Georgetown University is home to over 1,200 military-connected students, including service members, veterans and military families. In honor of Veterans Day, we introduce you to a veteran turned student whose military service created a foundation for her career in the medical field.
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Retired Capt. Jaclyn Sison (G’25)
(November 8, 2024) — Retired Capt. Jaclyn Sison (G’25) was a newly admitted student in the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) program at Georgetown’s School of Nursing when she experienced a bit of kismet with a faculty member.
“I received a message from Ms. Z (Elke Zschaebitz, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC) saying she saw my name on the admissions list and that she remembered me,” said Sison. Zschaebitz had been the school nurse at Vilseck High School, a U.S. Department of Defense school in Vilseck, Germany, where Sison’s mother had been stationed. “The military can really feel like a small world sometimes.”
While studying for her Bachelor of Science in nursing degree at Washington State University, Sison had pursued a scholarship with the campus Army ROTC, which led to her commissioning as an Army officer.
Sison with her husband, Sean
As a nurse in the Army, Sison was stationed in Germany, South Korea and Texas during her six years of service and worked on many different hospital units, including medical-surgical (“med-surg”) and labor and delivery.
“I was so lucky to be stationed in several places,” said Sison, who took note of different approaches to medical care while abroad. “One example is of the yearlong postpartum care for new mothers and babies in South Korea that the state funds through support centers,” said Sison, who compared this approach to the U.S., where most new mothers receive almost no support after delivery except for one six-week postpartum appointment.
Sison in her School of Nursing white coat
While in Germany, Sison was stationed with a unit that stabilized soldiers flown in from conflict zones before they were transported out for further care at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Such experiences left Sison with the realization that practicing military medicine was a worldwide endeavor.
After discharging from the Army, Sison wanted to remain close to military members and their families, which led her to accept a position as a government service worker at a Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis–McChord, where she is a population health nurse. She has continued this work while completing her FNP education.
“I primarily work with children of active duty and retired military members practicing preventive medicine, such as making sure families stay up to date on vaccinations,” said Sison. “I grew up a military brat myself, so I felt connected personally to practicing at a military facility and serving these families.”
Heather Wilpone-Welborn
GUMC Communications
