Skip to Content

Marian Regional Medical Center recruits 20 new nurses during pandemic

MARIAN REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
PATRICIA MARTELLOTTI

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Marian Regional Medical Center hired 20 new nurses from the Cuesta College Nursing Program.

For Jessica Carros, becoming a registered nurse during a pandemic was unexpected.

"I graduated from Cuesta dispatch May 2020. I was part of the COVID-19 class which we kind of giggle about. But our class was one of the most unique classes to graduate," said Carros.

Carros is one of the 20 new nurses who had to adapt quickly in order to complete their education after Coronavirus arrived on the Central Coast.

"We did pretty much everything online for a good three weeks. We did a sort of a case study in place of clinical rather than being in the hospital for a few weeks," said Carros.

Now she’s in the critical care unit working first hand with COVID-19 patients.

"What will be great is that were going to be able to infuse these nurses into the current workforce and help to educate and train them, and be ready to care for the patients in our community," said Chief Nursing Officer Candice Monge with Marian Regional Medical Center.

While Carros is excited to serve others as a nurse, she does admit to having mixed emotions at the beginning of the pandemic.

When you say it out loud it’s like wow this is really abnormal but you know I can be one of those people that says I was in the front lines and I got to do some thing to make a difference. I think that it it’s something to be proud of and it is kind of unusual for a brand new nurse to be thrown into a pandemic," said Carros.

Article Topic Follows: Santa Maria - Lompoc - North County

Jump to comments ↓

Author Profile Photo

Patricia Martellotti

Patricia Martellotti is a reporter for News Channel 3-12. To learn more about Patricia, click here.

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION

News Channel 3-12 is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation.

Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here

If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.

Skip to content