By Elisabeth Costanzo Stewart
Long before she was a SUNY Broome Nursing: A.A.S. student, Cami McCaffery (RN ’23) was a preemie, born three months early, weighing just 2 pounds, 3 ounces. Today, the Johnson City native is a nurse in the very unit where she spent the first 90 days of her life, under the extraordinary care of UHS Wilson Medical Center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). For McCaffery, there is no nobler career than caring for premature, medically fragile, and critically ill infants, who are a constant reminder of something she knows firsthand: that big things can come from even the smallest beginnings.
Sent directly to the NICU after delivery, McCaffery spent the next three months developing with the support of neonatal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), tube and intravenous nutrition, and 24/7 monitoring. Though those early weeks were filled with the highs and lows of intubations and extubations, setbacks, and breakthroughs, the vigilant care of her neonatology team remained constant. She was discharged on Halloween 2003, just missing the annual NICU costume party.
“My parents took my discharge care very seriously. I came home with a nasogastric tube (NG) until my feeding improved, and I required a lot of follow-up appointments with my providers,” McCaffery shared. “I did a lot of developmental and physical therapy to meet my milestones, and even did hippotherapy. But I finally caught up!”
Though once fragile, the Johnson City Central School District student grew strong to shine as an athlete on the field, a dancer on the stage, and a student in the classroom. Above all else, McCaffery was driven. Certain that her calling was healthcare, she began volunteering at UHS at just 15, learning about each specialty until ultimately gravitating towards pediatrics and neonatology. During her senior year, she participated in Broome-Tioga BOCES’ New Visions Health Academy, which solidified her desire to work in neonatal intensive care, but confirmed that she didn’t want to spend the next 10-14 years in medical school and residency. Instead, she discovered a more expedited, but equally rewarding path to healthcare: nursing.
“I grew up listening to my parents speak so highly about the nurses who cared for me when I was a patient in the NICU. Even now, more than 20 years later, my parents still mention them by name,” McCaffery explained. “In our home, NICU nurses are heroes.”
McCaffery’s next step was to add RN to her name. Her years volunteering in the hospital taught her that the best nurses were Broome nurses. Standing firm to not succumb to the peer pressure of “going away to get the college experience,” McCaffery applied to her community’s college, submitted her transcripts, and completed the mandatory ATI TEAS nursing entrance exam. At 17, she was admitted directly into the College’s highly competitive nursing day program.
With her acceptance secured, McCaffery moved on to financing her dream. Between the SUNY Broome Foundation and UHS, she was able to fully fund her education through scholarships and the UHS Education Incentive Program (EIP).
Baby Cami in the NICU in 2003.
Though she was invited to join the women’s soccer team, as one of the youngest students in her nursing cohort, McCaffery decided to focus solely on her classes, labs, and clinical rotations. Instead, she and five fellow soon-to-be nurses reserved private study rooms and barricaded themselves in until the library closed.
“I always reminded myself that I was not allowed to complain about being busy or stressed, because I was able to focus purely on being a student,” McCaffery reflected. “So many of my classmates balanced the rigors of the nursing program with jobs and caring for their families. I just had to study.”
And study she did! McCaffery spent her first year enrolled in back-to-back semesters, knocking out her corequisite courses in the winter and summer terms. With slightly more room in her schedule in year two, she took a per diem nursing assistant position at UHS in the NICU. Treating her assistant job like an extended interview, she used her time in the unit to build rapport with the medical team and quietly demonstrate her unwavering work ethic. It was then that she developed her deep bond with the night shift team – a bond she hoped would continue long term.
For McCaffery, 2023 was a whirlwind. She graduated in May, passed her National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) in July, and was hired as an NICU nurse in August. Just nine months later, while working full-time on the night shift, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Chamberlain University. Finally, she bought a home – all before turning 21.
“I feel like the nursing program, and then becoming a nurse, forced me to become very mature, very quickly,” McCaffery shared. “Within the first two weeks of the program, we were in the clinical setting. We realized right away that everything we learned directly impacted our patients. It’s a huge responsibility. I care for little lives!”
As McCaffery clocks in for her 12-hour overnight shift, it never fails to amaze her that she gets to work alongside some of the nurses who once cared for her. Every vital check, IV line, dressing change, and feed serves as a reminder that “the baby is the boss,” and the NICU team is there to do everything they can to support their patients’ innate resilience.
“When it’s appropriate, I’m happy to share my NICU story with my patients’ families. There’s so much going on, and so much information is being thrown at them, and it can be truly overwhelming,” McCaffery said. “I understand how helpful it is to show them that NICU babies are little fighters, who go on to accomplish so much.”
Cami’s Advice for Future SUNY Broome Nurses: “It’s tough, but absolutely worth it! You’ll have some hard days during your semesters, and then in your nursing career, but that’s when you lean on your peers. I highly recommend working in the local hospitals while you’re a student. It’s a great way to get your foot in the door early and find the unit that fits you best.”
McCaffery is a proud UHS NICU alumna and proud UHS NICU nurse! (Photo Credit: Matt Ebbers)
Learn more about SUNY Broome’s nursing program!
Tags: Health Sciences Division, Nursing, Nursing Evening/Weekend, Scholarships, SUNY Broome Foundation
