Software developer and entrepreneur Sherri Sanderson shared her story of starting NurseLineMD for the 1000 Stories Campaign

Sherri Sanderson, Founder of NurseLineMD, 1000 Stories
Sherri Sanderson, Founder of NurseLineMD

Sherri Sanderson was tired of the cumbersome process she had to go through to reach a nurse every time she had a medical problem during her difficult pregnancies. She decided to use her 17 years of IT experience to solve the problem and created an innovative software system that could connect patients and doctors at any time and from any place in a secure, faster and more efficient way.

NurseLineMD offers services that help patients ask medical and billing questions, pay their bills online, request appointments, lab results, prescription renewals, referrals, immunization and medical records without even picking up the phone.

Reason for starting
My pregnancies were high risk. During my second pregnancy, I had frequent ultrasounds checkups in the doctor’s office, and there were several times I had to call in to speak to a nurse about various pregnancy problems. Each of these phone calls required me to tell and spell my name, give my date of birth, describe the problem I was having, and leave a phone number for the nurse to call me back. This process resulted in back and forth phone tag between the nurse and I, sometimes not connecting within the same day. I became very frustrated by this process, and during one visit, asked my doctor if he had a secure online system where I could log in and put my message in, and be notified immediately when the nurse replies. My doctor was intrigued, and said he would love to have a secure patient communication system. The system would provide great benefits for his office.
[pullquote] Success… For me, it is defined by the contributions I make and how others are impacted by my actions.[/pullquote]
How do you define success?
Success is objective to some and personal for others. For me, it is defined by the contributions I make and how others are impacted by my actions. There are so many benchmarks to measure success against and in the end it can only be measured by how you can create change to make positive impacts in how we live our lives. Integrating new technologies and business processes in order to create value in our lives and the lives of others allows me the opportunity to be successful and help those I influence have the same opportunities to be successful.

Biggest Success
My biggest success is being a wife and mother of three wonderful children, while I balance a career rich in opportunities, while growing a business to become a successful entrepreneur. I would say my biggest success is being able to raise my children to be the best they can be, instilling morals, work ethic, empathy towards others, and more. There is nothing more rewarding than to see my three children grow. I am very proud of them!

What is your top challenge and how have you addressed it?
The dynamic challenges driven by a new economy has required us to rethink how Information Technology solutions are delivered. Everyone is faced with new changes from managing human capital, regulations and the skillsets to navigate and execute effectively within a changing environment. Just like everyone else, we face the same challenges, but as a small company, we have more agility and can adapt to changes – both economically and technologically.

Who is your most important role model?
I would say my most important role model is my Dad. He was a very quiet, loving man that I am honored to call my Dad. I miss him every day, but I am blessed to have had him in my life for 35 years. From my Dad, I learned how to manage money with my allowance, compassion for people, and pride in my work. My Dad is the one that introduced me to computers, which led me to the career I am in as an adult. I greatly admire him, and will continue to use things I learned from him in my daily life.

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