About Sheila
Two years after starting college, Sheila Fleming, MSN, APRN-BC, CRNFA, realized nursing was the path for her. “I had never been in a hospital but loved to help people, and several of my close friends were already in the nursing program,” says Sheila. Because of this, Sheila enrolled in the Memorial School of Nursing. “I knew then that I wanted to become an NP.”
Following her nursing degree from Memorial, Sheila received her bachelor of science in nursing at Indiana University South Bend. After 17 years, Sheila achieved her goal of becoming a nurse practitioner by completing her master of science in nursing at Ball State. “In the role of NP, I function as an extension to the physician.”
With more than 37 years of nursing experience, Sheila has a wealth of knowledge in both medicine and the patient experience. “Fear of the unknown causes increased anxiety for patients. This is always on my mind when I meet a patient for the first time,” Sheila says. This lesson helped develop her philosophy as a provider: “Treat every patient as I would like to be treated. Help patients understand their condition/disease to help decrease their fear.”
“I practice compassion in all the care I give. Keeping patients informed is also very important to me. I care about their needs and have always strived to follow through in all my interactions with patient and family.”
In Her Own Words
Who is or was the most influential person/role model in your life? I was greatly influenced in my first NP job by Dr. Michael Rodriguez.
What was your first job growing up? What do you remember about it? My first job was serving food at weddings. It was fun to see the celebrations and happy
people having fun.
In addition to medicine, what are you passionate about? I volunteer with the community group Gyne Girls to increase women’s awareness of gynecological cancer.
What are your hobbies/interests? I enjoy a lot of arts and crafts and love getting together with friends.
What is something most people don’t know about you? I enjoy driving my 1983 red Mustang whenever the weather permits.