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Act Two: How to Fast-Track Your Career Change
BY JEBRA TURNER
Many people want to make a difference as a nurse but put off that dream; it’s never too late to enter nursing, especially for individuals who are able to accelerate their education. In an attempt to fill a shortage of minority nurses, many organizations are specifically targeting second-degree or second-career candidates, versus recent high school-entry baccalaureate students.
Who might excel as a second-act nurse? Sometimes it’s a young veteran who served as a medic but now doesn’t qualify for civilian work without transitional assistance. Or it could be an IT executive who retired early and wants to make use of his technological savvy as an informatics nurse. Perhaps it’s a warehouse shipping clerk whose job has been shipped overseas and who wants to totally switch-up her career rather than going through another layoff.
“As someone who has been in the profession for almost 40 years, I know it takes a special person with certain qualities to be a successful nurse,” says ANA President Ernest Grant, PHD, RN, FAAN. “One must possess the innate qualities of compassion, dedication, and human dignity; an interest in the arts, science, research, and technology; and one must be willing to be a life-long learner.”
When is Nursing Attractive as a Second-Act Career?
As demographic analysts have been saying for decades: nursing is a guaranteed highgrowth field. It is one of the most popular professions for career changers, too, with high percentages of students over the age of 30 or male. The predominantly female profession is known to be more accepting to newcomers than other well-paying and high prestige occupations.
The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that nursing employment opportunities will grow at a 15% rate through 2026, which is faster than most other occupations. In addition, there are many options as to specialty, geographic location, and type of work environment. Opportunity abounds for patient care, entrepreneurship, management, and research. Add to that the potential for growth in salary, benefits, and advancement, and you have a clear winner.
Ernest Grant
As the profession grows more complex and raises its profile within the health care system, nursing schools aim to keep up. Students with prior education and skills can proceed at an accelerated pace to higher levels; post-graduation, they’re greatly sought after by employers.
Why are they prized in the workplace? Often they are more mature and distinguish themselves with their academic coursework and strong
clinical skills. Excellent students quickly become highly qualified nurses, shining as analytical thinkers and strong patient advocates. Some health care employers seek to recruit these impressive graduates by partnering with nursing schools and offering tuition reimbursement as an incentive.
Accelerated Programs FastTrack Nursing Careers
One of the most innovative segments of nursing education are accelerated degree programs for non-nursing graduates offered at both the baccalaureate and master’s degree levels, according to Vernell P. DeWitty, PhD, RN, director of diversity and inclusion for the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN).
These programs have also been gaining momentum in recent years. In 2019, there were 295 nursing schools with accelerated nursing programs at the bachelor’s level, enrolling 27,331 students, and graduating 14,977. In addition, they offered 65 accelerated masters programs, with 7,901 enrolled students and 3,254 graduates.
These accelerated programs offer a quicker and less costly way for individuals from other disciplines to transition into nursing. Generally, an accelerated BSN can be completed in about a year, though many students continue on for another two years of graduate
Vernell DeWitty
study to earn an MSN. An advanced degree makes sense for someone who already has a bachelor’s degree in another area and wants to ensure a higher return on their tuition investment.
Some accelerated nursing programs have had a focus on increasing diversity within the profession by recruiting males and other minorities, says DeWitty, such as the lapsed Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Careers in Nursing Scholarship program offered in collaboration with AACN.
“It was a strategic program using scholarships as the mechanism to recruit underrepresented students. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation invested $35 million, schools would apply to AACN for grants, and each student could receive a scholarship for $10,000,” she explains. “Consequently, we were able to add 3,264 new nurses who came from diverse backgrounds over that seven and one-half year period.”
Health care is a sector that continues to grow. After the COVID-19 pandemic, DeWitty forecasts that the public “will have a new appreciation for the contributions of nurses to the health
of this nation,” which may lead more workers in other fields to want to enter the profession.
Ensuring diversity within the ranks of new nursing students will help fill the pipeline with nurses who are more in alignment with the population, improving communication and increasing trust between provider and patient. “Having a health care provider who looks like you is critical,” says DeWitty. “Reducing health disparities and health inequities, that’s critical. As we’ve seen during this pandemic, African Americans account for higher levels of COVID infection cases and deaths.”
Additionally, underrepresented health care providers are more likely to return to their communities and address unique health care issues there. “One scholar attended University of Hawaii and then went back to the small island where she grew up and became a correctional nurse. That’s an example of a student who gives back to the community in a very tangible way,” she adds.
Individual universities may offer their own accelerated nursing degree programs and those programs may serve to recruit underrepresented students. For instance, some nursing schools may tailor programs to help incoming
armed forces veterans who served as medics. They often have a lot of medical fieldwork under their belts, but not much formal coursework or familiarity with continuity of care for common civilian diseases.
ANA’s Grant points to his alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, which “offers an accelerated program for veterans who meet the qualifications … and they quickly transfer to the accelerprofession, where the average age of working RNs currently is 50 and older, applicants are welcome.
Americans whose jobs have been shifted offshore may be eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance, a little-known government career retraining program. Workers may suspect they’ll require further training to recoup the salary that they once enjoyed, and so look to nursing as a good option. Americans whose jobs have been shifted offshore may be eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance, a little-known government career retraining program.
states even extend that privilege to for-credit courses. For instance, Georgia allows resi-
ated BSN program.” At North Carolina Central University, though, there is a less formal program that waives some general education courses on an evaluation of their military transcript, he says.
Another class of second-act nursing students that may take advantage of accelerated programs are retirees or mid-life career changers. The AARP says that there is a revolution in Americans changing careers after age 50—longer lifespans mean it’s never too late to start fresh. Within the nursing
Some colleges will give returning students credit for life and work experience, as well as previous college courses, which makes it easier for mid-life career-changers to earn a nursing degree, even if it isn’t part of an accelerated program.
Many state university systems even allow retirement age residents to audit college classes on a space available basis at no charge. That’s a good way to brush up on prerequisites before applying to a nursing program. Some dents aged 62 and over to take classes free, so an entire nursing education can be earned cost-effectively.
Second-Act Nurses Share Their Journey and Tips for Success
Here are spotlight profiles of three resilient former Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Careers in Nursing scholarship recipients who continue to progress and distinguish themselves in the profession. Gaea A. Daniel, PhD, RN, postdoctoral fellow at Emory
University, is an example of a nurse who slowly made her move from a career in childcare and education to health care. She earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies and ran camps and afterschool programs for a decade during and after college. Then Daniel dipped a toe into wellness, training full-time as a massage therapist for a year, then practicing for three years in a chiropractic clinic. At that point, she was ready to take the next big step toward a career in a entered nursing school in an entry-level accelerated master’s program, a 16-month program.”
At the conclusion, Daniel received a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing scholarship for an accelerated PhD program. She is now a postdoctoral fellow, transitioning to a tenure-track faculty position. Her scientific research supports minority communities in improving health outcomes.
Daniel doesn’t regret the
She encourages prospective minority nurses to value their own life experience, even if it seems far afield of nursing. “From a waitress who has to anticipate the needs of their customer or an infant daycare worker who has to care for babies who cannot verbalize their needs...there is an abundance of diverse skills that translate to favorable outcomes as a second-career nurse,” she says. “I’ve realized that it’s the best career decision I could have ever made. You can literally do anything in nursing, no matter your interest!”
Another piece of advice that Daniel would like to pass on is for students to proactively pursue funding. “Opportunities exist specifically for minority nursing students through national nursing organizations like the National Black Nurses Association,” she says. “The local chapters of these national organizations like the one I’m a member of, the Atlanta Black Nurses
health care profession—but which one?
“I thought I was interested in physical therapy but at a house party someone suggested nursing,” she says. “I started exploring it and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I long, circuitous path she took to get to her career destination. She believes previous formal education work and work experience is a plus, and helped her to get accepted to nursing school and to win academic scholarships. After the COVID-19 pandemic, DeWitty forecasts that the public “will have a new appreciation for the contributions of nurses to the health of this nation,” which may lead more workers in other fields to want to enter the profession.
Gaea A. Daniel
Association, also provide mentorship and scholarship opportunities, community engagement, and a strong support system.”
Other sources of financial support include nursing scholarships for minorities through Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) and for graduates, the Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program, also funded through HRSA.
Onome Henry Osokpo, MSc, MSN, RN, a PhD candidate at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, is someone who followed his heart into nursing from a head-centered career as a chemist.
Osokpo earned a bachelor’s in chemistry education, a master’s in analytical chemistry, and worked as a chemist for three years before embarking on a PhD in the field. To defray educational costs, he worked part time at the United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Suffolk helping clients develop independent living skills.
“It was like my world changed,” he says. “I was there for a year when one the directors called me in and asked ‘Have you ever thought about a career in health care?’ Then someone else said, ‘You should be a nurse—you’re wired to be a nurse.’”
He started to think that maybe chemistry and scientific research wasn’t the right path for him after all. “I’m an extrovert, playful, and I like to laugh at work. In the lab my manager always said, ‘We have to be serious,’” he explains. “On my other job, they [clients] were non-verbal but it gave me joy, fulfillment, and excitement.”
He took his solid background in the sciences—biology, chemistry, and math—and applied it to a nursing career. “I chose Stonybrook School of Nursing because of the program and name. Choosing an expensive school may be a good investment in certain instances. I would not encourage someone to pay that too much for just any school, though,” he says.
Three semesters totaled about $15,000 in state tuition for a 12-month accelerated BSN. “The $10,000 scholarship was huge,” he says. “During the semester I studied fulltime and during the breaks I worked a lot of hours” at United Cerebral Palsy.
Osokpo says that in addition to the scholarship, work, and loans, he received support from his family and community. “After school I was making over $70,000 a year [as a bedside nurse] so it was a good investment,” he says.
The next leg of his journey is the PhD program at University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in 2017. “I’m a presenter for the PCA—I deliver evidence-based programs for senior centers. I’m an adjunct clinical instructor at Penn, and also work PRN as a nurse during breaks,” he says. “My research goal is to develop selfcare interventions that would help foreign-born blacks with chronic illness.”
Osokpo has these two major pieces of advice for second-act nursing students: • “Keep your eye on the goal.
Most accelerated programs have highly motivated students, which creates an environment for drama. I refused to get drawn into those situations. Someone overly sensitive won’t do well in school there. You have to be thick-skinned and stay focused,” he says. • Reach out to your community. “After I graduated, someone from Ghana reached out to me through the school,” he remembers.
“I met with that individual and all I did was share strategy. ‘How do you study?,’ I asked. He was almost failing but the issue wasn’t his cognitive ability—he just needed help to strategize differently.”
Carli Zegers, PhD, APRN-NP, FNP-BC, is a second-degree (but not second-career) nurse who decided to pivot into nursing before her first choice of profession was even launched.
“I have an exercise science [bachelor’s] degree,” she says, “Not a lot of options so went back to school.” She sped through an accelerated program with flying colors, which culminated in both a PhD in nursing and Family Nurse Practitioner degrees at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Now Zegers is an assistant professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Nursing and Health Studies and a nurse practitioner in the Emergency Department at Truman Medical Center.
“I used my first degree and work experience to obtain my first job and quickly transition into a supportive team member,” she explains. “One of the hardest parts of nursing is ‘making it real’ when studying and I believe second-degree nurses are well equipped to make that transition.”
Her previous degree also gave her the study skills and work ethic to put in 40-hour weeks, including early mornings and late nights. “It is important to know that nursing is a tough profession at times and interpersonal skills are incredibly important,” she explains. “Nursing is also a very thankless profession meaning that nursing requires a lot of both physical, mental, and psychosocial work.”
Carli Zegers
One of the issues that Zegers has focused on is developing a pipeline program for high school students from underrepresented and underserved backgrounds who seek a career in health care.
Zegers cautions that minority nursing students may “experience isolation or limited diversity in their classes,” but they should stay the course regardless. “Minority nurses are in an exceptional position to also bring their bicultural and possibly bilingual experience to nursing. I was able to connect with my patients more closely than many of my other nursing school peers,” she says.
Nurses can take a proactive stance for diversity by joining professional associations and networks. “I really have enjoyed participating with the National Association of Hispanic Nurses; I have a true sense of familia. I often feel alone and tapping into the resources built by amazing nurse leaders is incredibly important, starting as early as nursing school.”
As a professor, Zegers serves as an inspirational role model—signaling that the profession values ethnic diversity and offers a career ladder for nurse leaders. Statistics indicate that only 15% of full-time faculty are from underrepresented groups, according to the AACN.
“Nursing needs seconddegree nurses who are diverse,” she says. Nurses who have studied other disciplines and worked in far-flung fields are prime candidates for the next generation of nurse leadership.
These second act nurses show how it’s possible to fasttrack a nursing education and still perform spectacularly. States, hospitals, and universities are offering scholarships, reimbursement, accelerated courses, or otherwise making it easier to enter the profession. Truly, it’s never too late to become a nurse.
