J. Daigle, UVA Health, OCIR RN

J. Daigle, RN at UVA Health's Orthopedic Center Ivy Road (OCIR), shares his experience working at OCIR.

Video Transcript

Speaker: Jonathan Daigle, RN, UVA Health

Jonathan Daigle: Hey everyone, my name is John Daigle. I'm an OR nurse here at the Orthopedic Center on Ivy Road, also known as OCIR. My wife and I moved here to Charlottesville about 4 years ago, from North Carolina. We were looking for a new place with a smaller town feel, easy access to the outdoors, which we love, and a great healthcare system to work for since we're both nurses. And I can honestly say we found all of that right here at UVA. I work in the operating room here at our outpatient orthopedic center where we specialize in total joint reconstruction, sports surgeries. It's a state of the art facility. I mean, we've only been doing surgery here since September of 2022. We work out of four ORs right now, but there are plans to build out two more in the near future. What stands out to me most about working here, is the teamwork- hands down the best I've experienced in my 10+ years of being an OR nurse. I'm talking everybody from nurses, techs, surgeons, anesthesia, pre-op PACU, registration, PT, pharmacy. You can really feel the camaraderie here. We all share ownership of the same goal and that is to give the best possible orthopedic care and it shows in our patient satisfaction scores, which made me even more proud to be a part of this team. Patients also love how we offer everything in one place- orthopedic services, physical therapy, rehab care. It's all here under one roof. I think it makes the recovery a lot easier and it's rewarding to hear that we're making such a positive difference in their lives. And on a personal note, my wife and I also just had our first child here at UVA, over at the main hospital also here in Charlottesville. That wasn't too long ago, but since we're both UVA employees, we were fortunate to get paid parental leave for those first couple of months after giving birth, which is huge. I mean, I think it's just one of the ways that UVA supports, a healthy work-life balance for its employees. So, if you're looking for a place where you can grow in your career, work with incredible people, and have the support to enjoy life outside of work, I highly recommend joining the UVA Health team here at OCIR.