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Nurse Follows in Dad’s Footsteps; Now They are Colleagues

December 08, 2023

Hannah Brewer was in middle school when her father Brian changed careers 15 years ago, going from mental health counselor at a group home to registered nurse.

“Watching him do that made me start thinking about what I wanted to be,” she says. “I would watch him sit there and struggle through those textbooks and read along with him.”

It turns out, she followed in his footsteps, graduating from Three Rivers Community College with a degree in nursing and starting her career in February as an Emergency Department nurse at Backus Hospital.

Brian works on the medical/surgical floor at Windham Hospital.

The two came together professionally for the first time in October at the East Region’s competency day held at Backus. For Brian, it was an important “dad” moment.

“I’m really proud of Hannah,” he says. “I’m so glad she took after my interest. “It was exciting to see my daughter on a professional level. It was really cool. She’s my colleague. She’s my equal.”

“It was nice,” Hannah agrees, although, “I wish he had worn his scrubs because then we would’ve matched.”

Hannah started her healthcare career as an EMT, and that’s how she knew she wanted to be a nurse in the Emergency Department. “I like organized chaos,” she says. When she was watching her father study to become an RN, “I originally thought I would one-up my dad and become a doctor. But I ended up going to nursing school.”

“Hannah!” Brian interrupts. “Nursing is not a step down from being a doctor. It’s a step up!”

“Well, I know that now,” she replies with a laugh. “Now I have perspective.”