Payton Hollar

What do you do on a day-to-day basis in your current job?

I work at St. Mary’s as a Certified Nursing Assistant. I currently work nights, so I’ll go to class, get out about noon, eat lunch, take a nap, then work 12-hour night shifts. Although my job can be hard I do enjoy it. I'm located on the third floor next to the Intensive Care Unit and Cardiac Unit. We get patients from all over the hospital from every floor. So I've gained a lot of experience working with different people. We have a 12-bed overflow with one CNA responsible for 12 patients, which can be stressful, but I work with a lot of great nurses and staff. We work well together as a team and we help each other out.

What was your transition like from being a student to your current career position?

In some ways, I’m still a student, I learn new things on the job everyday. But it was a smooth transition from being in the classroom to being in a working environment. We would practice our skills with our classmates, but we also were told what the job would be like ahead of time so I knew what to expect. It’s different practicing on your mobile classmate to a patient who’s not mobile. But the instructors gave me the skills I needed to be successful in both situations.

What do you think set you apart from the other applicants for your current position?

I think in my interviews at St. Mary’s they were very impressed with my goals and how motivated I am and I really wanted to learn as much as possible before med school and I wanted to get that patient interaction. So I guess it wasn’t really just a job for me, and they could tell I really wanted to work with these patients and continue to grow myself as well.

What advice would you give to incoming students?

It can be hard sometimes, but stick with it, stay open-minded and keep learning.