When Samantha Luttrell decided to make a career change from respiratory therapy to nursing, she didn鈥檛 even consider options other than her alma mater, 农夫导航.
鈥淚 knew they were going to prepare me to be a great nurse,鈥� she said.
She鈥檇 had an excellent experience earning her undergraduate degree in respiratory therapy as well as a master's degree at BU and she鈥檇 worked with a lot of great Bellarmine nurses.
She was looking to make the change fast, though. She already had a bachelor's degree, so she didn鈥檛 want to start over. And, she had a four-year-old at home.
叠别濒濒补谤尘颈苍别鈥檚 Accelerated BSN program, which takes one year to complete, was exactly what she was looking for. The program consists of three semesters with each semester divided into two sessions of about eight weeks and includes lots of real-life, clinical experience.
Graduates are eligible to apply for licensure through their state board of Nursing and register for the NCLEX examination. Bellarmine graduates consistently score above national, regional and local pass rates.
The program is challenging, but Samantha said she was committed. After working in healthcare quality administration, she had come to miss the clinical side and working directly with people. Plus, she wanted to the flexibility of a nursing career.
She graduated with her BSN in the spring of 2021 and landed a job as an ICU nurse at University of Kentucky鈥檚 Good Samaritan Hospital in Lexington, Ky. Samantha said she was nervous to start at first, especially since her cohort had gone through the BSN program during the height of the pandemic, and more of it was online that usual. But she quickly found her footing and is thriving in her new career.
鈥淭he nursing instructors really did a good job preparing me,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 knew the right questions to ask when I didn鈥檛 know what to do. They definitely teach you critical thinking, patient safety and I have a great foundation of theory. Even in clinicals, if there was something cool happening in the hospital, clinical instructors made sure we got to see it.鈥�
Samantha said she loved the relationships she forged with her professors.
She said she works with lots of renal patients now but found learning the renal system challenging. Her professor went over it numerous ways until she fully grasped it.
鈥淭hey really wanted us to learn and understand the material,鈥� she said.
Samantha said it鈥檚 an excellent time to go into nursing, the field provides tons of rewarding opportunities and flexibility. She has friends who are travel nurses making $5,000 a week. They have the freedom to schedule work as they please, for example some choose to work a contract for a certain number of weeks, then vacation for a few weeks.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to be making a lot of money right off the bat,鈥� she said. 鈥淥nce you graduate, you鈥檙e going to be able to pay off student loans, you鈥檙e not going to have an issue with that.鈥�
Samantha said she鈥檚 ultimately very happy with the path she chose.
鈥淚 love the ICU, I love my job,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 where I want to be.鈥�