For Rocco Miele, RN, nursing wasn’t always the career he held in his sights.

Initially, Miele worked as a construction consultant having attended the University of Colorado Boulder College of Engineering & Applied Science and University of Texas – San Antonio. His change in profession came under unfortunate circumstances.

When Miele was diagnosed with testicular cancer, he was treated at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital on the Anschutz Medical Campus. During his treatment he saw how important nurses are in patient care. Six years ago, he decided he wanted to give back the way the nurses gave to him, so Miele applied to the CU College of Nursing UCAN accelerated undergraduate program. He graduated in 2015.

Currently, Miele is working at UCHealth in inpatient oncology, while also working towards an online MSN degree at the University of Northern Colorado. His ultimate career goal is to become an Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner.

“Caring for the cancer population is important to me,” said Miele, adding that it is pivotal for him to connect with patients on a personal level. When he was a patient, he was incredibly touched by the care he received, he said.

“I slow down with my patients, get to know them. Sometimes I do share my history, when it is appropriate. I just want to make their experience better. I want them to look back and know that their nurse spent time on them.” Miele says it is easy to forget to slow down in the nursing profession. “It’s easy to get caught up in the speed of the work, but as long as we focus on slowing down, it makes nursing so much more rewarding.”

In clinic, Miele has become someone his colleagues look to for leadership, especially with palliative care patients. For the last two and a half years, Miele has sat on the Palliative Care Committee at UCHealth. This is a multidisciplinary team that gives staff access to palliative care education and training. The training helps build experience working with and listening to patients with serious diagnoses.

Miele was honored with a DAISY Award in January of 2018 for his exemplary care. Read more about his touching nomination here: https://www.daisyfoundation.org/daisy-award/honorees/rocco-miele