My story

I started out my medical career as an EMT with the intention of becoming a paramedic. Right out of high school I was working as a luthier (guitar builder) of all things, and a close friend of mine was always telling crazy stories about being an EMT on an ambulance. I was so fascinated I went back to school and became an EMT!

From EMT I decided to take a phlebotomy course and was offered a job at the local trauma center right when I graduated. I spent the next few years working with amazing nurses and completely forgot about my desire to become a paramedic, I wanted to be a nurse!

While taking my prerequisites for nursing school I continued to work as a phlebotomist and started teaching phlebotomy at a local vocational college, then began teaching at the Junior College as well. When I finished nursing school I went straight to the area of nursing that interested me the most, cardiac/telemetry!

From my experience as a phlebotomist I was naturally good at starting IVs. I became the go-to “IV Guy” and would constantly get calls from every floor in the hospital to come start a difficult IV. I would always bring the nurse in with me and teach as much as I could. So many nurses started asking advice I began to see a need for this kind of education. I decided to create a video course for nurses on how to start IVs and here we are!

I’ve gone on to get my VA-BC (Vascular Access Board Certification), and am transitioning to a vascular access specialty. I continue to teach whenever I can and would love nothing more than to make a difference in the lives of patients by improving the practice of the nurses who care for them.