NH CRNA Spotlight of the Month

Catherine Vinci MSN, CRNA

I am one of those people who knew from a young age that I wanted to be a nurse. After my own experience as a surgical patient at the age of nine, observing and judging the ‘good nurses and the mean ones’ (as only a nine-year-old could) I was determined to become one of the ‘good’ ones. I eventually attended the University of Southern Connecticut and received a BSN. My first job at Yale New Haven Hospital as a night staff RN in the cardiac step-down unit, was an inspiration. The seasoned nurses I worked with taught me many fundamentals but, most importantly critical thinking. I went on to work in CU, ICU, ED, PACU open hearts in California and New York City and helped to put together and staff a hyperbaric unit at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, CA.

A dear friend and fellow nurse who was attending CRNA school in California encouraged me to apply. I was looking for my next chapter and she thought I would find the profession stimulating and challenging. I was admitted to Kaiser Permanente School of Nurse Anesthesia in Los Angeles and received my MSN from Long Beach State. I will always credit her for steering me toward what has become a thirty-five-year career that still stimulates and challenges me with new learning and relationships every day that I continue to enjoy.

I have given anesthesia in tertiary care hospitals as a member of the team care model, as well as a contracted independent practitioner in outpatient surgery centers and in critical access hospitals. I have worked at New London Hospital for eleven years now and thoroughly enjoy our community-based anesthesia practice and the collegiality of our small group of independently practicing CRNAs. When not at work I enjoy the outdoors rowing, kayaking, hiking, and biking. I enjoy my family and read constantly, both fiction and nonfiction.

What Her Colleagues Say About Her….

Cathy is an inspiration to those around her. Her long and diverse career has encompassed many types of anesthesia, locations, and models of care. She has served as chief CRNA and provides ongoing mentorship regarding clinical and administrative roles. She is nurturing and supportive, always available to lend a hand or share clinical pearls. Her clinical skill is matched by her positive vibe, cheerful demeanor, and can-do approach. This combination makes Cathy awesome to work with and a role model for others. She is truly an asset to New Hampshire’s patients and CRNA community and deserving of this recognition.

Getting to Know You Better…

1. Top 3 hobbies/interests outside of work?
Rowing, hiking, yoga

2. Favorite thing to do in NH?
Enjoy the varied peaceful landscapes of NH and then satisfy my city fix close by in Boston.

3. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Lucca, a medium sized walled city in Tuscany, Italy

4. Hardest anesthesia concept in school to figure out?
I trained at a time when we washed our anesthesia circuits, nasal trumpets, oral airways and hung them up to dry and reuse. I’ll never understand that!

5. Pedi or Adults?
I have done pediatric and adult anesthesia but, my most recent practice concerns mostly adults.

6. CRNA you look up too? WHY?
Laurie Carver, she leads by example, is well regarded for her positivity, is always willing to learn new things, lend a hand and encourage those that are new to the profession as well as other professional and nonprofessional coworkers.

7. Top 3 bucket lists items?
To spend 2-3 months in a new city every year to’ get the lay of the land’ so to speak, spend more time in the water and better my rowing skills, to rent a car in Venice, Italy, and drive through and explore Slovenia.

One piece of advice you’d like to impart to future CRNA’s?

The practice of anesthesia is always changing so embrace and learn about each new change while critically evaluating how it fits into your practice as it grows and you along with it.