Making A CAREER change?

flexible education options are key.

NDSU offers part- and full-time campus and online options in health professions

Abigail Vetter had every intention of becoming an astronaut. The Florida native began her career as an environmental engineer and then started pursuing a master’s degree in space studies. While attending school in North Dakota, her life changed trajectory. She married a North Dakota boy, happily had four children and was a stay-athome mom for a decade.

Then, her little girl, Caroline, changed everything. Vetter’s third child had a rare and severe neurometabolic disorder. “She spent her whole life going in and out of hospitals,” says Vetter. “So much was rare and difficult to understand. I had to learn a lot about it in order to educate the physicians that were caring for her and to advocate for her to make sure she got the care she needed.”

Vetter found challenges and purpose within the journey, even through the difficult loss of her child at age 5 1/2. After taking time to grieve and focus on family, Vetter’s husband encouraged her to think about the future.

“Would you consider going back to be a nurse? I think you would enjoy it,” she remembers her husband saying. She was reticent at first.

“Well, I’ll just take a class or two,” she recalls thinking. “And the next thing I know, I was enrolled in nursing school,” she says, laughing. “I don’t ever remember making the decision that this was what I was going to do. It just kind of happened.”

She took things step-by-step, starting as a nurse aide. Then she achieved an associate degree in nursing. She studied more and achieved her bachelor of science in nursing degree, working in pediatric critical care and neonatal intensive care. “I got to work side-by-side with a lot of nurses and physicians who took care of Caroline,” says Vetter, “so that was really meaningful.”

Vetter took her passion to help others a step further. She went back to school again to become a pediatric nurse practitioner. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it if I didn’t have an absolutely fantastic supportive husband and family,” she says, mentioning that her youngest child has no recollection of a time that her mother wasn’t in school. Vetter is now pursuing her doctorate degree in nursing.

“Sometimes I’m at the table doing homework and the kids are around doing theirs. That’s just what we do,” she says.

Vetter also teaches future nurses at North Dakota State University and works part-time as a pediatric hospitalist, caring for children and their families. “So I get to go there when I’m not here and take care of children, and I just love it.”

“Get to” is a phrase that Vetter often uses. Despite her busy schedule, there is never any mention of “have to” in her conversations.

In the past, she also volunteered with Make-AWish and HOPE Inc., both of which help children and their families.

“I feel that when we needed the help, there were so many people around us to help. We were given so much in our time of need,” says Vetter. “So for me to be able to give back and do those same things for other families, it’s important to give back.”

Vetter also has advice for anyone going back to school and juggling family, work and studies. “Resist the urge to compare yourself to others,” she says. “Focus on the few steps in front of you to avoid becoming overwhelmed. I took it one semester at a time, one class at a time, and often one day at a time,” says Vetter, who also recommends a stress outlet. “Nothing helps to decrease that more than laughter and spending time with those we care about.”

The North Dakota Nursing Students’ Association named Vetter the Nurse Educator of the Year in 2018. She also takes nursing students on self-funded medical mission trips to countries such as Haiti and Belize so they can experience transcultural nursing.

“Abigail teaches students lessons that books don’t offer,” says NDSU nursing student Lauren Gietzen. “She is an inspiration to many and reminds students that with hard work and dedication, anything is possible if you believe and set goals for yourself.”

Vetter encourages others to consider a nursing career. “There are so many ways to become a nurse and there are so many things you can do,” she says. “And you don’t have to be one thing within nursing.”

Curiosity, organization, compassion and determination are some of the qualities that Vetter believes make an exceptional nurse. North Dakota Labor Market Information Center projections estimate more than 4,000 openings for registered nurses in the state through 2024.

North Dakota State University offers nursing programs including online educational opportunities to part- and full-time students and working professionals. More information is available at ndsu.edu/nursing.

Abigail Vetter forged her own unconventional path to nursing and encourages others to find their passion.

“Caroline taught us a lot of lessons and showed me who I needed to be and what I needed to do with the rest of my life,” says Vetter. “Being a small part of educating future nurses and assisting them to reach their fullest potential is a significant part of my life’s journey. For that, and the little girl that helped me get there, I will be forever grateful.” [