Tiffany Burke loves the fast pace of working as a registered nurse (RN) on the cardiac unit at Pikeville Medical Center (PMC). “There’s so much going on—from doctors’ orders, to new admits, to patients going for procedures—and you’ve just got to stay on top of things,” she said.
Tiffany feels well prepared to care for her patients after graduating from the nursing program at the $$Pikeville Campus last November and becoming licensed as an RN shortly thereafter. “A couple of months before we graduated, PMC allowed us to apply for open positions. [The cardiac unit] was one of my top choices,” she recalled. “We went through an interview process, and then all ten of us had jobs before we even graduated.”
[img]It’s hard for Tiffany to believe that just two years ago, she was a stay-at-home mom. She’d attended a community college in the past and made the switch to American National University after finding it to be a better fit for her family. “The evening and weekend schedule was a big factor because I didn’t have to depend on a babysitter,” she explained. “By the time I got ready to go to school, my husband was home.”
The small class size and open door policy that she found at National also contributed to her success. “All of the instructors were there to help at any time; it was just a very friendly learning atmosphere,” she stated.
After working hard to complete her program, Tiffany is proud to tell others that she works at PMC as an RN. “It’s very exciting to say that you work for one of the top hospitals in the nation,” Tiffany said. “I take myself back five years ago, and I would never have imagined where I’m at today. I knew that’s what I wanted to do, but to actually say that’s where I am now – it just makes you feel good.”
Tiffany shared that she would like to continue her education and further advance in her career by earning her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, and now she has the option to do so at American National University with the recent launch of the RN to BSN online program. For more information about the RN to BSN program, please visit: https://www.national-college.edu/online/programs/rn-to-bsn/.
A- Tiffany Burke (back row, far left) and her fellow nursing graduates are pictured with vice president of academic affairs for health science education Diane Morey (seated, left) and college president Frank Longaker (seated, right).
B- Tiffany Burke is working as an RN on the cardiac unit of Pikeville Medical Center after graduating from the nursing program at the $$Pikeville Campus.
