Nominated by the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, he was chosen for the March of Dimes award from a field of 75 competitors.
HOLYOKE –Brian A. Couchon worked in the banking industry after he graduated from Assumption College in Worcester with a bachelor’s degree in foreign affairs, but just a couple of years later he enrolled in nursing school.
He graduated from Holyoke Community College with an associate’s degree in nursing in 1993 and has been working as a registered nurse since.
He worked in medical/surgical nursing and in intermediate and intensive care; he was a clinical nursing supervisor before joining the Holyoke Medical Center Birthing Center staff in 2001.
It was for his work as a perinatal registered nurse that he recently was named “Nurse of the Year” by the March of Dimes in the category of labor and delivery. Nominated by the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, he was chosen from a field of 75 competitors from some of the largest medical institutions in the commonwealth.
"Holyoke Medical Center is extremely proud of Brian. He has truly broken the gender barrier in the field of labor and delivery nursing," said nurse Virginia Thomas, birthing center manager. "He provides a wonderful example of the caring, personalized and compassionate care we strive to give all of our parents."
Couchon, 46, was honored at a reception at the hospital Oct. 30.
“I am very honored to have been chosen for this award. I was among finalists from some of the biggest and most well known hospitals, not only in the state but nationally, such as Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Mass. General,” Couchon said. “I am very proud to be able to bring this award to HMC and to be a part of an amazing team of nurses, midwives and doctors on the Birthing Center.”
Born at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton and raised in Easthampton, he attended Easthampton public schools and graduated from Easthampton High School in 1985.
He said men represent 6.6 percent of the registered nurse workforce, but the clinical specialty with the least amount of men is women’s health, obstetric and neonatal nursing.
“Men tend to go into critical care, emergency or surgical nursing,” said Couchon, who is an active member of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nursing; when he goes to state conferences he is usually the only man there.
Couchon credited Thomas, his nurse manager, for hiring him. “When I attend conferences in other parts of the country I often hear, ‘We would never hire a male nurse,’ but Virginia did not hesitate to hire me, and I have always had her support,” he said.
“I honestly don’t think I would have won this award if I didn’t work at HMC,” he continued. “I have had great preceptors and mentors and have been able to really grow in my profession. I have had to opportunity to work in different specialties until I found my niche.”
Maternity nursing was one of his favorite rotations in nursing school. When he graduated, he got his medical/surgical foundation, and then he went into critical care. When he was a clinical nursing supervisor, he spent some time in the Birthing Center and was present for a birth for the first time. This reminded him of how much he enjoyed this area of nursing, so when there was an opening he applied and got the job.
“I love that I work in a community hospital where I can follow a patient and her family from the time she comes in for her initial evaluation, through her labor and delivery, to caring for her and her baby right up until discharge,” Couchon said.
He appreciates the choices offered at the hospital, like using the services of a midwife or a doctor or delivering in a birthing tub. “And I love how our smaller size fosters a sense of family and teamwork among the staff,” he said.
Couchon has encounter surprised looks from patients at the Birthing Center, “but if you present yourself as someone who knows what they are doing and are competent and compassionate, those looks go away very quickly.”
He is respectful of those whose culture or religion prevents men from a birth setting.
“And there are many times when I go into a room and the patient knows who I am and is happy to see me because I have taken care of her sister or friend in the past,” he said.
As a perinatal registered nurse “you have to be ready for anything,” Couchon said. “Ninety percent of births are normal, where you are just there to help support your patient and her family, but you always have to be ready for the unexpected.”
And sometimes the center gets busy, going from a few patients to a full house in minutes. “It is like an emergency room in that way, but that just makes it more exciting,” he said.