fall 2016
IT DOESN’T STOP HERE
CORAM DEO ACADEMY
Alyssa Slavin CDA Graduate 2008
Currently, I am a Registered Nurse in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Cook Chilhen I was a student at Coram Deo Academy, I had no idea I wanted to become a dren’s Medical Center. I am certified in penurse; in fact, the sight of needles and blood diatric nursing, and I mostly care for babies made me nauseous. When I graduated, I first and kids. My job is to care for patients after cardiac surgery, and to keep them stable on went to Texas Christian University to study ventilators and IV infusions. I have to moniNutritional Sciences; then I transferred to Criswell College in Dallas. After completing a tor them until their lungs are functioning and degree in Biblical Studies, I went back to TCU they can breathe and their hearts can beat effectively on their own. The CDA emphasis and earned my Bachelor of Science in Nurson critical thinking and the two-day a week ing. It is safe to say that I never considered nursing as a potential career field when I was schedule helped prepare me for this role. I owe a great deal of my accomplishments, in high school. Nonetheless, my education first in college and now, to both the rigorous at CDA, from 6th grade on, prepared me to become a nurse—without me even knowing curriculum and to the outstanding instructors at CDA. it. I will never forget my teachers con-
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tinually emphasizing the need to truly learn, as opposed to rote memorization. This was so engraved in me that when I was in college, it felt wrong to simply recite facts from notecards. CDA trained me to seek mastery of subject matter. Fueled by this desire, I learned to think, problem solve, and arrive at solutions with greater ease. College was a breeze, by the way, thanks to my CDA education. In the CICU, it is critical to know what cardiac defect your patient was born with, what surgical repair they had, and what could possibly go wrong. Thinking through these things can help you prepare for, and thus prevent, the worst case scenarios from occurring. When things do go wrong, having the ability to quickly assess and analyze your patient and the situation is crucial. On a different note, the schedule I had at CDA gave me a mountain of homework to climb on my days “off”. At first it was challenging; but over time, it became easier to manage. The secret was prioritizing well. This is similar to success in nursing. In the CICU, we care for one or two patients, depending on how sick they are. Whatever the case, there are always several tasks to accomplish—from getting your gloves dirty while giving baths, to putting on sterile gloves and changing IV lines—and no one is standing there telling you what to do first. Prioritizing in the correct way can save a life. While I still have much to learn and master as a nurse, CDA gave me an edge on the importance of critical thinking, good time management skills, and effective prioritization. I am forever grateful to have had a
rigorous classical Christian education to begin my years of learning and working. I know that I possess a strong foundation on which to fully grow and develop in my professional career. Every bit of education I have received at CDA and from teachers who genuinely care about their students, helped shaped me into who I am today: Alyssa Slavin, BSN, RN, CPN. Best wishes to all of you as you are beginning your journeys in life. I trust that you too are gaining what you need to become whomever you are called to be. Remember—it doesn’t stop here . . . not for me either!
The Mission of Coram Deo Academy is to train ethical servantleaders and wise thinkers who will shape culture for the glory of God.