CMC nursing grads being snapped up for employment

This story appeared in the May 3, 2024 edition of the Steamboat Pilot

By Suzie Romig, Steamboat Pilot reporter

After forays into studying astronomy and English at two different universities, Steamboat Springs resident Ben Andersen finally found his passion in emergency medicine.

“I wanted to try something new and was looking for a challenge that I had not done before,” said Andersen, a 2017 Steamboat Springs High School graduate. “Even though it took me a while, I finally landed on something I know I love doing.”

Andersen, 25, is part of a 16-student cohort, and the only male, graduating this semester with an associate degree in nursing from Colorado Mountain College in Steamboat Springs. The traditional nurse-pinning ceremony was conducted Friday at CMC. Next up, the nursing graduates will take their National Council Licensure Examination or NCLEX test to become a registered nurse.

Associate Professor of Nursing Courtney Smazinski said this cohort of associate degree students is the fourth such class for CMC, but the college is transitioning to a bachelor’s degree nursing program. In the fall, CMC Steamboat, Breckenridge and Glenwood Springs will launch the in-person bachelor’s of science degree in nursing in place of the associate nursing degree.

The 17-member associate degree cohort that will graduate next year includes about half males and will be the last class of associate degree nursing students at CMC.

“This decision was made as we saw the trend and needs of our health care partners within the state and also students desiring more bachelor’s options,” Smazinski said.

This graduating associate class represents a diverse group, Smazinski said, including bilingual speakers, non-traditional older students embarking on mid-life career changes and “several students inspired by care they received from nurses in the past.”

About half of the graduating nursing students already have been offered nursing jobs, contingent upon passing the national exam, Smazinski said. She has no doubt all the 16 Steamboat associate’s graduates, plus 16 current bachelor of nursing students from across all of CMC, will be employed easily.

Experts say the U.S. continues to experience a national nurse shortage for a variety of reasons, such as burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic, the drain of the emotional and demanding work, attraction to become a traveling nurse, frustration from inadequate staffing ratios and shortages of nursing school training staff.

Andersen has already put his medical skills to work in Steamboat for more than three years. He earned his Emergency Medical Technician certification in 2019 at the Front Range Community College campus in Longmont. Since November 2020, he has worked part-time as an EMT in the Emergency Department at UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center.

Andersen said he enjoys helping others while constantly learning. Working with the experienced and diverse team of ER medical staff and watching their positive interactions with patients inspired him to enter nursing school.

Part of his wide-ranging duties as an EMT in the Emergency Department includes technical procedures such as establishing IV access, providing wound care, collecting specimens, monitoring patient vital signs and assisting with patient flow.

“It’s really comforting knowing everyone has different knowledge and different skills,” Andersen said of the ER environment. “You get into a flow and trust all your co-workers.”

Since he often assists on the front lines with patients who are upset, in pain or possibly panicked, the ER work helped Andersen develop skills to comfort emotional patients. His natural calming, soft-spoken, level-headed demeanor helps too.

“Ben has a genuine level of care for people that’s really unique,” Smazinski said. “He is really kind and supportive to everybody around him. He’s a very strong human.”

His EMT training provided a good foundation to start nursing school. Working with the skilled team at the Emergency Department while also attending nursing school provided a solid, layered education.

“I really enjoyed it. I think I thrive better in a small class environment,” Andersen said of the CMC nursing school experience.

The recent graduate plans to continue his education to earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing and would like to work at a busy hospital in the emergency room or intensive care unit.

“I like the problem-solving of those critical situations in both,” Andersen said. “It’s always changing with the patients, and you never know what you will get in the ER. In the ICU are really complex patients, with lots of different types of critical thinking.”

In the future, Andersen hopes to become a certified registered nurse anesthetist or CRNA, which is an advanced practice registered nurse who administers anesthesia and other medications.

This summer, Andersen will continue working in the Emergency Department. Because he knows many locals from growing up in Steamboat and playing sports here since he was young, he jokes with his friends, “Don’t come visit me at work.”