EMU Interim Biomedicine Director, Tara Kishbaugh, and Hannah Gonzalez, EMU MS in Biomedicine 2016 and current Nursing student spoke in November over Zoom about career plans, how they change, and both the MS in Biomedicine and the Accelerated Second Degree in Nursing programs. Hannah will be an August 2021 graduate of the Nursing program and is living in Harrisonburg with her family, including two children.
While this is not the typical route that students will take to enter a healthcare field, there are those who eventually find their way into the field of Nursing. Hannah shares more about choosing this pathway, how the pandemic has impacted her schooling, and highlights from both programs. An accelerated second degree in Nursing is 15-16 months and is very fast-paced.
What changed? What’s drawing you to Nursing now?
Getting into medical school is a long process, and Hannah devoted a lot of effort into this pathway. She loves biology but hadn’t truly considered nursing until recently. Hannah has a passion for healthcare. After graduation with a MA in Biomedicine in 2016, Hannah prepared for the MCAT and applied to a number of medical schools- such as West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, Liberty University, and St. George’s. After an interview and acceptance at St. George’s, Hannah reconsidered her career plans.
“there’s a lot of factors. But ultimately, it came down to… I have two children now. I felt how much I love my kids and wanted to spend time with them.” The other considerations for Hannah were relocation to Grenada, the financial burden of medical school tuition, and the concerns about practicing medicine in areas others than pediatrics or family practice, the specialties of St. George’s, upon return to the United States.
What do you enjoy about the accelerated nursing curriculum?
“I am very excited to be in clinics, interacting with patients, talking to them, giving them patient education, administering medications, and learning more about the nursing diagnosis[1].It’s great that I’m finally implementing things that I’ve wanted to do for a long time.”
Hannah went on to describe the challenge of learning nursing diagnosis and the support of her
advisor, Dr. Laura Yoder and professor, Dr Audrey Myers.
What do you continue to use from the biomedicine curriculum?
Self-efficacy: Hannah is clear that one of the things she learned in the biomedicine program is self-awareness and her own capabilities. The curriculum includes scaffolded reflective activities that help students know who they are, how to use metacognition, to know their strengths and how to improve on areas of weaknesses. “Nursing school is hard. But I can do this.”
Human Physiology Content : Hannah spoke of highlights from the biomedicine curriculum that help her now. The cadaver based human anatomy class is a highlight for many students and affirmed Hannah’s desire to continue with healthcare. But the class she refers back to the most “was like a pathophysiology course- the renal system, Dr. Roman Miller, emeritus, taught that section-I use that a lot.” The foundational nature of that course (co taught by Dr. Julia Halterman) continues to inform Hannah’s work in clinical and course settings. She also praised the writing assignments in Dr. Jeff Copeland’s courses (he teaches immunology and medical microbiology).
What have been some challenges related to COVID in your nursing education?
“It was hard. Oh, my goodness. The summer was tough.”
The nursing program kept their high standards, but the online zoom format required adjustments on the part of everyone. There was stress related to the unknowns. However, by the fall, things seem to be falling into place. Hannah expressed her gratitude to the faculty. “To be a professor, kudos to you for doing all the hard work. The faculty understand that it was hard; they are very understanding.”
Do you have any advice for others?
“Find your ultimate goal, and then be practical with it”
Hannah acknowledges that her family has also helped focus the way she approaches school work. “When I have that one hour or two hours to get work done, I get work done. You go to bed. I have a routine. I wake up early in the morning, and I know that they’re sleeping. The house is quiet. I can have my hot coffee. I can crank out this work. Yeah, it actually pushes me. I think it’s been helping my grades in an odd way.”
What’s next?
I’m looking towards acute care in a hospital setting. I am going to continue my education. Either through certifications or going back to school to become a CRNA or NP. This mindset started with the biomedicine program at EMU. The CRNA (certified nurse anesthetist) requires at least a year of ICU experience.
[1] “Nursing diagnosis is a clinical judgment about individual, family, or community responses to actual or potential health problems/life processes. Nursing diagnosis provides the basis for selection of nursing interventions to achieve outcomes for which the nurse is accountable.”