On Friday July 12, 2013, Sharon Fielding walked through the doors of Ross Medical Education Center in Saginaw, MI to teach students for the last time. After over 23 years of teaching at Ross Sharon has decided to hang up her stethoscope and put away the dry erase markers. Sharon has taught thousands of students the skills needed in the Allied Healthcare field.
Sharon Fielding has been an instructor at Ross Medical Education Center for nearly 24 years, she says, because she loves witnessing the huge transformation students make in just nine months or less.
“Most students come to Ross knowing almost nothing about the medical profession, but when they leave, they’re fully prepared for a successful career,” Fielding said. “But, just as important, they leave with a great deal of self-confidence, knowing they can succeed and accomplish anything they want to accomplish.”
In fact, Fielding, herself, enrolled in the Medical Assistant program at Ross in the late 1980s, after seeing one of the school’s commercials on TV. At the time, she was a 39 year-old widow with two children. Her children had been “hinting” that now would be a good time to embark on a fresh career path. In fact, her daughter said, “Mom, this is exactly what you need. You need to start helping other people.”
Upon completing the coursework and a 180-hour externship, Fielding spent the next 20 years working for a local doctor, who rewarded her 20 years of dedicated service with a new car.
Fielding gladly shares the secret to her success as an instructor. “To teach at Ross, you have to know your field, but you also have to care about the person. Teachers here build rapport with students, and the students feel it very quickly.” She makes sure that she arrives on campus a half-hour prior to the start of class so that she can work one-on-one with any students who have questions.
“Of course,” she continues, “We help students outside of the classroom, too. The staff at Ross assists students with financial aid, the importance of finding child care, and transportation. It’s an institutionwide approach that makes usfeel like a family.”
Sharon will always be remembered as one of the most energetic, influencial, and knowledgeable instructors to teach at Ross Medical Education Center.