Graduation Year:
1980
Amelia Titsworth, Class of 1980, has dedicated her career to labor and delivery at Franciscan Health Indianapolis, serving as a nurse, relief charge nurse, bereavement counselor, and preceptor. Originally from Indianapolis she has lived in Mooresville for 35 years. Certified in CPR, ACLS-OB, NRP and bereavement counseling, Amelia continues to support patients and families with compassionate care.
Why did you become a nurse?
I knew I wanted to be a nurse when I attended my cousin’s graduation from St. Vincent School of Nursing in Indianapolis. My mom worked at Marion County General’s School of Nursing, and when I graduated from high school, she told me the diploma nurses were the best nurses; I applied to four different diploma programs as I knew I didn’t want to be where my mom worked!
What is your best memory from nursing school?
My best memory from St. Elizabeth School of Nursing was my rotation in obstetrics (OB). We had to meet the patient at 35 weeks, go to her doctor visit and then be on call when she went into labor. My patient was having her ninth child, so she had a few false labor calls. I knew when she delivered, I would end up working in labor and delivery as the miracle of birth thrilled me.
What advice would you give to new nurses?
Don’t settle on a specialty until you learn medical-surgical (med-surg.) Too many new nurses are in it for the money and want to travel. I think they miss the point of learning the skills needed for a nurse in 2025. After COVID, we had new nurses who had never anchored a foley (they had only done it on the computer). We need nurses at the bedside with patients, talking to them and caring for them.
How did St. Elizabeth School of Nursing prepare you for your career?
St. Elizabeth School of Nursing prepared me by putting me at the bedside and provide clinicals that required knowledge of the patient’s status. We started IVs on each other and gave immunization injections to other students. We were in the hospital the second week of school, not waiting until our third year. That’s the difference with a three-year program; we actually were in classes four years because of the summer program.
If you weren’t a nurse, what would you be?
Not sure what other job I would have if not nursing.
What was your job in the field after you completed your degree?
My first job was at St. Francis in Beech Grove as a float nurse on evening shift. Every day I arrived at nursing service and found out what floor I was working on—med-surg, ICU, CCU, geriatrics. You had to report to the nursing team: 14 patients, one RN, one LPN, one aid. It was busy but exciting at the same time. Every day was different. (Sister Florianne, who was our director at St. Elizabeth School of Nursing, followed me and was working the ER the day I started.)
What do you do now?
I just retired from Franciscan after 44 years. I’ve worked Labor and Delivery and found the miracle of life never gets old. There have been challenges with COVID and new technology, computer charting and the fast pace of the job. People think that OB nurses sit and rock babies! We have had ventilator patients, diabetes, pre-eclampsia, multiple gestations and complicated patients. I have always had a soft spot for our OB bereavement patients as they go from one extreme of happiness at new life to the devastation of loss. This has been the biggest part of my mission at Franciscan as well as always seeing the patient as Jesus in the bed. No matter what you are dealing with, there is God with us, guiding us and helping us in our daily work.
