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Network: August/September/October 2008
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| Megan Waters, who works in the main operating room at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, followed a career in nursing after the Norfolk Ford plant where she worked closed. |
Determination Leads to Health Care Career
For 12 years Megan Waters worked in the trim department on the line of the Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant in Norfolk, waking every morning at 4:30 a.m. so she could be at her station by 6 a.m. when a bell rang and the line of F-150 pick-up trucks lurched to life.
“Working on 500 trucks a day got a little repetitive,” recalled the 35-year-old Syracuse, N.Y., native who said she didn’t mind the hard work and enjoyed the teamwork and camaraderie inherent in the job. “We’d listen to the radio and talk about the news, but it takes a strong person to be able to handle the monotony.”
When the announcement came that the Ford plant would close its doors in spring 2008, Waters and her husband — a third generation Ford employee and Chesapeake native — decided to stay put and raise their two children in Hampton Roads.
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| (L-R) Diane Cartier, RN, clinical manager, OR/OSDU, Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, orients Megan Waters in the OR. | The Glass is Half Full Waters knew this was her chance. She took the buyout program Ford offered and took classes in anatomy and medical terminology to prepare for her next step — entrance into the Sentara School of Health Professions Surgical Technology Program.
“I actually grew up wanting to be in the medical field,” she explained. “I have family members who are doctors and nurses. My mother went to nursing school and my grandmother was accepted into medical school back in the 1920s. My maiden name is Comfort and I grew up wanting to be Dr. Comfort. I even volunteered at a hospital (SUNY Health Science Center) in Syracuse for three years while I was in high school.”
Setting the Bar High
Admitting she never really applied herself to her studies during high school, an older and wiser Megan now gave her coursework 110 percent. She set a personal goal of finishing first in her class.
“My classmates kind of joked with me about my quest to graduate at the top of my class. I got a B on one test the whole year and I was so sad they handed me a tissue,” she laughed. “I met some great people and the coursework showed me what I was really capable of.”
Although she admits the past year has been the toughest of her life, Waters says she knew she had to do it — to prove that she could — to herself and to her children, ages 11 and 4.
“I decided I wanted to show my kids that with a little extra effort, a little extra work, you can get good grades and succeed,” she said.
Making the Grade
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| (L-R) Now a surgical tech, Megan Waters would eventually like to continue her schooling to become a nurse. | At the June 2008 Sentara School of Health Professions commencement ceremony — almost one full year after the Ford plant closed its doors — Megan stood proudly in cap and gown in a very different kind of line.
With her family cheering her on, she graduated summa cum laude — Latin meaning "with highest honors."
“Megan won the Academic Excellence Award for the Surgical Technology Program,” said Sue Stallings, director of the Surgical Technology Program for Sentara School of Health Professions.
“She’s a very determined person. She’s very smart, competitive and conscientious and she was a great leader for her class.”
Next Stop: Sentara Norfolk General Hospital
Waters began working in the main operating room at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in June, shortly after graduation.
“I figured if I had the opportunity to work at a Level One Trauma Center I should take it,” said Waters. “Sentara Norfolk General really impressed me – it’s a great hospital. We rotated through the different hospitals, and I really liked the people there. I saw the team leaders and charge nurses really setting the tone for the day.”
Stallings commends Waters for the courage it took to switch directions professionally.
“It must have been very challenging for her to transition from the Ford plant to a whole new career,” said Stallings. “But she set her eyes on it and she succeeded in getting to be where she wanted to be.”
At least for now.
“I thought being a surgical tech would be a great way to learn the ins and outs of the operating room because someday I want to become a nurse,” said Waters, her eyes already looking toward her next milestone.
“But the most rewarding part right now is finally getting to do what I always wanted to do – work in health care.”
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