(Describer) A title: Finding Your Pathway: Stackable Credentials -- Healthcare. A young woman with dark hair and a lab coat walks through a hallway.
[bright music]
(Sanchez)
My name is
Nancy Giron Sanchez,
and I am a registered nurse
at Cincinnati
Children's Hospital.
When I was younger,
I had really severe asthma,
and that was one of
the major deciding factors
of why my family moved
from Mexico to the U.S.
Once I was here, I became
a patient of Children's,
and they were able to control
my asthma.
I just saw the care
that the nurses provided,
and it really
touched my heart.
And that was
when I started thinking
that I might really want
to become a nurse.
[bright music]
(Describer) While in high school, Nancy received a State Tested Nursing Assistant certificate. With her certificate, Nancy worked as a Patient Care Assistant at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
♪
One of the biggest benefits
that I feel that
an STNA certificate
has helped me
is I was able to practice
a lot of the skills
that would go in hand
and that I would learn
in the first semester
of nursing school.
(Describer) Working at "Children's" inspired Nancy to pursue a 4-year degree in Nursing.
The nursing program at NKU
consists of six semesters.
Each of them are divided
by kind of the specialty.
And the first year
is all fundamentals
and them making sure that you
know the basics of nursing.
When I first met Nancy,
I thought she was
a very pleasant young girl
and she had
a wonderful attitude.
She stood out tremendously
(Describer) Traci Freeman.
because of the way
that she worked with patients
and with family members,
and also collaborated
with her peers.
You really truly get
to know the students
and have a special bond
with them.
The one major advantage
I think that this program has
is that we do start them out
in clinical immediately.
So, in their very
first semester,
they are in the hospitals
caring for patients,
and can really get a taste for
what being a nurse truly is.
(Describer) Taking blood pressure.
I currently work
as a bedside nurse,
and so I am kind of
the first line
that the patient sees
when they first come
into the hospital.
I am their advocate.
I am their teacher.
I educate them
on the health topics
that they came in for today.
I'm able to give them
information
about their medications,
any procedures that
they are having
scheduled for the day.
(Describer) Currently Nancy wants to attend grad school to become a Nurse Practitioner.
[electronic music]
In the future, I am looking to
advance my education
by getting
a nurse practitioner degree.
A nurse practitioner differs
from a registered nurse
because they are able to
prescribe medications
and they're able to
make more of the decisions
in the plan of care.
(Freeman)
Students are very fortunate
because, with this degree
that they receive
and as a registered nurse,
there are so many opportunities
available to them.
I believe that
our new graduates
who are starting
in the area
are beginning salaries between
$50,000 and 55,000 a year.
A nurse practitioner would
start a little bit higher,
maybe in the $85,000
to 90,000 range,
and then it obviously goes up
from that point.
♪
(Describer) Nancy credits being able to stack credentials in helping find her career path.
I really think
that becoming a PCA
before I became
a registered nurse
really, really helped me
in my career.
I feel like
it really helped me
become, like, the nurse
that I am today.
I have a whole bunch
of more things
that I need to learn
and stuff,
but it's really given me
a good basic foundation
of what being
a registered nurse is.
Accessibility provided by the
U.S. Department of Education.
(Describer) Find your path at www.cincy-americangraduate.org Accessibility provided by the U.S. Department of Education.
