A passion for science and 24 years in the U.S. Armed Forces has led to what Major Charles Myers III ’19, D.N.P., C.R.N.A., believes is one of the best careers out there—nurse anesthesiology.
Following his ROTC training as an undergraduate student, Myers began his career in health care working at University Hospital’s ER and ICU units as a nurse. Early in his military career, as a U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman, he gained experience in medical/ environmental technologies and preventive medicine. While stationed in Okinawa, Japan, an opportunity to shadow an anesthetist changed the trajectory of his career and affirmed his commitment to working directly in patient care.
He went on to earn his master’s degree in nurse anesthesia and work at Bethesda North Hospital and Good Samaritan Hospital. It was then that Myers decided to pursue a terminal degree.
“I researched several D.N.P. programs, and the Mount’s was really the perfect choice for me,” he says. “The blended format and locality of the program, along with the timeline for completing the degree, worked well with where I was in my career, and where I was headed.”
In his current role as a staff nurse anesthetist at Cincinnati VA Medical Center, Myers is responsible for consulting with patients and providing them with anesthesia services related to their surgery. He is also often on-call for anesthesia services required for emergency care, such as intubations and invasive line placement.
Becoming a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist is one of Myer’s proudest accomplishments. He began intense weeks of studying for the state boards within days of his second daughter’s birth, and for him, after the stress of preparing and taking the test, it felt like a 500 lb. weight had been lifted off his shoulders when he knew he had passed.
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He also relishes being commissioned as an officer in the Army Reserve and credits his military service for enhancing his career success and satisfaction. Besides Okinawa, he has served in Kosovo, Korea, as well as stateside in Hawaii and Kentucky. Like the mentoring he received while in Okinawa, Myers was able to pay it forward while in Kosovo, where a surgical technician in nursing school shadowed him.
“For me, being a staff nurse anesthetist is the best job out there,” he says. “I am able to perform many of the same critical duties as an anesthesiologist, plus I am able to work independently and manage my own cases. I’ve also had the opportunity to integrate my Mount D.N.P. research project on the use of ultrasound technologies with anesthesia services into my work, and the work of other practitioners.”
To view more of Mount St. Joseph University's Heart of a Lion stories, visit Heart of a Lion to read personal accounts of overcoming, defending, and of daring to risk a caring response.