INDIANAPOLIS — "Every nurse here would testify that nobody comes to work for the paycheck," said Sandy Miller, the team lead at IU Health's Central Indiana Cancer Center. "It’s a passion.”
The work isn’t always easy.
“Oncology is kind of a nasty subject and an uncomfortable disease and it’s so serious for them, but we cut up and laugh and they’re talking back and forth to us," said Miller. "We have a good time at work.”
It’s a second shot at life for her after she ditched her corporate career 16 years ago.
“You are never too old to follow your heart and do what you love," said Miller. “I was working for General Electric financial up in the Chicago area. We had two downsizings in three years, and I just said, 'enough. I can’t take this.'”
And she started nursing school at age 47.
“My mom was an ICU surgical intensive care nurse and my daughter was a nurse, so I just bucked up and went to school," she said.
It wasn't always easy, but Miller will tell you it’s the best decision she’s ever made.
“I started working on a unit at Community for $8.22 an hour as a tech while I went to school and after corporate America, that’s a bit of an adjustment," she said. “The advantage was patients didn’t look at me like a brand-new nurse. They had no idea I had just graduated, but my mentor was in the background so I could ask questions all the time.”
Miller is proof it’s always the right time to chase your dream job.
“I am the most fortunate person in the world," she said. "I really am. I have a great family at home, and I have a great family here at work. I love my job.”