Norma Spalding
Visalia, CA
Regis University, Master of Science in Nursing
“I wanted to be a nurse since I was eight years old. My mother was an office nurse, so my pathway went there. I graduated high school when I was 16. I went into the LPN program for a year and started the RN program two weeks after I turned 18. I graduated from nursing school when I was 19 or 20 years old and have been an RN ever since. I graduated from an associate degree program.
“My bachelor’s was an extension program. I had to go to hospitals and attend class all the time. That took up time. I had a good experience with that. That wasn’t a problem. Then, The College Network® came to promote the LVN to BSN program that was going to be approved through California. I was vice president of California Vocational Nurse Educators (CVNE), and they had asked if they could do a presentation. And, I said, ‘Sure! Come on in now that you guys are approved in California.’ They did the presentation. They talked about all the other programs and one of them was the BSN to MS program at Regis University. I thought, ‘I can do that!’ So, I sat in and signed up.
“I did three Comprehensive Learning Modules over time. I didn’t have to have them completed beforehand. I had taught study skills so I knew how to study those things. They were very thorough. They prepared me very well for the tests. I did very well on the exams by doing the practice tests and reviewing back what I’d missed. It only took about a month of studying.
“The people at The College Network answered my questions. They got me registered and prepared, so I just had to contact the testing agency. The experience at Regis was unbelievable. Everybody respected everybody’s opinions, everybody’s ideas. It was all online except for the last portion, which was the 150 hours for our practicum. We did our practicum locally. I spent my 150 hours where I will probably be working now that I’ve got my master’s degree. Then, I finished up.
“I could not have had a better experience at Regis and with online learning. I loved the online education! I didn’t have to go anywhere. I could stay home and study at two o’clock in the morning. I’d be so excited about studying that it would be two o’clock in the morning and I’d be like, ‘Oh! I’ve got to go to bed! I’ve got to be up in three hours!’ It was really interesting to know that I thoroughly loved the education. I thoroughly loved the learning. It stimulated me. Some of the Comprehensive Learning Modules, I thought ‘Oh, I’m not going to like this subject.’ But they were so interesting and so applicable to what I’m doing as director of a health careers department that it was fabulous.”
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