“As a nurse, we bear it all,” said Monica Grimaldo, a 2012 BSN graduate of the University of West Georgia’s Tanner Health System School of Nursing.

Grimaldo was recently recognized by the UWG Alumni Association’s Thriving Under Thirty program. Honoring young alumni under the age of 30 who have made significant impacts in their career industry, the program also acknowledges their dedication to and representation of the university.

As a first-generation high school and college graduate, Grimaldo invests daily in the pursuit of serving humanity as a registered nurse in the emergency department at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and WellStar North Fulton. She is also fluent in Spanish, a skill that has proven to be advantageous – giving her an opportunity to significantly expand her impact for supporting and helping others.

Grimaldo is certain that UWG’s Tanner Health System School of Nursing furnished the necessary tools to ensure her personal success and to prepare her for new possibilities as a registered nurse.

“The Tanner Health System School of Nursing’s curriculum was rigorous and fair, coupled with immersive simulation labs,” Grimaldo explained. “I felt fully prepared to enter the profession of nursing.”

For Grimaldo, a typical workday at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta begins at 7 a.m., when she starts her shift by reporting to the previous evening’s night nurse. She quickly introduces herself to patients within her purview of care to become engaged with them and to begin conducting assessments for building a relationship of trust and common knowledge.

On average, Grimaldo takes care of 16 patients per shift. She has learned that at any given time, she will walk into a room and face various patient conditions and emotions.

“We have to continue on to the next room, the next patient and the next crisis, all while leaving the emotions of previous encounters behind us in the space they should belong,” Grimaldo continued.

Currently pursuing her master’s degree at the University of South Alabama, Grimaldo expects to graduate in May 2019. She will then be eligible for board certification to become both a family nurse practitioner and adult-gerontological acute care nurse practitioner, something that has been her lifelong goal.

“I have served as an emergency department nurse for the past six years,” she concluded. “I am looking forward to the many doors that will open for me once I obtain my master’s degree and become a licensed nurse practitioner.”