Stepping across the stage for UNMC’s December commencement marked a milestone for Ian Rich and his family, extending his family’s commitment to nursing.
Rich, who holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing ’24, became a third generation UNMC College of Nursing graduate, following aunt Lisa Kerr Johnson (’75) and grandmother Dixie Kerr (Scott) (’51).
Rich, who now works in the medical intensive care unit at Nebraska Medicine, said his career path was heavily influenced by his family’s involvement in health care. Aside from his aunt and grandmother, Rich’s mother is a speech-language pathologist; his father is an occupational therapist.
The guidance he’s received from his family, he said, has given him a unique perspective of nursing and health care throughout his educational and now professional career.
“It’s been great being able to hear the different viewpoints and stories from my family members’ times in the field of nursing,” he said. “It has taught me many things that I could not have learned from classes in nursing school.”
Kerr Johnson said she’s enjoyed following Rich’s progression through nursing school and can see some of the influences the family’s involvement in health care has had on him.
“I love to hear Ian’s stories and (about) his influences that will lead him along his career,” Kerr Johnson said. “Early in his intensive nursing year, he emailed me to say how he had started pharmacology and loved it.
“He told me he thought that had been inherited from me,” she added, with a laugh.
Kerr Johnson, who transitioned to a career in pharmacy after receiving her associate’s degree in nursing from UNMC, said nursing has continued to play a significant role in her career, particularly through 28 medical mission trips to Haiti.
As a student nurse, Kerr worked at a hospital and was recruited by a surgeon to work as his nurse in central Nebraska following her graduation in 1951.
Rich, who was awarded the UNMC College of Nursing’s Irma Kyle Kramer Award for Academic Achievement, acknowledges that the influence he’s felt throughout his journey has placed him on a path of success. He’s determined to forge a career that both pays respect to his family’s history while making his own, unique mark on the profession.
“I am where I am today because of the influence my family has had on me, but I want to make my own path in the field of nursing,” he said. “I know my family members have provided great care for their patients, so it is important for me to follow their lead and continue providing exceptional care for my patients as well.”
Great story. Family influence often helps us decide where we belong & how we define meaningful work. Congratulations Rich!
Ian congratulations! The nursing profession is blessed to have you!