From mother to mentor: A UC Davis Health duo making a difference together

Jeanelle Rosario submitted a story suggestion via the Insider link about how amazing it has been to work at UC Davis Health alongside her mother, Joan.

“I look up to my mother very much and know it would mean a lot to her if we were featured together,” Rosario said.

With Mother’s Day taking place on May 10, it’s the perfect time to spotlight a mother-daughter duo that has worked side-by-side right here at UC Davis Health.

Internal Communications reached out to the family to ask about their experience.

How long have you been with UC Davis Health?

Joan: I've worked with UC Davis Health for 23 years in June.

Jeanelle: I've been with UCD since 2019.

How closely do you work together? 

Joan: I'm under Patient Care Resources and work as a STAN nurse for all ICU units, so I have worked directly with Jeanelle in her home unit, MSICU Blue.  

Jeanelle, did you immediately join a role that was close to your mom’s?

Jeanelle: I joined first as a volunteer on the cardiology floor, then in 2021 as a patient escort while in nursing school, and finally in 2022 as a new graduate RN. I started off as a nurse in the critical care float pool, and my mom started critical care the year before. We were on separate units for a while, so we never really crossed paths until my mom joined the ICU float pool. 

Joan, did you work in this field when Jeanelle was a child?  

Joan: I've always worked in the healthcare field since Jeanelle was a child, but not always as a nurse.  I started as a MOSC for Elk Grove PCN.  Then I was a HUSC at East 4 when I started, bringing Jeanelle to work with me at the hospital.  She was about four years old then. I then transferred to Tower 8 Transplant, and that's when I decided to go back to school to start taking nursing school prerequisites. Jeanelle was 10 when I finally got into nursing school. Jeanelle was 12 when I graduated from nursing school at Sacramento State, then got hired at T8 as a new grad RN.  

Jeanelle, how much influence would you say your mom has had on your career?

My mom has had a significant influence on my career, especially throughout my nursing journey. While I had to discover my own passion for nursing, she played a major role in guiding me along the way. My mom and I both had the same paths towards nursing, first going to community college and then transferring to Sac State for our BSNs. It was really helpful having her as a guide with prerequisites and graduation requirements because I know that can be incredibly confusing and overwhelming on your own. My mom, being such a good mentor, played a huge role in me getting my BSN relatively quickly. She even told me about the different career paths within nursing, with me first hearing about the CRNA profession from her. Now, as I prepare for graduate school, it feels like uncharted territory, since I’m going down an unfamiliar path and moving to a city far from home. Although I’m anxious for my new journey, I’m excited to take this next step and build a career that feels like my own.

Did either of you ever dream you’d work together one day?  

Joan: Not really, since Jeanelle really didn't decide that she wanted to be a nurse until her senior year in high school. I'll never forget when she told me that she wanted to be a nurse and the first thing I said was ‘Why?’ I think, in my mind, I didn't want her to be a nurse because it's a difficult job as a whole - physically, mentally, emotionally. I think as a parent, I was worried for her to be so young in such a role. Jeanelle got her nursing license at 21, which was way younger than I was when I got mine. As a nurse, you take care of patients often at their worst. The heartbreaks you deal with…I wanted to protect her from that. Jeanelle went to nursing school in fall of 2020, which was the height of Covid, so it was definitely terrifying then.  

Jeanelle: No, I never imagined that we'd work together. It's funny because I initially didn't think I’d be a nurse. Nursing was something I gradually found a passion for, first through volunteering and then in nursing school. It was really meaningful to me to help and care for people who were going through really difficult times, and to have a positive impact on them. I remember when I heard my mom was assigned to my unit we both thought that would be pretty funny, but ironically, we ended up being pretty opposite schedules. We probably worked maybe three or four shifts together. It was funny when we'd work together because I’d call her "Mom" out loud which was kind of weird in that professional environment, but I found it even weirder calling her ‘Jojo.’ She was next door in MSICU Gold for a while too, which was really comforting to have her nearby. Some days I would have no time to get lunch together for work, but I knew I could just message her and ask if she had any food for me.  

 What is it like to work together? 

Joan: It was definitely weird in the beginning but it's fun now. The first time I actually worked with her, she was still a nursing student doing her rotation in Tower 8 and I had to give her report. In the ICU, the first time we worked together was when I got assigned to her unit as STAN nurse for the first time. On my first night working there, she offered to help me with a patient's bath, which I appreciated. There were a few shifts later on that she was the charge nurse, so while it was weird for my kid to boss me around, it's definitely a proud mama moment for me.

Jeanelle: I loved working together with my mom. I’m grateful that the unit culture of MSICU Blue is so supportive, but having my mom on the unit with me is just an entirely different level of feeling supported. I knew that if I was really busy with tasks, she would be there to help me without having to ask. She's helped me with basic patient care, such as getting my patient ready for bed, all the way up to high-stress situations like emergent intubation. Although my mom is really helpful, my favorite thing about working with my mom is feeling helpful and knowledgeable to her. I've looked up to my mom for such a long, long time, and to be considered colleagues now is really meaningful to me. Sometimes I find my mom asking me questions I actually know the answer to, and to be able to provide that information and be helpful to her is very rewarding to me. She's always guided me in school and life and to feel like I can give back to her is really special to me.

What is the best thing about working together?

Joan: There was one time we were rapidly intubating a patient, and it was the team with me and Jeanelle as the nurses. Once we were done, one of the nurses commented to the doctors that we're the "mother-daughter ICU team."  Seeing your kid in action and doing it well is such an exhilarating and proud moment for me as a parent. By the time this article is printed, Jeanelle will have left UC Davis and transferred to UCLA. She is about to start CRNA school this month at USC. I'm sad to not be able to work with her anymore but excited for the future ahead of her.    

Do you have any funny stories about working together?

Joan: I think the funniest thing is that Jeanelle didn't want to waste narcotics with me at the Pyxis because she said we're family and people might think we're not actually wasting the narcotics and hoarding them. It was hilarious.  

Another funny one was when I asked Jeanelle to do an ultrasound IV start on my patient, but I apparently forgot to mention that my patient is grumpy, and she wasn't prepared to deal with that. I got scolded for not warning her.  

Jeanelle: I remember my mom had asked for my help doing an ultrasound IV on a patient who was a difficult stick, and I had asked my mom before I went in if the patient was ready and aware to which she said yes, but when I went in the patient's room, they were not super happy to be woken up to get poked.

When you get together outside of work, how much of the conversation is about work?

Joan: About 75 to 100 percent. We tend to unload on each other since there's not many in my family that are in the medical field, especially ICU. I tell her when I have a bad day at work. She tries to tell me when she has a bad day at work but being the mom that I am, sometimes I tend to be critical, so I don't think she tells me about her work as often as I do to her.

Jeanelle: I would say maybe about 60-75% of our conversations are about work. My mom is my No. 1 person to go to when I need to talk about something work-related, whether that be a complex patient case I had the opportunity to be involved in, or having a bad shift where I felt like I could've done better. My mom keeps it very real, never saying what I want to hear, but what I need to hear. Her mindset and attitude keep me moving forward, which is really helpful for me since I’m an overthinker. Even though we talk about work often, I never feel like it's too much. Talking to my mom about work helps take some weight off my shoulders and I find it to be incredibly self-soothing. I feel like if I didn't have my mom to talk to about work I would've been burned out a long time ago.

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Since this story began, Jeanelle has moved on to UCLA. The bottom right photograph in the collage captures their final shift together, a meaningful moment marking the end of one chapter. After years of working side by side, Joan now watches her daughter take the next step in her journey, leaving the nest to pursue CRNA school at USC. While it brings sadness to see her go, it also reflects the strength of the foundation they built together at UC Davis Health, one rooted in mentorship, resilience and an unbreakable mother-daughter bond.

Internal Communications wishes Jeanelle the very best as she begins this new chapter, and extends a heartfelt Happy Mother’s Day to Joan and all mothers across UC Davis Health.