Posted on October 10, 2024
We continue our TidalHealth series “Grow With Us” and our October visit with Trisha Polidore, RN, BSN, on 3 East at TidalHealth Peninsula Regional.
Trisha began her career with the health system as a Medical Assistant working with the Medical Partners TidalHealth Pain Medicine office of Dr. Conworth Dayton-Jones in Salisbury. That interest in medicine would lead to continued education to become a nurse and now a career at the Salisbury hospital working with our cancer patients.
Monthly, we’ll introduce you to team members, like Trisha, who began their career at TidalHealth and advanced in the health system and beyond, and/or who have taken their careers to the next level with significant certifications and achievements.
We’re always looking for people to profile. Send your thoughts and ideas to [email protected].
Here’s Trisha’s “Grow With Us” story.
Thanks, Trisha, for the opportunity to grab a few minutes from your busy schedule and to learn more about your career at TidalHealth. To get us going, how about introducing yourself to our readers by telling us about where you’re from, where you grew up, what brings you happiness in life…you know, the good stuff!
Thank you, Roger, for this opportunity to share my story. I grew up in Salisbury, graduated from Wi Hi Class of 2004, and then obtained by bachelor’s in mass communications at Salisbury University in 2007. I worked at WMDT-TV producing the morning news for three years, before deciding that medicine was where my calling truly was. The center of my happiness is my three children. I also enjoy cycling, crafting, reading, and gardening when I have the time. If you ever need a new house plant, I am your girl. I love sharing my propagated plant babies with other plant lovers!
You began working with TidalHealth in Dr. Dayton-Jones’ pain management office in Salisbury as a Medical Assistant. How and when did that opportunity come about?
Before that, I actually started my healthcare career at Peninsula Orthopaedic Associates (POA), where I worked for seven years basically in every role possible. I was 16 at the time, starting out as a chart filer and ending up as the medical assistant to Dr. Scott McGovern, their spine surgeon, and then the Osteoporosis Clinic Coordinator with Dr. David Roe. It was at POA that I grew my foundation and love of medicine.
I knew I wanted to go back to school to further my career however the schedule at POA unfortunately wasn’t flexible, so I began working at Dr. Conworth Dayton-Jones’ practice, which at the time was called Delmarva Pain Management. The job provided me the ability to work under him, while being able to go back to school. Shortly after becoming established with the office, the practice joined TidalHealth. While I was initially very nervous about working for the health system (being in private practice work for so many years) but it proved to be the best move in my career.
I know “DJ,” he’s a great friend of mine and just a class act of a guy. How did you enjoy working in that office?
DJ has an aurora about him that instantly calms you. Anyone who knows him or who has ever been in his presence knows what I am talking about. Pain Management can be challenging at times however DJ taught me from day one; take time to listen to the patient. In the eyes of a patient, this often sets a provider apart from others just because they give or their precious time to allow patients to ask questions and speak freely. While the office is very busy between seeing patients, phone calls, insurance authorizations, etc., I am happy to say that each patient is given the time they need.
At some point, you decided “I want to do more” and you chose to pursue a career as an RN. Tell me about what lead to that decision and where you went to school.
When working at POA, I discovered that I liked being hands on, and only more so when I joined DJ’s practice. I knew Wor Wic offered night school for nursing, which allowed me to still work and pursue something more hands on.
Did you utilize TidalHealth’s tuition reimbursement program, and if so, how important was that to you in accomplishing your goal?
The tuition reimbursement program is the ONLY way I could have ever afforded to become a nurse! I was still paying off the bills from the communications degree, and raising a family, therefore, there was no way I could have financially made it work without this program. After obtaining my ADN at Wor Wic, I used the program again to pursue my BSN through Capella University.
While you were in school, did you continue working?
I worked full time during my prerequisites, and my first semester of nursing school. After that, I transitioned to working part-time. Here’s as bit of advice that I hope anyone considering a career change to nursing will consider. In order to fully absorb the foundation of a good nursing education, I will always recommend that students work, at most, part-time.
Why a nurse? What is it about that career that motivates you most?
I’ve read this in some of your other profiles…how the care shown to a family member was the catalyst. I was touched deeply by the care that was given to my grandfather when he was in his final days of life. Hospice and its nursing team were truly amazing in the care given to him and the education provided to us so that we could help him through this process. They were also extremely comforting to both the immediate and the extended family. I am beyond grateful for everything they provided. While I didn’t know it in that moment with everything else happening, it was several years later that I reflected on how much those nurses meant to us. I knew I wanted to give back like they had given to us.
This is interesting, too, as you mentioned, before you started your healthcare career, you actually already had that degree in communications.
I worked through high school and college at WMDT and yes, that was also while working at POA. I started on teleprompter (which provides the script the anchors read), working my way up to eventually becoming the producer of the morning show. I loved the instant gratification of writing, and then seeing my writing come to life; however, after the sudden death of my Godmother Dawn, who was also the news manager, I was so devastated that couldn’t again set foot in the newsroom. When she passed, I gave up my plans for a masters in communication and went back to the only other thing I knew, which was orthopedics.
I know your grandfather’s passing was the eye opener, but had you ever, at least in the back of your mind, wanted to work in healthcare?
I never truly thought I was going to have a career in healthcare. While several members of my family, especially my mom, always told me I had the heart of nurse, I never saw it. Of course, when you are young you know everything...until you don't. I think we’ve all experienced that.
A multitude of things influenced me to finally make healthcare my focus. Of course, my grandfather’s experience with hospice, as I mentioned earlier, as well as my background from working at the orthopedic office, but it was truly the complications I had with my first child that eventually and fully propelled me in the direction of healthcare.
Blaire, my daughter, in utero and after birth had multiple abnormalities. We spent several weeks at the Hopkins NICU. I, like most moms, immersed myself with as much knowledge as I could about her diagnosis. I found myself, instead of being overwhelmed, fascinated and intrigued. After her health stabilized, I signed up for nursing prerequisite classes at Wor Wic.
It’s fascinating how life turns you in unexpected directions. You would join TidalHealth as an RN after graduating. Have you always been on 3 East or did you start somewhere else?
I started on 5 East, The Beast! And that floor lives up to its name. I was told by several of my mentors that I should start on a med/surg unit and get my footing before venturing into a specialty. After just six months of being an RN, Covid hit, and wow, that was enough to make a new nurse rethink life choices. Thankfully I had a great manager and group of coworkers, and we got through it.
For sure! As a cancer survivor, I’m always thankful for nurses, like you, who choose to work in such a challenging environment. Why cancer?
As I mentioned earlier, I really was inspired by the hospice nurse that took care of my grandfather. I wanted to be as close to hospice as I could within hospital walls, so here I am on 3 East.
From experience, I know how inspiring a great nurse can be when you’re working through this disease, but I would think your patients can be equally inspiring for you. I’d love your thoughts on that and any special experiences you might want to share.
Cancer has affected us all, if not personally than within our family/friends, and I have seen how survivors who don’t know one another are bonded instantly.
I recently was asked by a family friend to bring in over 100 hats she had crocheted for other survivors. When I had presented two hats to a patient on the floor who had recently lost her hair, she was so touched to hear that another survivor made them that she too wanted to give back. She decided to donate to the Relay For Life event held here in Salisbury last month.
Would you ever want to work on any other unit?
I don’t see myself moving from 3 East unless it were to work for hospice. If Tidal Health could bring Hospice in the health system, that would be great! I’d love to work directly with patients in hospice, however, I do enjoy hospital bedside nursing. I’ve seen first-hand how death can be a beautiful process, if done correctly. I love educating patients and families on how they can make this happen. I would encourage everyone to read 5 Wishes. Everyone should have this paperwork filled out! www.fivewishes.org.
And I see you work the overnight shift. Is that by choice?
Yes, I am an overnight nurse for life. You don’t want me taking care of anyone during the day (laughing)! I just function better when the sun goes down!
I’ve always wanted to know; how long did it take you to adjust your body to working nights and sleeping days? It seems so foreign to someone who has never worked that shift, but you must be comfortable with it now.
I’ve worked nights most of my life, and honestly, I feel better working these hours. Crazy as it sounds, I guess I’m a vampire. I have no trouble sleeping anytime anywhere. I’ve even slept in my car waiting for a doctor’s appointment after work.
That’s as good gift to have working nights! Communication in healthcare is essential, and for a nurse, it’s critical. I’m wondering, do you think your early training in communications has helped you to succeed in this role?
For sure and thank goodness my first degree wasn’t a complete waste! I do feel like having more knowledge about communications has helped me more effectively assist people in general. Often in this field you come across persons with different social habits, personalities, cultures, and other factors that affect their ability to communicate. Knowing how to work around these factors has given me the upper hand to not only communicate better but also to better assist my patients with their needs.
As someone on the front line of patient care, what is it that you enjoy most about being a part of this healthcare family at TidalHealth?
I’ve been an employee here for 12 years and every day is different. I love the fact that you never stop learning, and sometimes it’s your CNA teaching you something and other times it’s a nurse who has been working for as long as you have been alive who broadens your horizons. Knowledge is literally everywhere!
And I also know you consider it important to take on other challenges related to your career.
Incredibly important to growing yourself. I’m currently a Step Instructor at Wor Wic for final semester nursing students, I’m in the WAVE program and have been since it started and I’m finishing up a stint as a Brand Ambassador for TidalHealth. I also enjoy participating in events like our Drive-Thru Flu Clinic and the “Bling the Bra” contest.
As we wrap this up, Trisha, any recommendations for others who might be thinking about advancing their careers in healthcare as you did?
Find a mentor, maybe even two. If you are thinking about advancing your career, just do it, only good things can happen from further educating yourself. Let TidalHealth help pay for it; the tuition assistance program is so easy! Don’t bite off more than you can handle…one class at a time. And, perhaps most importantly, make sure you balance work and personal life.