First Business, Then EMS, Then Nursing

Megan Nixon is currently a RN working at the VCU Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. But nursing was not her first choice, business was. Unfortunately, Megan found no interest in doing business anymore so she eventually found her way to emergency medical services where she served as a paramedic for 10 years. Unfortunately, this job was also a little too much, it was just to mentally and physically draining for her. That’s when she finally made her way to nursing because to her it just made sense, it was still in the medical field but in a more controlled environment. To even get to the nursing step, Megan got her RN, BSN, and is Vascular Access Certified. She is now currently working on pursuing in Acute Care Nurse Practitioner. When she first started in nursing she started on the cardiac step-down unit where she quickly transitioned to the Cardiac Cath Lab. There she found her joy in procedural nursing (which is fast paced) because of the way she is still able to interact with new patients as well as caring for chronic disease patients. For Megan, 14 years of on-call was enough and was time for a change for something different. Now she is currently working in placing PICC lines (which is also procedural). She loves her jobs for so many reasons! She loves that she is able to help in certain ways that most nurses are unable to help in, she also loves that she is able to do so much more for the doctors. The doctors look to her and three other nurses for help to provide accurate evidence on their patients. Her unit are also the only nurses who can obtain consent for a procedure, and can cancel or postpone a PICC. The most surprising thing in Megan’s career is just how much help she is to the doctors and physicians, she didn’t think she would ever have this much of an impact on some situations and patients. The physicians really listen to her and respect recommendations, which is really important. But on the other hand, it can be challenging to get the physicians on board. Megan’s advice to anyone wanting to go into the medical field was: “You should go for it and follow your heart! There are so many people you will meet that both touch your heart and challenge you to stay compassionate. There are so many fields in nursing that the possibilities are endless”. After talking to Megan and interviewing her, it has made me even more sure as to why nursing is such a great choice for me. I love meeting new people and the stories she has of meeting new people is just an adventure I would like to take.