From tutus to scrubs: Nurse finds power in new beginnings

After an ankle injury brought her ballet career to a halt, Michelle Merrell, a registered nurse at IU Health Saxony, found a new passion in the operating room.

By Charlotte Stefanski, cstefanski@iuhealth.org, writer for IU Health's Indianapolis Suburban Region

At just three years old, Michelle Merrell, a registered nurse working in IU Health Saxony’s operating rooms, found her first passion—dance.

Around age seven, that passion would take her to Butler University’s non-collegiate dance program. Then, at age 14, dance summer camps in New York City, and at age 15, she’d move there to attend boarding school at the School of American Ballet. Eventually, she joined the Miami City Ballet in 1994 and danced with the group for 12 years, rising through the ranks.

But then, an ankle injury brought all of that to a halt. Merrell went through surgery and rehabilitation, causing her to be off stage for two years.

“We weren't sure if I would dance again. The goal was to get me to walk again without pain,” Merrell explains.

Since her family lived in Indiana, Merrell came back home for surgery at IU Health. She was able to dance one more season, but was limited in what she could do. Her dance company offered her retirement.

“I started making plans as to what happens next in my life,” Merrell says. “Throughout that process, I went through a program called ‘career transition for dancers,’ because at that point, there wasn't a lot discussed about what happens when dance ends.”

That’s when she found her second passion—nursing.

Trading in pointe shoes for scrub caps

While being treated for her injury, Merrell met many healthcare providers, from radiology technicians to surgical nurses.

She asked them all the same question: What do you like about your job?

“Each nurse I spoke to said they loved the job, so I started looking more seriously into it,” she says.

Merrell moved back to Indiana and earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis.

She joined IU Health in 2010 as she was wrapping up her degree, working in the IU Health University’s operating room (OR), where she learned to circulate and scrub.

Merrell knew there would be many options available to her with a nursing degree, but the OR seemed to call her.

“I just remember distinctly being in the OR. They had removed a body part, it's sitting on the table, and I walked past and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I can do this,’” Merrell recalls. “The atmosphere of an OR, the discipline needed, the fact that you need to understand everything that's going on. A lot of that aligned with the strengths I had created as a dancer.”

She stayed at IU Health University for about 10 years and then came to IU Health Saxony—soon to be IU Health Fishers.

Helping shape Surgical Services in Fishers

Throughout her nursing career, Merrell also became a certified perioperative nurse (CNOR). A few years ago, IU Health Saxony began revamping its orientation program for the OR and she took on a clinical advisor role.

Within that role, Merrell helped recreate and implement a new orientation program, which is about a six-month program.

“The OR is such a unique environment that if somebody comes in—even if they’ve had experience in another department—it’s completely different, so it's a very long process,” Merrell says. “It feels very overwhelming at first, but I try to lay foundational work before even having them with patients.”

Merrell works with new team members one-on-one, teaching them the basics, like maintaining a sterile field and being an advocate for patients.

“We meet with them throughout their orientation to make sure they're progressing, that they're feeling supported,” Merrell adds.

While nursing wasn’t always part of the plan, it has allowed her to combine the teaching she had done for so many years in another field, all while still being able to help patients. When not at the hospital, she also still teaches at the Indianapolis Ballet.

“It's OK to start over. That's one of the hardest things. You make it to the top in one place, and then you start from the bottom again,” Merrell says. “That's a very difficult blow to the ego, to your emotions, but it's OK to start over.”