A Lifelong Passion: Charan Reddi's Commitment to Nursing

Born and raised in Hyderabad, India, ABSN student Charan Reddi moved to the United States in the 10th grade, bringing with him a deep-rooted admiration for the nursing profession. His mother, a nursing instructor, played a pivotal role in shaping his early interest in nursing. “I don’t remember a time in my life where nursing was not a part of my life in one way or another,” Reddi said. “My scope of exposure to nursing might have changed over the years, but the one external constant that I grew up with is the nursing career field.” He recalls walking through hospital floors as a child, watching nursing students and nurses work with patients. These experiences, coupled with discussions about patient care with his mother, ignited a passion for nursing that has remained a constant throughout his life.

Charan's journey to nursing was further solidified during his high school years in the United States. He volunteered at a hospital specializing in long-term ICU patient care, which was his first introduction to a professional environment in a foreign country. This experience reaffirmed his desire to pursue a career in nursing. “It was my first introduction to a professional environment in a foreign country, and I was once again convinced that nursing was the career path I wanted to pursue,” Reddi remembered. During his undergraduate studies, he volunteered at a gastroenterology clinic for almost two years, shadowing administrative assistants, administrators, nurses, and doctors.

Army Stint, MBA inform future nursing career

Reddi’s path to nursing, while clear to him from a young age, wasn’t always straightforward. Before coming to DUSON he served in the Army for five years in Fayetteville, NC, and earned an MBA in Project Management from Fayetteville State University. His military background has significantly informed his nursing journey. While deployed to Afghanistan, Reddi witnessed firsthand the importance of nurses being part of surgical teams at field hospitals. “My Army experience will help me be a better nurse in the future because throughout my time in the Army, I became adept in working under stressful conditions,” Reddi said. “As the mentality of the Army leadership tends to be that everything is important and urgent, I learned to work under the constant pressure from leadership to find solutions to the problems within my means and this is where I excelled.”

Reddi said he chose to attend DUSON because it is one of the top nursing schools in the country, and he was impressed by the supportive faculty and their commitment to student success. His experience at Duke has been enriching, with various training opportunities and a wide range of elective courses, such as perioperative care and critical care courses. “The excellent faculty in addition to my awesome cohort who are beyond supportive to each other make my Duke experience so special,” Reddi said.

Reddi, who graduates this May, hopes to work in critical care in the Triangle area. He aims to grow as a nurse and make a positive impact on his future unit, while working toward a long-term goal to pursue further nursing education and eventually teach nursing students, inspired by his mother's career.

“My mom started as a clinical instructor at Herzing University after several years of practicing as an RN in a long-term ICU setting in Orlando, Florida. Even after she got her Family Nurse Practitioner MSN, she continued to teach, which is her current semi-retirement job,” said Reddi. “This has been my biggest inspiration to one day teach nursing students as well.”

“As someone with plans to pursue leadership in the nursing field, I am certain my knowledge gained during the ABSN program will make me a better leader, if not at the very least an informed leader, which is the first step in improving one's leadership potential,” Reddi said. “I will take these lessons to my future unit and not only improve as a nurse but will try to do my part in improving the environment around me.”