No two days look the same for Brandy Sizemore.
She changes scrub colors as she moves from one PRN job in an ophthalmologist's office to another in an operating room.
She takes one twin daughter to t-ball and tumbling practice and the other to dance class, all while teaching group fitness classes on the side.
Sizemore is used to change, and that’s part of the reason she decided to go back to school to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree through the online RN to BSN program, 16 years after becoming an RN.
“I knew that I could do more for my community, and I knew that there was so much more I was capable of,” she says.
At UL Lafayette’s Fall 2023 Commencement, Sizemore walked across the stage to accept her BSN degree as the 3000th student to graduate from the online RN to BSN program.
And her effort has already begun paying off.
Why earn a BSN?
Earning a BSN degree wasn’t always on Sizemore’s radar.
However, after 16 years in nursing and 23 years in health care, Sizemore was ready for more, and she wanted a leg up.
“In a lot of states, you have to have a bachelor’s degree or you’re not going to work,” she says. “It’s also not uncommon for large health care systems or corporations to come in, buy your hospital or practice, and require you to earn a BSN.”
With that in mind, she knew it was time to go back.
“I got very complacent with where I was, and I was just going through the motions,” she says. “Nothing was challenging me anymore, and the COVID-19 pandemic was a big eye opener, reminding me to take care of myself and do more and invest more in my education.”
The Learning Never Stops
Despite having experience as a charge nurse and a manager, through the RN to BSN program, Sizemore learned a lot beyond just what she had picked up on the job over her 16 years as an RN.
She specifically credits the program with introducing her to professional nursing.
“I didn’t realize how much the program would benefit me until I actually started it,” she says. “I was like, ‘OK, so this is what professional nursing is.’”
Professional nursing, as Sizemore explains it, is understanding the bigger picture beyond caring for a patient. A huge part of that involves knowing how to look ahead and make decisions that will impact the future of a clinic or hospital.
“In the discussion forums for the classes, there was a lot of talk about where nursing is going in the future. I’m glad we covered all that. I knew how to take care of a patient, but there was a leadership and management aspect of the RN to BSN program that I just didn’t get in my associate degree program,” she says.
“I learned a lot about innovation and the electronic side of health care, which is super important and huge right now. In 2008, when I became an RN, everything was on paper, but with electronic records, there’s so much more safety with correcting and catching human errors.”
And sometimes, professional nursing means knowing how to plan for the unexpected.
For example, in NURS 344 – Nursing in a Disaster, students use discussion forums to talk about how to plan for and respond to disasters, such as extreme weather events, pandemics, or large accidents.
“It was such an interesting class,” Sizemore recalls. “It was so interesting reading responses from nurses around the country as they talked about some of their crazy experiences and how they handled them.”
The Future Awaits
Sizemore graduated from UL Lafayette with her BSN degree on a Friday, and the next Monday, she stepped into a new role as the Patient Care Manager in a Veterans Affairs clinic, helping care for those who have served in our country’s armed forces.
“My husband is a veteran and served in the Air Force,” she says. “I appreciate the sacrifices that veterans have made for the United States, and I’m excited to help care for them in our community.”
It’s a job she’d been applying to for several years; she says having a BSN both helped her earn it and helped her qualify for a higher pay grade.
“With the VA clinic being a federal job, having my BSN puts me at a whole new pay tier,” she says. “That is huge for me.”
And, more importantly, having a bachelor’s degree is something that Sizemore can take pride in for the rest of her life.
“There are very few things that people can’t take away from you, and your education is one of those things,” she says. “If earning your BSN is a thought in your mind, and if it’s something you think you can do, you will do it.”
Are you a working RN ready to take your practice to the next level? Through the accelerated RN to BSN online program, you’ll gain clinical reasoning and leadership skills and earn your bachelor’s degree in as few as 12 months.