Army nurse takes next step at Mary Bridge Children’s

Michelle Barr is an Army nurse launching the next stage of her clinical career at MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital.

Drawn to nursing by a love of caring for people, she paid for a nursing degree by joining the Reserve Officer Training Corp (ROTC) program in college. The Army appealed to her because it paid for her education and gave her the opportunity to serve her country while pursuing a field she enjoyed.

After she commissioned, Barr found that military nursing offered a variety of unique experiences and leadership opportunities uncommon to health care professionals outside the military.

“I received battlefield-specific trauma training and gained leadership roles early in my career, like becoming a charge nurse,” she says. “I’m grateful for these opportunities to develop both personally and professionally.”

But Barr has always wanted to care for younger patients — and the Army does not offer pediatrics as a specialty. She also wanted to stay clinical rather than advancing further into managerial roles the Army held for her.

After serving in the U.S. Army for more than five years, Barr is excited to begin her next chapter as a civilian nurse.

Charting a new path

Barr heard about the Career Skills Program (CSP) from friends who were in the process of leaving the military. The CSP is a national program designed to help transitioning servicemembers find jobs. The program partners with employers to offer internships to servicemembers.

The CSP not only benefits servicemembers; it also benefits employers, who can observe a potential employee before hiring them — at no charge. Servicemembers continue to earn military pay during the internship.

Barr attended a CSP event at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) to see whether the program would be a good fit. Unfortunately, no health care organizations participated.

After the event, she approached Bill Noland, CSP coordinator at JBLM, and explained her situation. He saw Barr’s commitment to pediatric nursing and told her if she could find a hospital willing to host her, he would personally administer the paperwork.

Barr reached out to several professional contacts, including John Whitt, MD, who works in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at Mary Bridge Children’s. He passed her resume to nurse manager Tami Best-Brandt, who was willing to supervise Barr for an internship.

Pursuing this internship required Barr to advocate for herself and make personal connections, knitting together a network of people from CSP, Mary Bridge, MultiCare’s human resources department and her military chain of command.

It took several months of networking and follow-up to organize the internship, but she persevered by relying on her purpose: pediatric nursing.

Learning the ropes of pediatric nursing 

Barr has interned in the pediatric ICU (PICU) at Mary Bridge Children’s since March. She’s found the unit to be welcoming and supportive, and has gained experience in diagnoses she would not normally see in her background of adult and neonatal care.

“The nurses in the PICU let me do as much as I can, and they guide me in the procedures and policies that are specific to pediatrics or to Mary Bridge,” she says. “They also answer my questions and facilitate my learning process.”

Barr enjoys seeing the differences between treating children and adults. Although she expected resiliency in children, she has still been surprised by some she’s met at Mary Bridge Children’s.

“One patient who really touched me had multiple health concerns and a hard life and family situation. But her attitude was so real. She expressed her feelings honestly and then let them go and moved on,” she says. “It was a pleasure to care for her. She was so sweet and funny, even when we asked her to do hard and unpleasant things. She taught me a lesson about finding ways to smile even in difficult situations.”

Navigating a culture shift 

Apart from expanding and honing her clinical skill set, Barr is also experiencing a cultural shift. Military health care has a clear chain of command, whereas she finds that doctors and nurses at Mary Bridge Children’s take a more informal, collaborative approach to patient care.

“Some nurses have worked here for over 25 years! That says a lot about the culture of the unit, management and the standard of care.”

And unlike in military care, staff at Mary Bridge Children’s are not required to move every few years. Barr appreciates the longevity and stability.

“Doctors and nurses here have established trust from years of working together. A lot of autonomy is granted because of that trust. Some nurses have worked here for over 25 years!” she marvels. “That says a lot about the culture of the unit, management and the standard of care.”

Barr says she’d recommend CSP to other health care providers leaving the military.

“The program is great because it gives you the opportunity to experience work in a civilian setting without committing, and before your paycheck is on the line,” she says. “You can also practice professional skills you’ll need to get a job, like building a resume and interviewing well.”

She reflects, “In the Army, there are common experiences that help you make connections quickly. The civilian workforce draws from a much more diverse pool of backgrounds and experiences, so you may not have as much in common with your co-workers off the bat. This challenges you to learn how to present yourself well and advocate for yourself. The transition can be scary and hard.”

Planning her next steps

After her internship at Mary Bridge Children’s ends in May, Barr is applying for nursing jobs at the hospital and other locations, including back home near her family. She is excited to continue pursuing pediatrics, and is grateful to both the Army and Mary Bridge Children’s for the opportunities she’s had.