Called to Care

One Nurse Lands the Dream Job She Envisioned for Herself in High School

Welcome to Nurse Ascent, a twice-weekly newsletter created by nurses, for nurses. This week, one nurse shares her story of deciding to be a CRNA at a her high school's football team tailgate party. We also cover the CBO's final estimate of the price of healthcare cuts, COVIDs summer surge & how LA County is helping its residents erase medical debt.

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Nurse Spotlight: Kalli McGrievy DNP, CRNA

What I do for work

I am a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, the one in charge of monitoring patients and keeping them sedated and asleep throughout surgical procedures.

How I got here

In high school, I went to a football tailgate where my cousin’s friend shared his plan to become a CRNA. His passion stuck with me, and I knew that was the path I wanted too. I earned my BSN, then spent two years as an ICU Transplant RN before entering CRNA school to earn my DNP. I’ve now worked as a full-time CRNA for 2.5 years and love the autonomy, critical thinking, and variety the role brings. Every patient requires a unique anesthesia plan, and it’s rewarding to see the direct impact as they recover well from surgery.

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Featured Jobs

🩺 Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), a surgical facility Fresno, CA ​Apply Now​ →​

☤ Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), an ambulatory & community health group Boston, MA ​Apply Now​ →​

♡ Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), a prominent healthcare system Davenport, IA or Fort Wayne, IN ​Apply Now​ →​

💉 Vice President, Nursing Informatics, a healthcare services company Dallas, TX ​Apply Now​ →​

🩹 Dean, Nursing Education, an undisclosed educator Fresno, CA ​Apply Now​ →​

🩸 Academic Dean of Nursing, a higher education institution Albuquerque, NM ​Apply Now​ →​

​Create your free CollabWORK profile to get matched to nurse roles that fit your life (per diem, remote, travel, specific locations).

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More on Kalli McGrievy

A day in my life

One of the things I love most about being a CRNA is that every day is different. At my hospital, I’m assigned to an OR with a specific surgery theme—like plastics or sports medicine—but rotate rooms daily, which keeps the work interesting. I start by assessing patients in pre-op, reviewing medical history and checking for anesthesia risks. In the OR, I sedate and intubate, monitor vitals, manage pain, and adjust anesthesia throughout the surgery. Afterward, I accompany the patient to recovery, ensure they’re stable, and hand off care to the PACU nurse—then I do it all again with the next case.

My self-care routine (or what I do for fun, or to relax)

Right now, my work schedule is five 8-hour shifts per week, so I always work 7am-3pm. I love getting off work before I start to get fatigued from long shifts and having my free time in the afternoons and evenings. For exercise, I like to run, go to the gym, and play sand volleyball. I’m also a foodie who loves to travel and I like to get to know the food scene not only where I live, but also the placesI travel to. When I want to relax, you can find me laying by the pool reading books on science and history.

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Headlines in Healthcare

Trillion Dollar Cuts

The final numbers are in for the estimated cost of Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill," per the Congressional Budget Office. The bill will add $3.4 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years, with roughly $1 trillion saved by cutting healthcare, primarily Medicaid, resulting in an estimated 10 million people losing health insurance in the coming years, according to the report.

Summer Spike

​COVID is beginning its summer spike in case numbers and experts are speaking to why the virus peaks twice per year. Epidemiologists share that winter spikes are often influenced by cold temperatures and increased indoor gathers while summer spikes might be attributed to prevalence of new variants or waning immunity to the virus. This summer, the newest mutation, NB.1.8.1 (or Nimbus), is reported to cause 43% of cases in the US and is known for its "razor blade" sore throat symptom.

Debt Erased

Supervisor Janice Hahn announced that 134,820 LA County residents will receive a letter in the mail to inform them the county has eliminated their medical debt. Aided by the county and the national nonprofit, Undue Medical Debt, this program hopes to remove $500 million in medical debt for low-income residents, plus an additional $2 billion with aid from philanthropic partners, hospitals, and health plans.

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Meet the author:
​Katie Scoggins
(RN, BSN & Health Writer)

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