Gregg Herrmann has always considered himself a caretaker. The kind of person to help when another is in need, the kind of person who values health in every capacity, the kind of person willing to answer the call of duty when it came knocking on his door.
When Herrmann was preparing to graduate high school in the ’90s, he planned to attend UC Berkeley to study psychology. Around the same time, his father suffered a massive heart attack.
Herrmann’s father survived, but the experience changed the course of Herrmann’s life. He studied psychology at the University of North Florida instead, sticking close to home and relishing the time spent with family.
Herrmann’s career in psychology didn’t unfold as planned, leading him to pursue licensure in massage therapy instead. He spent nearly nine years as a massage therapist before reaching a turning point in his professional journey.
On a whim, a friend who worked at Wolfson’s Children’s Hospital asked Herrmann if he’d thought about nursing. He hadn’t, but decided to take up a position as a tech on the respiratory floor at Wolfson’s.
“I really enjoyed nursing in a hospital, so I went back to school and got my degree in nursing,” Herrmann said.
After attending Florida State College at Jacksonville and the University of North Florida, Herrmann earned his title as a registered nurse with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
He worked the intensive care unit at Wolfson’s for about 12 years and enjoyed every moment of it, expanding his knowledge of the field and taking in every experience that he could soak up.
During the pandemic, Herrmann switched to the emergency department to help with the influx of sick patients, staying for a handful of months before moving back to the pediatric operating room on a different level of the hospital.
When Herrmann relocated to Nocatee a few years ago, he reassessed opportunities for nursing and took a new position as a clinical nurse supervisor for primary care at UF Health Primary Care — Nocatee.
“I’ve enjoyed the ambulatory setting,” Herrmann said. “I’m looking forward to finding out where the rest of my career goes. Being able to be there for the patients has always been my biggest hope and desire.”
In terms of advice for future nurses, Herrmann encourages any who feel the pull of the career to listen to the call, just like he did.
“Nursing is a great field because it’s so vast,” he said. “There are so many things you can do. Do what’s in your heart and the rest is going to find its way.”
