During Lee’s third year, the Penn State Army ROTC program hosted a nursing recruiting event at Walter Reed Medical Center to illustrate for students the role of an Army nurse and the type of hospital environment they worked in.
“Naturally, I volunteered! After the trip I was so impressed with military medicine and nursing,” said Lee. “Long story short, I joined the Penn State Army ROTC Program and they even provided me a two-year scholarship with stipends to finish out my nursing degree.”
In May of 2008, during the height of the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, Lee graduated with a bachelor of science in nursing and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S Army and an officer in the Army Nurse Corps. His first duty station was in the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany.
Lee then went to work for the Army’s Critical Care Course in Ft. Lewis Washington to become a critical care nurse. In 2011, Lee was deployed to Camp Bastion, Afghanistan for six months in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and was then stationed in Ft. Campbell, Kentucky at the 86th Combat Support Hospital.
In 2013, after serving five years on active duty, Lee felt it was time to leave the Army to go on to continue his education as a nurse anesthetist. He enrolled in the nurse anesthesia program at the Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia in Nashville, Tennessee. Upon receiving his master of science in anesthesia in 2015, Lee began work at Medical Center Health in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
It was there where Lee met his now-wife, Breanna, who worked as a nurse in telemetry and cardiac cath lab. Breanna graduated with her associate's nursing degree from Western Kentucky University (WKU) and received her bachelor of science in nursing from Lindsey Wilson College. While her clinical nursing experience included telemetry nursing and cardiac cath lab nursing, she was sought out by WKU to help teach nursing students.
“After we married, we flew to Saipan, where my parents still reside. To me, it was important for my wife to see where I grew up,” said Lee. “During the visit, my wife explained how much of an impact we could make here with the medical skills we possess. At the time, I was hesitant because I never thought of coming back to the island, but after more discussions, we decided to give it a shot.”
Sinj and Breanna moved to Saipan in 2019, and after moving the process of finding a job for Lee turned out to be a long and arduous journey as Saipan had never had a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) prior.
Lee was finally hired at the Commonwealth Health Corporation (CHCC), the only hospital on the island, after almost a year and a half of deliberation. He became one of the first CRNA’s to work on Saipan, paving the way for the profession on the island.
Breanna was hired as a full-time clinical nursing instructor at the Northern Marianas College (NMC). Before beginning her role, the college’s NCLEX pass rate was less than ideal. Now, after expanding her nursing expertise to her students, Breanna has contributed greatly to increasing the college’s NCLEX pass rate.
“The nursing program is very small with limited faculty, so Breanna has been giving countless hours of her own time in preparing the students to become quality nurses and pass the board exam. Technically, she is the skills instructor, but she puts in so much additional time to teach med surg and pharmacology to help the students learn more,” said Lee.
Sinj and Breanna have now been living in Saipan for close to three years and recently welcomed their first child, a daughter, Ellie. Breanna is currently enrolled in a master’s program in nursing education at Bakers University, and Sinj, while still working at the local hospital, decided to donate some of his extra time teaching at NMC too.