, and another child in a pod down the street, it feels good to be able to tell parents that my risk at the hospital is a little bit lower.

George Mason University (2019 - 2020)

Accelerated BSN Program

I started GMU’s accelerated BSN program in Fall 2019 and graduated mid-pandemic in August 2020. If you are looking for advice on what the program is like, how you can do in general and how you can survive if you have kids and a part-time job, get in touch. I’d love to chat with you about my experiences!

Applying

• Be sure you have double-checked all your pre-reqs. GMU only admits once a year, so you want to line up all your classes about a year out to make sure there are no surprises in the months leading up to your application.

• GMU does a great job curating a class. It seems they are looking for all kinds of diversity - ethnic diversity, gender diversity, and diversity in the each student’s background (their first degree and their subsequent career). They definitely widened their search to include several male candidates, stay-at-home moms who hadn’t worked in years, immigrants from medical backgrounds, and more. In other words, if you have a unique history, make sure you weave that into your application.

Surviving

• The best advice I got was: “Just do today what needs to be done tomorrow and you’ll make it through.” This was incredibly helpful. It sometimes feels like you are drowning, but remember that you just need to get passing grades and you’ll be fine.

• Simple Nursing and Osmosis saved me. Find your ideal online tools early and use them.

• Find one or two study buddies who are at your level who are willing to sit and work (not sit and talk).

• Coffee will be your friend. Trust me. I hated coffee my whole life until nursing school. Cliche but true.

• Don’t worry about the NCLEX until the middle of your last semester, then prep like a banshee. UWorld was pretty much all I did and I passed in 60 questions.

Job Hunt

• Prep your ideal resume early on in the program and work slowly toward those goals. I wanted NRP, STABLE, and CLC certifications completed. I also went on a study abroad to Botswana to study HIV/AIDS prevention and care because I knew early on I wanted that on my resume.

• Start looking for new grad residency positions in about mid-June to early-July.

• At first, apply for jobs you are qualified for, not just interested in. You need a couple of interviews under your belt before you start to get your groove, and you don’t want your first one to be your ideal job.