A newspaper ad and some encouragement from a friend in the summer of 1990 led Ellen Thorburn down a rewarding new career path at the age of 47.
Thorburn, a Brookfield resident, had a 23-year career in reservations for Eastern Airlines, followed by several part-time office jobs. She saw the ad for a six-week certified nursing assistant class and considered taking it. A friend prodded her to go a step further and look into the licensed practical nurse program at Triton College in River Grove. She was then accepted for the January 1991 class.
As an older student, she did face some challenges that others might not have. She had one son in college who worked part-time; another was a sophomore in high school. Her husband was job hunting and had also recently been diagnosed with diabetes.
“We had two cars and four people traveling in different directions every day,” she said. “It also took a while to get back into the swing of studying, taking notes, working part time and managing household chores.”
Still, Thorburn faced the challenge head on and graduated in December of that same year. She faced her next challenge when she was looking for a job. In an interview for a job at Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital, she was told the available position was for nights. Having worked in the airlines industry, she thought that nights meant 4 p.m. to midnight. In healthcare lingo, that shift is actually referred to as the p.m. shift, with nights meaning 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. The interviewer then asked her if she would have any trouble staying awake all night.
“It was then I realized what I was getting myself into,” she said. “I was never a ‘night person’ but the job turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The night staff was a close-knit group, who took me under their wings and I had many wonderful experiences there,” she said.
She added that it was never a problem to stay awake.
“I think the adrenaline started as I walked down the hall toward the unit each night, thinking about what a huge responsibility I had.”
When the unit she worked in closed in 2001, she searched for a job in Brookfield and ended up at The British Home’s healthcare/Medicare unit — again working the night shift. She said that people often ask her what she does at night there because so many people are sleeping.
“I tell them it is never boring, there is always something to do. Sometimes it’s giving a pain pill, assisting with repositioning, a helping hand to the bathroom, offering fluids or snacks — or just listening to concerns and offering encouragement.”
She said she is happy she made the career switch all those years ago.
“I consider it an honor and a privilege to be a nurse and would like to continue working as long as I stay healthy.” And she encourages anyone looking at any kind of career change to also follow through. “It’s never too late,” she said.
Follow up
I recently reported in this column about Liz Berg, a Brookfield musician who won three best female vocalist awards from www.garageband.com. Berg has just informed me that she is releasing her second CD, “Coattails.” She described the music as heavier in content (with topics such as racism, drugs and infidelity) and sound, and said it can be classified as indie-rock or modern rock. She will hold a special concert Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Garv Inn, 6546 Windsor Ave., Berwyn, to celebrate the CD’s release.