“I’ve always had a passion for taking care of people.”
As a child, Kelli, RN, saw the way her grandmother treated everyone like family – even strangers.
It inspired her to pursue her own career in nursing.
“I’ve always had a passion for taking care of people and serving people,” says Kelli, a senior professional staff nurse at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center.
Before becoming a nurse, Kelli worked as a research coordinator at UPMC. Learning about patients and talking to them about their experiences spurred her to go to nursing school.
She found a home at UPMC Hillman, where she worked as a treatment nurse in the Clinical and Translational Research Center. She monitored patients while they received treatment during clinical trials, providing necessary one-on-one care.
“I just love Hillman,” Kelli says. “It’s just amazing. I love the people here that I work with. I love the patients that I take care of. You want to come here and take care of these patients.”
Kelli recently moved into a new position in UPMC Hillman’s Wellness and Integrative Oncology Program. The program focuses on whole-person care for oncology patients, improving their quality of life.
Although her job changed, Kelli’s motivation remains the same: helping people. She says oncology patients are “one of a kind,” and she wants to be there for them.
“You never truly know what the day’s going to look like,” she says. “There are a lot of speed bumps and hurdles that you might have to overcome each day, but you know you’re here for the patients. They are just so appreciative of everything we do for them, and it’s just very rewarding.”
At UPMC, Life Changing Medicine means a passion for helping other people
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