Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn. - Benjamin Franklin

"I am not a teacher, but an awakener. - Robert Frost

I have now reached the age where what time lies ahead is no doubt less than what lies behind, even if 60 is the new 50. Along with an entirely unwelcome change in the functioning of my joints comes a very welcome change in the functioning of my brain, less anxiety and stress, more tolerance and patience, and more contemplation of the how and why of all things. But sadly, what also comes with age is the passing of friends and colleagues who have been crucial to the how and why of my own life and career. One such person was Dr John Hobart, who passed away just before Christmas last year, and is missed by all who knew him. His death leaves the world a smaller place for me, and I want to tell you a little bit about him from my personal perspective, as John was my first mentor.

I met John when I was working as a nurse's aide on a postpartum unit (we would not become a "mother-baby" unit until the following year). He was a maternal-fetal medicine fellow from Northwestern and was moonlighting in the labor and delivery unit of the community hospital where I worked. I was just out of high school and had begun nursing school, and one of the assignments (for the life of me I cannot recall why, and it seems a bit odd now) was to spend a day "shadowing" a physician in a clinical setting. John and I had become friends, and he was very much like a big brother to me, so I arranged to spend the day with him at Northwestern observing a prenatal clinic. This was the beginning of a mentorship that shaped my career.

I remember John patiently teaching me how to perform Leopold maneuvers so that I could identify the baby's back and find heart tones, not with a Doppler device but with a fetoscope. What a thrill it was for me when, by the end of the clinic, I was able to correctly perform the maneuvers and locate the fetal heart tones on my own. John absolutely loved what he did, and as the aforementioned quotes reflect, he both involved me and awakened in me a love of all things obstetric.

But in 1979, when I graduated nursing school, finding a job in a specialty area of nursing like labor and delivery was not easily accomplished, and most hospitals would not even consider hiring a new graduate into the labor and delivery setting. Knowing my desire, and perhaps seeing something in me that mirrored his own love of obstetrics, John arranged for me to have an interview with the manager of the labor and delivery unit at Northwestern's Prentice Women's Hospital, at the time considered one of the most prestigious hospitals in Chicago.

Terribly nervous but fervent about the opportunity, I put on my best suit (dry clean only!) and went down to meet with the manager, Shari Haney. Who knows why she hired me, was it solely on John's recommendation, were my interviewing skills great, or did she just need a young nurse who was willing to work nights and would be forever grateful for the opportunity? I hope it was a combination of all of those, but whatever the reason or reasons, I got the job! I worked with John there during his fellowship and followed him later to Evanston Hospital where I helped develop a maternal transport program for high-risk mothers. John also introduced me to Nancy Jo Reedy, the first nurse-midwife at Prentice, and the reason I went to midwifery school. John's mentorship lead to Nancy Jo's and Nancy Jo's to my first public presentation on fetal monitoring, a discussion of the pros and cons of the technology. I have to laugh today when I think of that lecture all those years ago, just as relevant now as then.

There have been many more mentors in my life and career, and I am sure nurses reading this column can provide a similar story of how they found their passion. All these years later, I now have the opportunity to do some mentoring of my own. Maddalena, one of my "nieces" (my girlfriend's daughter), is now a young labor and delivery nurse, working nights of course, at a Chicago hospital. She will join me at her first national obstetric nursing conference (the AWHONN meeting in Long Beach) this year, and she is as excited as I was as a new graduate. Maddalena tells me that listening to my stories over the years is what made her want to become a nurse, and I very proud to have her join the obstetric community. I am also thrilled that she is pursuing a doctorate in midwifery and women's health. I feel that any support and guidance I can offer her really reflect the debts owed to John, Nancy, Shari, and the countless others who gave me opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive in my career. I hope that all those who read this column will take a moment to think about who inspired them, who offered support and help, and who provided those opportunities that turn a career into a calling. And, moving forward, I hope we can all share our passion for perinatal nursing with the young nurses who look to us for mentoring. Let's awaken, involve, and inspire!

-Lisa A. Miller, CNM, JD

Founder

Perinatal Risk Management and Education Services

Portland, Oregon

[email protected]