Delivering Success: From CCV to a Nursing Degree

Scott Lamberti may not be the nurse you expect to see when you enter the labor and delivery unit of a hospital. But he is a nurse who is wholeheartedly fulfilled by his job and has a passion for helping women and their families during a pivotal time in their lives. “This is where I should be, it’s who I am,” Scott remarked.

Scott didn’t start his career in the workforce as a nurse despite his interest. “When I was in high school I wanted to do nursing, but it wasn’t cool, guys weren’t nurses [back then],” Scott said. “So I let peer pressure dictate what I did.” For 25 years he pursued a career in cooking before realizing that he was not satisfied by this line of work. It was during the process of becoming a father that his interest in nursing, specifically in labor and delivery, really peaked. “It kind of started a little fire, a little spark in me,” Scott said.

In 2006 he chose to enter the healthcare industry as a per diem licensed nursing assistant (LNA) at Woodridge Rehabilitation and Nursing. After four months at Woodridge, he moved to the birthing center at Central Vermont Medical Center (CVMC) where he worked as an LNA for eight years. As the first male on the birthing center floor, Scott faced some challenges. “Some people were not as accepting, and some people thought it was great…being with a woman during a vulnerable time, a lot of people felt that was not a position for a male nurse to be in.” Scott said there were times when patients would opt for another, non-male, nurse to take care of them. “That doesn’t hurt my feelings,” he said. “Because I would never want somebody to be uncomfortable…it’s not about me, it’s not about my pride.”

During his time as an LNA, Scott knew that he wanted to become more hands-on in supporting mothers. He took it upon himself to advocate for more responsibilities, and to pursue additional training. Scott took a childbirth class and became a childbirth educator, certified doula, and lactation consultant. When he felt that he had reached his ceiling of LNA certification, Scott made a decision: “I went and got my nursing degree, which I wouldn’t have been able to do without CCV.”

Scott started taking classes at CCV in 2008 and took all of the prerequisites he would need for a degree in nursing. “CCV allowed me to do it at my own pace…During my time at CCV I was able to continue working full-time and still have a family life, which was perfect,” Scott said. “CCV was affordable for my family…it fit my lifestyle.”

Scott’s goal was always to transfer to Vermont Tech’s (VTC) nursing program. CCV instructors were key to helping him reach that goal. “[They were] aware of my goals and were able to guide me,” he said, noting that they tailored material based on his plan to become a nurse, explaining how what he was learning would be useful to him at VTC. “Being able to have that base when I enrolled in nursing school by completing those classes at CCV, I was ahead of other students,” Scott said.

Scott graduated from VTC in 2017 with his associate of science in nursing, and continued working at CVMC until January 2022, when he started as a labor and delivery nurse at Copley Hospital. As a labor and delivery nurse, Scott works with moms antepartum, during labor, and postpartum. During labor he acts as a liaison between the midwife and patient, supporting the mom and family to explain what’s happening and get help if needed. After birth, he continues to support the parents and babies. Scott says that his knowledge as a doula, and through his additional certifications, has helped him be a better labor nurse.

For Scott, three key qualities of CCV helped him get to where he is today: affordability, flexibility, and a clear pathway to a nursing degree. “My end goal of CCV was to be able to transition to nursing at VTC smoothly. The affordability, the flexibility, and the bundling of the classes made it really simple…that’s what made me be successful.”