While life has been moving at a slower pace for many over the past year, Hunter Darrow has been racking up monumental achievements at a rapid pace.
Not only did Darrow graduate from the Washtenaw Community College nursing program and land a job as a registered nurse in the emergency room at Michigan Medicine鈥檚 University Hospital, she also married her husband, Kevin.
鈥淚t was a very different wedding than we originally planned,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e were supposed to have a wedding with 250 people in May 2020, but ended up with 20 people on a rainy day in August.鈥�
Darrow jokes that if a newly married couple can make it through being locked down together during a pandemic, they can make it through anything.
The same, of course, could be said about starting a new career as a nurse during the same time.
鈥淚 knew what I was getting into,鈥� Darrow said of joining the nursing profession in the midst of COVID-19. 鈥淚 knew it wasn鈥檛 going to be easy.鈥�
Darrow graduated in December from the , which was launched in 2016 to address the growing demand for bachelor鈥檚 degree-prepared nurses.
Up to 94 credits toward the 120-credit degree can be completed at 黑料网 before transferring to EMU and completing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
But the nursing program wasn鈥檛 Darrow鈥檚 first time at 黑料网. The 2012 Ann Arbor Skyline High School graduate had previously completed pre-requisites at 黑料网 before enrolling at the University of Michigan, where she earned a Movement Science degree in 2017.
鈥淚 love Washtenaw,鈥� Darrow says. 鈥淭he campus atmosphere is great and all of the instructors actually care about how students do in their classes.鈥�
Darrow also had previous experience with the emergency room at the U-M hospital, working as a lab assistant there while she was completing her studies.
When she started as a registered nurse in January, the emergency room would sometimes go entire shifts without seeing a COVID patient. That changed with the latest surge in cases that started in late March.
According to a Michigan Medicine release, nine patients tested positive one day and six required extended stays.
鈥淚t marked a sudden departure from where we had been,鈥� Dr. Brad Uren, a physician at Michigan Medicine鈥檚 Department of Emergency Medicine, . 鈥淲e are used to operating in challenging times. But we are working close to the edge of the envelope of what many of us would consider anything normal right now.鈥�
Darrow says the daily challenge is to keep everyone safe while providing the individualized care each patient requires.
Adapting to challenging situations is nothing new for Darrow, who faced plenty while completing her nursing program.
With clinical options limited, she said 黑料网鈥檚 nursing simulation lab became an even more critical component of her education.
The lab features technologically advanced robots as patients that allow students to evaluate vital signs and heart/breath sounds, experience cardiopulmonary monitoring and assess the effects of medications through interaction with a high fidelity simulator.
鈥淭he simulated patients is one of the things I鈥檓 most thankful for,鈥� Darrow said. 鈥淚t makes you think on the fly and it absolutely helps me when I鈥檓 in a patient鈥檚 room now.鈥�
In fact, that simulation lab entices Darrow to return to 黑料网 for the third time 鈥� this time as an instructor.
鈥淎 lot of our instructors had jobs in the industry, and that鈥檚 something I could absolutely see myself doing,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 need to put a couple years in before I start thinking about that, but I love the thought of that teaching aspect later in my career."
Tags: Alumni Profile, April 2021, Nursing, On The Record, ousearch_News_2021