Caring & Compassionate Career

from Dragon's Tale - March 2022 Issue

by HutchCC Dragon's Tale Magazine

Trinity Sampson

Nursing students enter a field to serve others.

Design | Kira Crow

Photos | Shelby Spreier

Story | Braedon Martin, Mason Poepperling & Staff

The Hutchinson Community College nursing program is one of the best around, even winning the number one ranking on www.rntobsnprogram.com’s best community college nursing programs in 2020. Its quality is clear once you see its size and know its overall reputation.

The program sends out an average of 72 nurses into the profession each year to help fill open positions in local hospitals and clinics.

HutchCC’s nursing program can take on a maximum of 120 students across all levels. When they enter the field, students can expect a starting wage of around $27.50 an hour with the possibility of additional extras like sign-on bonuses and loan repayment.

McPherson’s Alisha Dewitt is just one of the program’s many students.

“When it came down to it and I decided to change my career I looked at a bunch of different places and options. When I settled on nursing I heard great things about the program. I was just skeptical because I was so much older and going back to school,” Dewitt said. “I called the college and they set me up some time to talk to Mrs. [Janice] Yoder and she told me about her journey with nursing and teaching and after hearing her story I had officially decided [HutchCC] was what I wanted to do. And it was probably the best decision I could have made for myself.”

Aspiring nurses come to the program from all over. For the Allied Health Department Co-Chair and Director of the Associate Degree of Nursing Program Debbie Hackler, she worked at the Hutchinson Hospital for 14 years before making the transition to teaching.

“Make the program your first priority, just as you would a job and you will be successful,” Hackler said. “Never be afraid to ask for assistance from instructors.”

Before applying for the program, students must take several prerequisite courses including two of the biggest obstacles - Anatomy and Physiology and Microbiology.

“Take the General Biology if science is an area you struggled with in high school or if it has been a long time since high school,” Hackler said. “If still in high school, take as much science and math as possible, push yourself.”

While most students and former students will praise the program, it’s not without its difficulties.

“Some days it’s like information overload,” said Dewitt, who attends nursing classes one day a week from 8-5. To her, finals are “some of the hardest tests I think I’ve ever taken. But it’s worth it.”

As the director of the program for the last 28 years, Hackler encourages all students in nursing to succeed but she knows that it doesn’t come without struggles.

In order to be successful, she said having enough of a support system in place to be successful is key.

“Students need study time support, enough time and appropriate time,” Hackler said. She also encourages students to make sure they have household support and child care support.

When it comes to advice for those interested in the nursing field, Hackler said, “See every obstacle as an opportunity for growth.”