Nursing Student's Clinical Experience at World-class Research Hospital

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

May graduate Molly Quinn Johnson completed one of her final clinical experiences this past spring at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit in Memphis. This experience was especially meaningful to Quinn Johnson, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin follicular lymphoma at the age of 14. Her local health care team worked with St. Jude to find a cure for her. “Having a clinical experience at St. Jude was a dream,” said Quinn Johnson. She learned to provide nursing care for patients ranging from new-born to age 17, all of whom were experiencing life-threatening illnesses. She said the most significant aspect of her experience was learning the importance of teamwork. “The teamwork of the staff was inspiring, because the focus never left the children or their families.” During her experience, she had the opportunity to meet Dr. John Sandlund, one of the health care providers who developed a treatment plan that helped save her life. She ran into Sandlund in the cafeteria on her first day in the hospital. “It was on my bucket list to thank him for helping save my life,” said Quinn Johnson. “He is an exceptional physician who drastically improved my outcome as a patient.”