Sherilyn Levy, RN, Staff Nurse, Center for Reproductive Medicine
Delightfully, I have the privilege of telling a handful of women each week that they are pregnant. Unfortunately, I also tell twice as many couples that their fertility cycles were unsuccessful. My role in the Center for Reproductive Medicine is very much an emotional roller coaster, as is the journey to pregnancy for the patients I help treat.
My work at the Center is to critically assess and evaluate the hormonal response to the medical stimulation of the patient’s ovaries and collaborate with my physician partner to deploy the next phase of the medical treatment. Our goal is to achieve a pregnancy via medical stimulation of ovaries, intrauterine insemination, or assisted reproductive technologies (IVF). This process is tremendously stressful to patients and their partners, so we provide simultaneous instruction and counseling to patients and their partners as necessary.
Spending roughly half my workday responding to patients’ questions, I grow to really develop a bond with not only the patient, but her partner as well. It is very unique to be so intimately involved in another couples’ struggle to conceive. A large part of that participation involves teaching and trust. I check my modesty at the door, when discussing the intricate details of fertility cycles, sex and menstrual cycles. Even though the content is highly personal, it is imperative for me to communicate in a very sensitive and specific manner to maximize my patients’ chances for pregnancy and parenthood.
On the flip side of providing emotional support to our patients, we must understand the science of infertility and its treatments. This is extremely interesting to me, and I enjoy the challenge of communicating scientifically complex information in a way that is understandable. Due to a number of factors associated with the couple, the Center offers various methods of treatment. For this reason, I need to collect, organize and assess each couple’s information and then carefully relay precise instructions.
We have recently adopted an exciting new primary nursing model in the Center for Reproductive Medicine. Our nursing practice changes to afford us opportunities to establish individual relationships with our patients. Each of our seven staff nurses is partnered with one or two practice physicians. I work as the nurse partner with two of our Reproductive Specialty physicians. Together we work to create and implement the fertility treatment plan for each couple. We collaboratively manage the patient relationships, plans of care, guidelines, and ethical considerations.
I feel fortunate to be able to spend my day helping to make parenthood a possibility for many couples. We care for couples nationally and internationally, as we have one of the highest rates of pregnancies achieved among other regional infertility programs.
I have a wonderful sense of personal satisfaction because the work I do brings such joy to patients when we are successful in helping our patients achieve their dream.