Clinical Nurse 2
UC Davis Children's Hospital
Sarah St.Claire is an Operating Room Nurse at UC Davis Hospital’s Children’s Surgery Center in Sacramento, California. Sarah took a meandering path to the nursing profession, but has always had a passion for anatomy and education. Sarah began her advanced education in pursuit of a career as a scientific and medical illustrator. While earning a Bachelor’s degree in Biological and Pre-Medical Illustration at Iowa State University (ISU), she worked at Engineering Animation, Inc. on the National Library of Medicine’s Visible Human Project. This project entailed creating the first fully 3-D rendered digital model of the human body. The ISU curriculum was an intense intersection of both art and scientific studies. Following undergraduate studies, Sarah sought advanced education in medical illustration at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s (UIC) Department of Biomedical Visualization. She graduated valedictorian, earning her Master’s Degree in Science with her thesis focus on the application of computer technologies in instructional design. Post-graduation Sarah brought her illustration talents to the Chicago-based medical advertising agency Topin and Associates, Inc., and later took a position with Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. as a staff illustrator where she was the lead medical illustrator in a large-scale project to recreate all of their medical illustrations by the late surgeon and illustrator Frank Netter, MD. Ultimately Sarah’s passion for science and anatomy extended beyond illustration and she earned an Associate’s Degree in Nursing at Sacramento City College, followed by a Bachelor’s in Science in Nursing from California State University at Chico, CA. Her first position as an operating room nurse was at Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Sacramento, CA. She was accepted into the UCD OR Training Program, and ultimately accepted a position as a pediatric operating room nurse. Sarah also continues to create graphics for the unit, as well as publication-related images for colleagues.