Motivated to Care - Lindsey Michaud ’17
In acknowledgment of the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, Collegium is highlighting alumni who, in their own unique ways, embody what it means to be a “Fisher Nurse.” In this installment, meet Lindsey Michaud ’17
When Lindsey Michaud ’17 was a student at Fisher, she could be found in the Donald E. Bain Campus Center talking to fellow students about the club Colleges Against Cancer. Additionally, one night each spring, she’d spend 12 hours walking laps around the fieldhouse as a part of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.
Her advocacy for cancer patients only increased after graduation, when she took a position working in the bone marrow transplant unit at the Wilmot Cancer Center. Calling it one of the most rewarding experiences she has ever had, Michaud assisted patients undergoing transplants, caring for each upwards of a month at a time.
“You become strongly connected to your patients. It’s a very bonded experience,” she said.
Seeing patients in the center’s lobby, now healthy and strong after successful treatments, has been especially gratifying. “I knew going into the profession that as a nurse, I would be able to make a difference, but I didn’t realize how much these patients would shape me as a nurse.”
Michaud recently transitioned to the center’s ambulatory hematology oncology clinic, working as a triage nurse on the outpatient side.
“I’m the voice on the other side of the phone when a patient calls with a question or concern,” she said, adding that she will often work with patients to assess their situation and provide recommendations for treatment.
She said coordinating care and assessing patients is preparing her well to become a nurse practitioner, as she is able to independently work with a patient and, in coordination with doctors and nurse practitioners, make a plan for patient care.
“I always intended to become a nurse practitioner, and when it came time to think about going back, I knew that I was going to go back to Fisher,” said Michaud, who is currently pursuing a master’s degree as a family nurse practitioner. “The degree is helping me think through my own patient recommendations and show the doctors and nurse practitioners I work with now that I can think critically and look ahead about how to help patients in different scenarios.”
As she goes about her work, Michaud said she draws on her education in the nursing program and the College’s motto every day.
“I practice using goodness, discipline, and knowledge,” she said. “The discipline helps me figure out my time management; the knowledge is the skills I’ve learned in the program and the SIM lab, and every day, goodness is the way that I care for my patients. I have it in my heart.
“I know why I come to work every day, and I am passionate and motivated to care for my patients.”