Frances Suttles
Albuquerque, NM
Excelsior College®, Associate of Science in Nursing
Watching her grandmother care for people in need made a lasting impression on Frances Suttles. “I got into nursing because of my grandmother. She always took care of indigent people,” she says.
“I became a nurse later in life, not right out of high school. I did a traditional high school program, but as an adult student. We have 21 hours of clinical training and it was wonderful. I got a lot of hands on [practice], and I just enjoyed being able to help people. I really don’t know what I would do if I wasn’t a nurse,” Frances says.
Frances knows the importance of furthering her education and earning a degree. “I want to be an RN because the only difference between LPNs and RNs are the cardiac med pushes and starting certain IVs. They’re trying to phase out LPNs in a bunch of different facilities, because the ANA is asking for BSN RNs. So, the ADN RN is the next step in my process.”
“Because of work, I can’t attend a traditional school where I’m in classes during the day and then have to work at night. I’ve tried it. It doesn’t work out very well. When I got online and saw that you guys offered the online program from LPN to RN, I thought ‘I think I can do this,’” Frances says of her decision to enroll in an online nursing degree program with help from The College Network®.
“I like [the program] because I can study when I want to, how I want to and not what a professor says. I can take my time and not be pushed beyond what my brain is able to consume. When you do the quizzes you get immediate feedback as to what you’ve done and how much of the material you’ve been able to comprehend. I like the fact that they’re scored and you know how in-depth into the next chapter you need to go,” Frances comments.
Frances admits she had test anxiety before taking her first exam, but soon realized she had nothing to worry about. “I procrastinated with my first module because I was kind of intimidated of having to do a study program on my own. It took me from September to the end of March to take my first exam. Once I took it and I passed it, I wondered why I stopped myself.”
“With my second module, I started February 3 and I tested March 8. I passed that exam and I just kept on going. There’s no real concern to not pick up the book and study because the material that you need for your exams is in the modules.”
Frances is living out her dream and she gives credit to The College Network for helping her do so. “I’d like to thank The College Network for offering this program, because otherwise I’d still be an LPN with no aspiration to go on.”
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