December 8, 2022
Story and photo by Joe Vinduska
Barton Nursing student Katie Alnor loves helping people and as a nurse, she’ll get to do that every day. She has just one semester left and she’ll be a registered nurse and one step closer to landing her dream job as a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) nurse.
“I love working with kids and being able to share my energy with their little personalities,” she said. “I'm interested in working in the PICU with the children that are the most severely ill and require the most intensive care. As a PICU nurse, I will be able to provide almost one-on-one care with these sick kiddos and be able to care for their specific needs and be able to be a part of their recovery journey.”
Alnor said Barton’s hands-on approach, which includes allowing them to work alongside practicing nurses in clinical settings, really prepares students for the real world.
"Getting to work in different healthcare settings throughout my two years has been very helpful in helping me pick out a specialty that interests me,” she said. “When starting nursing school, I had a specialty that I swore I was going into. After going through clinical rotations, I found out that the specialty that I wanted to work in originally probably wasn't what was best suited for me. Either way, I have learned a lot from each clinical site and different nurses.”
Barton’s program provides opportunities to use state-of-the-art equipment and a team of instructors that is large enough to provide time for one-on-one focus for students when needed.
“The instructors made this learning journey very personal,” she said. “I had the opportunity to learn from amazing instructors who taught certain subjects based on their personal experiences and their chosen specialties. It was very helpful to be able to practice using equipment before going to clinical sites. We spent some time learning different procedures that we would be expected to perform at clinical sites. We practiced setting up and programming different IV pumps and used many different kinds of vitals equipment.”
While the technical training was key to gaining knowledge, the social aspect of the Barton program has been equally as important and fulfilling to her personally and as a student.
“I have made many great friendships throughout the program that are irreplaceable,” she said. “We go through tests, clinicals and struggles together. Barton Nursing has made us into a family.”
Applications for the 2023-2024 school year are now open. Priority deadline to apply for the Nursing program is January 31, however, applications can still be received until March 1. For more information or to apply, visit nursing.bartonccc.edu.