Andrea Vettori, '06 in Nursing

A holistic, hands-on approach to health care

Educated and influenced by the Sisters of Mercy and Sisters of St. Francis in Philadelphia, Andrea Vettori is, like her mentors, passionate about serving others, especially those who are economically poor, marginal, and oppressed.

Vettori believed her service would come through social work, the vocation she studied as an undergraduate at Holy Family College in Philadelphia. But after completing a year of volunteer service with migrant farm workers in upstate New York following her graduation, she determined she lacked the patience required to be a social worker. "I was young and impatient," Vettori says. "I would watch the nurses caring for the farm workers and it was all so hands-on and concrete and immediate. I knew right then that I wanted to help in that way."

Vettori returned to school for a bachelor of science in nursing and pursued a career in community-based nursing. Her foundation in social work proved helpful. "My first day of nursing school, I remember the instructor defining nursing as a holistic approach to patient care. I thought to myself, ‘Wow, that's just like social work.' I knew right then that it was a perfect match. I have probably used my social work skills more as a nurse than I did as a social worker. So much of community nursing is social work. To me, the two are inseparable. You can't possibly care for someone's health without an awareness of their social reality."

While working at Health Care for the Homeless in Philadelphia, Vettori heard about an opportunity with the World Health Organization/Centers for Disease Control to visit Zambia, Africa, with the Stop the Transmission of Polio (STOP) Team. For four months in 2003, Vettori acted as a public health consultant educating members of Zambia's health care network in polio, measles, and neonatal tetanus surveillance; monitoring a nationwide measles campaign for children ages 6 months to 15 years; evaluating Zambia's national immunization program; and providing written and oral reports of findings to WHO officials.

"My time in Zambia was exhilarating, humbling, daunting, challenging, and one of the best experiences of my life. It convinced me to pursue a master's degree in nursing, despite my intentions to study international public health. As an advisor in Zambia, I was not allowed to work directly with patients. No hands-on care. The same would be true if I followed the path to public health administration. I knew I couldn't do that. One-on-one interaction with individuals was what I valued most about my vocation. Soon after I returned from Zambia, I applied to the SHS for my master's in nursing."

Vettori says being an older student and not having been in school for a number of years made the transition to Simmons difficult. "The program was very rigorous and there were many times when I thought I would not be successful. The staff and faculty never stopped encouraging me, and from the start they treated me not as a student, but as a colleague. That helped me to believe I could do it. I think the fact that the program was so difficult gives me an even greater sense of accomplishment and pride."

• previous
• next