From a very young age, Zaira Sierra was always a determined and ambitious worker. Inspired by her mother’s profession, and fundamental lesson of serving others, Zaira sought out a career in healthcare.
“My mom worked in the healthcare community outreach field my entire life,” Zaira said. “That has been instrumental in the choices I’ve made. Loving people naturally lands you in the medical field.”
Straight out of high school, Zaira started working at Texas Children’s through a staffing agency in the Central Scheduling department. After this brief placement, she was hired permanently within Texas Children’s Health Plan as a member services representative. Over the next eight years, Zaira evolved her customer service skills and settled into her current role at Texas Children’s Urgent Care East as a front office specialist.
She took us through a day in her life and how her compassion continues to drive her forward.
What is your day-to-day like in your current role?
Working at one of the busiest Urgent Care community sites makes my day-to-day constantly different, and that’s what keeps it exciting. Our top priority is assisting patients with registration as soon as we open, because typically even before that time we have a line of families waiting to be seen. One of the most important parts of my role is assessing patients who come in and communicating with the clinical staff if there’s a patient that needs to be seen faster.
What do people not know about your job?
Although some people overlook front office staff, we are a very important part of the puzzle.
What is the one skill you use the most at Texas Children’s?
Definitely being Bilingual. Spanish is my first language, and I have found the Urgent Care location I work for primarily sees Spanish-speaking families.
What is your favorite part of the role?
I genuinely love helping people, and that’s in everything I do. When you are called to provide support and comfort to someone, perhaps during one of the most stressful moments in their life (their child being sick), even a brief interaction, such as helping them sign in at a clinic, can provide the opportunity to make a difference. That’s what I find most rewarding.
Zaira continues to believe her mother’s lesson of compassion is what has pushed her to care so deeply for our patients and what drives her to always deliver excellent customer service, aligning with Texas Children’s core value of living compassionately.
“The tiniest amount of kindness and compassion can go a very long way,” said Zaira.
It is the work of kind individuals like Zaira that makes Texas Children’s one of the strongest medical teams within our communities. We are always looking for new compassionate team members to join our One Amazing Team. Search our open positions, apply today and make a difference tomorrow.
