Gymnastics Alumnae in Healthcare

I’ve been in the profession for 15 years. I come from a family of nurses so it seemed like the natural path to follow. My original plan was to head towards advancing to being a nurse anesthetist, but found bedside nursing in the ICU as the place for me.

We care for the sickest of the sick in my unit and it’s just a rewarding position to be in. When you see people emerge “back to their norm” after being at their lowest point physically, there are just no words. To know that you played a part in that, that your education, your years of experience led you to where you are now, you feel like you did something right.

With the COVID-19 pandemic going on, the fear of not having the proper PPE is a reality. I fear for my family the most after each 12 hour shift I work.

We just do what needs to be done for each and every patient, no matter what, and after every shift I work, I come home even that much more appreciative of my family and my health

Perseverance. Keep pushing forward.

Being a Scarlet Knight gave me experiences I don’t think I would ever have had without being on the team.

Sometimes it seems like the athletics and schooling together are a lot on your plate, but just stay focused, push forward, and the reward will be there.

Do it! At the end of your education path, the career is rewarding. There are so many options in the health field, not to mention that there will always be a need for healthcare professionals.

I graduated from Internal Medicine residency with the US Army in 2010. I served in the military as a Captain and ultimately Major as a General Internal Medicine Physician in Seoul, South Korea. It was there that I realized I had a passion for teaching. I completed my active duty time in El Paso, Texas and later obtained a job at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center of El Paso. There, I was named Clerkship Director of Internal Medicine and began my dream of teaching. I was teaching medical students about my field of medicine. Then, in 2017, a brand new residency program in Las Cruces, New Mexico opened and I was excited for the opportunity to build my very own program and make it something unique. This time training medical doctors who knew they wanted to specialize in Internal Medicine. We became nationally accredited in 2018 and I now have 22 residents in my program.

The most rewarding part of my job is watching brand new interns evolve into outstanding attending physicians. This year will be my first class of graduates and just thinking about how far they have come under my leadership is so incredibly rewarding.

My 22 residents are like my children. I worry about them constantly and need to ensure they are getting the best training possible without risking burnout. I am not only worried about my patients, my family, and of course myself contracting COVID-19, but I also need to ensure my residents are as protected as possible right now. I have been finding people to make masks and N95 covers for them. Because my hospital is worried about not having enough protective equipment down the line I had no choice but to locate masks on my own for the residents. 

I have had to prepare virtual curriculum and backup plans as well as disaster plans. Just yesterday, I had a financial advisor give a virtual presentation recommending they update their wills and get their finances in order. While necessary, it was one of the most heartbreaking things I have had to do as a Program Director. But what I have learned in all of this is that you MUST BE PREPARED. I have gone into "Army Mode". I have never faced anything quite this scary...despite my time in the military.

My clinic has dwindled to almost nothing. My sick elderly patients are being forced to try and use an app to contact me or resort to a phone call. The ERs were initially empty, but are starting to rapidly fill up with patients from my clinic who are too scared to come in and cannot figure out telemedicine. I also work in the hospital. Previously, only one week per month. Now, I have been asked to fill in gaps when other hospitalists get sick or quarantine. I have not yet taken vacation this year and will not be able to do so.

All of our usual daily conferences are virtual. While some think this is great, it takes away my opportunity to check in on the residents. I instead have to send frequent messages to check in. Are they getting scared? Burned out? Sick? Honestly, I cannot remember my last night of quality sleep....I wake frequently to check on physician FaceBook groups and add things to my "to do" list the next day.

As a student athlete, I learned I had to work both hard and efficiently to get the job done. This carried me into my medical and military training. I love when someone asks me how I did it...there's no magic. I learned at Rutgers that you have to work hard, be intentional, persistent, and stay on target with your goals. Multitasking is not real. I tried that early in my undergraduate years where I learned the hard way that the real answer was to be focused and present both in the gym, and in the classroom. I am so lucky I learned this because now it is second nature.

Rutgers gave me the opportunity to train in a D1 sport while offering me a top notch education. I live in El Paso, Texas and work in Las Cruces, NM...everyone knows Rutgers University! "Dr Cashin, are you the one with the Rutgers R on your car?". My response is always the same: RU Rah Rah!

You need to figure out a way to stay present in everything you do and do it efficiently. You need to stay focused both in the gym and in the classroom. You also need to find time to have some fun and relax. Figure this out as soon as you can because until then, you will not be your very best self in either your sport or academically.

Do it only if you have a passion for treating patients with utmost empathy and as if they were your very own family. It takes a lot of hard work and discipline but if you want it badly enough you should go for it! Do not let anyone tell you that you can't do it! Prove them wrong!!!

I spent nine years in training (residency and fellowship) before completing this past July, and have been working as a pediatric surgeon ever since. I was inspired to go into medicine after an injury in my junior year of college. It ignited my interest in medicine and surgery in particular after spending so much time with my orthopedic surgeons.

The most rewarding part is taking a devastating injury or defect, fixing it with an operation and then watching these kids grow up happy and healthy.

The hardest part of the job right now is the uncertainty of everything. We are treating a new virus which is similar and yet very different to other diseases we see. We don't know if we will have the right medications and equipment to take care of these patients. And then the fear that one of my family members or colleagues will also become ill.

We have started taking pediatric patients from around the city into our children's hospital to allow these other hospitals to have more beds for adult patients. I've also been redeployed to the adult hospital to help with their overflow of COVID-19 patients in the new ICUs.

The biggest lesson I have taken with me is teamwork. Gymnastics is usually an individual sport, but at Rutgers the team was always the top priority. Similarly, in medicine, we all work together with other doctors, nurses, ancillary staff etc, towards a common goal. Through this pandemic, we are working together even more than ever and helping each other along the way.

Seeing the amazing growth that Rutgers has done throughout the last 15 years, especially how much the gymnastics team has accomplished.

My advice would be to take advantage of all the opportunities that you can and really enjoy your time in college.

I have been a nurse since 2016 after completing a secondary accelerated degree program following graduation from Rutgers. I chose to go into nursing because of the help I can deliver to patients in their time of need. I always knew I wanted to go into medicine, but nursing has allowed me to build connections and have a huge role in a small part of someone’s life.

Since working in the ICU, I typically see patients at their most critically ill time. Seeing interventions and medical care slowly improve a patient over a few hours/days/weeks is truly amazing. Even better than that is being able to see patients transferred, or even discharged from the ICU!

Referencing back to my previous response, I work in an ICU. Not every patient has a success story. Sometimes as healthcare professionals, there is only so much you can do and it isn’t always enough.

I would say the biggest lessons I have transferred to work, and life, since graduating Rutgers is time management, coping with stressful situations, and pouring my energy into the things I love and care about.

It goes too fast! Cherish every moment and opportunity you are given!

There are so many different careers within healthcare. Research and find your passion! If you love what you do, it won’t ever be work.

I have been in emergency medicine for 15 years. After training in adult emergency medicine, I also did a fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine and a masters at Johns Hopkins in Safety and Quality. Emergency medicine was an easy choice. It is fast pace, and often unpredictable. Additionally during procedures you have to perform under pressure and hope to be successful on the first effort. Gymnastics and competitive sports prepares people well for this!

Times like this (pandemic), when we jump two feet in and help save lives.

The sadness of losing patients. Talking with families and children about difficult steps and decisions in care. Leaving my family to go to work.

I am part of both departmental and hospital level administration. Beyond being accountable to my clinical work (shifts), we are all working hard to make sure we keep up with assuring that the hospital continues to function. This means several daily calls to overcome hurdles such as protective equipment for our MDs, human resource policy adjustments, lab revisions and testing policies, ethics committee meetings sorting out who will set guidelines in resource limited care situations and much more. The dial has been turned up to high, and we are all working to keep delivering the best care to all of our patients.

Accountability, performance under pressure and leadership; all of these are critical in competitive sports, but are also fundamental in my roles as a frontline physician and hospital administrative leader.

My role as an athlete among other really great people and good friends.

Set long and short-term goals. In hindsight these four years will seem so fast, make sure to have fun and hold on to good friends.

It’s the best! Not every job or career allows the level of human impact and purpose that comes with healthcare.