Nursing as a second career

Reuscher was previously a medic in the U.S. Army and an administrator at Davita Dialysis, Inc.

Stonebraker also worked as an administrator of a master’s program and served as a preschool teacher before becoming a full-time mother to three children now aged 12, 9 and 5.

Pulse: What prompted you to switch to a healthcare related field?

Stonebraker: When my youngest child was a baby, my mother gave me great advice: “Don’t wait until that baby is getting on the kindergarten bus to make a plan for the rest of your life, or the moment when you let her go will feel like the end of the world.”

“While I considered everything from getting my EMT license to going to medical school, I settled on nursing because it combines clinical practice with really spending time with people who are in the midst of hard experiences.”

Reuscher: “For many years, while planning and managing healthcare in the Army and within the dialysis community, a desire to return to direct patient care remained in the back of my mind. I recall being most fulfilled as a medic, caring for others in their time of illness and medical need. Some very touching conversations with patients over the years solidified my desire to pursue nursing as a second career.”

Pulse: What are the challenges you’ve faced?

Stonebraker: “Going back to school as a mom has been hard. There’s a lot to balance, and I don’t want my children to suffer for my ambitions. It breaks my heart to leave before my girls get up for school, or to miss an event in my children’s lives, or to have to sit at my desk studying all weekend instead of spending time with my family.”

“I was a social science major the first time I went to college, and the evaluations were very writing-based. Studying lab sciences requires a lot more precision and memorization, so I’ve had to develop new skills there. I’ve also found it personally very challenging to go from being an expert in my life to being a complete novice again.”

Reuscher: “Having left a nice salary and effectively cutting our household income in half, while also paying for two years of nursing school, I did not have any wiggle room for not passing a class. It was “all in” for me.”

“This reality served to narrow my focus to studying and contributing to my family and that was it for the first semester. I transitioned out of some community volunteer responsibilities while keeping others. My wife and I trimmed down our lifestyle, expenses and obligations which did not directly support my goal of completing nursing school. Though I also enjoy giving back to others within the community and organizations with which I affiliate, I had to make a decision to stay highly focused on just school and family.”

Pulse: What have you found rewarding?

Stonebraker: “I love, love, love being with my patients. Perhaps more than any other profession, nurses enter into the most vulnerable, challenging moments of others’ lives. I’m often awed and humbled by the courage and generosity of patients and their families. The chance to care for someone’s body and spirit at the same time is a privilege that I hope I’ll never take for granted.”

“On the home front, I think my kids have learned that they are more flexible and independent than they thought, and that even with Mommy so busy we’ve got a happy, loving family that always will take care of them.”

Reuscher: “During my time in nursing school I have been rewarded by learning from both the faculty at the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing and from my peers in the class of 2015. There are some remarkably intelligent and talented students at GBCN and as much as I learn in my formal nursing classes from some exceptional instructors, I also learn from my classmates. As nursing students we spend a lot of time together; we are together in lectures, group projects, clinical rotations at area hospitals, during community service events, and many other times. I feel that interacting with my fellow nursing students and learning from them is just as valuable as my formal nursing courses.”

“Another very rewarding experience for me has been the amazing support and mentorship provided by the faculty at GBCN. They are amazing nurses and remarkable nurse educators.”

Pulse: What advice would you give to someone who is considering a switch into healthcare?

Stonebraker:

“You’ve got to be prepared to be challenged emotionally as well as academically. It’ll be harder than you expect because of that. But I can’t think of any field that would be more rewarding.”

Reuscher:

“Nursing is a remarkably agile and diverse profession with a significant number of specialties and career tracks. There is something for everyone. Most importantly, with the changing operational landscape of healthcare, nurses are being called upon to lead these changes in a highly collaborative professional environment. It is an exciting time to be a nurse!”

With graduation on the horizon, Stonebraker is leaning towards a nursing career in labor and delivery. But, on the other hand, she finds that she loves her geriatric patients and has also considered work in hospice.

Reuscher is considering critical care nursing. However, he says, “I’ve been deliberate in not focusing on one specific area too soon. It is important as a new nurse to be competent in fundamental nursing and to be professionally agile.”