The Hancock Family

You’ve got this. That’s what Amanda Hancock, RN, BSN, told her mom, Kelly Hancock DNP, RN, NE-BC, FAAN, when the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly upended … well, everything. Not long afterward, Kelly said more or less the same thing to Amanda on the eve of her first official shift.

Like mother, like daughter. Both of them work at Cleveland Clinic. Amanda is a pediatric nurse. Kelly is the health system’s executive vice president, chief caregiver officer and chief administrative officer as well as holder of the Rich Family Chief Caregiver Chair.

“We’ve always been close,” Kelly says. “But I think we’re even closer now because we have a shared love for this profession.”

Amanda agrees. “It really has strengthened our relationship,” she says. “It’s funny because I’ll tell my mom these stories, and my dad will say, ‘You sound just like your mom 20 years ago.’”

Kelly joined Cleveland Clinic as a nurse associate in 1993. Much has changed since then.

“I never documented in electronic health records,” she says. “They didn’t exist. It was all pen and paper.”

Then again, much has stayed the same.

“I think people go into nursing today for the same reason they went into nursing years ago: because they genuinely want to care for other people,” Amanda says.

“I’m a firm believer that people are drawn to nursing because they believe they can make a difference in someone’s life,” Kelly says. “I can’t think of a more noble profession. When you think about the opportunity to care for somebody in the most vulnerable times of their lives, it’s such an honor.”

Amanda was in high school when she raised the possibility of becoming a nurse herself.

“I was delighted,” Kelly says. “I could see it in her. She always had a love for science. She’s curious and asks a lot of questions. And she has such a big, caring heart.”

At her mother’s suggestion, Amanda tested the waters by volunteering at Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital. The experience only strengthened her conviction that she had found her calling.

“It was an easy way to see what nursing is all about, just talking with patients and bringing them newspapers or flowers,” she says. “I loved it. And my mom was super-helpful when I had questions or wanted to know more about the ins and outs of nursing.”

When the pandemic brought a host of new challenges, the Hancocks had each other’s backs.

“We had so many unknowns,” Kelly recalls. “I remember coming home and having conversations with my family about being scared and vulnerable.”

Amanda was reassuring, despite facing her own hurdles as she went through nursing school virtually.

“We spent a lot of time together during COVID,” she says. “My mom would do flashcards with me to study for tests. So nursing school was a shared experience, I would say. She basically went through nursing school twice.”

The family ties don’t end with them. Eric Hancock — Kelly’s son and Amanda’s brother — is a foot and ankle surgeon. He recently completed his residency at Cleveland Clinic.

As a general rule, Kelly avoids visiting Amanda’s unit when she’s working, at her daughter’s request. Inevitably, though, their paths sometimes cross. When Amanda completed her nurse externship, Kelly handed her the certificate. Proudly.

No matter what, at the end of a long day, Amanda knows she can always pick up the phone. Not to speak to senior leadership. To talk to Mom.

“She can relate because she was a bedside nurse, and she knows the frustrations of a 12-hour shift,” Amanda says. “Growing up, I heard all these stories about the impact that she had on so many people over the years. I want to have that same impact on others.”

This story was adapted from Cleveland Clinic’s Nurse Essentials podcast, hosted by Carol Pehotsky. Listen to the full episode here: cle.clinic/mother-daughter