Brown University Health is a great place to grow your career. Here’s an example of how a current employee built their career within the organization.
Donna Dumouchel has worked as a nurse for 40 years, all at Rhode Island Hospital. She had the ability to move around and switch positions easily within the organization, always finding what worked for her at the time. She began her career as a new nurse on the night shift and has now come full circle; today, she mentors and supports the next generation of night‑shift nurses.
Drawing on her 40 years of nursing experience at Rhode Island Hospital, Donna Dumouchel encourages aspiring nurses to pursue hands‑on learning opportunities, including Brown Health’s Student Nurse Internship Program.
Dumouchel began her nursing career as a collegiate nursing assistant at Rhode Island Hospital while studying nursing at the University of Rhode Island. Upon graduating, she accepted a registered nurse position on the same medical-surgical unit where she’d been assisting, caring for patients with peripheral vascular disease and kidney problems.
At the time, the hospital’s collegiate nursing program offered financial support for tuition and books in exchange for a two-year commitment to stay after graduation. This early investment helped shape Dumouchel’s long-term ties to Rhode Island Hospital.
Like many new nurses at the time, Dumouchel began her career on the night shift, a schedule that worked well for her early on. Working alongside experienced nurses who took time to mentor her reinforced Dumouchel’s decision to keep building her career at Rhode Island Hospital. After being transferred to the surgical intensive care unit for a short time, she quickly realized that being in intensive care wasn’t the right fit. She was able to take an opening on the orthopedic unit, where she built her career for many years.
Four years later, Dumouchel was encouraged to apply for an assistant clinical manager position, an opportunity to grow and advance in her field without leaving the organization. She made this her home at the hospital for the next 26 years. This new position gave her a schedule on the day shift, and allowed her to work alongside nurses and certified nursing assistants (CNAs), while also remaining involved with direct patient care. “I enjoyed caring for patients and this role let me continue building my clinical skills, while also maintaining a leadership position coordinating the daily operations of the unit,” says Dumouchel. She was grateful for the team that she worked with, as many of them were more experienced than she was, and helped her be successful in the role.
Looking for a change, Dumouchel returned to her roots on the night shift and embraced a new challenge as the nursing supervisor for adult patient services. “It was definitely an adjustment, but with my years of leadership experience and nursing knowledge, I felt that I would be a good role model and mentor for the novice nurses that are typically on the night shift,” she says.
A few years later, Dumouchel was promoted to assistant clinical manager in Brown Health’s hub of capacity management access. After spending time there, she realized she missed the mentoring aspect of the job, and transitioned into her current role, nursing supervisor for nursing operations at Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children’s. While she no longer provides direct patient care, mentoring the next generation of nurses remains at the heart of her work. “I enjoy working with staff and helping them navigate challenges by giving them the tools and resources they need.”
Dumouchel also says that the night shift’s collaborative environment continues to offer valuable learning opportunities for herself and her colleagues. “One of the best parts about working at Brown Health is that I learn something new every day.”
Based on her own experiences, Dumouchel encourages those interested in nursing to consider experiential learning opportunities, such as Brown Health’s Student Nurse Internship Program. As a hands-on, visual learner, Dumouchel says those early experiences were key to developing her clinical skills and strong bedside manner.
Dumouchel’s 40-year journey at Rhode Island Hospital reflects what’s possible at Brown Health—where employees are encouraged to find their place, grow, and build long, meaningful careers.
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