Nurse of the Week: Michelle Peterson Pursues Nursing Following Job as Victim Advocate

Our Nurse of the Week is Michelle Peterson who decided to become a nurse in 2010 after asking an academic advisor at Utah State University (USU), “I like to help people. What should I do?” Before pursuing nursing, Peterson was working as the victim advocate for Grand County, Utah. However, she later decided that nursing would be a better fit, and attended nursing school at USU-Moab from 2012 to 2014. Now, Peterson works as the operating room nurse manager at Moab Regional Hospital.

Although working as a victim advocate was a rewarding job, it also took its toll on Peterson and offered very little job security. Peterson was in her 20s when she became a victim advocate, and after growing up with a stable childhood, she was shocked by the victims she helped who had witnessed domestic violence, child abuse, and other ugly crimes. Now graduated and a working nurse, Peterson tells MoabTimes.com:

“Nursing is the best decision I ever made so even on hard days, there are still so many good things that come out. It’s a high demand, stressful job and that’s why not everybody’s doing it but the benefits outweigh the negatives.”

Being a nurse is a rewarding job for Peterson and she loves helping locals who come to the hospital from babies being born to elderly patients who are dying, and everything in between including preventative care. Vicki Gigliotti, Moab Regional Hospital Chief Clinical Officer, praises Peterson’s nursing management style saying, “She is smart and always willing to learn. As a young nurse manager, she is constantly assuring that her staff members and physicians have the needed resources to provide truly high quality care. Our hospital is grateful to have Michelle, her skill set, and her attitude moving into the future.”