This article appears in the 100 Years Commemorative Issue of Rochester Nursing magazine.
As a freshman studying brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester, Elizabeth Sieverding, ’12, ’13N, MSN, RN, NI-BC, OCN, intended to be pre-med. To gain healthcare experience, she volunteered through Friends of Strong in the pediatric oncology unit. What she saw there drew her to shift to nursing.
“The nurse’s presence at the bedside, really being able to witness it, the kind of relationships that they formed with the patients really struck me. I think that’s a really unique position to be in, especially as you’re supporting people at their most vulnerable.”
Sieverding grew up watching her mom and visiting nurses take care of her grandmother who lived with them and battled cancer for ten years. In school she had a penchant for science and math; watching the connection between her grandmother and her caregivers also gave her a passion for caregiving. Now as an oncology nurse with a master’s in nursing informatics she gets to satisfy both her interests and her passion.
After graduating from Rochester’s accelerated bachelor’s in nursing (ABSN) program, Sieverding started out at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, working 12-hour night shifts in adult neurology and orthopedics.
After 3 years, she took a position as an ambulatory office practice nurse in the thoracic medical oncology department, where she has been for the last ten years. She enjoys her role overseeing the patient’s experience from diagnosis through treatment and recovery.
Day-to-day, she floats between seeing patients in clinic, patient education, and symptom management. “We’re basically a jack of all trades,” she said, “because we will handle everything that has to do with patient care from insurance authorizations to personalizing care as much as possible.”
Her interest in personalized patient care drew her to informatics. She joined the outpatient nursing informatics council at Memorial Sloan Kettering in 2018 and became involved in initiatives such as making an electronic medication calendars for patients. At the suggestion of a mentor, she enrolled in an online program at Vanderbilt to earn an MSN with a focus on nursing informatics. “That really sparked my interest because I was able to blend both my great interest for technology and my passion for patient-centered care into one.”
For her patients, that often means finding ways to use technology to minimize time spent at the clinic or hospital.
“We can deliver cancer care closer to home,” she said. “There are so many wearable devices to monitor patients remotely like pulse oximeters. When you’re dealing with a terminal or chronic illness like cancer you want to prioritize patients being able to spend as much time at home as possible doing the things they like to do.”
Asked where she makes the most impact as a nurse, she spelled out two ways: being there for patients at their most vulnerable times and building a connection with them; and “working behind the scenes” to figure out where inefficiencies lie. “We do current state analysis to understand our workflows and identify opportunities for improvement.”
Q: How did the accelerated nursing program help to shape your career?
“Being able to apply my education quickly in clinicals... because we jumped right in our second semester in seeing patients. I found that valuable because learning in a classroom is one thing, but actually being able to practice that on the patient floors is another. And we had our simulation lab at the school, which was so helpful because you get to practice. I think that early exposure to clinicals is critical. When you’re a floor nurse you’re kind of stunned at first because it’s so different from school, so having that clinical experience is helpful.”
Q: What do you remember most about being in Rochester?
“I would say the people and the community. There’s such a great mix of access to culture as well as nature, which I loved. Being able to go to the lake but also the Erie Canal. I spent a lot of time on Park Avenue and the South Wedge. The food scene is also memorable – not just eating a garbage plate! But the restaurants there and going to the different festivals. I was lucky enough to spend summers in Rochester while I was there. Also balancing working and going to school, I felt that Rochester made that very manageable.”
Q: What advice would she have to recent graduates or nurses early in their career?
“I think continue to be curious and not be afraid of things that may seem daunting or unknown to you. At a nursing informatics committee meeting, someone once quoted Ina Garten and said, ‘be ready when the luck happens.’ That rings true to me. I think trying to say yes to things even though you may not know where they will lead you. That helped shape my own experience a lot, especially as a nurse. I think continue to be curious because the field of nursing is every-changing . . . the way we deliver care will continue to change and a lot of the time nurses have the best impact, not only for the patient but for healthcare in general.”
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