July 25, 2022
Meet Nick Wiscons
Senior Director of Clinical Operations
Where are you from?
I was born in Cedar Rapids, IA - The same hometown as my wife, but we didn’t meet until we both lived in St. Louis many years later. We lived just a few miles away from one another and I used to drive past her house frequently. I moved to Columbia, MO, when I was 13 and stayed there until I went in the military at 18.
Tell us about your military service.
I spent my first year and a half in the military completing trainings at Pensacola, FL, Memphis, TN and San Diego, CA. I then spent almost four years stationed in Guam, followed by three years at Fallon, NV.
I did helicopter search and rescue and combat support during my time in Guam. While I was there I traveled all around southeast Asia, Australia and the Persian Gulf.
During my time in Nevada, I did search and rescue over land and over water. We were primarily there to provide search and rescue for Top Gun, and we also conducted civilian search and rescue - which we did far more of. We would respond to people in trouble all over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Yosemite National Park and Lake Tahoe. We would occasionally go into Oregon and Utah to help as well. Typically, if we were called, we were the person's last resort to get help. Often, they were pretty complex situations and we had to be very creative to make things work; I’m proud of my teammates for always making it work.
What steered you towards the health care industry?
I was very passionate during my time doing search and rescue that “patient care was primary” and that naturally led me into health care.
What brought you to Washington University School of Medicine?
When Shera and I were talking about moving back to St. Louis from Charleston, SC, I told her my dream would be to work at WashU because they were directly involved in providing patient care but also they contributed to the betterment of health care across the world through research and the world-leading caregivers.
What aspect of your work do you find most rewarding?
Most rewarding is definitely contributing to a team (hopefully in a positive way) and supporting caregivers so that they can care for patients.
What's the best advice you ever received?
My best advice is really a mantra from the military that I have turned into advice: Never leave anyone behind.
What's your favorite thing to do outside of work?
I love to be around water, so we try to spend lots of time at pools, lakes, rivers, etc.
If you weren't in healthcare, what would you like to be doing?
This isn’t a popular thing to say, but I love politics. I would probably be involved in the political system in some way if I wasn’t in health care.
Learn why patient's choose Washington University Orthopedics, request an appointment online or call (314) 514-3500.