10 Questions with Scott A. Tritt (’85), MS, BSN, RN, CRNA
Year of graduation from Mount Carmel School of Nursing: 1985
Other degrees/certifications: I earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Franklin University in 1992, and in May 1994 I started my journey of becoming a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). The first 12 months of my journey were spent at Central Connecticut State University, where I obtained a Master of Biological Science degree, followed over the next 16 months at Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island where I obtained my certificate in Nurse Anesthesia. And, because a passion of mine is to be outdoors, I have been an Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist since 2009. Today I volunteer at Caesar Creek Nature center at Caesar Creek State Park in southwestern Ohio near Waynesville.
Professional Highlights: An early highlight of my career was earning “Showcase for Nursing Excellence” while working at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, where I was nurse preceptor for new nurses, coordinating new ideas to implement in the CCU there. After obtaining my nurse anesthesia degree, I signed up to do locum assignments with CompHealth, traveling to different states, where at times I would be the only anesthesia provider. This experience really boosted my self-confidence to a higher level. Being the sole anesthetist was a big step for me, just being three years out of anesthesia school. I had great resources, an anesthesiologist friend at my regular job whom I could call if I had questions or to help solve problems should they occur. My life as a CRNA has given me great opportunities that I had could not have imagined and which are still occurring. I owe a lot to my fellow RNs at Riverside Methodist Hospital for giving me the opportunity to excel in my nursing career. Currently, I work at Miami Valley Hospital with Anesthesiology Services Network. Oakwood is a great place to live and raise a family.
Original hometown: Columbus, Ohio
Current hometown: Oakwood, Ohio (near Dayton)
When did you first feel the call to be a nurse? After high school, I really didn’t want to go to college and my interests quickly turned to becoming a paramedic. However, my aunt, Marilyn C. Tritt, who was a director in Health Sciences Technology at Central Ohio Technical College, persuaded me to go to nursing school instead. I was a little hesitant, but she assured me I would be a perfect fit at COTC. I started in Nursing there, but soon applied to Mount Carmel College of Nursing. When I walked in, there sat Mrs. Eleanor Wilson, who was director of the School and Dr. Ann Schiele, who was assistant director. I was wondering about Mount Carmel to continue my career, and with Mrs. Wilson being herself – kind, gentle and understanding – and Dr. Schiele with her great big smile and positive kindness, I felt assured that it would be a good choice to be enrolled into Mount Carmel. These two ladies gave me my Nursing career as it is today, thanks to their kindness, gentleness, understanding, and “positiveness.” What a team of educators!
What television show do you have to DVR every week? I don’t watch much television, but “Jeremiah Johnson” is my favorite all-time movie. I want to live in the cabin Jeremiah built in the movie.
What is your favorite memory of Mount Carmel? Wow, I would say all the great students who I went to school with. We all helped each other to get through the program: We were not going to fail, because failure was not an option. The instructors and professors were not there to fail you, they were there to make you succeed in life and I am a product of their teaching. I have two other great memories. The first is playing “Scrooge” in the senior play at Christmas time; that was fun. The second most memorable event was when the uniform representative came to Mount Carmel to show the new uniforms. Well, me being me, the representative had no new male uniform to model. I said I would model a dress for the women students, but without Mrs. Wilson or Dr. Schiele’s awareness. I modeled a modest below-the-knee dress and was given great reviews from my classmates, especially since I wore it with my cowboy boots on. That was awesome!
What book is currently on your nightstand (or at the top of your Kindle favorites)? “The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit,” by Michael Finkel, is fitting because it’s in keeping with my love of outdoor experiences. The story is about a guy who just doesn’t want to be with society and lives in the woods undetected for approximately 20 years, yet people go by his “fort” just about every day. It’s a “must read” for everyone.
How has your Mount Carmel network helped you in your life, personally, professional, or both? Mount Carmel shaped me the way I am today, instilled the knowledge of “you as a person are a person with dignity and worth. No one will take that away from you unless you allow someone to do so.” I remember this every day: I speak up when I need to, I don’t speak when I should not. I would love to do more for Mount Carmel in the future, because Mount Carmel gave me a great life. I can still remember several of my patients as a student nurse, a young mother and a patient with cancer. The patient with cancer is a very lasting memory. Mount Carmel taught me to respect people no matter who they are, or where they come from, and taught me how to deal with illness. I also made some of my best friends while at Mount Carmel – there are two in particular whom I’m looking forward to seeing at the Homecoming this September, Jyl and Lisa, because we started kindergarten together and finished nursing school together. As a member of the alumni, I will admit I need to do more for the Mount Carmel Alumni Association. I give a lot to Boy Scouts, which is a great passion of mine, but I don’t want to forget that Mount Carmel gave me my career in nursing. We need to reward and encourage the nurses of tomorrow, making sure they know that being a nurse is wonderful, exciting, demanding, exhausting, fun (yes fun), joyful, stressful, gratifying, and more.
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