Beth Shockey, Carolyn Young, and Lisa Knudsen each completed their Master of Science in Nursing with an emphasis in education (MSN-Ed) while working at Kettering Health Network. Here they share their experience.
What is your position at the network?
Beth Shockey: Joint Coordinator at Fort Hamilton Hospital
Carolyn Young: Nursing Professional Development Specialist
Lisa Knudsen: Nursing Professional Development Specialist
Did you use the tuition assistance program through Kettering Health Network? How did you find out about it?
LK: Yes. I heard about it when I was a clinical nurse in the Emergency Department at Kettering Medical Center.
CY: Yes. I heard about it through HR.
BS: Not for this degree, but I used the tuition assistance to earn my BSN in 2010.
What made you decide to further your education?
BS: I’ve always been interested in nursing and furthering my career, whether it be in patient education or nursing.
CY: I moved into a new position within the network, and it was required for my job. I was previously a clinical staff educator at Fort Hamilton.
LK: I was hired into my new position, and that is a requirement of the role. I had been thinking about it for a while before, but the new position gave me the push I needed.
What was it like going to school and working at the same time?
BS: I thought it was really good. I liked how flexible you could be with your time. I finished my degree in 11 months, so it was nice because I could work at my own pace. If I needed to take a week or two and take it easy, I could do that, but I could as go as fast as I wanted to.
CY: I’m a very organized person, so I used those organizational skills to balance work and going to school full time. I finish my two-year program in fourteen months because I was enjoying it so much, I kept working at it.
What were the biggest challenges you faced during your experience?
CY: It was challenging finding that balance and having personal time, but I found it exhilarating to do. Once I was in it, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I structured my week day so that I would get home from work and do my class work until 8 p.m. and not a minute past. One thing that did get pushed to the side was house work, but I worked at making sure there was family time.
LK: It was challenging to learn my new role as facility educator while starting school. I had a kiddo going into middle school, so trying to figure out how to balance those three things was a challenge. I dedicated six hours to doing school work every Sunday and two evenings during the week. We ate out more, the house was messier, but I kept telling myself: “In two years, do I want to have my master’s degree, or do I just want to be two years older?”
What was the most rewarding part of your experience?
BS: We had a degree mentor to meet with every two weeks to help us navigate our courses since they are self-directed. I met with mine every week because I was moving so fast. My degree mentor was great.
LK: Everything that I learned in my courses helped me actively learn my job role. There wasn’t a lot that felt like busy work. What I was learning in class, I could directly apply to what I was learning in my job. One of the projects I had to do was something I was given in my work life, which not only helped me learn how to do it but it helped me improve the project itself.
Are you thinking about pursuing further education? Kettering Health Network partners with EdAssist to offer tuition assistance to employees. Learn more about the tuition assistance program and how to apply by clicking here to visit the Employee Career Development page on the intranet.