Let’s say you’ve been a nurse in Minot, North Dakota, long enough and seek to enjoy the balmy mid-winter experience of Midcoast Maine. And you respond to an interesting position as advertised by one of our notable area hospitals. But you can’t just walk in the door of one of these facilities and declare your willingness to take the job. Somebody needs to review your skills and confirm that you are in fact qualified. Have I got a deal for you!

Your new employer needs to know, that you know what experience and training you are bringing to the hospital. After all, this isn’t “Whack-A-Mole!” Don’t try to figure things out on the job. It needs to be established and certified that you are qualified. No guess work tolerated. The job requires a skill level that can be properly evaluated along with the opportunity to update and improve. Things change. Procedures evolve. Rules apply. It's important to be current as the medical world adjusts to new concerns, treatments and preventions.    

Our local NPD (Nursing Professional Development) team is just what the doctor ordered and I am pleased to say that new hires and present staff  are in good hands. Susan LaVerdiere, Regional Clinical Nurse Educator, and her coworkers share their knowledge, experience and training with new and existing staff and teach a variety of classes to nurses, Medical Assistants and CNAs (Certified Nurse Assistants). These nurse educators share their training and teaching between Lincoln, PenBay and Waldo hospitals. 

Ms. LaVerdiere comes to this medical service from a very varied background, which, I believe, has helped her create unique techniques for teaching and certification. This is not one of those, listen to a lecture, read an instruction manual and take a test sort of deals. Although I don’t doubt that there is some of that.

Susan LaVerdiere has done a lot of stuff. And, as I have come to believe, her adventures, cumulatively, give her a very special opportunity to share knowledge and experience in ways that make the “classroom” more interesting and personal.

Susan started her beyond Waterville High School college years at MECA receiving a BFA in photography and art. This is where Susan realized and confirmed that she is a very visual person with a hands on preference for learning. I believe this is where she learned, most directly, that people have different styles of learning. This would guide all her future life skill experiences. In 1995, she switched gears to catering and high end food preparation.

She homeschooled her four children, all of whom had unique abilities and non-traditional learning styles. Susan recognized, through her own experience, the need to provide special learning environments. Next, Susan studied nursing at Southern Maine Community College. Once she became a registered nurse, she quickly went on to get her BSN (bachelor of science in nursing). She is currently working on board certification in Nursing Professional Development with a plan to start her master’s degree in the near future.

Susan has created (as may be detected in accompanying photograph) some pretty nifty ways to help learning be more fun. She and her associates teach computer software, IV and phlebotomy training, Crisis Prevention, dementia care and a variety of other clinical competencies.

Their facility, located near the town offices in Damariscotta, is incredibly well equipped with real life medical simulation settings.

But the real treat for those who sign on for various programs is something Susan calls “Gameification.” She loves to create alternative ways to learn by encouraging participants with puzzles and games. She has presented several unique Medical “Escape Rooms” at a national nursing conference with rave reviews! 

In her “spare” time, Susan paints at her home studio.