Photo: Caroline Wheeler works as a patient care technician at TidalHealth Peninsula Regional in Salisbury.

After a lifetime of spending far too much time in hospitals and doctor’s offices, Caroline Wheeler of Fruitland couldn’t be blamed for avoiding them. Diagnosed with a rare medical condition at age 4 that led to a life-saving liver transplant when she was just 10, Wheeler instead embraced her insider knowledge.

“Being in the hospital a lot as a child with my own health issues got me interested in healthcare,” Wheeler said.

Soon after graduating in 2017 from Parkside High School in Salisbury, Wheeler earned her nursing assistant certification at Wor-Wic and became a patient care technician at TidalHealth Peninsula Regional. She still works at the hospital, earning while she learns. She is working toward an associate degree at Wor-Wic and hopes to enroll in the nursing program. For nursing, she has great role models among her hospital colleagues as well as at home.

“My mom is a nurse, and she works really hard every day. I aspire to be a great nurse like her one day,” Wheeler said.

Working on a nursing floor while attending school can be a challenge, Wheeler says, but it has its benefits. “My patients also motivate me, because I know they are having one of the worst days being in the hospital, so I try to make their day a little bit better.”

Wheeler says Wor-Wic has many advantages for students. “It’s much more affordable, and a smaller campus, so it’s easier to find your classes. It’s also close to home, and the staff is really helpful.”

Wheeler has been very successful at Wor-Wic and was inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa international honor society for community college students this past December.

The compassion she learned as a young patient will serve her just as much as her education. She says her goal is to work with children when she becomes a registered nurse, whether on a pediatrics unit or as a school nurse.