What forced forced Jeanette Zocco, MSN, RNC-OB, C-EFM, C-ONQS, to rethink her path?
“I was burned out quite simply.”
This after nearly a decade as a Perinatal Safety Nurse. A podcast planted a new direction: to create the Obstetric and Neonatal Quality and Safety (ONQS) study guide she wished existed.
She protected time by changing roles, built a steady writing routine, and kept publishing even after a major setback. A national talk confirmed momentum. Now she’s expanding her impact with books, speaking, and consulting in perinatal quality and safety.
Background And Motivation
Jeanette grew up in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, and worked as a dietary aid in a nursing home while she was in high school.
Watching nurses with residents became Jeanette’s first exposure to the profession and pushed her to apply to the University of Connecticut School of Nursing. After graduating, she built an obstetrics career as a bedside nurse, charge nurse, clinical nurse leader, and Perinatal Safety Nurse.
Then the pressure spiked during COVID.
“The burnout experienced as a result of long hours, stress, limited resources, and getting sick myself (very early on in COVID) led me to start making micro-movements towards an entrepreneurial role.”
The Work (Decisions, Tools, and Constraints)
Jeanette started by studying what was possible outside traditional roles.
I listened to podcasts, searched the internet, and arranged calls with other nurses in these roles to determine what their jobs looked like and if it interested me.
One episode featured a nurse who created a study guide, and the idea clicked: write a guide for the ONQS exam. She reached out to the guest, began formal coaching, and wrote the book.
To make space for the deep work, she shifted from Perinatal Safety Nurse to a Quality Improvement Performance Specialist role with more structured hours. She built a repeatable routine by scheduling writing blocks, through consistent social media posts, and evenings and weekends at the keyboard.
The hardest stretch?
“Definitely the messy middle—the mid point of writing in which one thinks ‘will I ever get this done?’”
Then came a true curveball.
“The company I was working with to maintain my website vanished, wiping my website out completely, leaving me to rebuild it on my own.” She rebuilt on Wix and kept going.
She also trained for the stage. To prepare for a national talk, she joined Toastmasters and refined her message; presenting at the Synova Perinatal Leadership Forum validated her direction.
Outcomes And Evidence
Jeanette published a study guide for the National Certification Corporation (NCC) Obstetric and Neonatal Quality and Safety (ONQS) certification exam, a study guide for the ONQS certification exam.
She rebuilt her website on Wix. And, she plans updates to the Certified Obstetric and Neonatal Quality and Safety (C-ONQS) guide. Once she spoke at a national forum, she knew she enjoyed public speaking and wanted to pursue more opportunities.
Lessons from Jeanette’s Story
- Shadow and ask. “Seek out others in a role you desire, and determine what steps are necessary to achieve your goals.”
- Make tiny moves. Small, scheduled actions beat overwhelm.
- Invest in a coach. “Having a coach is also super helpful!”
- Practice out loud. Reps build clarity and confidence.
- Expect setbacks. When systems fail, rebuild and ship.
- Design your hours. Choose roles that create time for your next chapter.
- Share as you go. Show your work to attract the right audience.
What’s Next?
I’m working towards writing another book, updating my current C-ONQS study guide, more public speaking opportunities, and consulting.
This work lets her positively impact nurses and patients at a much greater level than at the bedside.
Bio: Biography Jeanette Zocco MSN, RNC-OB, C-EFM, C-ONQS
Jeanette Zocco is a leader in perinatal quality and safety with 27 years of experience in obstetrics in the hospital setting. She has worked as a bedside nurse, charge nurse, clinical nurse leader, perinatal safety nurse, quality improvement performance specialist, and perinatal patient safety program manager. She is known for developinginnovative perinatal quality and safety programs in collaboration with multidisciplinary teams, and demonstrating improved maternal and neonatal safety outcomes.
Her areas of expertise include: data analysis, quality improvement, patient safety, nursing education, clinical research, medical record chronology preparation, project management, multidisciplinary simulation, labor and delivery, TeamSTEPPS, and fetal heart monitoring education. In addition, she has created a study guide for the National Certification Corporation (NCC) Obstetric and Neonatal Quality and Safety certification exam. Her experience includes both intrahospital and system-level perinatal quality and safety work in a large multi-institutional health care delivery system.
She holds NCC certifications in inpatient obstetrics, fetal heart monitoring, and obstetric and neonatal quality and safety. In addition, she is certified in basic quality and safety from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and in simulation through Drexel University.
Where to Find Jeanette Online
- Website: https://www.obneonatalstudyguide.com/
- Jeanette’s LinkedIn Profile Page
- Email/Booking: Jeanette@obneonatalstudyguide.com
