Jesse loves to spend her time exploring new places and trying different kinds of food. She also enjoys being outside, playing soccer, thrifting, spending time at farmers’ markets, and attending concerts. Some of Jesse’s favorite music artists are Chelsea Cutler, The Band Camino, Flor, Two Friends, and Valley. She also wouldn’t be a true Texan if she didn’t love some good ‘ol Texas Country music. Jesse is a proud former student of Texas A&M University and is grateful to be an Aggie! Her favorite fall activity is cheering on the Fightin’ Texas Aggie football team. Jesse is also a dog mom to a sheltie named Delilah, who she is absolutely obsessed with!
Jesse’s Burn Injury Journey
Jesse spent a summer in college working at a campsite for children and adults with challenging illnesses and special needs. One of the camps that Jesse worked with was a camp for children recovering from burn injuries. She loved working with the campers and was interested in learning more about how she could contribute to the burn injury community. With a passion for serving others and gaining knowledge of burn rehabilitation, Jesse pursued a career as an occupational therapist working in a burn unit. She appreciates how occupational therapists support and provide valuable services to patients from the first day they arrive until they no longer need services in outpatient care. Occupational therapists encourage and assist patients with many aspects of care, including but not limited to movement and strengthening exercises, positioning, splinting to prevent deformities, providing compression garments, educating on burn healing and sun protection, and practicing everyday activities for patients to return to the level of independence that they had before. Jesse’s love for working with the burn population makes her beyond grateful that she gets to work in a burn unit and help make a difference in the lives of those affected by burns.
What does Jesse think of the quality, usefulness, and user-friendliness of the MSKTC resources?
Jesse loves that MSKTC resources are conveniently organized, easily accessible, and easy to use. The topics covered are useful and all-inclusive. Information is provided in many different formats, which is great for users who have a variety of different learning styles. Jesse loves that MSKTC is on a mission to provide information for the improvement of health and quality of life for those with burns. MSKTC is all about meeting the needs of those they serve. Jesse appreciates the amount of work and effort that is put into the creation of these resources as well as the implementation of research that is incorporated into them.
Why does Jesse want to be an MSKTC ambassador?
Jesse wants to be an MSKTC ambassador because she believes in the work that MSKTC does. She values information and believes that education is vital in assisting with the burn recovery process. Jesse believes that her experience as a burn occupational therapist puts her in a great position to be an ambassador because she works with those who would benefit from the information and resources that MSKTC provides. Jesse wants to provide the best care for her patients. She believes that educating patients along with directing those patients (and other healthcare providers) to the helpful resources that MSKTC offers will help her achieve that goal.
What has Jesse done as an MSKTC ambassador?
Jesse has spread the word about MSKTC resources with other burn therapists and providers since before she was an MSKTC ambassador. She previously helped with the creation of some of the MSKTC infocomics and thoroughly enjoyed that process, bridging the gap between the graphic portrayal of the infocomics and her clinical expertise. She continues to educate other healthcare workers on the resources that exist and is in the process of merging the use of current hospital-based handouts with those on the MSKTC website.