Gifted Spotlight: Ashlin Cain, RN

Happy Nurses Week! To celebrate, Gifted Healthcare is spotlighting five of our incredible and inspiring nurses. Read on to check out today’s spotlight, Ashlin Cain, RN, from New Orleans, Louisiana.  

Ashlin Cain is just three years into her nursing career and has already worked through a global pandemic, helping patients at the bedside every shift.  

Why Nursing?  

At the age of six, Ashlin was in a car accident and although she was too young to remember it all, there are a few details that have stayed with her. The scariest part of it all was seeing her mother thrown through the windshield, but she also witnessed healthcare workers saving her mother. Because of the first responders, Ashlin’s mother is alive and healthy today. Ashlin learned two things that day: 

1. Always wear a seatbelt
2. Healthcare workers make a difference   

When Ashlin was nine, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and she was removed from her home. Her parents were essential workers, so they stayed, but Ashlin was displaced to a shelter with her grandmother in Texas for three months.  

Every day, healthcare workers came through the facility to check on the displaced hurricane victims and distributed medicine and other healthcare essentials as needed. Ashlin again learned two very important things through this experience: 

1. Family is everything 
2. Healthcare workers make a difference  

These two pivotal moments in Ashlin’s life lead her into healthcare and on the path to becoming a nurse.  

“I wanted to be on the other side, helping patients in need. I had incredible healthcare professionals take care of me and so I wanted to help others.” 

First Year of Nursing 

Ashlin graduated from the University of Lafayette in May 2019 so within her first year of working as a Nurse, she faced the challenge of providing patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“I saw a lot as a new nurse. There were things that forced me to grow up in my career very early on,” said Ashlin. “I saw too many emergency intubations at the bedside, and I also had to be the point of contact for many families which was hard. You could hear the fear in their voice as you informed them their loved one, that they were unable to visit, was declining in health.” 

Although the start of Ashlin’s career was unlike anything she ever expected, the challenges came with an opportunity to step right into her dream of helping others.  

“I remember one patient that suffered a stroke and it affected her speech,” started Ashlin. “When speech therapy began...the first thing she said to me was ‘You are so beautiful. Thank you for taking such great care of me,’ and it was one of those moments where you just feel so warm and so rewarded.”  

“You don’t want to start crying, but you know those are the moments that make your job worth it.” 

Ashlin stepped right into the front lines to fight the pandemic and she loved the feeling she got from taking care of others. This has inspired her to seize her opportunities as a nurse and caregiver.  

What’s Next? 

Ashlin is going back to school in a few months to earn her Master’s in Nursing with an SNP concentration. 

She has mainly worked contracts near New Orleans but is dreaming of taking a travel nursing assignment in California soon!  

Celebrate Nurses Week with Gifted  

Clinicians make a difference, and we want to celebrate their strength during the month of May. Gifted Healthcare is highlighting the strength of our clinicians and the difference they make every day on our blog and social channels.

Gifted is also giving away $3,000 to celebrate these clinicians. Learn more about how you could win this Nurses Week, and learn more about working with Gifted Healthcare.