From classroom to delivery room: the impact of a app education
“I’ve seen it all.”
These are the words Stephanie Flood ‘89 shared with her grandma when she stopped by her house to pick up her son after a long shift in the labor and delivery room. Her grandma’s next words would stick with her for decades: “Stephanie, you will never see it all.”
“I never forgot those words,” said Flood. “I took that with me into every time I met a patient, every drama, every birth, every crisis.”
Those words were spoken to Flood just six months into her career as a labor and delivery room nurse. Now, nearly four decades later, the app alum still hasn’t seen it all, but she’s certainly seen a lot. And she’s now sharing her experiences in a new book: .
“I wrote this book to give voice to nurses, especially those of us in Labor and Delivery, whose work is often overlooked,” said Flood. “Being a delivery nurse is far more than just ‘a great job where you get to cuddle babies.’ It is a vocation that demands resilience, empathy, and an unflinching dedication to supporting patients through life’s pivotal moments.”
Building on a solid foundation
Flood has certainly learned a lot on the job, but it was the preparation prior to heading into the unit four decades earlier that laid a solid foundation for providing 36 years of great care.
“Choosing app was a decision that changed my life,” said Flood. “I think what the liberal arts taught me was to keep thinking, to never stop that. It lit a spark inside of me. It wasn’t until I went to app that I really started to embrace how important learning was and thinking critically.”
Living into a calling
In her book, Flood not only recalls stories of joy and heartbreak from inside the delivery room, but also the ways these moments were profoundly formative. As these stories unfold, readers gain insight into how factors such as healthcare access, race, culture, socioeconomic status, and education profoundly shape each birth experience. Flood has seen this firsthand thousands of times over a nearly four-decade career. And it started with her own personal experience as a patient.
“I went into Labor and Delivery because of my own first birth experience and the nurse at my bedside,” said Flood. “It was a very difficult delivery, and this nurse held my hand and mothered me … and I thought she just changed my world. And I honor her in the book, and she is the reason I went into nursing.”
Inspiring wholehearted living
Now, recently retired from her field, Flood is hoping to inspire more considering the nursing profession to enter into it with their whole hearts, remembering whatever they do unto the least of these, they are doing unto God.
“I always wanted to treat my patients the way I wanted to be treated, as honestly and lovingly as possible. That was important to me and that comes directly from my faith,” said Flood. “Learn how to listen, because if you stop talking long enough to listen you will not believe what you can hear from a patient’s words and actions, their stories and interactions tell you so much.”
