Butte College nursing student relishes opportunities provided by accelerated RN program
As a brand new graduate of the Accelerated Track Registered Nursing (RN) Program at Butte College, Bek Gray has a grand vision of the possibilities that lie ahead for her.
“This career will take me around the world,” she says.
This clarity of outlook is a recent development for Gray. While caught up in the program’s whirlwind of compacted course schedules, frequent testing and clinical duties—not to mention her continued work as a Certified Nursing Assistant—she was too busy to think about where she’d land on the other side. She felt pressure to figure out what area of emphasis she would work toward—Emergency? Pediatrics? Maternity?—but it wasn’t until the third and final semester of the program that she came to the decision to pursue it all. Now, when asked what kind of nurse she wants to be, she has a solid response: “The best kind.”
“It’s invigorating to know that there is no limit to what you can learn, and I can be a nurse anywhere. Anywhere I go, I will learn. This accelerated program changed my life. It opened so many doors for me.”
Bek Gray, Butte College Accelerated Track Registered Nursing Graduate
“I want to try each specialty, become comfortable in any setting. I want to absorb the most well-rounded education,” she says. “This has allowed me to realize two things: It’s invigorating to know that there is no limit to what you can learn, and I can be a nurse anywhere. Anywhere I go, I will learn. This accelerated program changed my life. It opened so many doors for me.”
Butte’s accelerated RN track—which speeds up the program from four semesters over two years to three semesters over one—was created for the Nursing Demonstration Project component of the California Community College system’s Vision 2030 collaborative action plan. The overall plan aims to ensure equity in success, access and support for students and colleges throughout the state, with the nursing project focused on closing the supply gap in regions with healthcare staffing shortages by increasing enrollment in nursing degree programs.
While this RN program and a fairly wide open job market have opened many possibilities for Gray, the 24-year-old Chico native has had to kick down many doors along the way.
Growing up, Gray’s father was out of the picture due to substance-abuse issues. Her family struggled as her mother did her best to raise four children while battling her own mental health issues. Gray had to learn how to care for herself at a young age, and as soon as she was old enough she moved out and into a her own place. “When I did finally get out it was this overwhelming feeling of, ‘Wow, I do have control now,’” she says.
Living alone at 18, she was completely responsible for all her needs, and she succeeded by embracing her independence and getting right to work, first as a caregiver and then—for the past three years—as a CNA at California Park Rehabilitation Hospital.
Gray admits the pace of the course was challenging, but says accomplishing the work was made possible by instructors and her classmates—the first cohort of Butte College’s accelerated program—working as a team.
“From my professors to my classmates, I feel extreme pride and admiration as we toughed through this year together. Michelle August was a professor who opened my eyes to the complexity that is nursing, uplifted and empowered me. She Zoomed with me every week, sometimes twice a week, to meticulously comb through the material. Dr. Diane Wagster Penne was a bubbling light of positivity and warmth and an endless wealth of knowledge. It was largely because of these professors that I was able to stay caught up with an extremely rapid curriculum, all while practicing self-compassion.”
That compassion bit is especially important for someone who has been simultaneously working toward a career and processing her own life’s traumas.
“This year was the most enlightening and transformative of my life. I feel I’ve changed the way I approach others, saving space and being present. Presence is so emphasized in nursing, having one of the most lasting impacts on our patients,” Gray says, adding, “I also feel I’ve softened the way I carry myself.”
More information on the Accelerated Track RN Program can be found at butte.edu/departments/careertech/healthoccupations. Learn more about the Nursing Demonstration Project, and follow the entire “Roadmap for California Community Colleges” at the Vision 2030 website (cccco.edu/About-Us/Vision-2030).
Written by Jason Cassidy
| Regions | Classes & Topics |
|---|---|
| Northern California | Careers in Health Care |
