As Michael Callihan, PhD, RN, CEN, NRP, says, nurses are problem-solvers. From a U.S. Navy submarine to a fire station to an emergency department to the classroom, Callihan has been finding solutions and leading others to become problem-solvers on their own.
While he was in the Navy, where he was a machinist mate 2, submarine qualified, Callihan had his eye on a future career as a firefighter. Following his military service, he spent eight years as a firefighter/paramedic in Ohio, where he saw a lot of the emergency department. He decided to give nursing a try, and initially thought this new career would mean more pay with less work.
“I went to nursing school and realized soon after that the nurses were working hard. It just looked different than what I was doing as a paramedic,” Callihan said. But he had found another new way to thrive as a problem-solver under pressure.
“I was on a submarine. And if something goes bad out there, you’re kind of stuck and you’ve got to fix it. And if you sit back and panic, everybody dies. And as a firefighter … if you didn’t do your job appropriately, there were some pretty bad consequences,” Callihan said. “And the ER is the same way. We see some of the nastiest things ever, and we still have to do our job.”
When Callihan shifted into an EMS coordinator position at his hospital, his role included training and continuing education at area fire departments. That’s when he “fell in love with teaching.” He went on to earn a master’s in nursing education and PhD in nursing.
As he pursued his advanced education, he studied biomechanics, electromyography and motion capture technology, which helped him discover that he also enjoys research. He combined his new technical knowledge and pre-Navy background as a personal trainer to explore injury prevention, including safe lifting procedures in the ED. He and several colleagues have also created a shoe-based pressure sensor system that received a provisional patent as he continues to develop and test further as part of his work on injury prevention.
Callihan’s work has been published in the Journal of Emergency Nursing, which has recognized him for his contributions as a peer reviewer. He is a 2023 inductee into the Academy of Emergency Nursing, and he has served ENA through chapter and state levels, as well as larger ENA committees.
Over the past few years, he said he has noticed more men entering nursing, and on campuses, he has worked with veterans affinity groups and with American Association of Men in Nursing chapters. He shares his experiences when he can, particularly as someone who entered a female-dominated profession after working in two male-dominated professions.
“We have to thrive off of each other’s differences, but sometimes it’s nice to be able to connect with similarities,” said Callihan, who added that connecting despite differences is so important to both work relationships and for nurse-patient relationships.
“I have sung to patients, especially during COVID,” said Callihan, who has performed with a traveling Southern Gospel group. “Anything to make them feel special and that somebody actually cared.
“(The pandemic) really brought back the art of nursing. We had a lot of science. But anywhere you looked, you’ll find that a lot of nurses really connected to patients on a human level with patients during COVID,” he said. Callihan now teaches at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and works at the MedCenter of Greensboro at Drawbridge Parkway. If anyone asks what he does, he can answer without hesitation.
“First and foremost, I’m an ER nurse,” he said. “I’ll probably work as an ER nurse until I can’t anymore.”