Hospital security officer traded his badge for a set of nursing scrubs

When the school district he was working at closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Taylor Penman needed a new job. He found one on the security team at M Health Fairview St. John’s Hospital. 

Penman worked overnight at the welcome desk during a challenging time at the hospital. Penman helped enforce COVID-19 visitor restrictions. These policies were critical for preventing disease spread during the pandemic, but they led to difficult moments with families who were unable to visit loved ones in the hospital. 

“They got mad at me, which I understand,” Penman said. “But at the same time, we had patients in the hospital and staff, who we had to keep safe, too.”

Penman stood out to his manager Joe Max, a Fairview Health Services regional security manager.

“Taylor established himself as a leader within the department and was promoted to lead security officer," Max said.

“During that time, I excelled with the mental health population,” Penman said. “I was really good at talking with them and de-escalating. I learned how to communicate well with people and keep cool in stressful environments.”

At the time, Penman was in school to become a police officer. He just had one semester left when he realized that nursing might be his calling.

“The reason I was going to be a police officer was to help people,” Penman said. “I feel like helping is what I meant to do, but working with the patients, and seeing the nurses made me interested in going to the nursing rather than law enforcement.”

He applied to the nursing program at Concordia University in Saint Paul. In August 2024, he graduated. That October, he got a nursing job at St. John's – the same hospital where he worked at the welcome desk. 

“When you become a new nurse, it’s an uncertain time with a lot going on,” Penman said. “Being in a familiar place was one thing that felt more certain."

Now Penman says he uses the same communication style in his new career as a nurse in gastroenterology and oncology.

"In nursing school, my teachers said sometimes silence can be huge,” he said. “And I found that to be true. Sometimes, I'll just sit there, and I'll have no idea what to say.  There may be no right thing to say. But patients are very thankful when I’m just there and listening."

Just like in the schools when his students were having a hard day or in 2020 when COVID-19 restrictions were in place at St. Johns, Penman is there, offering support for people going through difficult moments.

"I think I'm good at it,” Penman said. “I love helping people. What makes me happy in my own life is helping people in theirs.”

Penman’s calm and composed presence is not just comforting for patients, it’s also helpful for his colleagues during challenging or stressful times, according to his manager Megan Wagner MSN, RN.

“Taylor's interpersonal skills, developed as a security officer, enhance his care for patients and their families,” she said. “During patient rounds, we frequently hear compliments about Taylor's exceptional care. One patient recently noted that Taylor's kind demeanor offered the support they needed during their hospitalization, and they were surprised to learn he was a new graduate RN, as they felt he had years of experience.”