Growing up, Erin was surrounded by nursing caregivers. Her grandmother was a Licensed Practical Nurse, and her mom was a medical-surgical (med-surg) Registered Nurse at Cleveland Clinic Lakewood Hospital. Today, after years of education and hands-on training, Erin’s proudly celebrating her first official year as an RN in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital. 

The Road to Nursing 

Erin discovered at any early age that she wanted to work in healthcare in some form. While attending The Ohio State University and studying neuroscience and psychology, she spent her summers working as a Patient Care Nurse Assistant (PCNA) at Lutheran Hospital, where she realized nursing was the right fit. “I just fell in love with being able to take care of patients and make somebody’s day better while they were in the hospital,” she says. Those experiences cemented her desire to join the accelerated nursing program at Xavier University—one that left little room for anything extra. Yet before her final semester, she made a choice to take on even more, enrolling in Cleveland Clinic’s 10-week Flexible Nurse Associate Externship (NAE) Program. 

The NAE Program 

Erin took part in the NAE program the summer before her last semester, then graduated from Xavier in December of 2024. Juggling a busy schedule, Erin says, “I was doing clinicals and then going to the externship program at Fairview Hospital five days a week.”  

“My favorite part of the program was being paired one-on-one with a nurse—in fact, I was paired with a couple of different nurses,” says Erin. “I was able to learn a few different nursing styles.” Her biggest take from the NAE program? “I learned to focus on not just learning the material but also applying it and really thinking things through instead of just going through the motions,” Erin adds. 

Highlights of the program for Erin included doing mock code practice scenarios, learning de-escalation techniques for agitated patients or family members, and even participating in a scavenger hunt where interns had to find medical devices such as a Foley catheter and a chest tube scattered through the greenspace at Euclid hospital. 

An Easy Decision 

During her final semester at Xavier—with her graduation date quickly approaching—Erin was happy with her progress but still unsure of where she belonged. It was during her critical care rotation in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) at Fairview Hospital that she knew she’d found the specialty that felt both challenging and fulfilling.  

Up Next: Her Nurse Residency 

As luck—and being highly qualified—would have it, Erin was accepted into Cleveland Clinic’s Nurse Residency Program in the very same unit she loved: SICU. She found herself among a group of new graduate nurses who were “all in the same boat,” learning together and supporting each other across various Cleveland Clinic facilities. The focus was now on foundational topics and ongoing education. “They want to keep educating you, keep you informed, and keep you ready to go on the floor,” Erin says. 

The Simulation Lab 

One of her favorite parts of the residency program was the simulation labs, where she could practice and sharpen her skills. In mock codes and respiratory distress exercises, specialized faculty played the role of physicians and intentionally gave vague guidance, forcing participants to work through problems, ask the right questions, and apply what they were learning in a realistic setting. 

Confidence Continues to Grow 

Despite the experience she has gained, Erin knows there’s always more to learn in critical care. “Honestly, when I walked in as a student, I had never seen a ventilator before. Intubated patients and patients with tracheotomies were intimidating to me. But now, I’m very comfortable treating patients with an artificial airway,” she says. 

Another responsibility Erin now manages is titrating medications to help stabilize patients in the ICU. This includes using “pressers” (medications designed to maintain a patient’s blood pressure) and sedation medications to keep intubated patients comfortable. As she grows more comfortable making those adjustments on her own—according to set protocols—she also recognizes when a patient isn’t responding as expected and when a situation may require escalation to a provider.  

Looking Ahead to the Future 

As Erin enters the second year of her nursing career, she’s looking ahead to helping patients who have undergone open-heart surgery and caring for some of the unit’s most critically ill patients. Proudly describing her team as a “well-oiled machine,” she values the support of her manager and fellow nurse leaders who offer “a wealth of knowledge that I love to tap into,” she says. “I really like this culture.”