Internship leads Wood to job in pediatrics

Fifth-year midfielder Lexie Wood spent her summer preparing for what her future will look like once she steps off the field at the end of the fall season. 

Wood is completing her final semester of nursing school and plans to begin a career in pediatric nursing after graduation. Over the summer she prepared for this next step by interning as a clinical nurse for Sanford. 

This opportunity gave Wood the ability to practice being a nurse on her own, including making assessments on patients and delivering medications. Wood said this gave her a confidence boost and provided assurance that her time at Sanford has set her up for a successful career.

“This summer I worked with adults on the medical surgery floor and found out that med surg is not for me,” Wood said. “However, I also learned so many skills and got an overview that will help me in my last semester of nursing school.”

Her summer internship helped Wood solidify her desire to work in pediatric nursing. She said while there is an extra challenge involved when working with children, she knows she will enjoy being surrounded by kids daily.

“Children are harder because you’re also working with the family and sometimes when working in the pediatric ICU you have an age range from a day old to 18, so the skills you have to have to work with all of those age ranges is so much,” Wood said. 

Over the summer Wood also took a trip to Cincinnati with her friend where she was introduced to the pediatric nursing program at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Both Wood and her friend thought they were just shadowing at the hospital, but then were thrown into an interview and offered a job on the spot.

“They are ranked number one in the nation for children’s hospitals, so it’s kind of hard to say no,” Wood said. “They’re just amazing. Their technology is awesome and they’re number one so there’s literally nowhere better to start.”

With a job in hand, once Wood finishes up the fall soccer season and final semester of nursing school, she will be moving to Cincinnati to become a pediatric nurse. 

But for now, Wood is hoping to make her last semester as a Coyote the best one yet, especially on the soccer field.

“I’m honestly just trying to enjoy every second of it because I know it’s going to go by so fast,” Wood said. “Soccer has been everything to me for 17 years, but I’m also excited to start this new chapter in my life.”

Wood and her teammates host Iowa in an exhibition match at 11 a.m. Saturday at First Bank & Trust Soccer Complex.