Spark Spotlight Nurse - Nurse Midwife Trish Hickling Beckman
Photo Credit: Carol Spags Photography
Trish Hickling Beckman has been a nurse since 1987 and a nurse midwife since 1995.
Currently, she works as nurse midwife at Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory and a radiation oncology nurse at mission HCA. Growing up one of five (eventually six, through adoption), Beckman says her mother instilled in her the knowledge that she was meant to be a nurse. “She talked about it a lot and was very excited to watch me develop into the amazing nurse and midwife she just knew I would be,” says Beckman.
In addition to nursing, Beckman does a great deal of volunteer work, as a Buncombe County Guardian Ad Litem, board member for Different Strokes Performing Arts Collective, and team member for the Catawba County Child Safety Team.
1. What initially caused you to become interested in pursuing a career in the medical field?
By the time I was twelve, I was a candy striper at my mom’s hospital, volunteering on weekends. Then, I got my first paid job as a unit secretary and worked on the same unit (Labor and Delivery) that my mom was a part of as a staff nurse. I later became a nursing assistant so that I could help with patient care and work more side-by -side with my mom. I had a front row seat to watch the incredible work of the nurses, supporting moms and babies through labor and delivery.
When it came time to apply for college I only applied to nursing schools. I enrolled in the nursing program at Georgetown University. When I got out of school and became a nurse I also became a bit of a rebel and took a job in the emergency department, deliberately parting ways with my mom’s plans. I then became obsessed with nursing on the front lines of war and found myself in El Salvador for a time. Upon my return, I took a job teaching childbirth classes in Spanish, which led me to finally fulfill the dream and fall in love with the idea of working with moms and babies. I became the labor and delivery nurse I was raised to be, and I learned the most important lessons ever by reporting to work at 3pm and getting reports from my mom as she passed her patients to me. I assumed their care, but my mom rarely ever left. She stayed on in a support role to answer my questions and shepherd me into a lifelong love of nursing. It was a truly magical path now filled with some of the happiest moments of my entire life.
2. What was the most significant experience you had during your training/education to shape you as a medical professional?
I remember as a nursing assistant there was an emergency happening and all hands were on deck to try to help this young mother. She had high blood pressure while delivering her baby. Her case was very severe and had progressed into something called disseminated intravascular coagulation. She began heavily bleeding- a nose bleed, vaginal bleeding, rectal bleeding- it seemed like quite quickly all of her body’s orifices began to bleed. It was absolutely horrible. The doctors and nurses worked hard to start multiple IV lines and give lots of blood transfusions. I was there watching it all and remember thinking she seemed to have lost her personhood. She became at risk of severe illness or death and there were so many people helping her, yet she was all alone as no one was addressing her fear and anxiety. Somehow I was able to find a spot near the patient and look her in the eye and tell her that she wasn’t alone, that all these people were going to help her and that I would not leave her. She squeezed my hand and I squeezed back. That day I learned that being kind and caring can make a tremendous difference in a person’s experience. Kindness and personal connection and attention became my creed and nursing became my vehicle to practice it.
3. What is your favorite aspect about your job?
I have two jobs now. On weekends I work in Hickory, NC at Catawba Valley Medical Center. I have been a midwife there for 18 years. My patients include high school students who find themselves pregnant when they least expected it, Hispanic immigrants that don’t speak English and are overwhelmed trying to understand how our healthcare system works, women in jail during pregnancy and trying to navigate the criminal justice system, high risk women with complicated medical problems, and women who never sought prenatal care and are totally unprepared for the experience ahead of them. Each of these cases is an opportunity where kindness and support can truly turn a scary time into one of the very best experiences they could have had.
I also work at Mission Hospital in Asheville, NC in the Radiation Oncology clinic. There, I work with an amazing team of 6 brilliant and incredibly kind radiation oncologists and a team of nurses and radiation therapists who provide outstanding care in one of the kindest, most supportive hospital settings I have ever experienced. At the radiation oncology clinic I see so many patients from all walks of life facing their cancer diagnosis with determination to fight for what matters most in life: time! Each person’s values are important. The patients have the final say in all treatment decisions. The team works together to educate them on their options, support their decisions and equip them to have the best outcomes possible. I have never seen a patient at the Mission Radiation therapy clinic that isn’t so grateful for the approach and kindness of every single staff member. When you have the chance to make a difference in people’s lives and to be as kind as humanely as possible, work is a joy, a privilege, and a calling. I am so fortunate my mother decided to raise me to be a nurse and give me the gift of so much human connection in my lifetime.
4. What do you recommend to other young women who are considering careers in the medical industry?
I am a huge advocate for both men and women at any age to consider embracing nursing as their profession. It can look like so many different paths so almost everyone can find a fulfilling career in some form of nursing. And once your training is complete I would say from my personal perspective the most important thing is to find a job where it is very obvious that kindness is in the culture. There is nothing more fulfilling than being treated with kindness and respect and offering those same gifts to all the patients you meet as you walk the path of your nursing career.
