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 here at VTC. I teach exclusively in the online BSN program. I graduated from my Duquesne University with my DNP in May 2017.
When not working, I am home with my awesome husband, teenage twins, tween son, 75lb labradoodle, 20lb beagle, 12lb kitty, 10lb bunny and a small leopard gecko. I love to knit and read spy novels. I am also a sports mom – girls play softball, soccer, field hockey, and indoor softball – year round running! My little guy is a great wrestler – all 85lbs of him!