A Day in the Life

Stacey IobstThere is no such thing as a typical day for University of Maryland School of Nursing PhD student Stacey Iobst, BSN, BA, RNC-OB, C-EFM. Whether she's fulfilling her role as student, bedside nurse, wife, or mother, each day is different. She attributes her ability to transition among her roles to being organized, mastering multitasking, and relying on her husband, Adam, whom she says helps her keep a sense of humor, especially during the most challenging times. Iobst relies on Google Calendar to manage multiple schedules for school, work, and family. She syncs these calendars with those of her husband and other family members to ensure that her son, Jesse, 8, and daughter, Julie, 6, are accounted for while she is in class two days a week. Additionally, Iobst uses the Kindle version of textbooks whenever available to help lighten her load. Not only does this format ensure that she has access to her textbooks through her tablet or smartphone, but it also allows her to search quickly for specific terms or notes in the e-books. Iobst enjoys regular exercise to help manage her stress and health, fitting in studying by listening to video lectures while walking on the Sligo Creek path near her home in Montgomery County, Maryland. She’s even able to walk while participating in webinars that are required of her as a Robert Wood Johnson Future of Nursing Scholar or while taking part in conference calls with fellow leadership council members from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing's Graduate Nursing Student Academy. In addition to managing her academic and family responsibilities, Iobst works at Holy Cross Hospital, in Silver Spring, Maryland, as a clinical nurse in the labor and delivery unit. She values continuing to work at the bedside because it motivates her to pursue a career as a nurse researcher, for which her ultimate goal is to improve childbirth for women in the United States.