Michele Rubin
Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, Colon and Rectal Surgery, UChicago Medicine

In honor of the 2023 Alice W. Chandler Staff Service Recognition Ceremony held June 22, we’re profiling some of the staff members who are celebrating this year the longest tenures at the University of Chicago.

You can view the on-demand portion of the ceremony, plus check out the full list of 2023 honorees on the UChicago Intranet.

Michele Rubin (née Simmons) celebrates year 45 at UChicago. She started at the University as a new registered nurse on the gastrointestinal (GI) unit at University of Chicago Medicine. She moved her way up to head nurse, later moved into inflammatory bowel disease research, before landing in the colorectal surgery, where she’s been ever since and serves as an advanced practice nurse and the associate director of UChicago Medicine’s Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center. She also travels the country as a public speaker on IBD at major conferences and nurse and patient advocacy.

She answered our questions about her interests and experiences:

Q: What initially brought you to the University? What role were you in then?
I graduated from Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with a BSN. I was looking for a hospital that was one of the best in the country for healthcare, research, etc., and as we say here at UChicago—one that is at the forefront of medicine and research. I interviewed in Milwaukee at St. Mary’s Hospital and then I also came to UChicago, as some Mount Mercy graduates had worked here.

I hadn’t told my mother about interviewing here, and she did not approve when she found out. My parents had lived in Chicago for a year and my mother did not like it, especially when she realized that what she thought were rabbits running around at night were actually rats! My father, however, was a world traveler, and told me, “If you want to go and see what the rest of the world looks like, go and see the world!”

I got offered a job here as a new registered nurse, with a choice to be on a gastrointestinal unit or an oncology unit. I chose GI and I fell in love with the patients, especially the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients! Back then, I lived in a studio apartment for new hires on 60th and Drexel streets. Later, I moved to Joliet, Illinois in 1988 when I got married and still live today.

Q: How has your role changed/grown over the past 45 years?
My role has changed over the years which has been driven by my passion.

I started as a staff nurse, then moved up to assistant head nurse for a year, and then became head nurse for eight. I then went into IBD research for three years and then went to work in colorectal surgery, where I have been since. I was first in an RN role, but then I went to college at night and got my advanced degree as an APRN (advanced practice registered nurse) as a clinical nurse specialist focused in IBD. I Also run my own postoperative clinics in the surgery outpatient area. I later initiated the J-Pouch clinic for our J-Pouch patients—people who have had their colon and rectum removed and then undergone an ileal pouch procedure so they did not have to have a permanent ileostomy and could pass intestinal contents normally. I saw a gap in care for them and recognized they needed to be followed-up every three months initially in the adaptation phase and then checked on at least yearly, for life. I also speak nationally and internationally on IBD. I have been involved in national and international projects to develop awareness of IBD and advance the care of IBD patients as well as I have written numerous articles and book chapters on the subject.

I also was one of the original few APRNs who gathered as a group to discuss getting the APRN roles established here and took over the leadership role to get us credentialed and privileged here at UChicago Medicine. I formed our APRN executive council with a group of very committed APRNs which now has evolved into the APP (advanced practiced provider) committee which also includes physician assistants. I still am on the executive council and am the committee lead of the APRN credentialing and privileging committee.

I have been involved with the National and Regional Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, a patient and professional advocacy group, I was on the National Board of Trustees for several years and initiated the Nurse and APP committee to educate and get nurses and APPs involved in advocacy efforts for patients and professionals. One of my favorite accomplishments was to initiate an APP preceptorship to educate them on IBD patient care in centers of excellence across the country—there are five sites now. We started one of the initial sites at UChicago where I serve as the director of the program and manage it with a multidisciplinary approach to IBD care.

I have also won several awards along the way as I developed my expertise and furthered my passion in IBD patient care just to name a few:

• Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation Stellar Service Award

• National Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation Uniting to Care & Cure Award

• Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation Stellar Service Award

• Distinguished Advocate Award for the Chicago area Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation Carol Fisher Chapter Gala Honoree,

• Midwest Regional Nurse.com GEM (Giving Excellence Meaning) Award

• National Nurse.com GEM (Giving Excellence Meaning) Award in Excellence in Community Care Nursing in IBD

Q: Where are you originally from?
I was born and raised in Iowa in a very small town called Monticello. I grew up on a farm where I milked cows by hand, bailed hay, drove a tractor at a young age, fed pigs, raised chickens, etc. Every weekend, my family would go to the local dance hall and dance until midnight with friends and family. My mother was a nurse’s aide and I saw how she loved caring for patients, and I knew that I wanted to be a nurse like her. My father first traveled the world, and then he came back home to manage the family farm. They both told me to find my passion in life and whatever I do, it will never be a job—I did find my passion in caring for patients with IBD.

Q: What is it that you enjoy most about your role?
I love caring for IBD patients, advocating for them, and helping them to get a good quality of life back—they need an advocate and someone who understands the burdens they experience with their disease. They also need a lot of compassion, understanding and providers who understand the disease and how to treat it. I love being able to see a smile on their face when they start to feel better and have hope for a better life. I always make sure I give a hug and we share a laugh during their visit.

I also love working in a center of excellence in IBD care. I have become an expert in my field because of working here at UChicago, where I have worked with an amazing, wonderful group of expert GI physicians, colorectal surgeons, nurses, and other healthcare workers over the years. I’ve had phenomenal mentors and teachers that helped me to achieve my goals in becoming an advanced practice nurse as an IBD clinical nurse specialist. In addition, I have published numerous articles, involved in research and lecture nationally. I am very involved with the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation which advocates for patients and professionals.

I’ve enjoyed the interaction with so many different people and the friends that I have made over the years both within the University and outside associates.

Q: What is it that you enjoy about UChicago? What’s kept you here all these years?
When I first came here, I met so many people from different cultures and backgrounds that I had never been exposed to in my small rural town in Iowa. I loved that and was so excited to learn and work with the amazing staff and for the patients who came from across the country and world—they came from all over to get the best care they could in IBD as we are a major center for up-to-date research and patient care.

In addition, I love my job and enjoy the wonderful staff that I have worked with in GI and in Colorectal surgery over the years. I have been able to work to my full practice authority as an APRN. We all work as a team and are very supportive of each other. UChicago has allowed me to be the best I can be, follow my passion, and achieve a successful professional career. It truly has been the center at the forefront of medicine and patient care, which is what I was looking for when I first came here.

When I started at the University of Chicago, I found my passion. The University has allowed me to really grow that passion, become an expert in my field, a known lecturer—the University is the vehicle that led me through. Once you find your passion in life, it will never be a job—and I found it at the University of Chicago. I love my patients and what I do—it’s been 45 years, and it’s never just been a job.

Q: Do you have any favorite UChicago-related memories from over the years you can share with us?

• When the king of Morocco came here as a new patient, he brought all his staff, chefs to cook his food, etc. He had one wing for himself and the staff.

• Some patients who came from Europe would bring a suitcase full of cash to pay their bill—I never saw that much cash before.

• Patients lived with us on the units for six months to a year on total parenteral nutrition as they could not go home as there was no home care for central line care then. We became family on the floor. We had activity therapists come and do crafts with the patients and group patient support sessions.

• Living on Drexel across the Midway was studio apartment housing for out-of-town staff. A limousine would pick us up to bring us to work each day.

• Seeing UChicago Medicine grow from initially one building with the Goldblatt, Billings building and Wyler’s Children’s Hospital to now the huge complex it is today. It was so exciting when Mitchell Hospital was opened in 1983 and we moved into a brand-new facility, when Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine (DCAM) opened in 1995, Comers Children’s Hospital in 2005, and the Center for Care and Discovery in 2013.

Q: What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I love to work in my flower garden. I extend my home space out into the yard by being creative and decorating spaces with a sitting area under a tree, yard ornaments all over, and I love to have it lit up highlighting statues, birdbaths, etc., at night. Working in my garden is my peace and enjoyment. Otherwise, spending time with my family and grandkids is a delight.