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Oregon Reproductive Medicine, Portland, OR, July 2011

FertilityAuthority is pleased to honor Andrea Speck-Zulak, RNC, Clinical Nurse Manager RN, NP, as Fertility Nurse of the Month. Speck-Zulak is the Director of Nursing at Oregon Reproductive Medicine.

The Path to Fertility Nursing

A graduate of San Jose State University, Speck-Zulak began her career as a labor and delivery nurse. When she decided she wanted more, she became a women's health nurse practitioner in 1980 and worked in an Ob/Gyn private practice. She saw patients in all stages of their lives — from the 18-year-old getting her first Pap smear to the 80-year-old woman, and she was intrigued by infertility and assisted reproductive technology.

The field of infertility has sparked the growth of a new legal field, commonly referred to as Family Building Law or Reproductive Technology Law. New family-building options raise new legal questions because many of them use the services of a third party, including sperm donors, egg donors, or surrogates.

The road to family building can be a costly one, especially since multiple courses or cycles of fertility treatment are needed. Unlike most other medical conditions, infertility issues are not automatically covered under most insurance plans. In fact, when many couples turn to their insurance plan to help shoulder some of the costs, they are often surprised at the lack of coverage provided.