6 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J U L Y 2 0 1 8
What kind of reception did you get
when you returned to work?
The race was on a Monday and I was back in the OR at 6:30 a.m.
on Thursday. My colleagues were awesome and so supportive.
They got me a chocolate cake and we had a little celebration. The
first patient of the day wanted to take a selfie with me. That was
pretty neat. I'm currently training for the 2020 Olympic marathon
trials. I run about 90 miles a week and usually get up at 4 a.m. to
get the road work in before heading to the hospital.
Why did you decide to become a CRNA?
My dad is an orthopedic surgeon and got me interested in the
field when he said he loves the anesthetists he works with. I'm
very much into the science and physiology behind anesthesia, and
in surgery you learn something new every day. I like that.
Can you take lessons from this experience into the OR?
For sure. There's a steep learning curve in anesthesia, and it can
be a tough profession. During marathons, it's easy to get down on
yourself and start doubting if you'll make it, but you just focus on
small goals along the way until you get through the mental strug-
gle. I also think my story shows that working hard and having big
goals can pay off.
OSM
Ms. Sellers (sarahsellers2000@gmail.com) is a nurse anesthetist at
Banner-University Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz. She finished the
Boston Marathon in 2:44:04.
