Lindsey Waller, a nursing student at Georgia Regents University in Augusta, knew this summer would be her last to relax before graduating and getting a job . But in place of returning home to Griffin , she’ll be headed to Minnesota for an externship at the renowned Mayo Clinic.
“Instead of resting, I’ll be learning a lot and making a little money,” Waller said. “Externships are always competitive, and I don’t know why they chose me. I think God made it possible.”
She’ll be joined by fellow nursing student Ashlyn Fowler, a senior from Alpharetta.
“I had heard another student talk about how amazing this externship was, so I went ahead and applied but I never expected to get it,” Fowler said. “We learned that over 900 students applied and only 109 were selected from around the country.”
Four GRU nursing students have been selected for externships at the Mayo Clinic in recent years. Waller and Fowler are the first representatives from the new GRU undergraduate nursing program, formed when Georgia Health Sciences University and Augusta State University merged in 2012.
“I’m thrilled that once again our students have been selected for inclusion in this prestigious program. It’s highly competitive, and to be chosen is an honor,” said Rebecca Rule, GHSU-BSN program (Teach-out) director and interim GRU-BSN program director.
While both women are strong students and have served in leadership and volunteer roles, neither chose nursing as their first program of study.
Fowler was a fine arts major at the University of Georgia for a year and before taking a study abroad trip to Tanzania.
“We worked in an orphanage for three weeks and then we visited another orphanage where kids under 3 had malaria, tuberculosis or were HIV-positive. We could only stay an hour and I was really upset about it,” she said. “It made me re-evaluate everything. I decided to go into nursing and I’m glad I did.”
One of Waller’s brothers died from a heart defect and another was injured in a serious accident. She watched as others cared for them and for her grandmother who had lung cancer.
“I felt like the Lord was calling me to help others and I chose medicine,” Waller said. “In my sophomore year in college, I realized that doctors diagnose and treat. It’s the nurses who help patients heal one-on-one.
“I had to take a lot of extra prerequisites to get into nursing school, but I’m so glad I did. I love being in the hospital and being involved in community outreach.”
Waller is director of public relations for her department’s Breakthrough to Nursing program that introduces high school students to the field.
Both students credit their essays as the deciding factor in being chosen for the Mayo Clinic externship.
“There were no interviews, so I figured the essay was the only place to give them a personal view of myself,” Waller said.
Asked to imagine a health community outreach program that would interest her, Waller didn’t have to make one up. She wrote about a program that she volunteers with at First Presbyterian Church of Augusta.
“We go to a bad part of town and bring local school kids to the church for play, Bible study, some education and a meal. One of the things we teach them is a healthy weight-management program,” she said.
Fowler also spent plenty of time writing her essays. Asked to describe herself in one word, she chose “dedicated.”
“It’s not very exciting, but I wanted them to know that I’m someone who is going to accomplish her goals,” she said.
Fowler’s community outreach essay was drawn from her experience in Tanzania. She wrote about starting a maternity clinic in Africa that would train local nurses to work with pregnant women, because so many of them die in childbirth.
“I would like to earn a DNP (doctorate degree) in midwifery and help women be healthier before and after birth,” she said.
Fowler and Waller will spend 10 weeks at the Mayo Clinic, taking classes and working with patients alongside a nurse clinical coach. They’ll each share a townhouse with five other externs.
Fowler will be away from her husband, a medical student.
“He’ll be studying for his boards, so I won’t be a distraction and we’ll have plenty to talk about,” Fowler said. “This is the farthest I’ve been from my family for the longest time. I’m nervous, but excited.”
Waller has been assigned to a stepdown unit for cardiovascular patients.
“I know I’m going to be out of my comfort zone, but a medical-surgical floor is the best place for new nurses to practice their skills,” she said. “I’m just really glad they chose me.”
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