Ruth Kennedy, MSN, CRNP

IVF Coordinator
University of South Alabama
Mobile, Alabama

I became an RN in 1976, graduating from a diploma program at Providence Hospital School of Nursing.  At the time, I thought I was fulfilling lifelong dream. I worked in the hospital recovery room for four years (which was as much a critical care area as it was a recovery unit), and I  really thought I had found my niche. Then came children and the need for more predictable hours tailored to the needs of a growing family, so I moved into Women’s Health in an ambulatory setting and immediately fell in love. I stayed in office-based OB/GYN nursing for over 20 years. By then my children -- four of them now -- were older, and I decided to obtain a Bachelor’s and Master’s in nursing to become a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner. I graduated in 1999 from the University of South Alabama, having been recognized with the Excellence in Clinical Practice Award -- and prayed for a job.

I had done some work in infertility when I was an OB/GYN nurse, and I always found it fascinating. Little did I realize that this field would become my next career and an intense passion. I began working with a wonderful Reproductive Endocrinologist, Dr. Botros Rizk, at the University of South Alabama in 2000 and have never looked back. Not having had a fertility problem myself, I nevertheless felt an instant empathy for these courageous couples who trusted me with their most intimate stories while at their most vulnerable. One of the aspects I have most enjoyed is establishing a relationship with a new couple that will help facilitate that very intense journey we call infertility treatment. I feel privileged to be part of it. 

We are a small, single-physician, university-based practice within the OB/GYN Department.  We enjoy a collaboration among our generalist physicians, our Maternal Fetal Medicine Division, and our ultra sonographers. Our five-person division is kept busy and on our toes. No two days are ever the same, and I thrive on that challenge and excitement. I enjoy the role of IVF Coordinator and as well as seeing my own patients. Because we are small, the nursing staff -- consisting of myself and an RN -- does everything from meeting and greeting our patients and arranging their care to being their IVF team when it is time for the egg retrievals and embryo transfers. I love the continuity of our practice as we see our patients through much of their first trimester before transferring them to their obstetrician. I love seeing them return as proud new parents and, after a time, seeing them return to try for a brother or sister.

Of course, not every couple has their dream of family fulfilled, and I have grieved with them when delivering the news of a negative pregnancy test or a pregnancy loss. This too, has been an honor, and I continue to marvel at the strength and resilience of this community.

In the course of the last twelve years, I been challenged on so many levels in ways I would not have been outside of reproductive medicine. I have grown as a professional and as a person. My wonderful boss has challenged me as well, offering me opportunities I would not have had elsewhere. I have written two chapters for him (he is prolific), and I am working on another for his current book. I never dreamed I would ever have that on a resume! I truly enjoy the intellectual stimulation of reproductive endocrinology, but I enjoy the people I serve the most. I have a reverence for what we do, and I try never to have a casual approach toward what will certainly be a life-changing event in lives of our couples. And I am passionate about my small role.