A Family Affair
Fate (and a global pandemic) bring sisters and mother to UR School of Nursing at same time
For a period of about 11 allow her to combine all of her months, sisters Marissa passions into one career. McFadden, RN, and Nicole Marissa also applied to the SepMcFadden, RN, were classtember 2020 start date for the mates in the University of program, which meant she and Rochester School of NursNicole were starting together. ing’s Accelerated Program for The sisters—who had never Non-Nurses while their mothbeen classmates because of their er, Lisa McFadden, RN, BSN, age gap—were now each other’s OCN, was also a student in live-in study partners since the the school’s Clinical Nurse didactic portions of the program Leader (CNL) program. were being taught virtually. Three members of the same “I was grateful to have somehousehold attending the same one to sit across from during school at the same time may lectures and study sessions at seem like an intentional family a time when most people were They didn’t plan it this way, but for nearly a full year, Lisa Mcbonding experience, but in isolated at home,” said Marissa. Fadden (center) and her daughters, Marissa (left) and Nicole reality, it was more like a “We worked well together, even (right) were all students at the University of Rochester School happy accident. though we had detested each of Nursing. Lisa, a graduate of the RN to BS program began Lisa, a single mother to other’s studying styles when we the Clinical Nurse Leader program in August 2020, just about three children, had worked as were younger. Nicole was always the same time that Marissa and Nicole started the Accelerated a registered nurse for nearly hard-working, submitting assignBachelor’s Program for Non-Nurses. 30 years before she decided ments well before the due dates to go back to school to earn and I was a perpetual procrastinaher bachelor’s degree through the UR how nurses become better nurses. tor and perfectionist.” School of Nursing’s RN to BS program. Nicole decided then to shadow a Nicole and Marissa’s graduation from She graduated from that program in friend who was a nurse in a post-anesthe program in August 2021 became 2019 and subsequently enrolled in the thesia care unit. There, Nicole saw how somewhat of a full-circle moment for school’s CNL program beginning in nursing offered an ability to bond with the family. Lisa pinned both of her August 2020. patients and learn their life stories. daughters, officially welcoming them Growing up, both Nicole and MarisExcited to embark on her new career, into the nursing profession. sa had always admired their mother’s Nicole applied to the accelerated pro“I was feeling fulfilled that I had finally hard work and love for nursing, though gram only to be deferred until Septemchosen the right career path that blendneither ever felt it was their calling. They ber 2020 due to COVID-19. ed all of my interests into one job title,” did, however, share their mother’s interMarissa—only a couple of years said Nicole, who works as a Level I est in science and medicine. younger than Nicole—had studied bionurse in the neonatal intensive care unit Nicole studied psychology and biolochemistry at Hobart and William Smith at Golisano Children's Hospital. gy at Duquesne University, where she Colleges. Later, she was a research Marissa followed a little more closely became fascinated with learning how assistant for a synthetic organic chemin her mother’s footsteps, working as an people’s life stories could influence who istry lab where she helped develop inpatient registered nurse on the adult they were. Nursing seemed like the obvianticancer compounds. hematology/oncology unit at Wilmot ous choice for a career, but Nicole was After graduation, she worked as a Cancer Institute. reluctant. She was afraid of making a mis- patient care technician at Thompson “Ultimately I feel each of them bentake and accidentally harming a patient. Health, where she realized nursing was efited from this, from both a personal It was Karen Keady, PhD, RN, NEAso much more than she had previously standpoint and educational standpoint,” BC, who changed her mind. Keady, vice thought. She saw nurses as teachers, said Lisa, an assistant nurse manager president and chief nursing executive at researchers, and patient care providers. at the Interlakes Oncology and Hemathe University of Rochester Medical CenMarissa experienced her “light bulb tology Center in Canandaigua. “Nursing ter, was the commencement speaker at moment” in the car with Nicole on their just seemed to offer them both a bit of Lisa’s RN to BS graduation in 2019. In her way to a family vacation in the Adironeverything, yet differently, for what they speech, Keady shared that mistakes are dacks. Nursing, she realized, would were looking for in life."
22 NURSING 2022 Volume 1
