DEGREE EARNED: M.S. degree in Nursing with a specialization in Leadership and Management, 2008

CURRENT JOB: Director of Clinical Operations, Lifepoint Hospital, Nashville, Tenn.

HOW DID YOU LEARN ABOUT WALDEN? Some nurses I worked with were Walden students and I overheard them interviewing our chief nursing officer about real-life challenges in health care. I asked them how difficult they found it to do the program and work a full-time management job in nursing simultaneously. They told me exactly how they accomplished it, and I thought, “Maybe I could do that.”

WHY DO YOU REFER PEOPLE TO WALDEN? I was successful in the program, so I’ll do anything to help other nurses be successful. Walden is flexible, and when you work full time, and you have a family, and you want to advance your education, you’ve got to have flexibility. You don’t have to put your family second when you do this program. The courses are geared toward the “hot topics” in health care today—which is extremely beneficial. The professors are always available, so if you have a question, you can email them or call them. And the technical support made it very easy to take care of IT problems.

WHO DO YOU REFER? I work with so many nurses, and often they’ll ask, “How did you do it?”—because I have a family and I work full time—and I always refer them to Walden. If I see leadership skills in someone, I’ll ask, “Have you thought about advancing your education? Have you thought about an online program like Walden University?” I know they may not have thought about it, or they don’t think they can do it, so they’re not going to bring it up.

WHAT ARE YOUR REFERRAL CONVERSATIONS LIKE? I just tell them about my experience, because that’s what they want to hear. A lot of people are surprised that a master’s degree is actually attainable. They don’t think they can do it, but when I walk them through the process, they realize they can.

Refer someone to Walden at www.WaldenU.edu/refer.

If you’ve already referred someone who is a current student at Walden, send an email to alumniassociation@waldenu.edu.

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