SRNA Profile: Danielle Donovan
This fall, VANA had the opportunity to speak with Danielle Donovan, an second-year SRNA from Mary Baldwin University. If you’re a student interested in speaking to The Monitor about your experience, please reach out to the communications committee.
Can you tell us a bit about your background and why you decided to make the jump to being a CRNA?
Sure! I definitely didn’t have a typical career path: I graduated from UVA with a degree in Biology and at the time, believed I was going to be a physician. After a job shadow experience, I realized that was not the path for me, so I took some time to figure out what I wanted to do instead. It didn’t take long before I realized that my path included nursing. I went back to school, completed my Masters degree, and got my first job in the ICU. At first I was hesitant about that role, but as it turns out, I’m incredibly passionate about critical care.
When I started raising my family, I transferred to UVA’s Endoscopy department for a better work/life balance, and while I was there, I heard about Mary Baldwin’s hybrid nurse anesthesia program. The program struck a chord for me because it serves students just like me – passionate about the work but needing a bit more flexibility.
For so many students, being a CRNA seems like being a lifelong passion. I love it, but for me it’s really all fallen into place as I’ve moved through my education journey. It’s been the best experience I could have imagined.
Can you share more about your experience as a member of the first Mary Baldwin cohort of students?
Mary Baldwin is unique because of its remote first year. We have cohort students from Alaska, New York, all over. From a financial perspective, students were able to save money by not uprooting their entire lives and their families for that first year.
We still dedicated time to classes and were able to interact with one another, but in a way that worked for our lives and schedules.
What has been your favorite part of this process?
I love clinical! It’s a huge learning curve so of course there are days when I feel humbled, but everyone has been so helpful, so welcoming, so willing to teach. I love that by applying my learned knowledge I can understand some of the skills I didn’t have before CRNA school. I feel so supported.
I am also so grateful for the friendships that I have made throughout this process. Our cohort is truly very special .
What are your plans for the future?
I’m rooted in Virginia – this is my home. It’s why I’m so personally invested in what’s happening in the Virginia legislature for CRNAs, and I know my future will be here. In terms of specialties, I haven’t narrowed a focus yet. I’ve liked too many things – I’ll get there! But for now I just want to experience everything and see what I’m drawn to and where I excel.
How has Mary Baldwin support students, and how are you being supported?
We are a new program and at the beginning of our cohort it was stressed that we should all be flexible together. What has been the best thing to witness has been how equally flexible the Mary Baldwin staff has been as well. We’re all working together to make this the best program it can be; adapting together, making changes when something isn’t lining up the way we need it to, and trusting one another along the way. This team is so incredibly understanding of personal circumstances.
Can you share any mentors or leaders who helped to guide your path as an SRNA?
Yes! If I had to name just one person, I would have to shoutout Dr. Derek Owens. I can relate deeply to him because he also has young children, so he’s always checking in.
Dr. Owens is able to balance all of the courses that he is teaching, which he is also creating because everything is brand new- and he also stays engaged in VANA. He’s a great role model for our cohort at Mary Baldwin – and has shown us that he will do anything to help us become successful CRNAs.
Why should students be involved in professional organizations like VANA?
With everything that’s happening in the CRNA world – and there is so much going on – it’s incredibly important to stay involved in VANA. Legislatively, working alongside VANA to ensure CRNA interests are represented is critical to ensuring our voices are heard.
As students, we can have the opportunity to develop our profession and be on the frontlines of progress. Demonstrating for legislators how invested we each are in our future will open doors for CRNAs to be able to practice to the full extent of our training and profession.
