“The UPMC School of Nursing made it possible to continue working while I pursued my education. And now, all of my hard work has paid off.”
Leah M. always knew she wanted to help people. She just wasn’t sure how.
It’s a trait she traces back to her childhood and listening to her mom tell stories about working in a hospital.
“She’s very caring, helps everybody around her, (and) obviously cared for me growing up,” Leah says. “So, I just kind of took on that role as well at a young age, wanting to help people around me.”
She took the first steps on her journey when she joined UPMC Presbyterian in 2019 as an environmental services associate. At the time, she was taking classes at a local community college and trying to figure out her career path.
It wasn’t until she transitioned to the renal unit at UPMC Presbyterian in 2020 that she realized she wanted to pursue nursing long-term. Her experience as a water/machine technician enabled her to learn more about dialysis and the role of each machine.
“Just being around patients, more nurses, talking to everybody, seeing the inside of the unit, that's kind of what made me want to go to nursing school and take the next role,” Leah recalls.
While continuing to work in the renal unit, she was promoted to clinical dialysis technician I in 2021. After earning her Certified Clinical Hemodialysis Technician (CCHT) certification, she was elevated to clinical dialysis technician II in 2023.
Each role deepened Leah’s understanding of patient care and furthered her desire to become a nurse. While continuing to work at UPMC, she enrolled in a part-time program at UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing.
She says the most challenging part was balancing two very different roles as an employee and student. She opted for a 32-month course that allowed her to continue working while pursuing nursing.
“So many of my teachers were amazing,” Leah says. “They’ve all been there before. They were very helpful, resourceful, and they all know what we’re going through.”
She graduated in April 2025 and officially began her nursing career that June. Graduation day was an emotional conclusion to a journey she first started when she walked through the doors at UPMC Presbyterian six years earlier.
“I was crying before my name was called, but it was surreal. It was amazing,” she says. “When I graduated from UPMC School of Nursing, and I stepped back into the dialysis unit as a registered nurse, that feeling was indescribable.”
As a registered nurse, Leah continues to bring that same desire to help people to the hospital every day.
“Compassion is such a critical skill that nurses need,” she says. “Understanding what patients are going through to help make their hospital stay a little bit easier.
“A lot of my patients have very difficult stories (and) hard recoveries. Having the compassion and knowing I’m here to work, but I’m also here for them. They’re the center of the day and what they need.”
Working in the dialysis unit has allowed her to establish relationships with her patients, many of whom have been receiving treatment multiple times per week for several years.
“It makes me feel good knowing they remembered me just as much as I remembered them,” she says.
She’s quick to credit her fellow nurses for always being a team she can rely on. Many of them have been a part of her journey from the start.
“What makes me so grateful for my coworkers is that they were always here for me from the first day of nursing school,” Leah says. “They’re asking me about my exams. ‘What did you learn today?’ ‘Where are you at in clinical today?’ So, it was a really comforting feeling. I knew they had my back.”
Now she’s more than happy to have theirs while continuing to deliver first-class patient care.
The UPMC School of Nursing made it possible to continue working while I pursued my education,” Leah says. “And now, all of my hard work has paid off.”
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