He was working the night shift as an assistant on CHOC’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
She was a new nursing resident on the floor.
“I thought he was so dreamy,” Kristin recalls.
Kristin, too, had caught David’s eye. But he hadn’t figured out a way to break the ice with casual chit chat.
One night, Kristin walked up to David.
“Do you have a stapler?”
Flustered, he answered, “It’s over there,” his eyes avoiding her gaze.
And so was born a love story that culminated, two years later, with the marriage of Kristin and David Fischer.
Now wed for 14 years, they are the parents of twin sons Noah and Cole, 11, and daughter Kennedy, 4.
Highly regarded
Today, Kristin is the nursing director of the NICU and David is a charge nurse in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).
Kristin oversees all three NICU units at the hospital, managing a team of 350 nurses who care for patients across 104 beds in Orange.
David cares for older patients with a wide variety of diagnoses and is involved with medical, surgery, and trauma programs on multiple floors.
Both are highly respected and admired by their colleagues.
“Together they are not only amazing associates and leaders at CHOC but are raising a beautiful family,” says Nancy Kraus, executive director of critical care who has worked closely with the two.
“Kristin is an amazing leader who strives to be connected to all the members of the NICU nursing and multidisciplinary team,” Nancy adds. “She leads many important hospital initiatives and is a wonderful role model for the leaders on her team.”
David gets similar high remarks. Dr. Jason Knight, medical director of the PICU, has been working closely with him for a decade.
“He’s always been and continues to be one of the most hard-working and dedicated nurses, both at the bedside and as a charge nurse and trauma code nurse,” Dr. Knight says. “From a clinical standpoint, he always displays exceptional judgment, provides excellent patient care, and works extremely hard to assist the critical care physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists.
“From an administrative and triage standpoint, I have the utmost confidence in David’s abilities and know that all PICU patients will receive excellent care in a timely manner. He has a positive attitude and a good sense of humor, enabling him to collaborate well with physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists in order to coordinate patient care.”
The mother-in-law connection
Kristin didn’t know it at the time, but one of the managers who interviewed her for the residency program after she graduated from nursing school at California State University, Long Beach was David’s mother, Marie. It was August 2008, and Marie was a nursing manager of the CHOC NICU.
“She demonstrated professionalism and her answers to the behavioral situation interview questions impressed me,” Marie recalls.
When he met Kristin, David hadn’t yet decided on a career in nursing after injuries had ended his pursuit as a professional baseball player. He was considering medical device sales.
After graduating from California State University, Fullerton, with a degree in communications marketing and advertising, he served as an intern in CHOC’s marketing and communications department before joining the NICU as a unit assistant.
When Kristin was three-months pregnant with their twins, David found out he was accepted into nursing school. He graduated in 2014 with Kristin becoming nurse manager of the NICU the following year. She’s been the director since 2022.
Benefits of working together
Like many couples in healthcare, Kristin and David find that speaking the same “office language” has its perks.
“It’s great that we work together in the medical field, because I can come home and talk to her about my shift, and she gets it – and vice versa,” David says.
“We can sympathize with each other more,” Kristin adds.
Their shared experience goes beyond being nurses; as former NICU parents, Kristin and David have a deep understanding of what families go through. Their sons, Noah and Cole, were born six weeks premature and spent time in the NICU, giving them firsthand experience of the challenges many parents face.
“I enjoy talking to patients and helping guide parents through the process,” David says. “A lot of parents feel helpless, but I tell them, ‘Hey, I went through this, too.”
Not just a job
Outside of CHOC, David coaches his sons’ Little League baseball team and the Fischers love doing things together as a family.
They make annual visits to Hawaii to visit Kristin’s sister and enjoy family dance battles, S’more nights, and pool days at home.
Both can’t imagine working anywhere else than CHOC.
“It’s the people,” David says.
“And the high quality of care we provide,” Kristin adds.
“CHOC practices family values,” David says, “and the managers and leaders really encourage you to grow here, and they support you.” Kristin has graduate degrees in nursing and business administration. David plans to pursue a master’s degree in nursing leadership.
Adds Kristin: “We don’t feel we are going to work but instead doing something we love.”
Marie says it’s been a joy to witness the love between David and Kristin grow over the years.
“They work as a team supporting one another in their pursuit of growth and development,” Marie says. “I continue to be amazed how the legacy of CHOC has impacted our family.”
