Joy of Nursing and Coaching
In addition to her role as an ED staff nurse, Sarah Carlson is an assistant coach on the Boston College Eagles women’s ice hockey team.
Sarah Joy Carlson’s dream to play college hockey brought her to Boston from Kenny Lake, Alaska, a rural community with fewer than 400 residents. She came to Boston College where she played Division 1 hockey, balancing a busy athletic schedule with the demanding academics and clinical requirements of BC’s Connell School of Nursing.
“It was challenging, and I was always busy, but I feel totally blessed to be in a position to study to be a nurse and play hockey,” said Carlson, who continues to balance nursing and hockey, now as an assistant coach for the nationally-ranked Eagles.
After graduating with her BSN in May 2005, Carlson entered BWH’s newly licensed nurse program in Emergency Medicine. She learned from her ED Nursing educators Nicki Gilboy, MS, RN, CEN, FAEN, and Diane Miller, BS, RN, and her ED clinical colleagues, Jill Leonard, BSN, RN, Brian Johnson, BSN, RN, Melissa Ferraro, BSN, RN, and Laurie Pecoraro, RN.
“Sarah has developed into an excellent emergency nurse, and she’s incredibly humble about it,” said Heidi Crim, BSN, RN, CEN, acting nurse manager in the ED. “She has an empathy that’s beyond words in everything she does, whether it’s empathy for her patients or her peers.”
Crim added, “She’s a quiet, caring person who deserves many accolades but never looks for them.”
Carlson’s resume is filled with awards and leadership posts, including twice serving as captain of the BC hockey team, and she was honored as “college hockey’s finest citizen” with the NCAA Hockey Humanitarian of 2005. Last year, ESPN, the leading national sports network, featured Carlson in a national advertising campaign that showcased college athletes who “turn pro in something other than sports.”
In addition to hockey and nursing, Carlson continues to volunteer and support several charities. She has been to Mexico, Dominican Republic and Ecuador where she has helped build a church, delivered dental care and volunteered at an orphanage. She also volunteers and continues to raise money for Boston-area charities, too.
Carlson is the oldest of seven children. Her father served as principal of her hometown kindergarten through grade 12 school, and her mother is a nurse, too. Kenny Lake is in rural Alaska, about 30 miles from the end of the state-maintained road system and five hours from the nearest McDonald’s.
“I skated on a lot of outdoor rinks growing up, and we did a lot of shoveling,” she said, with her near-permanent smile punctuating her declaration. “And I always dreamed of playing college hockey.”
After her decorated playing career, this is the first season Carlson has served as an assistant coach at BC. The team won the coveted women’s Beanpot in February and advanced to the Women’s Frozen Four as one of the four best teams in the country in March.
“Being able to both coach and be a nurse at the Brigham is so exciting,” Carlson said.
