Jacqueline Nasso | Nurses Week | University of Rochester School of Nursing

My most memorable nursing moment happened when I was teaching a group of undergraduate clinical students at Highland Hospital. We were caring for a young woman, who was about 17 or 18 years old, who had had a baby.

After we left the room, the grandmother of the new baby followed me out and told me, “I think you delivered my daughter.”

She was right. Later that week, the grandmother brought in photos of me, from years ago, holding the new mother as a baby.

The experience blew me away on so many levels. I’m always telling my students about the incredible impact they can make on someone’s life — and that what they say to patients and how they care for them can make a lasting impression. That’s especially true in labor and delivery, because these mothers only have that experience a few times in their lives.

That one experience reflected the breadth and meaning of my career. Before I began teaching, I spent 10 years practicing as a midwife. It was hard to give up my full-time practice to teach, but it was something I always wanted to do, and in a way, my students have filled the role of my patients.

I’ve worked in many different areas of nursing, and I was drawn to midwifery after working with other nurses midwives when I was a labor and delivery nurse. After watching them, I thought, “Oh my gosh. That is what I want to be when I grow up.”

I loved the role because it was very independent, and I was the one providing one-on-one care to the mother and her unborn baby. I was able to comfort the mother and help them through that unique experience. If I was on a 12-hour shift, I would help the mother through labor, provide immediate postpartum care, and help the mother bond with their new baby — all in a day’s work.

Now, I’m lucky because I get to combine all my interests, share my passions with my students, and show them how instrumental nurses can be in a new mother’s life. I’m always telling them, “There’s a chance your patients will remember you forever.” Now, they know that’s true.