Meet Our December Alumni Spotlight: Cara Gruenewald, RN
Cara Gruenewald, a BTC RN 2019 graduate, has built her nursing career on a clear drive to help people at the highest level, a passion that took root long before she ever stepped into nursing school. With years of surgical experience behind her, she eventually chose to expand her impact and move into nursing, a decision she describes as one she’s never once regretted. Today, her career spans roles from staff development to operating room nursing to traveling across Missouri, all fueled by the same commitment to doing more for the patients who need it most.
Q: What influenced your decision to pursue a career in nursing?
Cara: I worked in healthcare for many years as a surgical technologist before deciding to go to nursing school. I just had this passion to do more, be more, and help more. So, nursing school it was, and I haven’t looked back.
Q: How has your nursing career progressed since you graduated? What positions have you held, what was your favorite and why? And what are your responsibilities in your current position?
Cara: I spent a year at a nursing home in Stockton as the staff development coordinator, but soon realized I was being called back to the OR. I worked at Golden Valley for 4 years as an OR circulator and now I have been traveling since September 2024 to ORs across Missouri, and eventually all over the country.
Q: Have you specialized in any specific area of nursing? If so, what drew you to that specialization, and what are the unique challenges and rewards it has brought?
Cara: I have always been drawn to surgery. It’s the immediate satisfaction that what I am doing is changing someone’s life. In my travel adventures, I find myself at level 1 trauma centers where you can see the worst of the worst and know you made a difference that day.
Q: Can you share an especially memorable time caring for a patient and why that sticks with you?
Cara: I had a young patient that had a malignant hyperthermia reaction during surgery. If you know anything about that, you know this is a life-threatening reaction to anesthesia. From realization of what was happening, to activating the appropriate response, the team I worked with was flawless and we saved the young patient. Afterward, when the adrenaline settled and you debrief, you realize how second nature it all becomes in those moments when you don’t have time to think you just trust your training and skills you have been taught, and you act. Even in one of the scariest moments of my career, I knew I could do what needed to be done because of the training and education I had received.
Q: How is working as a nurse different from what, as a student, you expected nursing to be?
Cara: Because of my background in surgery prior to going to nursing school, I knew what I was getting myself into, so it’s not much different.
Q: Have you set any personal or professional goals for yourself within the nursing field? How do you plan to achieve them?
Cara: I eventually would like to get my CNOR or Certified Nurse of the Operating Room.
Q: What is your favorite way to spend free time when you are not working as a nurse? Any special ways to de-stress? Fun hobbies to help unwind?
Cara: I find myself reading more and more. Going through nursing school and having to read the content, I never thought I would be reading for fun, but it has become my way to de-stress after long trying days. That, and watching my child compete in his many sports.
Q: What’s one memory you have from nursing school that sticks with you today?
Cara: The memory that sticks with me the most is probably our Thanksgiving potluck our 1st semester. Our cohort took over the entire downstairs with so much good food and just being able to sit and talk with our classmates and instructors and truly feel like the family we had become was really cool. You spend a lot of time with the people you go to nursing school with so being able to have those real moments and just be friends and not students, even for a moment, is so nice.
Q: Are there any skills or knowledge areas that you believe BTC’s nursing programs should focus on to better prepare future graduates for the realities of nursing practice?
Cara: This might be biased a little, but I truly believe spending at least a day in an outlier specialty such as the operating room would really open the eyes of some students who don’t even know that it’s a possible career path and how rewarding it can be.
Q: What advice would you give to current nursing students who are about to embark on their career path? Are there any key lessons or insights that you wish you had known when you were starting out?
Cara: The best piece of advice I could give would be to just simply take it all in. Take every learning experience as a gift. You never know when what you are learning today could be useful. And always be a lifelong learner. This profession is ALWAYS changing, and you have to keep on your toes and continue to learn and adapt with it.
Q: What would you tell someone today that is trying to decide whether to go in to the nursing field or not?
Cara: Nursing is one of the hardest but most rewarding careers you can encounter. Know going into it that it’s not going to be easy, but oh man is it worth it at the end of the day.
Cara’s story is a reminder of how far passion, steady growth, and solid training can take a nurse who’s willing to keep stretching. Her journey shows future nurses what’s possible when you stay curious, trust your skills, and commit to making a real difference.
If you would like to share your story about any of our programs or would like to tell us what you’ve been up to since graduating, we would love to hear it! Just complete the questionnaire and send us a photo of yourself.