Dr. Molly Sinclair ’91

Molly Sinclair knew she wanted to be a nurse from the time she was five, when her family was taking care of her elderly grandmother. She achieved her goal when she graduated from Franciscan in 1991 with her bachelor’s in nursing. Since then, she has gone on to impact the lives of many critically ill people through various positions in an impressive career. Even with her many academic and professional successes, Dr. Sinclair maintains that her Franciscan degree is the one she is most proud of.

She began her career in cardiac critical care at what is now Trinity East, in Steubenville.  She continued her vocation as a nurse at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh PA, and then transitioned into nursing leadership in various fields of nursing. In pursuing a master’s degree in nursing, her capstone project was to start a palliative care awareness group among the clinicians she worked with at Allegheny General. She currently holds a leadership role with Highmark Health, in a palliative care program serving many of the health plan’s members in the states of Pennsylvania and Delaware. She earned her DNP in 2020.

Dr. Sinclair said she recommends Franciscan to everyone she talks to who is discerning a career in nursing, stating the nursing program at Franciscan “is second to none.” She says the program doesn’t only focus on the illness or pathology, but also on the holistic view of the person as body and soul. She recounted that learning how to take care of the person, physically emotionally, and spiritually was the foundation of Franciscan’s nursing program. At Franciscan, she also learned the importance of attending to the needs of the families of patients, which remains of great importance to her.

When asked about the personal spiritual benefits of her time at Franciscan, Sinclair specifically pointed to the Portiuncula Chapel. During her time studying, the Port became Sinclair’s go-to spot for reflection and remains so. To this day, she continues to visit the chapel, calling it an “oasis for receiving peace and offering thanksgiving.”