Working as a nurse isn’t for everyone. It means long days and longer nights. It’s being selfless in a stranger’s most vulnerable times. It’s doing the unsavory parts of the job. It’s tears and hugs. It’s also the career that CCV alumna Liz O’Connell chose, worked tirelessly for, and loves.
Liz started at CCV after high school graduation in 2015, but her path through college wasn’t linear. “I didn’t think I wanted to go to college. I didn’t have the finances for your traditional four-year school,” she said. But, after encouragement to look into CCV, Liz pursued her passion of working with kids through the College’s early childhood education (ECE) program. “CCV was close to home, it felt like the best option for me.”
Liz took a mixture of a part- and full-time course load over the next few semesters, transitioned from in-person classes to online, and took time off when “life happened.” “I rave about CCV because it was so flexible and easy to take as many classes as you want,” Liz said. “I loved how I could always take a semester off and go back as if nothing ever happened.”
In 2020, Liz was still working toward her ECE degree and took time to reflect on her career path, thinking “‘what do I really want to do and how do I get there?’” Through her job experiences, from nannying to volunteer work with postpartum moms and babies (all while continuing classes at CCV), she had the desire to be more helpful and serve people in their times of need. “Then I just realized I wanted to do more in the medical field…I wanted to make a difference,” she said.
Liz jumped into healthcare by becoming a licensed nursing assistant (LNA) after a six-week training offered through Green Mountain Technology and Career Center and started working at Central Vermont Medical Center (CVMC). She also chose to make a shift in her education at CCV, adding in classes to pursue the allied health certificate while also finishing her degree in ECE. “The piece I loved the most about any program at CCV was that it’s so intertwined, you don’t have to take your core credits over again,” she said. “It was so easy to transition to a different program.”
Liz continued working as an LNA and taking classes at CCV until 2022 when she graduated with an associate degree in ECE and an allied health certificate. As she set her sights on more schooling, she appreciated what CCV gave her. “It has that small-town-support feel where you walk in and you know everybody and everybody wants you to succeed just as much as you do,” she said. “CCV helped not only get me my degree but also gave me all those little mini lessons that I didn’t know I’d get from school. It helped me grow as a person and individual. They helped me build confidence that I can do hard things. ”
She took these lessons with her as she continued her education in the nursing program at Vermont Technical College (now Vermont State University). Through a partnership with CVMC, Liz was able to work part time and get a study stipend to go to school full time. Through the intensive two-year program, Liz became a licensed practical nurse (LPN) after year one, and a registered nurse (RN) after year two. “It was very challenging but looking back now I was set up in a good way to successfully complete the program having gone through CCV,” she said. “Having gone back to finish my degree a couple of times, I had the motivation of ‘if I did that, I can do this.’”
While she didn’t take the traditional four-year path to becoming a nurse, Liz believes that her journey has had a positive impact on her skills. “It’s definitely made me a stronger nurse, even this far. It eliminated a lot of culture shock,” she said of jumping into the hospital setting. As an LNA and LPN she was able to learn the skills of respectful caregiving and communication, which she now couples with her technical knowledge as an RN. “With my experience, it’s definitely made my job now a lot easier because I already know the basics and I can do three jobs in one.”
After nearly ten years of schooling, Liz is taking a break and enjoying her career while still keeping her future aspirations top of mind. She plans to continue her education and earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing, while also earning certifications and specializations along the way. “Knowledge is power, especially in the nursing field, because healthcare is always evolving. I want to max out all of the things I can fit in my brain,” she said.
For now, she’s focused on her patients. “My favorite part of my job is creating relationships with my patients. I want to be somebody who can take care of someone at their most vulnerable and develop a relationship. Making them smile and forget why they’re in the hospital is huge to me,” Liz said. “One of my goals every single shift that I work is to make each patient smile at least one time because of something I did or said. And it does happen quite often, which is so fulfilling.”
