Wednesday, April 22, 1998
Nursing at the speed of light
DEGREE: Intense, difficult
curriculum yields both bachelor’s, master’s degrees in three
years
By Michelle Navarro
Daily Bruin Staff
For the third time, Peter Anderson is returning to school.
After spending 16 years working in video production, Anderson,
who graduated from Gettysburg College with a bachelor’s in biology
and a minor in theater, decided to get an associate degree in
nursing from El Camino College.
"I really didn’t want to stay in the film business," he said. "I
knew I could go back to school."
Now the 49-year-old is again returning to school, but this time
he’ll be getting both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in nursing
at UCLA in just three years.
Last year, the UCLA School of Nursing introduced the ADN-BS-MSN
Program. The program allows for those with associate degrees in
nursing and prior experience as registered nurses to further their
education and academic credentials by acquiring the two degrees in
the small sum of three years. This move would allow these
registered nurses (RNs) to eventually become nurse practitioners,
giving them more authority in patient diagnosis and care.
"Patient care for many years was very hospital centered. Now
it’s very community centered and consumer driven. We are preparing
nurses to be able to function in that environment," said Adeline
Nyamathi, associate dean for the UCLA School of Nursing in a
previous interview.
"At the same time, the nation’s population is growing
increasingly diverse. It’s critical that nursing professionals
receive the education they need to be responsive to unique cultural
issues that arise in the health care field," she said.
According to Kay Baker, associate dean for UCLA School of
Nursing, the program also stemmed from economical problems.
"The concept was started by economic factors," Baker said. "They
were cutting down more than ever, especially on the nursing
budget."
Also, the program was created in hopes to attract more students
into the field.
"Over 50 percent of nurses are 45 years or older," Baker said.
"That’s why this program is so important. I think that is part of
the issue, how to get more people in. It’s an aging
population."
Four students, including Anderson, enrolled in the program last
summer. Each week they spent two days in the classroom and one day
out on the field.
The students are taking such courses as chemistry, physics and
the life sciences. Several students said that much of what they’re
taking is review since all of them have experience and an academic
background.
Because the prerequisites for the program require a strong
history, most of them have other commitments, such as work and
families, to attend to in addition to going to school.
Since the program has the students devoting most of their week
to UCLA, a strain is put on the students to balance everything.
According to Anderson, that wasn’t what he expected.
"UCLA has not been flexible in what is required of us," Anderson
said. "They are very stringent. Five days a week is tough if you
have a family and work. I thought it was only going to be three to
four days a week. It’s a lot more work than when I went to college.
It’s more of a commitment."
However, even though the demands of the ADN-BS-MSN program have
been trying on its students, they continue to plow through. They
each enjoy their work and have a clear idea of what they want to do
with their degrees after the three years are up.
"It’s fun to do what you really want to do," Anderson said. "We
know what we want to do; we see our goal. We’re willing to do
it."
That goal is either starting a practice or working in a clinical
setting.
Anderson plans on working as a nurse practitioner in AIDS care.
At the moment he is in AIDS care at Cedars Sinai Medical Center,
but doesn’t intend to stay there. With his degree, he can have his
own practice.
As opposed to registered nurses, who have "clear rules of what
they can and cannot do," Baker said nurse practitioners have more
freedom.
For example, they can be primary care providers, work
independently, admit and discharge patients, and even manage
clinics.
As Anderson put it, they would be able to "have a greater
involvement with patients and patient care."
All these reasons and more have prompted these students to be
pioneers in UCLA’s new program.
"We will be the class of 2000," Anderson said, as he jokingly
added, "if we ever finish. We’re all dying."
MICHAEL ROSS WACHT/Daily Bruin
Dr. Mary-Ann Lewis, professor and chair of the primary care
section of the nursing school, talks about a new nursing program
that allows RNs to come back for degrees.