During National Nurses Week this past May, Main Line Health nurses were asked to share why they chose their career. Mary Lance-Smith still has her personalized sign hanging in her office. It reads, “I became a nurse because I was called to do this work.”
That calling is evident in her work every day.
As so many do, Lance-Smith took an interest in the profession as a child, when she was a patient herself. She’s since obtained associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees and is currently pursuing her doctorate. A Delaware County native, she got her start in the coronary care and telemetry units at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital before making the switch to Main Line Health in 1992, where she’s been ever since. “It’s definitely a space where the voice of nursing is heard,” she says.
Today, her responsibilities as Bryn Mawr Hospital’s director of nursing operations include the 24-hour operation and supervision of several departments, including the intensive care, psychiatric and emergency units. “I work with our physicians and other provider partners to come up with the best practices for those areas, making sure we’re doing the best for our patients and giving the best possible care each and every day” she says. “It’s my life work to be doing this.”
Lance-Smith finds the most joy in watching her fellow nurses excel. “It’s really rewarding to watch them grow as leaders and become their best selves in nursing,” she says. “I watch them go from novice to expert and even become leaders in the field.”
During the pandemic, Lance-Smith served as ICU manager at Lankenau Medical Center. On the worst day, she saw 64 patients come through. “Like any crisis, people band together and do great things,” she says. “I saw people going above and beyond. I know I was meant to be there to lead during that time.”
Soon, Lance-Smith won’t be the only nurse in her family. Her daughter, Annemarie, is a sophomore nursing major at West Chester University. “It’s really fun to see it through her eyes,” Lance-Smith says.
