The Professional Life as a Training Ground for Virtue
Interview with Rosie Gregerson
Photo by Georgia de Lotz
“If I had to pick one thing that my faith has done for me in my profession, it is to gift me with eyes to see the dignity in others.”
A career path can seem meticulously planned but there is often a providential, though sometimes subtle, hand guiding us along. Rosie speaks on the ways God has drawn her servant heart toward becoming a nurse and uses this career as a space to practice virtue and prepare for heaven.
About Rosie: Rosie is 27 years old and was born and raised in the great state of Minnesota. She grew up in a Catholic household and was lucky enough to go to small Catholic and Christian schools for her formation and education.After high school Rosie spent a year traveling and evangelizing with NET ministries. She finished her education at the University of Minnesota where she earned a Bachelors of Science in Nursing. She started off her career in the Cardiovascular ICU and was called away after 4 years to work at the VA hospital to serve our vets.She loves her job! And she loves her husband. They just recently got married in June and have been learning how to do the married-life thing ever since! Rosie finds growing up to be very fascinating because no one gives an instruction book when it matters most, or so it seems. She is blessed to have an incredible community of Christians around her to muddle through it all and run towards holiness. Rosie is looking forward to 2020 and all the adventures it has in store!
The Interview:
What do you do for work? What do your typical responsibilities include?
I am a critical care nurse. This can take many forms including cardiovascular intensive care nursing in a Level I private hospital. Or, it could take a turn, like mine has, these days, as I find myself caring for US Veterans who are going into and waking up from surgery. My day consists of getting the Vets ready for surgery, interviewing them, reviewing their meds and making sure they are ready to safely enter into anesthesia and surgery. This can include wearing many hats and coordinating care across all of the specialties involved in a day of surgery (surgeons, anesthesia, respiratory, cardiac, ICU or step-down care, discharge education, etc.). Then we are in the PACU, or the “wake-up room” as we call it. This is where we stabilize their vital signs, handle any bumps in the road as they’re waking up, and make sure they are safe to continue on to their next phase of care.
What drew you to your current profession?
My nephew was sick when he was very little. Visiting him in the hospital and seeing his caretakers, it was the first time I could imagine myself diving into a profession. This blossomed over the years as I found myself desiring a career that gave way to my desire to care for, walk with, serve, honor, heal others. I didn’t really choose nursing, it kind of chose me. My life’s adventures led me to this career: doors opened (and shut), relationships grew (and withered), mentors came and went, my skills and confidence grew and all of the sudden I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else! The Lord is funny that way. He takes good desires and gifts and softens our heart to them if we let Him. He shows us a path that will bring us joy and challenge and fulfillment and ultimately lead us to Him.
How has your faith influenced your work?
I started my career as a nursing assistant in one of the busiest and messiest units in our hospital. I’ll be honest... I didn’t start off desiring to serve as much as I would like to think––or perhaps it appeared––I did. I found myself tempted by laziness in tasks that would require more effort or humility or time or sacrifice. God has offered me countless opportunities for growth throughout the years. But I would say if I had to pick one thing that my faith has done for me in my profession, it is to gift me with eyes to see the dignity in others. I have been floored by moments I’m given the grace to choose to uphold the dignity of others in their darkest, dirtiest, most inconvenient moments and to put in a little more effort to enter into the mess with them and let them know they’re not alone. These are where I see the face of God and I am knocked down onto my knees.
How has your work influenced your faith?
I feel like my workplace is my training ground. I am lucky enough to have an incredible community around me: a faithful family, intentional friendships, and solid formation. I am given the tools for battle, and I feel like work is where I practice. I learn to choose joy and patience. To look out for the little guy. To seek the lost, honor the fallen. To reject judgment or comparison. To practice obedience and humility. My job is the place where I learn virtue and practice for heaven. I’m just grateful for a merciful God who picks me up all the times I fail and gives me opportunities to start again!
Photo by Chelsey Shortman
Describe a challenge that your professional career posed/poses to your faith life and how you have come to face it.
Healthcare naturally leads to ethical dilemmas. One of the big issues in health care these days is physician-assisted suicide. It’s one that tears my heart into pieces because I see both sides. I see the ache of a slow decline and loss of quality of life and striving to regain some semblance of control when everything seems like it’s just madness. But I also see their personhood, their dignity. I see someone who deserves that we fight for them and walk with them until the very end, carry them in their pain, honor them in their suffering. In my heart, I know that this issue is an attack on personhood. Somewhere along the way, this brother or sister received a message that their suffering somehow makes them less, somehow is too much of a burden, or takes away from their dignity in those final days. I feel it is my job to heal that wound in any little way I can. I try to take moments in people’s suffering to thank them for their strength, to ask how they really are, and to say, “this sucks... but you’re not alone.”
In what ways is your profession a vocation?
I feel like I’m almost cheating with this one. It’s pretty easy to see how being a nurse could be a vocation––visiting the sick, serving the poor, walking with others in their most vulnerable moments. What has surprised me, though, is how much this career is who I am. The Lord has blessed me with this set of very specific gifts and placed me in a zone that makes me more me every day. It draws out my strengths and highlights my weaknesses, it gives me space to grow in humility and holiness if I open my eyes enough to see it. Isn’t that what a vocation is, a path which brings us to heaven and calls us to bring others with us?
How have you balanced your career ambitions and reliance on God’s providence?
I am blessed with a job that could give me work for the rest of my life, no matter where I move or what specialty I choose. A little over a year ago, the Lord called me out of a more prestigious career path in cardiovascular intensive care––one in which I was gaining status quickly––and into a more humbling service of our nation’s veterans. This came with a pay cut (right before my wedding, no less) and a little rougher clientele. But my goodness, how I have been blessed in this leap of faith. I have learned that, while there is nothing wrong with being successful, there is more to life than money and a fancy job to talk about. I have a population of patients that I love, a manager who cares about my wellbeing, and a job that gave me back my nights, weekends and holidays to come home and build a home with my husband. God is good in His providence, even if I don’t understand it at the moment.
What words of encouragement or advice would you offer to women struggling to find a balance of work and personal life?
It is truly all about the balance. This is something I’m still learning. Be present to those whispers in your heart that help you to see another person as God’s image and likeness. Take an extra moment to uphold someone’s dignity and make a human connection with them. Be open to where in your workday He is calling you into your own personhood and to grow in virtue in your day. Work hard. Be absolutely amazing in your job. AND remember to take a step back every once in a while. Our jobs are meaningful and a training ground and a vocation, yes. But they are not the be-all-end-all. Leave room in your life for community, and self-care, and prayer, and exercise, and hobbies, and silence. DO NOT forget about silence! And know that you have my prayers in this next year of adventures.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.