Her Story
About Elizabeth
I've been working in applied clinical healthcare for about 8 years now, having graduated college in 2018 and jumped right into the workforce. My current position as a clinical exercise physiologist in outpatient cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation is relatively new - I've been here about 4 months - but it's been amazing. I really feel so much joy, and just feel like this is the perfect place for me personally to make an actual change in people's lives. I have the skill set to monitor patients with chronic illness, seeing how they're doing on a day-to-day basis, their vitals and wellness history, and being able to see the whole scope of their wellness versus just bits and pieces. Previously, I worked in exercise-based cancer research, recruiting patients for clinical research studies that asked questions about their health at different time points during their cancer treatment - before, during, and after - and seeing how different exercise modalities could help improve or reduce the decline that they go through. A lot of people are just going through a lot, and they're overwhelmed, and they just want someone to talk about it. I was often the last person on their docket, and one of the only people to actually listen to what was going on for them. That experience, knowing that people just want agency and someone to see them and hold space for them, has helped me in my current role. I joke that I'm their cheerleader, but also their nagger, which is kind of hilarious. A lot of times people just need a friend, they just need someone to encourage them. I usually tell people happy whatever day it is, and we're gonna fake it till we make it and do what we can.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Elizabeth
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think it's more or less that I've continued to grow in my field versus becoming a little bit complacent, because it's easy to, like, when you're in a certain role, you're... it's easy to not want to push yourself to do the next thing. But luckily in my new role, I've been able to be encouraged to get more training, so being certified through ACSM as a clinical exercise physiologist, as well as getting ACLS certified - both are improving my knowledge and ability to handle more complicated cases and patients while they're here for care. So I think for me, being able to continue to grow is an achievement of itself.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I have my little reminder that I tell myself every time, because it's easy to get caught up in where you think you should be, and whatnot, but the reality is that women belong in all places where decisions are made, and that's a quote by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and I have that on a pen on my desk, so I keep that in mind all the time.
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