If you ask her on the fly (pun intended), Emergency Department RN Tanisha Silva credits her decision to enlist in the U.S. Air Force Reserve to the movie G.I. Jane. While it’s true that Tanisha admired the main character’s ability to handle anything that came her way, if you dig a little deeper, Tanisha’s true inspiration was her mom and her oldest daughter.
Tanisha’s mom was a single mother who worked three jobs to make ends meet. By the time Tanisha was a senior at Ben Davis High School, she had a daughter. With the same financial struggle on the horizon as her mom, ROTC member Tanisha joined the military months before graduation to develop maturity, discipline, and the skills she thought she needed to build a more secure life for her family.
Tanisha was set to depart for basic training a couple of days after 9/11. When that tragedy hit, she called her recruiter and asked if she could delay until after her daughter’s second birthday. The recruiter said yes. So, on January 22, 2002, four days after her daughter turned 2, Tanisha boarded a plane for the first time. She landed at Lackland Air Force Base, leaving her daughter in her mom’s care.
“Thank goodness for the woman who talked to me during the entire flight, or I may not have made it,” said Tanisha. “Those first days were surreal. It’s a hive of activity, and you’re constantly being yelled at. But there was this pride, too. I was the first in my family to serve, eager to learn, do something productive, be part of the small percentage to wear the uniform.”
Now a commissioned officer, First Lieutenant Tanisha Silva just celebrated her 21st anniversary. She spends one weekend per month and two weeks per year at Grissom Air Reserve Base.
How did she get to the ED? It wasn’t a straight shot from the military to healthcare. She worked as a security guard, dispatcher, and correctional officer and took steps to join the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department first. The pull toward nursing lies in one of her first assignments as a military member.
“I did a tour at Dover Air Force Base, where service members from all six branches of service killed in combat are repatriated,” said Tanisha. “It was a challenging tour, though it was an honor beyond words to give to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. It made me think, what can I do to help before this point?”
In addition to working in the ED, Tanisha is a sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE). The work can be difficult, but she stays because of how “HRH treats its employees and our values. I feel like I’m a part of a big family.”
Tanisha lives in Avon with her husband. They have four children and one giant fur baby, a Doberman named Zion. Spending time with them gives Tanisha the most joy and recharges her battery.
