Milwaukee VA nurse honored nationally as 'Rising Star'

Zachary Wargolet, 29, will receive the Rising Star Award during the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN) Global Surgical Conference and Expo in April in Boston.

The award, presented to only one nurse a year, recognizes individuals who demonstrate outstanding commitment to the perioperative profession. Nominees must have fewer than five years of experience and demonstrate accomplishments that distinguish themselves as potential leaders in the future.

Wargolet said he was surprised to win.

“It was an utter shock, but a really cool feeling,” he said.

Wargolet was nominated by nurse educator Kate Wolf after he proposed, created and implemented a curriculum that allows circulating nurses in the operating room to “scrub in” for procedures on certain occasions, thus increasing their skills and providing more flexibility for the operating room teams.

“That’s something we haven’t done here before,” Wolf said. “He’s just constantly jumping into new things, and he’s a really big cheerleader and advocate.”

From Marine to nurse

But Wargolet came to nursing somewhat accidentally.

He joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve at age 17, fulfilling his high school dream. But when he got out after six years and started working in construction, he found that he missed the “purpose and focus” he felt in the Corps.

“I was like, ‘Man, I need to harness this energy,’ because working construction wasn’t for me,” he said. “Then I stumbled upon nursing.”

He started as a certified nursing assistant at St. Luke’s before enrolling in nursing school at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. After becoming a registered nurse, he worked at Froedtert and for Ascension before his wife — a Milwaukee VA employee in Human Resources — told him about an opening at the Milwaukee VA.

“Coming here has been such a positive experience. It’s been great,” he said, adding that being a Veteran allows him to better connect with the patients.

“It’s so cool to be able to work with Veterans and take care of a patient population that I personally care the most about,” he said. “Whether it’s a Vietnam Veteran or post-9/11, I feel like I can speak the language.”

In the OR

As a circulating nurse, Wargolet transitions with patients from the pre-operative stage to the operating room. Once the patient is in surgery, he stands by, serving as the “eyes, ears and voice of the patient,” he said, while also monitoring equipment.

In the role, he gets to witness a variety of procedures, though not participate. But one day he was asked to scrub in for an orthopedic procedure, which allowed him to assist with sterilized equipment — specifically retractors — being used.

Getting that front row seat was inspiring, Wargolet said.

“It just really elevated my understanding,” he said. “It was an eye-opening experience.”

That prompted Wargolet to consult with management about more opportunities for circulating nurses to scrub in, saying it would make them better at their jobs.

Management agreed, but it was a bit more complicated than that: To make it happen, Wargolet needed to develop an evidence-based training curriculum.

So that’s what he did — despite having no experience at creating such a program.

“I was so excited that I was getting the opportunity that I didn’t care how much work I had to do,” he said. “I’m taking it and running with it. It felt really cool to be empowered.”

Relying on the Milwaukee VA’s nurse educators, operating room colleagues and AORN, he put together a six-week curriculum and presented it to leadership, which gave it a green light.

A bright future

Since developing the curriculum, Wargolet scrubs in from time to time, and other circulating nurses are taking part in the training. 

As a “Rising Star,” Wargolet said his next goal is to obtain his Certified Nurse Operating Room certification, and possibly pursue a master’s degree.

And Wolf envisions a bright future for Wargolet.

“I’m so excited for him to get this award. He really deserves it,” she said. “I think he’s going to do such great things for the perioperative nursing profession.”