Minority Nurse Summer 2020 Annual Salary Survey Issue

Degrees of Success

Trailblazer in Nursing: A Major Career Accomplishment

By Michael L. JONES, PHD, MBA, RN

On Wednesday, March 25, 2020, I successfully defended my dissertation titled “Perceptions of Rural Community- Based Nurses and Perceived Family Stigma Related to HIV/ AIDS: A Mixed-Methods Study” at Hampton University, a historically black college and university (HBCU). In doing so, I became the first African American male—and only the third male—to successfully defend a dissertation in the school’s PhD nursing program. Additionally, there is only one other HBCU in the nation with such a program. It has not yet had an African American male graduate.

This was a major accomplishment for me as it was a first in many regards. Having grown up in very humble beginnings in rural Mississippi, I was the first in my family to become a registered nurse and ultimately earn a doctorate in nursing.

Since I graduated from high school, my grandmother always wanted me to become a “doctor.” While I was unable to give her a medical doctor, I was able to give her a different type of doctor. I’m proud just to know that I’ve made her proud. I’m extremely blessed in that she

is alive to see this accomplishment. In September of this year, she will celebrate her 86th birthday.

My career in nursing began in 2000, when I earned an associate’s degree in nursing. I always wanted to serve in a profession where I could help individuals. It was either nursing school or become an English teacher. I decided to pursue nursing. This was one of the best decisions of my life. My very first job as a RN was as an orthopedic nurse. I later transitioned to a spinal cord injury rehabilitation unit where I practiced both full time and part time for approximately seven years. During that time, I continuously furthered my education, earning a bachelor’s

degree in 2003 and then a master of science in nursing degree in 2005.

At the end of 2005, I felt myself getting burned out with bedside nursing. In 2006, I left the bedside full time, but continued to work part time on the weekend. During that time, I became employed in an insurance company as a provider educator. This was my first position outside of bedside nursing, while I continued to utilize my nursing skills.

Over the years, I have worked in various capacities outside of nursing. In 2008, I earned a master of business administration with an emphasis in health care administration. It was also during this time that I found