I was always torn between pursuing a career in education and a career in health care. After working as a teacher for five years, I realized I wanted something more and switched gears to pursue nursing. With DUSON’s ABSN program and their respected reputation, I felt this program was the right fit for me.
I’ve been fortunate enough to travel the world and see how important good health care is and how unjust access is to it. Traveling has given me the opportunity to see the compassion of others in the most unlikely places and it has also inspired me to show the same compassion around the world in the health care field.
Choosing Duke provided me the opportunity to get a head start on a career that I’m coming in too late. The design of the program allowed me to apply the credits I earned while obtaining my bachelor’s degree toward my nursing degree. The accelerated program is a unique way to provide me with the skills and education needed to become a competent nurse after graduation.
After being fully immersed in the ABSN program, I know that I will be optimally prepared to take on the role of a nurse. My classes are taught by experts in the fields and our professors have years of experience working within the specialties they teach. As students, we’re offered real-world application of the information we’re being taught and hands-on experiences through clinical hours. The community of students and faculty allow us to build relationships with those already living their passion and networking provides us with opportunities outside of the classroom to explore new specialties and routes of nursing.
Between my second and third semester, I had the opportunity to travel to Tanzania with six other students in my class to work in a village hospital. We were able to work side by side with the nurses and doctors in the hospital to learn a multitude of skills. We rotated through all units within the hospital including maternity, an HIV clinic, the operating room, outpatient clinic and pediatrics. Each of these locations tested our knowledge from the ABSN program while also allowing us to learn more. The trip solidified my desire to work abroad and allowed me to build connections with individuals cross-culturally.
As a future nurse, I have a dream of working for a non-governmental organization, in a developing nation, in order to provide health care services and health care education. Thanks to DUSON, this dream is sure to become a reality.