Cool under pressure: Rowan EMT Emily Nelson aims for medical school

After four years as a first responder for Rowan Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and the North Wildwood Beach Patrol, Emily Nelson has never experienced an emergency that scared her.

There have been tough situations and stressful scenes, for sure. Yet, her long overnight shifts on the ambulance squad have only led the accomplished athlete and honors student closer to understanding her life’s purpose: to serve as a physician.    

Following Commencement, the 21-year-old biological sciences major from the College of Science & Mathematics will apply to medical school while picking up experience as an emergency department technician for a Pennsylvania hospital. 

“There are many things you can be passionate about, especially in medicine,” said Nelson, the oldest of four sisters who grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. “By doing research, working for EMS and doing other things within the field, I was able to dial in and say, ‘I love everything, but treating patients is my true passion.’”

The daughter of an attorney (mom) and accountant (dad), Nelson has demonstrated leadership skills in every arena of her university experience, her mentors say. 

A member of Rowan EMS since her freshman year, Nelson now serves as its lead field training officer for its 65 student volunteers. She works around 24 hours a week on the squad, including a 13-hour overnight shift as a driver every Sunday. 

On busy weekends, the night crew might handle as many as seven calls, said Rowan EMS Chief Maribeth Novsak, who arrives for work early each Monday in time to see the senior leave the station for her morning classes. 

“She is very calm, very level-headed and able to think through situations,” Novsak said. “Her bedside manner is phenomenal. When she talks to patients, she has a way of connecting and  easing any fears they may have.”

An award-winning student and a volunteer firefighter in her hometown, Nelson also serves as president of Rowan’s Breast Cancer Meal Care, a student service organization that coordinates meal deliveries three times a week for the families of breast cancer patients in Gloucester County.

“She gives 100 percent of everything,” Novsak said. “It’s remarkable that she finds time to do all that and sleep.”

Marie Flocco, associate teaching professor in the Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts, calls herself one of Nelson’s “biggest fans.” Flocco first encountered her during a freshman honors composition class and later invited her to serve as a peer mentor in Rowan’s Bantivoglio Leadership and Service Training (BLAST) program, where Nelson mentors first-year honors students. 

“She possesses such quiet enthusiasm,” Flocco said. “She’s calm, she’s interested, she’s incredibly motivated, but she’s calm. I would maintain that’s why she’s an exceptional leader among her peers and why her peers seek her out for leadership positions.”

Recruited to Rowan’s swimming program by head coach Elise Fisher, Nelson was elected by her teammates to serve as captain of the women’s swim team her junior year. She ended her athletic career after that season so she could accept a research opportunity in the lab of Manoj Pandey, Ph.D., a cancer biologist at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. 

“I felt content with what I had accomplished in the pool,” Nelson said. “It was time for me to switch gears. It was the right decision—a tough decision—but I was able to do things academically and research-wise that I wasn’t able to do while I swam.” 

In Pandey’s lab, Nelson contributed to work on the blood cancer multiple myeloma to better understand biochemical reactions within cancer cells. While she enjoyed the science behind finding new cancer therapies, it’s hands-on patient care that inspires her most.

Novsak, her EMS chief, looks forward to seeing what she accomplishes next, whether it’s becoming an outstanding clinician or, perhaps, an educator in medicine. 

“The future for Nelson is whatever she makes of it,” Novsak said. “I see her doing absolutely whatever she wants.”