Spotlight on: Samera Sorell, DNP, RN, CNM, Thompson Health Canandaigua Medical Group

“I always knew I wanted a career in holistic health care, but wasn’t sure which path to choose,” said Samera Sorell, DNP, RN, CNM. “The more I learned about midwifery, the more I was drawn to it because it encompassed everything I wanted to experience in health care.”

Sorell, who is originally from Pittsford but traveled during her late teens and early 20s, worked as an administrative assistant for an herbalist while living in Colorado. She decided to pursue nursing when she became a mom and was living in Kansas. She attended nursing school first and then got her master’s degree in nursing/nurse midwifery and went on to earn her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree.

A nurse since 2005 and a midwife since 2016, Sorell has delivered more than 200 babies. “The birth of a baby is such an intense, vulnerable moment for any family,” she said. “It is a privilege to be there and help them through that moment in time.”

She is excited to be working for Thompson Health, where she can provide the full scope of obstetric and gynecological care to her patients. “I love Thompson Health and working in the Geneva office,” she said. “It couldn’t be a better opportunity.”

She pursued her doctorate so she could go on to learn about quality improvement and do some teaching. “Quality improvement initiatives are so important in health care,” she said. “It’s vital to look for evidence on how we can improve outcomes. It’s also important for midwifery to take leadership roles and represent the profession.”

Sorell does clinical teaching and precepts nurse practitioners, PAs, and midwives. “I love teaching,” she said. “My students learn from me but I am learning from them, too.”

“Thompson is amazing because they truly value midwifery and that is something you don’t find in many parts of the country,” she said. “Physicians and other midwives work as partners and have mutual respect. That is a great environment where we can truly put the needs of our patients and their families first and give them the highest quality health care.”