HEAR IT FROM A STUDENT - MSN

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Erica Dewey 3

Kate Hugo 5

Lane Meltzer 7

Tammy Parker 9

Ida Benemerito 11

About American Sentinel University 14

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Nursing runs in the family for Erica Dewey, 2016 graduate of the RN to MSN program at American Sentinel University.

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do when I was younger, but after a few years of waiting tables and some technical school after high school, I decided to follow my mom’s path into nursing,” says Erica, who is originally from Macon, Georgia. She earned the ADN at Macon State College in 2007, and started her career in critical care at the Medical Center of Central Georgia, working in the intensive care unit, emergency room and cardiovascular intensive care unit—leaving the hospital for a brief stint as an agency nurse. In 2010, Erica moved into electrophysiology at Coliseum Medical Center.

A move to Washington D.C.When Erica’s then-husband, active-duty military, was stationed in Virginia, she took a position in the electrophysiology lab at Washington Hospital Center in Washington D.C. The commute from her Alexandria, Virginia, home was difficult, however, so Erica explored opportunities at Inova Mount Vernon Hospital, a 237-bed community hospital. She joined the interventional radiology (IR) lab initially. “I loved electrophysiology, but IR really grew on me,” she says. “It made me well-rounded as a nurse and more aware of the bigger picture in terms of body systems health.”

Pursuing a Master’s degreeBefore Erica moved to Virginia, her employer had approached her about taking a director position. “The one barrier was that I had an associate degree, so I would’ve had to agree to get a BSN for that job,” she says. Once she arrived at Inova Mount Vernon, she started considering the idea more seriously. “I figured that I might as well go for an MSN instead of just a BSN. And I decided on nursing education as my specialization because I’ve done a lot of hands-on teaching as a nurse and really love it. It seems like there is a big need for high-quality teachers in the field today.”

When researching MSN programs, Erica decided early on that an online program would best fit her life. “I learned about American Sentinel through a colleague in interventional radiology, and felt that in addition to the online platform, the school had everything else I was looking for,” Erica says.

ERICA DEWEY 2016 GRADUATE Nursing Education

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“Military pricing, eight-week classes, the recommendation from others at Inova—it all lined up.” Today, Inova Mount Vernon is an educational partner of American Sentinel.

Three years of hard workIn 2013, Erica started the MSN, Nursing Education specialization. “I took college with me everywhere I went,” Erica says. “To my kids’ practices and activities—everywhere. My kids learned that we are all lifelong learners and that education boosts your career.”

In fact, when Erica finished the MSN in March 2016, she applied for and got a job as the clinical nurse educator for critical care at Inova. “I manage the education for nurses in the CCU, emergency department, intermediate care and the observation unit,” she says. “It’s very different from anything I’ve done before, and very rewarding.” Without the MSN, Erica adds, she wouldn’t have been a candidate for the job. “I wanted to use the degree I was pursuing, and it was amazingly perfect timing. I feel like it was meant to be.”

More education in her futureOne year after finishing the MSN and taking on her new role, Erica says she is thinking about pursuing the Doctor of Nursing Practice Educational Leadership at American Sentinel. “There’s a lot of opportunity for me to grow as an educator here at Inova,” she says. “I had such a good experience at American Sentinel and the DNP intrigues me. As I’ve moved into leadership, I know that a doctorate would benefit me. I’m taking a break before take my next step, but I’m definitely not done with education.”

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KATE HUGO CURRENT STUDENT Nursing Management and Organizational Leadership

Kate Hugo admits that nursing was never on her radar as a potential career until she became a ski patroller at Beaver Creek Resort.

“I went to college at Northeastern University in Boston with plans to become an English teacher,” says Kate, who is originally from New Hampshire. After graduation, a close friend planned a trip to Colorado to check out graduate schools and Kate tagged along. Before long, she was planning a move of her own to the Rocky Mountains.

From ski patrolling to nursing schoolA lifelong skier, Kate joined Beaver Creek Resort as a ski patroller in 2002 and stayed for several years—with a brief break during which she taught middle school. Her experience on the mountain is what sparked her interest in nursing. “I really liked the medical aspect of ski patrolling,” she says. “It connects science and physiology to real, tangible situations with skiers on the mountain.” Following in the footsteps of a few coworkers, she took nursing school prerequisite classes at Colorado Mountain College. In 2004, she moved to Denver to start a BSN program at Regis University.

A new careerWhen Kate graduated with the BSN in 2009, she started her career at Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat Ridge in the internal medicine unit. She transitioned to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Lakewood in 2011, working on the trauma, surgical, oncology unit. But she and her husband—whom she met while ski patrolling—are mountain lovers at heart, and Kate was commuting from Winter Park where they lived. “I was ready for something different and eager to live and work in my community,” she says. The couple moved to Carbondale, Colorado, in 2013 and Kate landed a position in the acute care and surgical services area of Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs.

Time for a master’s degreeSeven years into her nursing career, Kate felt the time was right to further her education. “I had enough experience that I knew I could put an MSN into the professional context,” she says. “I was ready for a new challenge in my career.” She planned to return to Regis University, which offered an executive MSN program on weekends, and was prepared to continue to

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work full time. However, in summer 2015, Kate was honored with a Health Care Stars Award, a statewide healthcare professional awards recognition program sponsored by American Sentinel University and the Colorado Hospital Association (CHA). At the awards banquet, Kate received a surprise that totally changed her plans.

A full scholarshipAmerican Sentinel had entered the 12 recipients of the Health Care Stars Award into a drawing for a full-tuition scholarship and Kate was the lucky winner. “It was an amazing opportunity that I just couldn’t pass up,” she says. “I felt like it was the universe steering me in a direction. I researched the university and liked the eight-week courses, the curriculum, and everything I saw.” Kate enrolled at American Sentinel in June 2016.

Growing as a nurseKate is pursuing the MSN, nursing management and organizational leadership track because of her involvement in shared governance at Valley View Hospital. “I’ve assumed a leadership role with that and it’s been the best experience of my professional career,” she says. “It really lends itself to the organizational leadership track. We talk a lot about our obligations as nurses to the profession as a whole.”

Now five classes into her MSN program, Kate says she has already seen the benefits that the program will have on her practice and career. “I want this MSN so I can be a better nurse,” she says. “I think I’ll be better able to understand changes in healthcare going forward. For my long-term career, it’s important to stay current and keep up with the profession. For all those reasons, pursuing the MSN is the right thing to do.”

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LANE MELTZER 2016 GRADUATE Case Management

Lane Meltzer earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences at the University of the East in the Philippines before she came to the United States in 1985, but decided to pursue nursing when she arrived in Pennsylvania. “There was an influx of nurses during that time, so it was difficult to get into hospitals,” says Lane, who had earned her nursing diploma at Episcopal Hospital School of Nursing in Philadelphia. She got a foot in the door at Integrated Health Services of Plymouth (now Whitemarsh Behavioral Health Care), where she stayed for six years, working her way up to nursing supervisor.

A goal to further her educationWhile working at Integrated Health, Lane started an RN to BSN program at Temple University, but became pregnant with her daughter and had to set the endeavor aside. Still, it was always a goal to further her education. Later that year, she took a job closer to home at Holy Redeemer Hospital in the transitional care unit.

Twelve years went by and Lane still wanted to pursue her BSN, but between work and her family commitments, she hadn’t been able to take the plunge. “My supervisor approached me and said, ‘I know you’ve wanted to pursue education; let’s make this happen’,” Lane recalls. Knowing that her schedule would best fit with online learning, she researched her options and found American Sentinel. “When I compared American Sentinel to other universities, it totally fit what I was looking for.”

Onward and upwardLane worked hard and graduated with the BSN in 2014. “I was really impressed with the support I received at American Sentinel, from the advisors and the professors,” says Lane. The experience was so positive, in fact, that Lane decided to continue on for her MSN. “Holy Redeemer is very supportive of me with tuition reimbursement and my director pushing me to get my BSN in the first place. I figured I might as well keep onward. The BSN is an entry point to nursing now, but to gain a competitive edge, you really need a master’s.”

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Case managementAs she got into the MSN, Lane decided to pursue the case management specialization because it is a growing field. “Today, with the many changes in the industry, we’re seeing more patients going home and receiving care there,” she says. “It is important to me that we make that transition from hospital to home a good one.”

At Holy Redeemer—where Lane has worked on the rehabilitation unit for 17 years—Lane hopes to one day have the opportunity to work in case management. “Holy Redeemer’s mission is aligned to what I believe in as a nurse,” says Lane, whose experience there and as a per diem nurse at hospitals such as Temple University, Einstein and Roxborough spans medical-surgical, psychiatry, orthopedic, hospice, long-term care and critical care. “Patients are the highest priority.” Lane is one of about ten American Sentinel students or recent alumni working at the hospital.

Celebrating her successIn May 2016, Lane completed her MSN, case management specialization. She traveled to Denver one month later to celebrate with her classmates and professors. “It is a really great feeling to see the people who have been cheering you on and to congratulate one another for finally getting there,” she says, adding that she intends to pursue certification in case management later this year.

Her other cheerleaders were her family members—her daughter, who will graduate with her bachelor’s in public relations from the University of Texas in December 2016, her husband, who encouraged her to keep going when things became difficult, and her siblings, nieces and nephews, several of whom work in healthcare as well. “I’m proud to have gotten here,” Lane says. “I know that these degrees will enhance my nursing career in the future.”

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Tammy Parker decided to become a nurse after spending time at her first-born daughter’s hospital bedside when she was just seven years old. “My daughter was very ill from rare complications from a chicken pox outbreak, and I remember how frustrating it was to not understand the terminology of what was going on,” says Tammy, whose mother is a nurse. When she moved to Virginia years later and her youngest of three daughters started kindergarten, she decided to follow in her mother’s footsteps and earn the Licensed Practical Nurse certificate.

Tammy started her career as an LPN in 1997 at a rehabilitation and assisted living facility, and later, at a children’s hospital that focuses on patients with impairments due to brain injuries, chronic illness, neurobehavioral conditions and emotional/behavioral difficulties. She also worked as a nurse at a correctional facility. In 2003, Tammy became an RN and joined Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center as a charge nurse, working primarily with patients with diabetes and renal diseases.

Committed to further educationIn 2007, Tammy joined the U.S. Army as a Department of Defense civilian and became a charge nurse in an Urgent Care Center at McDonald Army Health Center in Fort Eustis, Virginia. She had opportunities to move into various positions—in the acute minor illness clinic and in the allergy/immunizations, internal medicine, dermatology and respiratory therapy clinics—but was soon encouraged by her colonel to pursue a bachelor’s degree.

“The BSN opened doors for me in my career,” says Tammy, who became a supervisor after graduating from an online BSN program in 2011. While in McDonald’s immunizations clinic, she got involved with informatics—and it sparked her interest. “Although I was reluctant to get the BSN, it ended up being a great thing. I decided to pursue my master’s degree in informatics. When you see all that’s happening in that area of healthcare and how important it is to bridge the clinical and the technological sides of the house, it is clear there’s a lot of opportunity.”

TAMMY PARKER 2016 GRADUATE Nursing Informatics

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American Sentinel offered the MSN program she soughtA friend of Tammy’s attended American Sentinel University and encouraged her to explore its MSN, nursing informatics specialization. “It really was the program I was looking for,” says Tammy, who started the program in 2014. “One of the main reasons I enjoyed American Sentinel so much was that I used real examples from my job in my projects. I pulled in real-world challenges on a daily basis and put the patient in the center of everything.”

A new jobAt the same time that she was starting the MSN, Tammy also got a new job—as quality management administrative coordinator. Her new role has her serving as the authority on performance improvement methodologies that may include Lean Six Sigma and FOCUS “plan, do, check, act” concepts. “It’s a very diverse job and every day is different,” she says. “The MSN helped me become a better researcher, an important part of the job, so I’m a better asset to my facility.”

A wide-open futureIn May 2016, Tammy graduated from American Sentinel. With her new credentials, she hopes to position herself to take advantage of future career opportunities. She has pursued yellow and green belt training for Lean Six Sigma and recently completed Lean Leader training. “I like to always be learning, and it’s one of the great things about the Army: they believe in continuous training,” says Tammy.

While she is already in a leadership position at McDonald, Tammy is confident that the MSN will secure her position and bolster her resume so she can continue to do great things. “My education makes it possible for me to be a skilled leader,” she says. “I would definitely recommend the informatics MSN program at American Sentinel. Technology has had a dramatic impact on healthcare. This program gives you the skills you need to improve healthcare and maintain high-quality patient care.”

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In 1987, on the final day of classes in her BSN program at Loyola University, Ida Benemerito says that the words of the dean of nursing hit her hard. “She stood in front of our graduating class and said, ‘Ladies, I expect each of you to earn your master’s degrees before you are 35 years old,’ says Ida, an Illinois native. “That really resonated with me and I never forgot it.”

With the goal of advancing her education in the back of her mind, Ida started her nursing career at Loyola University Medical Center’s hematology/oncology unit. Thereafter, she spent a year at Cedar’s Sinai in Beverly Hills, again in hematology/oncology, before returning to Chicago for a job in the telemetry unit of Swedish Covenant Hospital. She married and started a family, while continuing to advance her career. In 1991, Ida joined Lake Forest Hospital, a community hospital and Magnet facility. She worked as a staff nurse, case manager and nursing supervisor, but eventually became one of the infection prevention and control coordinators.

A new opportunityIn 2010, a former colleague encouraged Ida to apply for an open multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO) position at the brand new Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center, a partnership between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense and the first hospital in the country to integrate healthcare delivery and operations of two distinct healthcare organizations (the North Chicago VA Medical Center and the Naval Health Clinic Great Lakes).

“It was an opportunity for a new challenge,” she says. Right away, Ida was encouraged to look into pursuing the MSN—something she’d been considering since that fortuitous day in 1987. She was awarded a scholarship from the VA to apply to the university of her choosing, and began her research. “Getting the MSN means a lot to me. I decided to get the MSN because of the dean who inspired me at Loyola and because of my commitment to lifelong learning.”

IDA BENEMERITO 2016 GRADUATE Infection Prevention and Control

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Discovering American Sentinel UniversityDuring Ida’s search for the right MSN program, she found American Sentinel University. “Immediately, I thought that it looked like the school for me,” she says, adding that the MSN, infection prevention and control specialization was exactly what she wanted in a graduate program. Ida enrolled in 2015—following on earning certification for infection control through Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. in 2013.

Hard work and sacrificeOver the next few years, Ida worked hard in school and at her job. Over three years, she helped Lovell Federal Health Care Center’s community living center achieve 24 percent improvement in hand hygiene compliance through an innovative targeted solutions tool application, among other accomplishments. At American Sentinel, she gives 100% to the MSN program. “I credit American Sentinel all the time for engaging me, for stimulating my personal and professional growth,” she says. “I’m learning so much, and everything I learn, I’m able to apply at work to optimize patient outcomes.” Ida will graduate from American Sentinel in June 2016.

A promotion at workIn January 2016, Ida received a promotion at Lovell. The organization granted Ida an educational waiver before she officially earned her MSN, which was a requirement for promotion. “I’m really happy to be promoted, and was told that my writing skills were strong and that I articulated what I know very well,” she says. “I know that my writing skills have improved tremendously during my time at American Sentinel.”

The promotion means that Ida will become a go-to person at Lovell to lead projects that utilize implementation science to translate to the bedside in order to provide quality care and optimize patient outcomes. “Before the MSN, I would’ve been hesitant to take on projects,” she admits. “This has made me more confident in terms of what I can do at work, and more excited to try new things going forward. It’s a foundation I know will allow me to develop professionally going forward.”

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Inspired by these five incredible women? An MSN program can be your passport to a specialty nursing field, like nursing education, nursing informatics, nursing management and organizational leadership, case management, or infection control. Specialized knowledge forms the foundation of these nursing fields. When you acquire new knowledge, you can apply it to nursing practice in ways that enhance patient care and improve outcomes.

Have you dreamed of earning your BSN, MSN or DNP? With American Sentinel, you can make that dream a reality.

Read the other student success stories for more inspiration.

Subscribe to receive upcoming articles via our e-newsletter, The Sentinel Watch.

THIS COULD BE YOU

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American Sentinel University delivers accredited online degree programs in nursing (BSN, MSN, and DNP) and healthcare management (MBA Healthcare, M.S. Information Systems Management, and M.S. Business Intelligence and Analytics). Its affordable, flexible bachelor’s and master’s nursing degree programs are accredited by the Commission for the Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), of One Dupont Circle, NW Suite 530, Washington, D.C., 20036. The DNP program is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) of 3343 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 850, Atlanta, Ga., 30326. The University is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission, DEAC, 1101 17th Street NW, Suite 808, Washington, D.C. 20036, (202) 234-5100, www.deac.org.

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