Sarah Siebert, RN, MSN CRRN, ’10, ‘13
Outstanding Young Owl
Admiring her grandfather’s work as a physician and the nursing careers of her grandmother and aunt, Sarah Siebert sensed that one day she would carry on her family’s legacy of caring. There was no question that she found joy in helping others, so when as a high school student she was presented with the opportunity to take part, through her local church in a one-week youth mission to Honduras, Sarah signed up without a moment’s hesitation. In Honduras, she witnessed widespread suffering due to poverty-related diseases and malnutrition. She reached out to those around her with kindness and expected nothing in return.
Back from the mission, Sarah dived into a high school anatomy course and excelled. With her affinity toward the sciences and her passion for bettering the world, she saw nursing as a field that would offer her tremendous personal satisfaction and professional growth. “While the highly selective admission process at FAU’s College of Nursing was a bit intimidating, I was accepted into the program and began my undergraduate studies in the fall of 2006,” said Sarah “I embraced the College of Nursing’s caring culture – a culture that extended to the way students were treated. I never felt like a number in a classroom.”
While earning a BSN degree in 2010, Sarah was hired as a nurse extern at Delray Medical Center. Continuing to work at Delray Medical Center Sarah enrolled in the inaugural class of FAU’s Master of Science in Nursing Administration and Financial Leadership program at the College of Nursing. With grant support that provided an opportunity to have workshops with renowned “nurse futurist” Dr. Tim Porter-O’Grady, the program was designed to prepare a new generation of nurses for emerging leadership roles at hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and clinics. This graduate program ensures that nurse leaders of tomorrow are well prepared to handle the complexities of healthcare today.
Earning a master’s degree in 2013, Sarah, took the position of Director of Nursing at Pinecrest Rehabilitation at Delray Medical Center in 2014. She is in charge of staff recruitment, development, training and retention; facility accreditation in stroke and spinal cord injury services; policies and procedures; and budgeting. “I am so grateful to have been a part of FAU’s innovative graduate program, “says Sarah. “By learning the managerial skills in advance of starting my leadership job, I had the inner confidence needed to succeed.”