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Mrs. Carolyn Flippin, RN

Occupation, Area of Specialty, and Institutional Affiliation

Neonatal Nurse, Riley (Clarian) Hospital

Licensure/Certification/Registration

Registered Nurse, Indiana Professional Licensing Agency

Number of years that you’ve been in your specialty

Full Career

Highest Degrees Earned and Which Institutions?

Nursing Degree, Purdue University

You practice one of 330 great occupations that require years of preparation. What things most helped you to succeed in training for your profession and in practice of your profession?

For me nursing is a ministry that flows from my belief in God. I look back to one early life experience that influenced me. At a young age of about 8 years old, I helped to save my niece’s life who had choked on an object that lodged in her throat. Her color had started to change from lack of oxygen. I hurriedly patted her on the back and the object dislodged. She is doing fine to this day. Though I originally began in psychiatric nursing, I quickly understood that neonatal medicine is where I would end up. I enjoy working with children and teaching parents how to care for their young ones.

It is a joy to work at Riley and with my colleagues. I’ve been fortunate to receive three “Red Shoes” awards for special dedication and service to others. The award is inspired by “Hannah’s gift: Lessons from a Life Fully Lived.”

I encourage others to enter nursing as well, but nursing is full of challenges that extend to issues of life and death. Nursing can be exhausting – it often requires sacrificing holidays or weekends – it is not glamorous but it is wonderfully fulfilling when you can give back to others. The kind gratitude and thanks of families make it all worthwhile.

Those considering nursing should have good people skills and be knowledgeable in chemistry and math.