Cindy Jacobs often dreamed of visiting far-away lands growing up
as the youngest of seven on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
“I always thought I would join the Air Force because I wanted to go
places,” said the young woman in a white lab coat. “I wanted to go to different
countries.”
But pulled by family ties to stay near her home among the gentle, rolling
greenery of Pine Ridge, the Ogallala Sioux woman went to Chadron State
College on an Indian Health Service (IHS) Science and Engineering scholarship.
“I thought I’d go to school for a year and see if I liked it,” she said.
“And then I never did stop going to school.”
Not until she graduated in 1991 with a biology degree. After graduation,
Jacobs went to work at a water-testing laboratory in Rapid City for six
months, then returned home to work as a pharmacy technician at Pine Ridge
Hospital for about four years. During that time she became a single mom
and saw the need for a better paying job and was ready for a challenge.
Her co-workers were encouraging her to go back to school to become a
pharmacist, but she had begun to work in the clinical laboratory.
Jacobs said. “I liked it and thought what they were doing was really interesting.”
With her science background, she was in good shape to enter the University
of Nebraska Medical Center’s medical technology program. She only needed
to take a few classes to meet the pre-requisites. And thanks to the UNMC
distance learning program, Jacobs didn’t have to relocate to Omaha for
school. She could stay closer to home while in Kearney for the three-month
Student Laboratory and in North Platte at Great Plains Regional Medical
Center where she spent nine months for clinical education. Cindy
graduated from UNMC with a B.S. in Medical Technology in 1999.
Founded in 1931 as the second medical technology program in the United
States, UNMC’s program has grown in many ways since then. In 1947, it became
the first program to offer a Bachelor of Science degree in Nebraska.
And in 1991, it began a distance-learning program that has graduated a
total of 87 students with sites in Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney and
North Platte.
The program consistently ranks in the top 20 percent nationally with
a national certification pass rate of 99 percent, compared with the national
average of 79 percent.
“I thought the program was really good,’ Jacobs said. “No complaints.”
But that doesnt mean the program was a breeze. With daily tests, classes,
laboratory experience and with a 4-year-old son to care for, “intense”
was the word Jacobs kept repeating.
That time stood out in other people’s minds as well.
“That’s hard work,” said Jacobs’ mother, Carol Jacobs. “When I heard
her studying some of those words in medical technology, I thought, ‘Why
did she pick that field? It’s hard!’ But it appealed to her.”
Besides the competitive pay and comfortable work hours, Jacobs finds
many other aspects of medical technology appealing. Performing a full gamut
of laboratory tests involving hematology, microbiology and immunology,
it offers variety. Drawing blood from patients and consulting with other
medical professionals, it offers the right amount of people contact. And
with all the science she learned and the hands-on nature of the job, it
offers a solid foundation if she wants to pursue other professions such
as medicine or physician assistant.
“I know a lot of doctors go through the med tech program before they
go to medical school,” Jacobs said. “A lot of the students that I went
to school with were pre-med.”
But for now, Jacobs is happy as a medical technologist. Her job has
given her the best of both worlds B the chance to stay close to family
and make a good living on the reservation and the chance to travel to places
like Sacramento and Philadelphia for new lab equipment training.
Her journey in the profession also taught her more than science. During
her time in Kearney and North Platte, places she never would have lived
otherwise, she enjoyed novel experiences.
“Kearney was the furthest I lived away from home… And the people were
so friendly. That’s what I liked most.”
Cindy highly recommends medical technology to Native Americans. Besides
the fact that there aren’t many in the profession, she knows what a difference
they can make.
“I think it helps when Indians come in to the hospital,” she said. “I
think they’re more open with you. They tell you more than they would to
a non-Native hospital staff, and that often results in better patient outcomes.
“IHS is always encouraging you to go on and scholarships are available,”
Jacobs said. “They really want to help you.”