“You can change what you want to be when you grow up anytime you want. There’s no script. You can always pivot.”
Mel Firebaugh, RN, has lived by her words.
As a child, Firebaugh loved taking pictures of her stuffed animals. That interest grew into a career as a photojournalist at The Courier of Findlay, Ohio.
“I really loved what I did,” recalled Firebaugh. “I had so much fun working at the newspaper. It was always so awesome to be ‘above the fold’,” — newspaper jargon for having her work displayed on the top half of the front page of the paper.
But there was one part of the news business that Firebaugh did not like: Sometimes news people have to cover bad news, and she disliked capturing photos of unhappy events.
“I was bad at taking photos of the sad moments,” she said. “I found myself comforting someone or going to assist if there was a car accident. I just couldn’t watch people fall apart. I had to take care of them.”
While she was working as a press photographer, she was also accepting freelance assignments on the side. That part of her livelihood grew and became her main job.
“Freelancing allowed me to take the assignments I wanted to do — like go to France to cover a birthday celebration, cover the Dove Awards and be the photographer for an ad that was featured on 20 billboards across Tennessee and magazine ads that later turned into a wrap for a bus.”
At the same time she also worked as a nanny to help ends meet. “I loved taking care of kids as a nanny,” she recalled.
She was happy with the direction of her photography and enjoyed her time with children as well, but there was a sudden turnaround in her life.
Reassessing life
Without going into too much detail, Firebaugh explained that she was the victim of a con artist, a crime that cost her $25,000 worth of photography equipment that was not covered by insurance. The tools that she needed to earn her living were gone.
“The shock of having the rug pulled out from under me forced me to rethink everything,” she said. “I had to reassess my life and find a career that was more suited to what I wanted for my life. I really wanted to make a difference in the world.”
She talked to pediatric nurses to learn more about the profession. She felt a tug towards nursing school and enrolled at Columbia State Community College in 2004. That same year, she began working at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt as a transporter in the emergency department. That evolved into a job as a nurse extern or care partner. She earned her associate degree in nursing in 2006.
After passing her nursing state boards, she began working at Vanderbilt University Hospital, only to return to Monroe Carell soon after.
It’s been 21 years since she first began work at Monroe Carell as a transporter.
Treasuring memories and holding tight
“I always knew in my heart that I wanted to take care of people,” she said. “One of the things I preach to my own children is to find where you will be happy, get there and try to get paid for it,” she said.
As Firebaugh learned, sometimes it takes a life-changing event to prompt a person to discover their calling.
“Becoming a nurse was the best decision, besides motherhood, that I have ever made. I feel that I can make a difference in a lot of people’s lives because of it,” she said. “Being a photographer taught me to treasure the good memories and hold tight through the tough times. This is useful in nursing because there are a lot of tough times.”
Today Firebaugh is working toward her master’s degree with the hopes of teaching other nurses or perhaps becoming a case manager to serve as a support system for families.
While she doesn’t have much time for photography, she occasionally takes portraits of co-workers for the “get to know you” board in their clinic.
“Looking back over my life, it’s apparent that my talent, my gift, is helping. I want to be that bright light in somebody’s day. It simply makes me happy.”
