How to Get Started in Nursing Part 4
Spotlight Success in Nursing: One Nurse’s Story of Earning a
Here’s how one student started out her nursing career as a medical assistant, then earned her ASN, an eventually a BSN – all online.
Meet Deb-ee Jones, RN
I received both my ASN and BSN online and have not regretted a minute of the experience.
First, as a medical assistant, I found that I had topped out in my advancement opportunities. As I was contemplating what to do I received a post card advertisement from Excelsior College in New York. I jumped at the chance to advance my degree and still work and carry on with a decent family life. Their program was self paced so my first two courses took 6 plus months to complete but after I found out how to study effectively and rid myself of my doubts of preparedness the rest flew by quickly.
I completed my ASN in 2½ years while working full time and taking care of a young son and 89-year-old father-in-law. Once I obtained my RN, I quickly changed jobs to work with a facial plastic surgeon and realized an increase of $20 per hour. It made the cost of the online courses worthwhile.
After a year of work I then signed up with Kaplan University to complete my BSN. That transition took 16 months and yielded another jump in hourly wage.
My biggest fear was my statistics class because I had had a hard time previously with math. What was amazing about the online study was that I found that I had far better teacher interaction than when I had taken stats many years earlier in a classroom setting. I attended the online classes, utilized the online chalkboards to help work out problems and entered into the online student chat rooms for extra help and support. What I found amazing was that my math teacher even called me a few times (before Skype) so that she could talk me through a few problems. I passed with 96%.
I found that working online fit my personality better and that I was more willing to ask for help when I was an anonymous, faceless student. Also, I was able to study and attend class any time of the night or day and everything was archived to review as many times as needed.
I would recommend online studies to anyone that is interested in furthering their education regardless of whether they are near a campus or not.
Deb-ee Jones, RN
Lake Oswego, OR
When It’s Right, It’s Right
Whether you are taking your first college course towards your nursing degree, or returning to school for advanced credentials, you can fit college into your already-busy life. For many, the flexibility of online colleges and universities, has made them the solution of choice for students earning a nursing degree. After all, nursing is all about the health and well being of the people you serve; not how green the grass is on the campus where you are earning your degree.
Your nursing education is the fuel to help you better serve your patients. The better you serve your patients, the better served you are in your career. If you have the passion, the timing is certainly right to start training to become a nurse. With the revolution in online learning, you can begin anytime, anywhere – and be on your way. After all, when it’s right, it’s right. And the only way you will know for sure if nursing is right for you is to take that first class and be on your way.