Andrea Trimble (at left) and her sister, Rachel Hagenbaugh, are not only both Sutter Health nurses, but have followed a similar career path during their tenure at Sutter. Trimble is interim senior director of nursing at Sutter Delta Medical Center. Hagenbaugh serves as chief nurse executive at Sutter Tracy Community Hospital.
By Stephanie Breitbart, Vitals contributor
From nurse assistant to charge nurse to nurse manager and beyond— the sky’s the limit for Andrea Trimble. As long as she can remember, Trimble felt a calling to care for those in need. With a deep desire to help others, she followed her heart and embarked into a fulfilling career in healthcare.
During Nursing Professional Development Week, Sept. 14-20, one healthcare system is celebrating the exceptional work done by its nursing professional development team members, and nurses, like Trimble, who are curious, life-long learners with a desire for knowledge, and a commitment to continued professional growth.
Andrea Trimble, RN, is interim senior director of nursing at Sutter Delta Medical Center
“I’m passionate about making a positive impact in patients and staff experiences,” said Trimble who is interim senior director of nursing at Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch, Calif. “I want to improve health outcomes for patients and truly make a difference in the role I’m in.”
Trimble began her career as a certified nurse assistant in San Leandro Hospital (now Sutter’s Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, Calif.) She then became a Licensed Vocational Nurse and eventually obtained her Registered Nurse license. Next, she spent eight years as a staff nurse at Sutter Alta Bates Summit Medical Center’s Med-Surg unit, and another 14 years as a charge nurse in the same unit.
Continuous Learners Encouraged and Supported
It was during her time as charge nurse that Trimble earned Sutter’s prestigious Nurse of the Year award. The award recognizes nurses who make a profound difference for the patients and families they serve. Trimble says, while her leaders had been encouraging her to pursue a nursing leadership role for some time, the NOTY honor gave her the motivation she needed.
“I had many nurse leaders who were pushing me to go into leadership, but receiving the NOTY award gave me that push and that confidence to feel like, maybe they’re right,” Trimble said. “They never gave up on me and never took no for an answer.”
With her new-found confidence, Trimble completed a Sutter leadership development course and became an assistant nurse manager within six months. Next, she took on a new role at Sutter Delta Medical Center, as a manager for inpatient nursing, where she earned the hospital’s first Pacesetter award for outstanding leadership.
“I took a leap of faith to move into the manager position, which was scary because I didn’t know the hospital or the staff,” Trimble said. “I could have done the charge nurse position with my eyes closed, but you don’t grow when you’re comfortable.”
Made in California: Nursing Careers Built at Sutter Health
Surani Hayre-Kwan, Sutter’s vice president for Professional Practice and Ambulatory Patient Care, says wherever the nurse is in their journey they have the opportunity to further develop their clinical expertise or leadership skills and plan a lifelong career at Sutter.
Surani Hayre-Kwan, vice president for professional practice and ambulatory patient care at Sutter Health
“Sutter invests in nurse education and training, and has developed many successful workforce development programs,” said Hayre-Kwan. “We want to give nurses an opportunity to move into the positions they choose to move into.”
Hayre-Kwan says Sutter also participates in programs such as Success Pays through the American Nurse Credentialing Center, which assists nurses in achieving certification by covering the exam fee.
Trimble, who recently earned her Nurse Executive Specialty certification and began a master’s degree program at Grand Canyon University, says she’s grateful that Sutter offers opportunities to grow, while helping eliminate financial barriers, such as exam fees.
“The professional development opportunities are out there, and you can advance your career as high as you want to go,” said Trimble. “It’s a lot of hard work, and financially, I couldn’t have been able to do this without Sutter.”
As a manager, Trimble says she tries to pay it forward and offer the same encouragement she received from her leaders.
“I like to spread the word to my team to help them develop that potential and take the next steps in their professional journey,” Trimble said. “We all have a purpose. I’ve encouraged them to get the medical surgical certificate and to always be on the pursuit of learning and growing.”
