{"id":58231,"date":"2025-03-03T09:57:32","date_gmt":"2025-03-03T14:57:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=58231"},"modified":"2025-04-03T14:12:55","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T18:12:55","slug":"a-royal-tale-nursing-alumna-olivia-beiler-23-finds-purpose-in-patient-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2025\/a-royal-tale-nursing-alumna-olivia-beiler-23-finds-purpose-in-patient-care\/","title":{"rendered":"A Royal Tale: Nursing alumna Olivia Beiler \u201923 finds purpose in patient care"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor\u2019s Note: This profile is the second of six stories about students and alumni leading up to LovEMU Giving Day on April 2. For more information about the day and how to donate, visit: love.emu.edu<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olivia Beiler \u201923<\/strong> got an early start in nursing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At an age when most kids dread the sight of needles, the eight-year-old from Chester County in Southeastern Pennsylvania was giving out flu shots. Every year around Thanksgiving, her grandfather, the late Dr. John Rutt \u201959<\/strong>, would immunize their whole family and offer his arm to her for practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhenever he would give me a flu shot, I would give him one, too,\u201d she said. \u201cIt became a yearly tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Beiler, now a registered nurse at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center\u2019s Pauley Heart Center, is following in the footsteps of her beloved grandfather. At the Richmond-based hospital, she cares for patients with a wide range of cardiovascular concerns, from those recovering from heart transplant surgery to those with arrhythmias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said EMU\u2019s nationally-accredited nursing program, aided by its small class sizes, prepared her well by giving her experience in all kinds of clinical settings, including in an OB\/GYN unit, an operating room, and alongside a nurse anesthetist in a dentist\u2019s office. That\u2019s something that isn\u2019t done at many larger nursing schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEMU\u2019s amazing nursing program encouraged us to immerse ourselves in our experiences and do as much as we could,\u201d Beiler said. \u201cEMU boosted my confidence in working with patients and helped me to understand the different roles within nursing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last summer, at the end of her first year on the job, Beiler was recognized for her commitment to care with the New Grad of the Year Award for Nursing Excellence, voted on by the nurses and care techs in her unit. \u201cThat was a huge honor,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was very affirming in the work I\u2019m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before arriving on campus in 2019, Beiler knew all about EMU. In addition to her grandfather, her grandmother, Rebecca Hartzler Rutt \u201959<\/strong> (a niece of the library\u2019s namesake, Sadie Hartzler), graduated from Eastern Mennonite. But, having grown up Mennonite and attending Lancaster Mennonite School, her mind was set on studying elsewhere. \u201cI\u2019m going to do something different,\u201d she recalled thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, EMU\u2019s nursing program proved too promising to ignore. She had been searching for a school with smaller class sizes and hands-on experience that wasn\u2019t ultra-competitive like some other programs. \u201cI knew how amazing the program was,\u201d she said. \u201cIt felt like the right decision, and once I made that choice, I felt at peace, knowing EMU was 100 percent where I was supposed to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beiler said that receiving the EMU Academic Achievement Scholarship also helped seal her decision to come to EMU. It’s scholarships like this one and the financial aid packages given to 100 percent of undergraduate EMU students that empower them to pursue a quality college education without financial barriers. “Being able to go to a university where you’re able to get that financial support right off the bat allows you to be more integrated in your program and definitely helps with some of that financial stress,” Beiler said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, she has taken a nursing student under her wing through VCU\u2019s preceptorship program. She said she\u2019s excited to teach her student all the lessons she learned as a young RN and share her passion for nursing. \u201cI\u2019ve always been someone who loves to care for people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your generous support helps students like Beiler pursue a quality college education without financial barriers. Join us for the 9th annual LovEMU Giving Day and contribute to the scholarships that empower future EMU students. Together, we can help write EMU\u2019s next chapter.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Read the previous profiles in our A Royal Tale<\/em> series:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
A Royal Tale: Content creator Willem Hedrick \u201927 sharpens skills at EMU<\/a><\/blockquote>