TRUE PASSION 2
Momentum
It’s not hard to figure out that Dr. Jan Bury loves babies. Her license plate that says “BABIES” could tip you off, or her email address that also mentions babies; but the most obvious clues are the thousands of babies she delivered and cared for during her 27 years as an OBGYN and seven years as a labor and delivery nurse.
J
an knew from a young age that she wanted to be in health care. When she was 14, she applied to be a candy striper at St. Alexius. At 16, she became a nurse’s aide. She went to college for nursing and graduated from the University of Mary in December 1977. After a year on the medical floor at St. Alexius, a spot opened in the labor and delivery unit, and there Jan found her true passion. “I always wanted to work in labor and delivery. I was just fascinated with pregnancy and birth,” she said. “My love for obstetrics was born.” Jan spent seven years as a labor and delivery nurse, but deep down, she wanted to be a doctor and the idea of medical school never left her mind. At the time, she had four children ranging from ages five to ten, and she knew that her chance to go to medical school would be when her youngest began school. She didn’t want to move her family too far from Bismarck, so she decided to apply only to the University of North Dakota and walk away from her dream if she did not get in. “My interview was on a frigid December day in Grand Forks. People told me to try to be lighthearted and a little funny during the process,” Jan said. She remembers telling a joke about Sister Michael giving her the only B she ever received in college … in art. She joked that she’s not an artist, and
