Transcript
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Non-Traditional Nursing
00:49 Mary Jo’s Career Journey
06:24 Current Role and Responsibilities
09:57 Rewards of Non-Traditional Roles
11:15 Transitioning from Patient Care to Business
12:16 Skills and Certifications for Success
13:40 Challenges in the Medical Device Field
14:53 Turning Points in Mary Jo’s Career
16:13 Final Advice for Aspiring Non-Traditional Nurses
Ellie Kirkpatrick (00:00)
Hi everyone, welcome back to The Nontraditional Nurse. Today we are so excited to have a special guest, Mary Jo Deering, who has had an impressive career path as a nurse and is currently working as a clinical support center consultant. Throughout her career, Mary Jo has worn many hats in non-traditional nursing roles. Today we’re going to dive deeper into her career journey, talk about what her current role entails, and gather some valuable insights and advice for anyone that might be interested in a similar path.
Mary Jo (00:09)
Hello.
Ellie Kirkpatrick (00:27)
Mary Jo, thank you so much for joining us today.
Mary Jo (00:30)
Yeah, thanks for having me.
Ellie Kirkpatrick (00:34)
Could you start out by telling us a bit about your career journey and what initially drew you to looking at nontraditional roles in nursing?
Mary Jo (00:46)
Sure, so I was a nurse in the Peds ICU initially at Spectrum Health, Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. And then I started working in the Peds ER there also and found myself kind of becoming a grouchy old ER nurse. And so I started looking at what I wanted to do for the rest of my career. So I was like, can I do bedside nursing for 20 more years? I started looking, should I go back to school and become an NP or should I go back to school and get like a business or go into management? And I was not a management type of person.
So,I just started interviewing all the different reps that would come in through the ER. And I would just say, what is it that you do? How do you do it? Like, you know, what’s your day look like? That type of thing. And I started looking around in the hospital at all the different [medical] devices and stuff and literally I wrote them down on a piece of paper and then I would go home and look them up and see if they had jobs and stuff. And so, I actually would just blindly apply online to different companies. And one day when I was in the ER, there was a person who was doing a demonstration of the Alaris IV pump. And so I went to her demonstration and I said, “I’m here to see your demonstration, but I’m actually here to network with you, you know, and to see what it is that you do.” And she was a nurse also, and she said we’re hiring, here’s my card and send me your resume. And so, I sent her my resume and she forwarded it onto her boss. And then I flew out to Pittsburgh and had an interview with her boss and was hired by Alaris initially as a clinical consultant. And basically, I would fly out on a Monday, fly home on a Thursday and you would go around and work with all the hospitals on installing the Alaris IV pump and then teaching the nurses how to use it. [The pumps were] very, you know, complicated cause all your drugs go in it and stuff.
I actually worked for Alaris for around five years or so. And then I moved from a clinical consultant position into then a sales role while I was working with them and sold the IV tubing. With that, I had a five state territory. And then I started looking for something where I wasn’t traveling as much. I knew a nurse that had been a chief nursing officer at a small hospital. She had started working for Hillrom and she contacted me and she said, “Hey, we have this position open in our patient lifts, would you be interested?” I was like, sure, I’ll try that. It was a sales position and so I thought it’d be a good experience. So, I went there for a short time. It was not exactly what I intended it or thought it would be.
And so, then I started thinking, I really want to get back to more like something with pathophysiology. So again, started looking online and on LinkedIn and found the Abiomed position at the time and I applied for it. And then I was like, okay, who can I contact on LinkedIn that can help me get an interview?
Honestly, back when I was applying for jobs in the medical device industry, it was hard because nobody wanted nurses initially. Alaris, you know, they wanted nurses and pharmacists, so that was good. But a lot of places didn’t feel like nurses could sell or that nurses would work out. And so, when I saw the Abiomed job, Abiomed was actually hiring lots of nurses and techs from cath labs and stuff. So, I reached out on LinkedIn to somebody that worked for Abiomed and he said the position I applied for wasn’t open, but they had a different position and to call him. His name was Dave and he talked to me through all my interviews and helped me get the job with Abiomed.
When I started out, they had recently created a role called an Associate Clinical [Consultant] for people who didn’t really have cath lab experience but had ICU experience. ICU experience was starting to become something that they were really looking for because Impella patients were starting to go to the ICU and that’s where they needed a lot of help. When I started working for them, initially, it was the whole state of Michigan that we had and then we got broken off to just like Grand Rapids. I’ve been working now for Abiomed and I just celebrated my 12 year anniversary.
Ellie Kirkpatrick (06:03)
Congratulations.
Mary Jo (06:16)
I just recently moved into a position, a promotion where I work for the Clinical Support Center now. So now I’m not in the hospital all the time. Instead, I take calls from either hospitals or from people like myself who had been out in the field who like have a weird situation or just a question. “It’s like, hey, we have this alarm, what’s happening?” And we can actually pull up their controller on our computer and look live at what’s happening with their Impella screen and help talk through what kind of steps they can do to alleviate the alarm.
Ellie Kirkpatrick (06:48)
Awesome. And I’m so glad you touched on networking because in any of these non-traditional roles, that really is the key to at least getting your first role and getting your foot in the door. In-person or virtual networking, whatever you have to do to let someone know you are the right fit, right?
Mary Jo (07:01)
Right.
Yes, yes. And I tell people that all the time. you know, when I was working and going into the ICUs, you know, so many people would ask, hey, what is it that you do? You know, and how can I do what you do? And I told them, I said, you got to network. It’s who you talk to or who you reach out to on LinkedIn. If you find a job, then you reach out. You find somebody on LinkedIn that you can talk to about it. So it’s, yeah, 100% networking.
Ellie Kirkpatrick (07:35)
Yeah. And that is where the birth of The Nontraditional Nurse came from. You know, everybody coming and saying, “How do I get these roles?” In looking, there’s not great resources. So, yeah, thank you for sharing. And, currently as clinical support center consultant. You talked a little bit about what you do, but can you share what a typical day might look like for you in this role?
Mary Jo (07:39)
Yeah, so we have a couple different roles that we do each day. Each of us are assigned to do different things. we can either monitor all the emails coming in from the field to see if any of those need to be addressed to help the field out. And then we also take phone calls from, like I said, the hospitals. So, on the Impella machines is a 1-800 number. They can just call and it patches through to whoever’s taking the calls and you just help them with any questions that they may have. So, yeah, so it’s phone calls, a lot of phone calls and watching things on the computer too.
So, we can watch all the alarms throughout the United States on our computer and we can call into a certain hospital and help them troubleshoot that alarm. And then usually in the evening time, we will actually make calls into the ICUs to check on the night shift nurse. So the call is just to like check and say, “Do have any questions? Just making sure you’re feeling comfortable at the beginning of your shift. If you have any questions, then you have the 1-800 number to call tonight.”
Ellie Kirkpatrick (09:27)
Awesome. As a previous night shift ICU nurse, that is very much appreciated because you don’t have everyone there all night. So it’s great to have a check-in.
So you’ve worked with several major healthcare companies in sales and consulting roles. What would you say has been the most rewarding aspect of working in these types of roles?
Mary Jo (09:31)
One of the biggest rewards is just the fact that you did it, right? Because the role is hard to get into and the role is hard to learn it and everything and to make it. To also feel comfortable. The first, no matter what role I’ve had, the first six months, you just feel like you’re the dumbest person around, because you’re trying to learn everything.
And it takes a solid year to feel comfortable and I’m sure that’s with any job, you know, but to be comfortable enough to say I’m able to actually give you advice and everything. But I think with Abiomed, with the Impella device, the biggest reward has just been the patients that you see and the ones that recover. So that’s been amazing. Just be like, yes, see this works.
Ellie Kirkpatrick (10:47)
Yeah, making such a difference.
And how would you describe what it was like transitioning from a direct patient care role into more of a business or sales focused role? And were there any significant skills that you felt were especially helpful in that shift?
Mary Jo (10:49)
I think the biggest thing, and nurses will understand this, is I used to tell my friends is that the business people that I work with didn’t quite understand my sense of humor. They were a lot more buttoned up than I was. And so, I think you had to learn to draw it in a little bit and just try to act more business professional. But I remember coming back and telling my friends that a lot. was like, they just don’t appreciate my sense of humor.
Ellie Kirkpatrick (11:38)
We have to have a different sense of humor to get by as nurses at the bedside.
Mary Jo (11:41)
Right? I know it. I know. So, I think that is the biggest thing is just that you have to like have your t’s crossed in everything buttoned up a lot more. So
Ellie Kirkpatrick (11:53)
Yeah, absolutely. For any nurses that might be interested in moving into consulting or clinical support, are there any types of certifications or skills that you recommend they really focus on to prepare?
Mary Jo (12:06)
Yeah, there’s not any certain certification. There’s a lot of companies that want you to have at least a bachelor’s in nursing or a bachelor’s degree period. Because we, know for Abiomed, we also take techs from the cath lab and that type of thing; scrub techs. But usually, they do kind of look that you have a bachelor’s at least.
And as far as experience, do tell people sometimes if they want to get into something cardiac wise, that being in either a cardiac ICU or a cath lab or even like an open heart area is good experience if you want to get into like into a business that, you know, deals with cardiac devices. And I feel like those do hire more often, like from cath labs and from hospitals and stuff.
Ellie Kirkpatrick (13:10)
Yeah, so we get back to that in-person networking, really, and just meeting the people on the job and letting them know that you’re interested. That’s great. What would you say are some of the biggest challenges you face working in this capacity, especially when we talk about working with new technology or medical devices?
Mary Jo (13:14)
I studied a ton with each job that I went to. It’s a lot of studying, and especially in this role now, not only studying your device, but how does that device affect the patient? so it’s a lot of studying after hours, I would say, at nighttime and stuff. And you go through a strenuous amount of training but you still have to do extra studying so that you totally understand what is the product that you have and how it’s affecting your patient. I think too, more so like just learning some of the IT stuff. You don’t work with computers very often and that type of thing. And so now you’re doing everything on a computer and just some of the IT things.
Ellie Kirkpatrick (14:30)
Thank you. And then looking back on your career path, is there any specific job or experience that really stands out as a turning point for you?
Mary Jo (14:42)
I think when I went to Abiomed, because I was a much more trusted team member. I remember when I was working with the Alaris IV pumps, we were going to see somebody. I don’t remember what department it was, but we had an appointment and we went to the desk to say, we’re here to see so-and-so. And they’re like, “You’re a vendor?” They said it with like such venom. And I was like, “I’m a nurse, I’m not a vendor, you know?”
Whereas like with Abiomed and the Impella device, I mean, we come in at all hours of the day and night and you’re seen as much more of a trusted part of the team really. So that’s always been, you know, wonderful, like going into an ICU who doesn’t usually see him, tell on you, walk in at 2 a.m. in the morning and they’re like, “My gosh, thank God you’re here,” you know, and very rewarding.
Ellie Kirkpatrick (15:46)
Absolutely. Awesome. And then finally, for anyone who’s interested in pursuing a role similar to yours, is there any final advice you’d give them as they start exploring these types of career options?
Mary Jo (16:02)
Yeah, I used to tell people like, you know, one of the things is I used to look on indeed.com or, you know, even LinkedIn, and you put in clinical consultant and you can’t put it just for whatever town you’re in. You have to put it basically for the state because most positions are multi-state type of positions. And then again, just networking, if you find a position that you think would be interested in. Then you need to look on LinkedIn and try to connect with somebody to ask questions about it or just try to connect with them so that you can get a foot in the door so.
Ellie Kirkpatrick (16:42)
Absolutely. And I know certain companies have referral bonuses, so it could be beneficial to both sides if you can gain someone’s trust and get an internal referral.
Well, Mary Jo, thank you so much for sharing your journey and insights with us today. It’s really inspiring to hear about your unique path, all the incredible work you’re doing, and we’re so grateful for your time. You kind of gave us a glimpse into your world of non-traditional nursing.
Mary Jo (16:46)
Yeah, absolutely.
Ellie Kirkpatrick (17:09)
And then to our audience, if you enjoyed this interview, want to stay updated on more stories like Mary Jo’s, don’t forget to subscribe to our channel and visit our website. Thanks for watching and we will see you next time.