About Sarah McMahon “Medicine is always evolving,” says Sarah McMahon. “Sometimes you will learn something from a colleague, but there are so many lessons you can learn from your patients as well!” Sarah came to a career in medicine due to being fascinated with health and medicine going back to her days in elementary school. Coming from a family of educators, she always thought she would become a teacher. However, her dad encouraged her to follow her passion and her mom said she wished she had been a nurse, herself. So, Sarah looked into nursing and says the rest is history. “It was definitely what I was called to do,” Sarah says. “After working as a bedside nurse for some time, I decided I wanted to continue on and become a nurse practitioner.” She earned her MSN degree from Goshen College in Indiana, with a focus in Family Nurse Practitioner. Her BSN is from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN. Her clinical work and experience have been at Boling Vision Center in the INSIGHT Surgery Center, Beacon Children’s Hospital in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the NICU Couplet Care Unit. Her work in the NICU and at a surgery center allowed her to combine her two passions of NICU/pediatrics and surgery. While people always ask how she can do such a sad job in working with sick kids, she looks at it differently. “Kids are so resilient and have strength that is inspiring. Even on their worst days, kids can find a reason to smile,” she says. “The tiniest patients can show you the most strength and resiliency.” Sarah approaches her practice by treating each patient as if they were family. “I am blessed that parents entrust me with their children's care, so I am going to do whatever I can for their precious little ones.” In her own words… Who is or was the most influential people/role models in your life? My parents, because I am who I am because of them. What was your first job growing up? What do you remember about it? I was a babysitter. I remember how much fun the kids were; they always kept me on my toes! What is your favorite food? Movie? I love all kinds of food, but if I had to choose, I would have to say pizza or chicken wings. My favorite movie would probably be, Remember the Titans. What was your best/worst subjects in school growing up? I don't know if I had a best subject in school; maybe math or science. English was probably my worst, or at least my least favorite. I hated writing papers. In addition to medicine, what are you passionate about? Trying to be 1% better than I was the day before. There is always room for improvement. What are your hobbies, interests? I love hanging out with my family. I have two kids, so much of my "free" time is tangled up with them! We love the zoo, dance parties, and playing at the playground. I love cheering on Notre Dame, the Cincinnati Reds, the Indianapolis Colts, and the Chicago Blackhawks. My husband and I enjoy visiting different MLB ballparks. Being Reds fans, our favorite is Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati!