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The scrub wardrobe of Philadelphia nurse and elite marathoner Samantha Roecker, RN is undergoing an unprecedented stress test this month. One might even say that her scrubs are moonlighting, but it’s for a good cause.

Our Nurse of the Week is running through the Philadelphia streets in her scrubs as she prepares to achieve the “fastest marathon run in a nurse’s uniform” at the Boston Marathon on April 18, 2022.

While some fellow distance runners cheerfully concern-troll her about potential chafing, Roecker’s unusual athletic apparel has been fine so far, and at the marathon will be worn in honor of her profession – and of the sponsors behind her fundraising run to support the  American Nurses Foundation’s mental health and wellness programs. (The American Nurses Foundation and Moxie Scrubs are backing her effort).

“I was trying to think of what I could do to make running not a selfish thing, but a meaningful thing.”

Sam Roecker, RNHer inspiration for the fund-raiser was her fellow nurses – and her own experience. Roecker observed, “It seems like every day there’s a new story about nurse burnout or health-care workers struggling.” And, when she picked up first-hand frontline experience earlier this year, she became keenly aware of nurses’ urgent need for more robust mental/emotional support systems.

“On top of really tough diagnoses like cancer or brain fluid leaks or whatever we deal with on a ‘normal’ daily basis,” Roecker said, “Pandemic worries about who’s going to accompany somebody to the hospital during their chemotherapy treatment or how they would get a test prior to treatment — all of those unknown stressors and barriers added up.”

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Apparently, the inspiration struck while she was showering one day: “I was trying to think of what I could do to make running not a selfish thing, but a meaningful thing,” she told Runner’s World.

Like many nurses, the Philly RN always has a lot going on. Roecker is currently working 25 hours a week as an RN at an otolaryngology clinic while pursuing an FNP degree at Penn Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania and puts in 20 clinical hours a week at Cooper University Hospital. On top of that, she manages to run 90 to 100 miles every week.

Nurses supporting nurses

She is a passionate and competitive runner, and her marathon project combines her love of the sport with her dedication to nursing and helping others. As Roecker puts it on her American Nurse’s Foundation fundraising page, “Over the last two years, I have witnessed and personally experienced the effect that the COVID pandemic has had on healthcare workers’ mental health and wellbeing. This April, I am combining my two passions and attempting to break the World Record for ‘fastest marathon run in a nurse’s uniform’ at the Boston Marathon.”

The funds that Sam will raise will go towards the American Nurses Foundation’s Well-Being Initiative programs supporting the mental health and wellness of RNs. The initiative offers RNs access to free therapy resources, expressive writing programs, financial consulting, podcasts and mobile apps dedicated to mental health and well-being, and content dedicated to grief and bereavement.

So far, Roecker has raised over $21,000 toward her $26,200 goal. You can support your colleagues by helping her reach that goal or surpass it by adding your mite to her fundraising page: https://givetonursing.networkforgood.com/projects/152794-samantha-roecker-marathon-fundraiser.

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For more on Sam Roecker’s marathon-in-uniform and chafing concerns, see the Runner’s World story or see her interview with the Inquirer.

Koren Thomas
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