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The desire to pursue my doctorate degree
in nursing practice began years ago, while
practicing as a cardiovascular acute care
nurse practitioner, shortly after I graduated
from California State University, Los Angeles with my masters of science in nursing.
I started to focus on the present by setting
my goal to graduate by the age of 50. My desire was so
strong that my heart and soul were on fire, so I got ready,
got set, and read through the multiple university applications in California. I literally reset my brain to tell myself
“GO GET TO YOUR GOAL.”
Choosing the right school for me was easy. As a single
mother of two children, ages 9 and 11, and a nursing director of critical care and three cardiac telemetry departments for a large trauma center in southern California,
it had to be the one closest to home that included both
online instruction and multiple options for financing. So,
the journey began: transcripts, application process, recommendation letters, and a personal interview at Loma Linda
University with the doctors running the program. My
acceptance letter was received, and shortly after that, I realized that, for the next three years, I had to make a choice
to embrace this change and follow my passion, which was
to obtain my doctor of nursing practice.
Acceptance of my decision by my son and my daughter
were next on my list of things to do and was my priority.
Knowing that they didn’t know much about my journey or
why my desire to do this was so strong, it was tough convincing them that I would be doing something they saw
as a “take away” from them, that would be “their mommy
time.” I convinced them this would be best for our future,
and they seemed to understand and were supportive. That
meant the world to me.
The next steps were to identify financing and decide
what I could delete from my personal expenses to help pay
for the first semester. The first few semesters were really
tough, scraping and saving by eliminating the unnecessary
pleasures of life, going out to eat, taking vacations, and decreasing my time and expenses associated with my gym.
So as the journey continued, the support from the chief
nurse executive in my organization for furthering my education had to be in place. Meeting with the nursing leader
was critical, and knowing that she had her PhD in nursing, I already knew she would be understanding of this endeavor. My desire to complete a PhD was overwhelmingly
supported by senior leadership, and this is what you need
to get you through a doctorate program while working full
time. Knowing that I was entering this program, I gave up
all my personal vacation time and spent all paid time off to
attend school seminars that were required at Loma Linda
University every quarter.
Is the time right for you to start, and will this be worth
it for you? The answer is: there will never be the “perfect
time,” but this, for sure, will be the best journey you will
ever take. The decision to seek a doctoral level education
starts with choosing the best program for you. Search for
the program that best meets your needs and will fit into
your work–life balance. I made this choice in 2011, and it
was a three-year journey that has contributed to my growth
both personally and professionally. Financially, things fell
into place once I met with