Nursing Unfiltered: Meet Dani Vermette

Dani Vermette ’22, a New Boston, NH native, set her sights on a career in nursing from a young age. She entered high school dreaming of becoming an engineer. But when she was introduced to her first anatomy and physiology course, it was love at first sight. “That’s when I made the decision to pursue nursing, and eventually realized I had an end goal of becoming a nurse anesthetist.”

When it came time to choose her college path, Dani made her decision based on a few key factors. “First, Saint Joe’s was in the process of revamping the nursing program. I also really liked the fact that they had a 100% pass rate for the NCLEX exam at that time. The last factor that played into my decision was the fact that I have family members nearby.”

As a self-described involved student, Dani worked hard in middle school and high school to build her resume and ensure she would be accepted into the school of her choice. “I was very motivated to be part of as many clubs and activities as possible in middle school and high school. But I didn’t feel like I had a purpose and my heart wasn’t in it. Once I realized my passion was nursing and started college at Saint Joe’s, I once again joined several clubs and organizations, but this time around I’ve loved it because they all apply to what I want to do in life.”

Dani is currently the president of both the SJC Student Nurses Association and the Maine Student Nurses Association. She credits both with helping her come out of her shell and applying herself towards something she cares about, rather than being involved just for the sake of it. “The SNA was a great resource as a first year student to meet other nursing majors. We do a bunch of events with goals like raising awareness, fundraising, collaborating and political involvement.”

Beyond her love for sciences, physiology and anatomy classes, Dani experienced first hand how different nurses can impact a patient’s outlook on their condition and recovery.

“When I was younger I went through some health complications. As a result I was required to have a procedure where I would have to be anesthetized. Unfortunately, I had a less than positive experience with the nurse anesthetist.”

After comparing that experience to more positive interactions with other nurses, Dani knew she wanted to flip the script and become the best nurse anesthetist she could be and ensure all of her patients have the most positive experience possible when under her care. With this personal experience, and an early introduction into the world of medicine from her mother, a practicing LNA, Dani put herself on the path to becoming a nurse.

“I went into my first year at Saint Joe’s bright eyed and bushy tailed! I was open to any and every experience the school would give me. One thing I wish I knew before coming to SJC is that my transition into college would be difficult, but not impossible. And there were definitely times that it felt impossible. The SJC community is like a family. During my first year I had a difficult time making the transition from home life to creating my own life at school. Homesickness is real! Lucky for me I was living in the dorms on campus and was able to create a family of my own with friends and RA’s. First Year Experience also was a huge help in assimilating me into the college seamlessly.”

On top of the overwhelming process of settling into her first year of college, Dani was faced with a challenging course load right out of the gate. With a lot of hard work, help from professors, peers, and other resources like the Academic Center of Excellence (ACE), Dani was able to come out on top.

“The first class that presented an issue happened to be my first nursing class, Intro to Professional Nursing. The reason why it was difficult for me was because – I went through high school and was fine, but I was honestly able to skate by – Intro to Nursing requires you to thoroughly read the textbook and truly understand it. It became very clear that you really need to care about nursing itself in order to get through this class. My tutor at ACE helped me realize that when it comes to my personal learning style, hearing is better than reading. Something I learned when starting nursing courses is that as a job, nursing is very situation based. You can have all the knowledge you need, but you need to be able to critically think and apply that knowledge to every unique situation you find yourself in. It’s a tough skill to learn! But tutoring and discussing with professors really helps you build those skills.”

When it comes to ensuring nursing students are prepared and comfortable throughout their time at Saint Joe’s, Kelly Hudock, Interim Chair of Nursing says, “That’s really what makes Saint Joe’s so much different than any other program. Our faculty are so invested in our students succeeding.”

Dani has taken advantage of this investment in her success, and has made sure to work closely with her professors throughout her time in school. “Professors are great and will go above and beyond to help you achieve your goals. They respond to emails quickly, you can meet with them during office hours and they’ll sit down with you to work one on one. They’ll even make a plan starting your first year on how to pass your NCLEX.”

“Sophomore year my classes became more difficult, so the year itself was a bit of a struggle at times. But you start your clinical rotations sophomore year – which I loved.” When asked about a favorite time for nursing students during their four years at Saint Joe’s, Kelly Hudock echoed Dani’s sentiment. “Hands down it’s the clinical rotations. They love being with patients and being able to apply what they learned in class. The feeling they get when helping a patient do well and go home is priceless. It doesn’t matter if they’re undergrad or in a graduate program. That is, hands down, the favorite part of the program.”

Like many nursing students coming into college at Saint Joe’s, Dani made sure she was equipped with prior experience before starting her clinical rotations. “I was an LNA before I came to school, so I already had basic bedside manner skills and experience with the basics. When I went into the first clinical (where you essentially learn how to be a CNA) I was able to improve my skills by working beside nurses and continue to develop my skills by watching and working alongside them. Clinicals are another area where you have to not only be a self starter, but also a self advocate. The nurses are great at recognizing you’re a student who needs to practice hands-on skills, so it’s important to speak up and to not be afraid to say “I’m learning how to do this skill or procedure, do you mind if I try it out with you?” Our clinical instructors are also an incredible resource who don’t hesitate to advocate for you.”

With support from her professors and resources like ACE, Dani had one other support system to rely on as she moved into her junior year. “Junior year brought on tests every two weeks, so that too was challenging. I started reaching out to other students for support. You really create a bond with your fellow nursing students. I know everyone’s name, I know how they work, interact, and what their hobbies are. We’re a very close knit group. The only way you get through this is with the support from others.”

Getting help from your fellow nursing students is a given. But Dani has occasionally found herself getting a helping hand from family members. “I think one of the main challenges of nursing courses is how in-depth they are. It goes way beyond showing up to class. You not only have to read the textbooks and pay attention in lectures. You also have to take the time to study on your own and improve your skills outside of the classroom. You have to be a self starter. A clear example of this is when we started doing health assessments. This meant it was time to learn skills like listening to heart sounds and oscillating lungs. We would have one hour a week to practice these skills in class. But that’s not enough time to truly master those types of skills. So, I made sure to attend open labs, and even listen to my friends and family members’ heart sounds when we were spending time together. Having friends and family willing to help me practice my assessment on them was crucial.”

Now that she is almost halfway through her senior year in the Honors Nursing program, Dani is looking forward to an exciting second semester. “I feel like things have started to relax a bit. Internships happen spring of your senior year but you apply at the end of your junior year. Currently you have to have a level 2 in Med Surg to specialize, so I’m very excited to be able to choose what I want to specialize in. You can pick different hospitals you want to go to, but ultimately the hospitals choose who they want. It’s competitive with every nursing student in the state. On top of that I’ll have honors classes and will be doing my honors capstone.”

Outside of her busy schedule of nursing classes, clinicals, a job on campus and an upcoming internship, you can find Dani anywhere sports are being played. “I play hockey and softball. I really love playing and watching any sport. So it’s great to live on a campus where there are games right across the way. I also love shopping, so you can usually find me at the Maine Mall in my spare time.” As for what’s next? Dani (as you might suspect) has a pretty good idea about what’s to come in her future. “At this time I’m planning on moving back home to New Hampshire and would like to work in the ICU at one of the local hospitals there. I’ll eventually apply to grad school and go for my doctorate of nurse anesthesia.”

Thank you to Dani for taking the time to share her experiences and inviting us into her world. Stay tuned this week for more unfiltered looks into the lives of SJC nursing students!