Tammy Moran

Tammy Moran – Women and Children’s

My name is Tammy, and I am a registered nurse. Growing up, my aspirations were to become a mother, a nurse, and or a nun. I began nursing school in August of 1985 at Lee College in Baytown, Texas. Shortly into my second semester, I found myself in the first trimester of my first pregnancy. My parents were very supportive, and following the birth of my son, I continued college part time, while working part time as a cashier and raising my son.

I married in June 1989, and soon, another son was born while my husband was away at Fort Dix. This did not deter me from staying enrolled part time in college. However, with the premature birth of my daughter in 1990, school was put on the back burner, so that I might dedicate myself to her care.

I’m happy to say all turned out well and I graduated from San Jacinto Central College in Pasadena, Texas with an associate’s degree in nursing May 2001.

I immediately took an internship at Bellaire Medical Center for Labor and Delivery. What a joy I found in nursing. To help a family welcome a new life into the world, and to be one of the first people to look into a newborns eyes with adoration. With each birth I am amazed by the miracle of birth, and cherish each new experience.

There are sad times in the labor unit also. Sometimes a child is stillborn, or is miscarried. Sometimes a child is born needing immediate medical intervention that may look harsh, but is so necessary to sustain a life. During these times the family needs a strong and compassionate nurse to see them through the hardships.

When Bellaire Medical Center closed its doors, I moved to Park Plaza Hospital. What a beautiful unit it was. We did maybe 250 deliveries a month, very busy, and very rewarding. But something was missing. With such a large amount of deliveries, I worried that I was not able to give my patients the attention they deserved, and I started looking for a smaller, rural hospital in need of labor nurses.

I sent out many applications over the Internet. To my surprise, an email from Barb Turner at TAMC came quickly. TAMC was interested in me and needed my skills. I interviewed with the management of Women and Children’s. We seemed to fit well together. TAMC brought me to Presque Isle in January 2005, so that I might see what a real winter was. I toured the facility, the town, and met my potential co-workers. I fell in love and accepted the job.

With the help of Barb Turner, the move from Texas to Maine was so incredibly easy. I packed up my PT Cruiser with two teenagers, two cats, and one dog. We drove cross-country. We visited New Orleans, which in hindsight is sad considering what happened during Katrina. We visited my family that live on the Chesapeake Bay in Norfolk, Virginia. Then we visited more family in Salisbury and Baltimore Maryland.

We arrived in Presque Isle June 10th. Our house was ready June 12th when the movers brought the furniture, and I started work June 13, 2005.

I love working for Women and Children’s at TAMC. My managers are very accessible and listen to my issues and concerns and offer positive feedback. I love my co-workers that work as a team and truly enjoy each other’s company. I love Aroostook County. I even love the snow, and I admire the people of Aroostook County.

There are some concerns that keep me awake. Sometimes TAMC has such a shortage of nurses that we are required to work to other areas of the hospital. This forces us to work in departments outside our scope of expertise. Although we are offered a short orientation, we still do not feel comfortable or safe working in other units. I think that some people feel ‘a nurse is just a nurse’, and that we should be able to work in any area of medicine. This is not true. Many of us have special training and expertise in our field of medicine. Our patients deserve the best, and that means having nurses that have been specially trained to care for their needs.

Because of the shortages TAMC has been forced to hire traveling nurses. I understand that these nurses get paid upwards of $100,000.00 a year, while the local nurses of Aroostook County only make a fraction of that.

Another concern is that although I was hired as a full time employee, I am not guaranteed full time hours. This means if there are few patients, I can and will be put on call. When this happens, I must use my vacation time to make sure I get a full paycheck. This also means we cannot take a vacation to visit our family members, or even when I get sick. As a single mother, I constantly worry if I will have enough to pay the electric bill, or buy heating fuel. As we all know, the cost of oil is increasing at an alarming rate. I fear next winter I will not be able to heat our home.

I am forced to work overtime and work a second job to meet my financial responsibilities. During the holidays I work a second job at the bookstore in the mall. I am currently looking for a third job, so I can afford to put braces on my daughter’s teeth.

As I stated previously, I love Aroostook County, the people, the snow and my job. I have no plans to leave. However, I would love to work only one job, so I have time to enjoy my family. I would like that one job to be as a nurse at TAMC, with pay and benefits that allow me to get my children braces, eyeglasses, heating fuel, and to pay the bills. With this security I would come to work everyday I’m scheduled and offer the best to my patients.
To the good people of Aroostook County who deserve the best.

Tammy Moran RN