The Mother Baby Center is made up of an extraordinary staff of talented, dedicated health care professionals. This week, we’d like to introduce Shannon Cheng, RNC.
What is your job title? Describe your role.
I am an registered nurse certified at The Mother Baby Center. That means I have my RN license, as well being certified in inpatient obstetrics. As far as my role here, I am a staff nurse, preceptor, and I am occasionally charge RN. I’m also the member of several committees. For example, I’m part of the OQC, which is a hospital-wide committee that is dedicated to improving patient outcomes. I’m part of a group that is working toward streamlining new employee orientation. Teaching new staff members is my favorite role, and I’m passionate about making sure new staff members feel welcome and good about being prepared once orientation is over. Whether they are fresh out of school, have years of labor experience or are somewhere in between, I love to see the growth from being scared to step in the building to being a confident labor and delivery nurse.
I’ve worked in labor and delivery nursing since 1997. I went straight into labor and delivery out of nursing school, which is unusual. Typically, nurses start out working in a general medical/surgical area. But I was always certain I wanted to work in labor; I find it fascinating, challenging, exciting, and it just never stops being fresh and new. Every delivery is just a little bit different from the one before.
What’s the best part about working at The Mother Baby Center?
My favorite thing about The Mother Baby Center is hard to pinpoint. There is so much to love. This is the fifth hospital I’ve worked at over the years, and by far, this is the best. I have no plans to ever leave! The patient mix is good – anything from the highest-risk patients to women who are seeking deliveries without any interventions. The technology here is amazing. But, I suppose overall, I would have to say that it is my coworkers. The level of professionalism I see here is second to none. From the management level to the doctors and nurses and all the ancillary staff – people just seem proud to work here. I’m super-impressed that we always stay on top of the latest research and are certain to provide evidenced-based care.
What is your favorite activity outside of work?
Outside of work, I love to read and relax in my South Minneapolis home. I’ve recently developed a love of decorating my 1910 arts-and-crafts-style home. As much as I am a homebody, my family and I LOVE to travel. There is so much of the world to see, and I want to see it all!
What’s a little-known, fun fact about you?
I have 14-year-old boy-girl twins. One fun fact about me – my husband, Fred, and I met doing a high school play in which we played husband and wife.