Alex Bartosch, BSN, RN, MSN, shares her experience as a recent graduate of the Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner program.
At the 护理学院, our programs and course offerings continue to expand as the ever-changing face of health care evolves. The Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AG-ACNP) program was created over four years ago to support Duquesne’s mission to care for patients throughout every stage of their life. 今年是 the second class to graduate from the program. Alex Bartosch, BSN, RN, MSN was among the nurses who completed the program this year.
From the time Bartosch was young, she was drawn to a career in health care thanks 她的母亲是一名护士. She recalls, “Being raised by a nurse is being raised 一个坚强聪明的女人. As I began my education, health care felt like a natural 属于我的地方.” Even with the foundational knowledge of nursing from her mother, Bartosch couldn’t imagine the level of knowledge, expertise and dedication nurses required to properly care for their patients. As she looked further into the profession and all it entailed, she knew that nursing was the right field for her.
The search for nursing schools began, and initially, Bartosch chose one of the larger Pittsburgh universities for her first degree. She quickly realized something was missing 从她的经历来看. She never felt like an individual or that her professors wanted 她个人的成功. 她在人群中迷失了方向. 是时候做决定了 on her institution for an accelerated BSN, the choice was clear. “我选择了迪肯 for both my accelerated BSN and masters programs because of their reputation, resources and connection with their students. I chose Duquesne because, from the time of my application, they seemed to want me to succeed. When beginning such a rigorous program, it is so important that students feel supported and that’s exactly what Duquesne did 对我来说.”
As Bartosch’s education continued, she recognized she felt more of a calling towards adult and gerontology patients instead of pediatrics. 她解释说:“我选择了这个 adult gerontology program for a few reasons. I love caring for the geriatric population; it always felt like a privilege to hear their stories. 其次，我一直爱 critical care and wanted to focus on my clinical rotations on just that rather than the pediatrics and labor and delivery rotations that are part of the family program.”
Duquesne 护理学院’s goal is to support students entering every area of the 护理行业. 与 a vast array of program options, the 学校 strives to fulfill the educational needs and interests of students just like Bartosch. 在程序中， Bartosch goes on to say, “Being in the second graduating class of the AG-ACNP program brought many challenges with it, but overall, I had an excellent experience. 我是 很自豪能成为世界杯买球中国官方网站的校友.”
As a graduate, Bartosch is ready to hit the ground running. “从世界杯买球中国官方网站毕业 has prepared me for the challenges that come with being a newly graduated health care 提供者. At Duquesne, I received a hands-on education where we were able to practice skills and apply them in real-life clinical scenarios. 毕业后，我觉得自己准备好了 not only for the board exam but also for my role as an NP.”
Bartosch’s class ended in having a 100% pass rate on their certification exam. 与 her educational foundation firmly in place thanks to Duquesne’s dedication to providing students with clinical experiences, Bartosch is looking to the future. 在接下来的时间里 five years, I would like to settle into my role as an NP and hopefully precept students 在这个角色中. I would like to give back to the NP community as so many of my preceptors 为我做过.”
Bartosch is living Duquesne’s mission to give back and provide support to future health care professionals at every stage of their careers. 世界杯买球中国官方网站的导师计划是 an integral part of a nurse practitioner’s education and the 学校 is always in need of students like Bartosch to pay it forward and take their turn providing clinical, 为未来的NPs提供实践经验.
To the next class entering the program Bartosch advises future students “to be productive 每天都以某种方式. Even if it is just something small, like making the outline for a paper or replying on a discussion board, if you complete a small task every day, the course load becomes much more manageable. 同时，尽你最大的努力去沟通 with your classmates because they will become your family!最后，她补充道， “I think that going to graduate school to continue your education is a big decision. If you have made that decision to go back to school, half the battle is over. 我想要的 to encourage students entering the program to keep going. 这是值得的.”
As the AG-ACNP class of 2023 finds their way as new NPs, Duquesne 护理学院 continues to prepare to serve the next incoming cohort and live the mission to educate nursing professionals to care for patients at every stage of their lives.