Jen Lance Sikorski

Mountain Hawk Heroes: Rowing Alum Jen (Lance) Sikorski

10/28/2020 1:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing, Support, Features, Flight 45, Intellectual Development

Every Wednesday, Lehigh Athletics, Lehigh Valley Health Network and Coordinated Health is proud to recognize a Mountain Hawk Hero - someone associated with Lehigh Athletics who is making a difference in the medical field. We continue today with rowing alum Jen (Lance) Sikorski '11. 

Previous Mountain Hawk Heroes
October 21: Shannon Wright (Track and Field/Cross Country Alum)
October 14: Darren Saks (Men's Soccer Alum)
October 7: Jenny Warner Southard (Track and Field Alum)
September 30: Taylor Wise (Swimming and Diving Alum)
September 23: Matt Christman (Track and Field Alum)
September 16: Steph Fratoni (Field Hockey Alum)
September 9: Mike Price (Swimming and Diving Alum)
September 2: Yasmin Deliz (Track and Field Alum)
August 26: Evan Guerrero (Men's Lacrosse Alum)
August 19: Ross Biggs (Baseball Alum)
August 12: Cynthia Izuno Macri (Soccer Alum)
August 5: Susan Westman (Rowing Student-Athlete)
July 29: Megan Hetzel (Track and Field/Cross Country Alum)
July 22: Lexi Martins (Women's Basketball Alum)
July 15: Nii Daako-Darko (Track and Field/Cross Country Alum)
July 8: Ali Linsk Butash (Softball Alum)
July 1: Kimberly Scotto-Wetzel & Jonathan Wetzel (Track and Field/Cross Country Alums)
June 24: Robert Bonow (Men's Basketball Alum)
June 17: Morgan Decker (Softball Alum)
June 10: Jim Guzzo (Former Quarterback)
June 3: Amina Affini (Women's Basketball Alum) 
May 27: Natalie Krane (Women's Soccer Alum)
May 20: Tricia Klein (Women's Golf Assistant Coach)
 

By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications
 
Physician assistant Jen (Lance) Sikorski loves her patients.
 
It's what keeps her going.
 
"I love helping," said the former Mountain Hawks' rower. "I know that if it weren't for us, a lot of our patients wouldn't get medical care, or access to a physician or midlevel provider. We're a lot of these people's only access to health care.
 
"It does make me feel like we're making a difference."
 
Sikorski certainly has made a difference as a physician assistant at a New Jersey hospital for the past eight years and has been in the front lines of the fight against COVID-19. The 2011 Lehigh graduate entered college in the premed track.
 
"My time at Lehigh was actually when I first heard about a physician assistant and what that entailed," said Sikorski. "I started to learn that a PA could do a lot of things that a doctor could – write prescriptions, treat patients independently, diagnose, and interpret X-rays, EKGs and things like that. Then, I started to realize the schooling was a little bit less and the loans were less. Knowing I wanted to be a mom and start a family, I wouldn't have to commit to eight years further in school."
 
When Sikorski was at Lehigh, she began looking into PA programs.
Jen Lance Sikorski 
"There were a lot of prerequisites these grad schools required, which Lehigh didn't offer at the time, so I did some courses at either community colleges or Cedar Crest," she said. "I finished undergrad in three and a half years. My last semester as a senior, I was coaching rowing and taking the prerequisites I needed to get into PA school.
 
"I actually started PA school three days before I officially graduated (at commencement) at Lehigh."
 
Sikorski attended Arcadia University for PA school, which as she said, "was definitely tougher than I thought it would be."
 
"It was a 24-month program," she said. "The first 12 months, you're in a classroom. It was pretty much Monday through Friday – 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. – and occasionally, you would get a clinical day just to get into hospitals and offices to see what the profession looked like. You were then in your clinical year for another 12 months. That's when you're out on rotations, seeing the medicine first-hand and getting some hands-on experience."
 
Since graduating from Arcadia, Sikorski has been getting plenty of hands-on experience at a hospital located in an area with a lot of health care disparities. It has served as a reminder of why she does what she does.
 
That feeling has only risen surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, which greatly affected Sikorski's hospital.
 
"I definitely think the anticipation was the worst part because when it started to hit New York really severely, we knew that we (in New Jersey) were on the same trajectory," she said. "We started to see a bunch of people migrating down; the hospitals in New York were getting full, then they were filling up. They were overflowing into our area."
 
The build-up to the anticipated rise in hospitalizations understandably had people on edge.
 
"I think the hardest part was hearing the surge is coming and hearing about the total cases, total deaths and how many health care workers were contracting COVID-19," said Sikorski. "We finally hit our peak probably in the middle of May, but when you're in it, you don't know what to expect. Is this the peak or are we still rising?
 
"It was definitely as bad as it seemed on TV."
 
And Sikorski was in the middle of it.
 
"Our ICUs were full and pretty much everybody in the ICU at some point was on a ventilator," she said. "We had people staying in the ICU for upwards of two months on ventilators until we could get them transitioned into long-term care. In addition to the critically ill, we still had the people who were coming in and doing better with just mild symptoms."
 
Throughout the pandemic, Sikorski has also served as an educator.
 
"We'd educate patients on strict quarantine, hand washing and hygiene," she said. "In our community, we have a lot of multi-family homes so people are living with not just their family, but also other families. We were trying to keep that at bay so it didn't run rampant even worse than it was."
Jen Lance Sikorski 
Selfless medical professionals like Sikorski didn't let any anxiety affect their patients' care.
 
"You know you're helping people and you know somebody has to do it," said Sikorski, when asked about her motivation to be on the front line.
 
"You really feel like you're making a difference. There were times we were FaceTiming with families when there were no visitors, and they were actually saying goodbye over an iPad. Being there in such a vulnerable time in people's lives, it's something that changed everybody's lives forever."
 
The feeling for so many, especially early in the pandemic, was helplessness.
 
"There isn't a cure yet, there's not a vaccine yet, so all you can do is work with what you have and try to make a difference," said Sikorski.
 
"It's rewarding work."
 
On the flip side, the frightening thought for Sikorski was bringing the virus home to her family.
 
"It was terrifying changing my clothes in the garage before I went into the house, and not being able to hug and kiss my son as soon as I got home in case there was COVID on me," she said. "We didn't take my car for months afterwards because I would drive it to work, so we'd only use my husband's car."
 
Sikorski credits her Lehigh student-athlete experience for helping her get where she is today. Her time in the rowing program has proven especially helpful in learning how to work as a team.
 
"Rowing definitely gives you a sense of work ethic and teamwork because in the emergency room, you're working with other nurses, doctors and PAs," said Sikorski. "Athletics also gives you a sense of respect for others because you rely so much on each other."
 
Today, patients can't get the best care without teamwork from medical professionals. It has brought Sikorski back to her days rowing.
Jen Lance Sikorski 
"You can't row a boat by yourself," she said. "I feel like rowing has helped shape who I am and given me the work ethic and dynamic of teamwork."
 
During her time at Lehigh, Sikorski didn't only make an impact on her teammates, but also the coaching staff.
 
"Jen was a senior my first year at Lehigh, and her work with the coaching transition definitely helped me that year and moving forward," said Lehigh head coach Brian Conley. "Jen helped to educate me a lot about the university, the program and the student-athletes. Jen wasn't afraid to try new things, which we did.  Some worked and a lot didn't, but because we tried them, it has helped create the team we have now. 
 
"Jen was there for the coaches and the athletes on so many levels as we transitioned, and is the perfect person to know how to help others transition into understanding how to manage this pandemic." 
 
When Sikorski was a student-athlete, she needed a regimented schedule to stay on target.
 
That has also carried forward.
Jen Lance Sikorski 
"Waking up at 4 a.m. to get to practice and spending the whole weekend at a regatta, a lot of the time management and work ethic today is the same," she said. "In general, I believe I have grown into a more independent person and have realized what's important in life."
 
What's important for Sikorski is other people – specifically, her family and her patients. Much like the way she balanced academics, athletics and extracurricular activities at Lehigh, she's effectively balancing plenty of responsibilities today.
 
"I'm sure Jen's work as a front line medical worker has impacted so many people," said Conley. "I am so proud to have Jen as an alum of the program as she proves every day, without knowing it, that good people make a difference. Jen has always been willing to help others in need. She has done it ever since I've known her and even more now in her role as a medical professional, wife and mother."
 
Sikorski admits it's challenging being a working mom, often working weekends and holidays.
 
"But it's part of working in the emergency room and I wouldn't sacrifice it," she said. "I worked really hard to become a PA and my career is a big part of who I am.
 
"I don't want to give that up."
 
Nor should she. Sikorski is a difference maker and a true medical hero.
 
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