About
Carroll grad Maggie Schmitz, Class of 2016, is saving lives and serving families as a bedside and transport NICU nurse at Community Medical Center in Missoula, Montana. The Level III NICU where Maggie works is one of the largest newborn care units in the state.
Originally from Great Falls, Montana, Maggie enrolled in Carroll’s nursing program in 2012. She had applied for nursing programs at several universities but chose Carroll due to the scholarships available and the stellar reputation of the program.
Maggie said that during her time at Carroll, she loved the size of the school and how supported she felt by the faculty and staff. She described them as “extra moms” who provided tough love and support throughout the program. Maggie noted that her advisor, Erin Kuntzweiler, was particularly influential during her time in the nursing department. Maggie recalled a service trip to Varanasi, India, that was organized by Kuntzweiler. While the trip was not specifically a nursing trip, it was healthcare-centered, and Maggie and the other attending students spent the trip completing wellness checks on children, giving out nutrient packs, attending to injuries, and performing checkups on pregnant women.
Outside of the nursing program and service trips, Maggie found several ways to be involved in the Carroll and greater Helena communities. She stated that she enjoyed living in a quiet town during college. “[Nursing] was an intense program,” she said, “so it was nice to have close hiking trails and easy study breaks. Helena made it easy to have a class/life balance.” Maggie was involved in CAMP (Carroll Adventure and Mountaineering Program), where she was able to take part in whitewater rafting adventures as well as mountain and rock wall climbing.
During her senior year at Carroll, Maggie completed her Senior Capstone project at Community Medical Center in Missoula, where she spent 120 hours in the Neonatal ICU. “I was able to be hired because of the [Senior Capstone] internship,” she said. Then, in December of 2016, Maggie started as a night shift nurse. After five years of full time night shift work, she moved to the day shift and joined the neonatal transport team.
The neonatal transport team is a team of two nurses who transport patients from western Montana and Idaho to the NICU at Community Medical Center. The team also transports patients from their hospital to Level IIII centers, like children’s hospitals, out of state. The team uses a mix of small airplanes, helicopters, and ambulances to transport their tiny patients.
When she is working at the hospital, Maggie takes care of up to three babies. These patients were born either sick or early, and they have never left the hospital. With the size of her hospital, Maggie’s days are varied and require advanced skills such as intubating and placing chest tubes and central lines. “At a larger hospital, they would have specific people for many of these roles,” Maggie explained. “But at Community, I can see and experience lots of things while still working in a high level of care.”
Maggie credits Carroll with giving her a holistic nursing education that allows her to provide her patients with well-rounded care. “You have to provide care for the whole family unit,” Maggie said. “You are taking care of the patient, but you also have to think of how you can help the parents. You want to make them feel like parents and feel involved when their child is sick.” Maggie’s advice to current students and recent graduates of her field is to try to get as much well-rounded experience as possible. “I did an internship with Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies,” Maggie shared. “It was more the community side of care than medical. Things like that help you to be more well-rounded in your care of patients and their families.”
Maggie shared her love of Carroll’s Nursing Department by saying, “I could talk for years about how much I love and appreciate the faculty and what a great place it is for nursing students.” She later added, “It’s a great, well-rounded program, not just in Montana, but in the Northwest in general.” Maggie encourages students, regardless of their field of study, to take advantage of being on their own and to explore outside of their comfort zone. “College is a time where you are growing as a person,” Maggie explained. “And you will find the most growth outside of your comfort zone.”
To hear more from Maggie about her amazing work at Community Medical Center, check out the newest episode of Big Sky, Small World: https://rss.com/podcasts/big-sky-small-world/1783985/