SALT LAKE CITY — Class is now in session for students looking for another option to becoming a nurse.
Last October, FOX 13 News told you about the new Practical Nursing degree being offered by Fortis College. We are now getting a look at how some of the new students are doing.
Local News
Utah college unveils 15-month associate degree in practical nursing
Some are single parents, many are also holding down a full-time job and all of them, right now, say they want to become a registered nurse.
And those we spoke with say the practical nursing program at Fort College is the right move for them to help make that happen.
Including Savanah Negron. She is a mother of two who commutes from Utah County to Millcreek to attend class, while holding down a job.
But Savanah has a bigger goal. “A neonatal nurse," Negron explained. "I want to be able to work in the NICU with little babies and kind of provide them, kind of help them, with the life that they deserve.”
Watch: Nursing shortage across US and in Utah
Savanah was already working as an assistant in the medical field. But when both of her children were born with health issues, and she witnessed how the ICU nurses cared for them, her mind was made up.
Savanah says; “It made me feel like those nurses themselves really make a huge difference in the world. And I just wanna be one of those people that helps.”
Jenni Vernon is another student in the new, practical nursing program. Jenni was inspired by a hospice nurse who cared for her ailing father.
According to Vernon, “I always had this in the back of my mind that I want to be a nurse, but she just kind of reignited that flame for me.”
Vernon quit her job as a certified nurse's assistant and decided to become a registered nurse.
Professor Wendy Roberts hears stories like this a lot, “I have been inspired again and again by the sacrifices they are willing to make to serve as nurses.”
Roberts spent more than 30 years as an RN, mainly at Primary Children’s Hospital, and knows nurses are in high demand. Federal statistics show there will be roughly 190,000 nursing positions available each year until at least 2032.
She also knows that once students complete the practical nursing program, their next employer will likely be willing to help them continue their studies. “They’re really happy to help you further your career, further your education," Roberts explained. “So there’s a lot of opportunity once you finish this 15 months to have help with the programs that you want later.”
That’s the goal for Jenni Vernon. “Nothing is more rewarding than seeing somebody who’s been sick get better, who’s been sick and moves on with their life.”
The next session for students in the practical nursing program at fortis college gets underway in April.
