Becoming a nurse takes a lot of hard work and dedication, and the nurses at the Sonoma State University Student Health Center work extremely hard to make sure that all students are assessed correctly. Among these nurses is Ms. Jessicca Lee. 

Lee completed the nursing program at Santa Rosa Junior College in 2012 and she has worked in the areas of skilled nursing, long term care, and clinical triage until early 2020. She then applied online and received a nursing position at Sonoma State University in May 2020. 

Lee describes her journey in becoming a nurse as her highest achievement. “My biggest accomplishment is putting myself through pre-nursing education and then later Nursing school all on my own while working 2-3 jobs up until graduating at age 30.” Lee said.

When deciding on a career, Lee chose the health care route because it gave her the opportunity to help her community. “I liked the idea of choosing a career that provided me with a sense of purpose and the ability to assist other members in my community with their health care needs.” Lee said. 

Lee especially enjoys working with college students because she is able to learn more about their specific health requirements. For example, STIs and safe sex education. “Being a nurse at SSU has changed my life in that I can better identify with the college age group.” Lee said “I love working with the young adult age group, students who have a unique set of healthcare needs that I can educate myself about in order to provide the best care for them.”

When she isn’t working, Lee likes spending her free time hiking. She also watches and plays Jeopardy every evening at home. In addition, Lee also has a two year old daughter that she loves to dance-ercise with. “I am proud to be a nurse and the only other job I feel is more important than that is my other full time job of being a mother to my two year old.” Lee said.

Lee’s role at the Student Health Center is crucial right now because she is the COVID-19  nurse. She handles all of the concerns revolving around COVID-19 for the students at Sonoma State. She is responsible for screening COVID-related symptoms in students, triaging and scheduling appointments and answering all questions in relation to COVID. “My favorite part of the job is learning about the COVID-19 virus and getting up to date on the newest information and ever-evolving healthcare facts so that I can educate our students.” Lee said

Not only do students rely on her for COVID help, other staff members do as well. With her knowledge on the virus, her co-workers often get advice from her. “She has been a tour de force with the management of our COVID surveillance and I have come to rely on her clear clinical judgment.” said Dr. Timothy Kaczmar, Health Center physician. “She has become a valued member of our team at SHC.”

In addition to her COVID responsibilities, Lee also provides all the other required immunizations in order for students to meet the Sonoma State requirement while attending the Health Center currently. 

When it comes to her direct patient care obligations, Lee works closely with the physicians to ensure that the assessment of a patient is accurate and thorough. “Jessicca is a pleasure to work with.” Dr. Margot Brown, Health Center physician, said. “She is very detail oriented; we are very lucky to have her on our team.”