Licensed Practical Nurse Sarah McHugh shares her love of pediatrics and building things – from Legos!
What is your current title and how long have you been with WashU ENT?
I am an LPN in the division of Pediatric Otolaryngology, and I serve as nurse coordinator for Dr. Dunsky and Dr. Menezes. I was previously Dr. Molter’s coordinator before he retired last year (I miss him so much!). I will have been with WashU for 9 years in July! I previously lived in Columbia, Missouri and worked for MU ENT, on the adult side.
What do you like most about your work here?
I love the providers I work with – they are very supportive, encouraging and respectful. They are always open to answering questions, and they have helped me continue to learn all things ENT (and more). We have such a strong team here that I couldn’t imagine working anywhere else. I also love working with kids. Even on the toughest days, seeing one of their smiles makes it all worth it.
I also work as part of the aerodigestive clinic where we have oto, pulmonary, GI, dietician and speech therapy. I loved learning more about the other specialties, and this has really helped me better understand certain disease processes.
What was your childhood like?
I was born in Colorado and lived there until we moved to Missouri when I was 13. I grew up skiing and started when I was 4 and went pretty much every weekend. In Colorado my parents owned a gymnastics gym so I was always there and loved all things gymnastics. I even won the Level 5 State Championship here in Missouri! When I was done with gymnastics, I switched to competitive cheerleading and did that until college.
One place we loved to visit in my childhood (and still do occasionally) is Bishops Castle in Colorado. It was all built by one guy, now taken over by his son. It is always under construction to add more to the attraction.
What spare time activities do you enjoy?
I love to travel and go on road trips. We are hoping to go to Colorado later this year to see family. I recently started to frequent TopGolf and have really enjoyed beating my husband Evan and friends. I never thought I would enjoy golf so much but plan to start playing on the actual course this summer. Evan and I also love Lego’s and have got quite the collection built up. I am currently working on a Lego flower bouquet that should be done soon.
We also have three dogs , two Australian shepherds and one Australian shepherd/pitbull mix, so our house is a little crazy. I also have three nieces and six nephews. I love spending time with my family and visit them in Columbia frequently.
If you weren’t in your current position what job would you most like to have?
I am currently still taking classes online to get my RN and hope to get this done in the next few years so I can further my career. If I wasn’t in otolaryngology, I would probably want to be in pulmonary. I honestly don’t think I would want to do anything else besides health care. I do tell my husband I would make a really good stay at home dog mom but he keeps shooting down that idea.