Former Patient Hopes to Become a Nurse

A student who overcame a neuromuscular condition now hopes to help others as a nurse.

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Leah Goldberg '11 (NUR), left, with her nursing supervisor at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford. Photos by Peter Morenus

When she was in middle school, Leah Goldberg ’11 (NUR) was diagnosed with Exertional Compartment Syndrome, an uncommon chronic neuromuscular condition that causes pain in the affected limb.

“The muscles in my legs and feet were constricted. It took three years and seven doctors to get diagnosed, including lots of uncomfortable tests,” says Goldberg, who underwent four surgical procedures while in high school.

Throughout this time, nurses patiently answered questions and attended to her physical comfort after her surgery, while also supporting her parents.

The experience led to Goldberg’s decision to pursue a career as a nurse, so she could care for patients the way nurses once cared for her. “I wanted to help other people the same way,” she says.

Now stronger and better able to meet the physical demands of a nursing student providing hands-on care, Goldberg’s academic and co-curricular vital signs are just as strong. She was inducted into the national Alpha Lambda Delta (ALD) Honors Society for first-year students who earn a minimum 3.5 GPA. In 2008, she was designated as a Babbidge Scholar for achieving a 4.0 GPA, and in 2009 she won the national ALD Jo Anne J. Trow Undergraduate Scholarship, all while being active in Hillel and a member of both the Student Alumni and Student Nurses Associations.

Although she has clearly demonstrated that she can meet the continuing academic challenges of pursuing a nursing degree, Goldberg acknowledges that she also has to put effort into meeting its physical challenges. Aching legs and feet are common at the end of a shift. “I’ll always have pain in my legs and feet at the end of the day,” Goldberg says. “But I’ll always have great support from my parents and my roommate­ – my identical twin sister, Rachel ’11 (BUS).”

<p>Leah Goldberg, a nursing student, discusses a patient's treatment with Peggy Stolfi a nurse and School of Nursing  instructor, at Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford. Photo by Peter Morenus</p>
Leah Goldberg with nursing instructor Peggy Stolfi.

Goldberg has pursued an ambitious schedule in an effort to maximize her nursing education. She shadowed an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) at UConn Health Center’s New England Musculoskeletal Institute and later pursued an independent study opportunity to do the same in the operating room at the Connecticut Surgery Center.

Last fall, she gained her first hands-on experience in a clinical setting. After training on high-tech mannequins, she worked on a hospital’s sub-acute medical/surgical floor performing supervised procedures, such as administering medications and completing wound-dressing changes.

“It’s been a huge growth experience. I’ve gotten a much better comfort level and become very skilled at working with patients and medical personnel,” Goldberg says. “Someday, I may like to work as a registered nurse in an operating room, or advance my career to become either an APRN or a physician’s assistant. Nursing offers many opportunities.”