In the spotlight: Sarah Kirke, MSN

Name: Sarah Kirke 

Hometown: Atlantic, Iowa

Title and department at UNMC and Nebraska Medicine: Patient Safety and Quality Coordinator, Department of Anesthesiology

How long have you been with UNMC? I started at UNMC as a research coordinator back in 2016. I left for a short while in 2023 but am happy to be back and in this role now. 

Previous position: I was a performance improvement coordinator for a trauma team before taking this position. 

How I became interested in patient safety and quality: I was introduced to Patient Safety and Quality nursing during my master’s program and knew that was the area I wanted to pursue after graduation. 

Responsibilities as patient safety & quality coordinator: I will be working with the team on projects to improve patient safety, quality and patient satisfaction. 

Professional and medical interests: I am looking forward to learning all things anesthesia! 

Three things people may not know about me:

  1. I have two kids – my son is 15 and my daughter just turned 12. 
  2. I love dogs and have two at home, both mixed-breed rescue pups who keep things lively at our house. 
  3. And this one always seems to amaze people, but I do not like bacon. Not at all.