When Sara Kendrick first considered extending her education to become a Registered Nurse, she was a single mom with a young son and daughter, trained as a Pharmacy Technician but working at a school and barely making ends meet. She knew her family would have a big adjustment to make and give up a lot of what they enjoyed during the months it would take for her to complete 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Associate Degree in Nursing program. Could she ask them to sacrifice so much? 鈥淓ducation is a hard road, but being a single mom with a minimum wage job is also hard,鈥� Sara offers. 鈥淐hoose what kind of hard you want; the time is going to pass regardless. Sacrifice, in the long run, was definitely worth it for me and my family.鈥� Sara had a vision鈥nd a plan.
Why choose this time to go back to college?
I was working at a school and was just tired of not having enough money 鈥� ever. And my boyfriend (now husband) encouraged me to go back to school. The pandemic hit and I had to stay home with the kids. If I was going to go to nursing school, that was the time to do it. All my classes were online, so I could be in class while my kids were also in class online.
What was your primary motivation to expand your education?
I wanted to go deeper into the medical field. I knew I was a good student because in my previous Pharmacy Technology program I graduated at the top of my class with a 4.0 GPA. I also wanted to be a good role model for my children. I wanted my daughter to know that no matter what, an education can鈥檛 be taken away from you. I wanted my son to know what a strong woman is, how to appreciate one and not be intimidated.
What kinds of sacrifices did your family have to make?
I had 鈥榯he talk鈥� with my kids about how everything I was doing was so that they could have a better life. I told them I wouldn鈥檛 be as available for them as they鈥檇 been used to. I was still able to be 鈥楾eam Mom鈥� for baseball and softball 鈥� and only missed two games throughout the (Associate Degree in Nursing) program. I was able to go to school all day, go to the baseball fields for practices and games, come home, make dinner, then do my homework after they went to bed.
What was the best thing about the Associate Degree in Nursing program at 黑料不打烊?
The reason I went to Carrington was there was not a wait list. There can be a pretty long waiting list for community college and university 鈥� and even then, it鈥檚 a lottery. And the friendships. No one else 鈥榞ets it鈥� the way your fellow classmates do when you鈥檙e going through this process. I still stay in touch with a handful.
Did you do as well as you had hoped in your program?
I was co-valedictorian, a member of the Student Council, and Class Speaker at our program鈥檚 pinning ceremony.
What career employment direction did you take?
I work as a Registered Nurse Case Manager in a hospice environment. I have a caseload of 14 patients right now. All of my patients are terminally ill. It鈥檚 a difficult job emotionally, and self-care is important. You have to maintain professional boundaries, but of course you get attached to your patients.
How did you come to work as a hospice nurse?
I went into nursing thinking I would do labor-and-delivery, but I did a clinical rotation (hands-on training during ADN program) at a hospice facility and what I saw wasn鈥檛 good. I felt like I could do it better. On another clinical day at a different hospice facility a Nurse Practitioner I was working with was so amazing. She said to me, 鈥淚鈥檝e been a hospice nurse for 15-years and I know a hospice nurse when I see a hospice nurse 鈥� and you鈥檙e a hospice nurse.鈥� It鈥檚 definitely a calling to be a hospice nurse; it鈥檚 not for everyone. I鈥檓 where I鈥檓 supposed to be.
What is a hospice environment like?
Hospice is all about death with dignity and allowing patients to have peace, comfort, and a final quality of life. We are taking care of patients that are dying. They鈥檙e not going to get better and that鈥檚 difficult for a lot of people to process. Nurses can learn medical skills and check them off, but you can鈥檛 teach people how to care. You have to slow down, really listen to your patients. They鈥檙e going through the hardest time of their lives, and not all nurses can sit and listen to that, be there for that.
What are some of the hardest moments in caring for end-of-life patients?
It鈥檚 a difficult job emotionally. Some patients have a lot of anxiety about death, and some are very accepting. They have questions we can鈥檛 answer. 鈥淗ow long do I have?鈥� What will it be like?鈥� We try to help them focus on quality of life, rather than quantity of life. It is a privilege to help those patients and their families and be there at the end of their life. But it is definitely not a calling for everybody.
What is your vision for the future?
I鈥檓 just enjoying where I am right now. I鈥檓 undecided whether I will go back for my Bachelor鈥檚 degree in nursing. I鈥檓 comfortable financially for the first time. Schedule-wise, timewise 鈥� all aspects of life 鈥� it鈥檚 a good spot right now.
