Six hours into a 12-hour shift, LincolnHealth Emergency Department Nurse Eric Duffy, RN, has seen seven patients; the oldest 88 years old and the youngest six months old.

Each patient comes with an urgent medical condition, a unique personality and often their own personal challenges related to the reason they are in the emergency department.

It is Duffy’s job to not only help treat their medical issues, but to establish a rapport with them in the short time he is with them.

“You are meeting people at their most vulnerable,” said Duffy. “Half of the job is how you interact with somebody. If someone doesn’t trust you, you are not going to be able to provide effective healthcare.”

Before becoming a nurse, Duffy worked as a Maine Guide, a Wilderness EMT and a teacher. Each of those jobs helped him develop the interpersonal skills that make him an effective emergency department nurse.

When Duffy was ready to go to nursing school, however, a shortage of nursing programs kept his dream out of reach. He was on waiting lists of 18 months or more and the closest nursing school was about an hour away, which posed a real challenge to his young family.

The CMCC Nursing Program at the Lincoln County Healthcare Education Center in Damariscotta, a partnership between Lincoln County Healthcare and Central Maine Community College, not only brought his classes closer, it offered great instructors who gave him the knowledge and insight he needed to be successful.

The program helps answer the question of how healthcare facilities like LincolnHealth will replace a generation of nurses that is nearing retirement. At the same time, it offers local people a bridge to a career in healthcare.

Duffy has never regretted his decision.

“It has been an incredible journey,” he said. “This is hands down the most challenging and rewarding thing I have done in my life.”

The job has given his family a level of financial stability and predictability that it didn’t have when his jobs were seasonal, and that has made a huge difference, he said, and just as important, it offers him the chance to help people.

When he goes home after each shift, he knows he has made a real, tangible difference in his community.

“It is a privilege to be a nurse,” said Duffy. “I am grateful every day for what I get to experience.”

For more information about the CMCC Nursing Program at Lincoln County Healthcare, please call 1-800-891-2002, ext. 273 or email enroll@cmcc.edu.