May 24, 2004 -- Not everyone understands what goes into a nursing education.

For students today it’s a life packed with tight schedules, rigorous classes, clinicals (an opportunity for students to utilize the classroom and laboratory skills they’ve learned in a clinical setting), patients, charts, exams, and study. It’s always been a life of close bonds and life-changing experiences. From the first day to the last, nursing students eat, sleep, breathe, and sometimes even dream nursing. As they progress through the program, they are together in every class. By their third- and fourth-year, juggling lectures and clinicals can be a little like hitting the tenth mile in a 26-mile run. If they are in class all day, then their lunch hour is a run to the hospital to pick up the next day’s patient assignments. That night they read about the patient, study their disease, their medications. The next day is full of patient care, journals, logs, more study before the cycle starts again the next day.

“Our students are just amazing,” says Theresa Carroll, PhD, assistant dean. “In their last semester, many traditional college students pick fairly easy courses. In comparison, the last seven weeks for a nursing student is called the synthesis practicum, a mentorship during which they are doing the work of a full-time nurse. Many of our Second Degree students are also married, with families. Imagine juggling all that responsibility.”

So for many, stepping outside the intensity is important. Finding outlets, doing things they love--like the student who plays viola in the University Symphony, the varsity cheerleader or the Madison House volunteer—gives them breathing space and time to escape the daily rigors.

“We encourage it. We tell new students to take time to get adjusted, check the University out. We think you’ll be a happier person if you get involved,” says Carroll. “And research has shown that the more involved college students are, including nursing students, the better their grades are…it makes them better time managers and they are doing what they really love.”

It seems the busier some students are, the more they love it. Here’s how four nursing school students balance their nursing education with University student life.

Heidi Ritter

Heidi Ritter

It was September 11, the same morning Americans were stunned by images of flaming towers that Heidi Ritter (BSN ‘04) put on her Air Force ROTC uniform and was sworn in to military service. “I’m a patriotic person and wanted to see what it was like.”

Heidi always knew she’d choose a profession serving people. But serving has taken on a life of its own and sometimes seems more like a way of life. She’s got an ongoing list of things she’d like to do, never convinced she’s doing quite enough.

After her second year in nursing school she was in boot camp in Texas, so the next summer she and her sister traveled to Thailand teaching English to orphans. Last spring break and this year, volunteer work with Virginia Beach-based Orphan Network took her to Nicaragua. “I wanted to give back, reaching out beyond this culture is very moving. I will always remember these experiences.”

A typical day for Heidi begins at six in the morning with ROTC workouts, continuing long past dinner. Because of a required clinical she misses one Air Science class. So afternoons are spent meeting with her professor to catch up on what she missed. Then it’s a quick meal and evenings of ROTC training and meetings. She is part of a simulated wing structure and since she’s now considered a cadet officer, she supervises others. “The nursing school and ROTC have been flexible to meet my needs,” she says. “I’m able to manage all of this because of the supportive people I work with. I try to remain positive. It has been challenging, but it is worth it.”

Seems like a full platter, but there’s more. Heidi’s part of the planning committee for the U.Va. Women’s Leadership Development Program. She serves on the nursing student council, is a member of Kappa Delta sorority, and still cherishes some relaxing alone time. “I’m the kind of person who values personal time and I realize I have to protect it sometimes,” she says, with the calmness of one who still has plenty of breathing space. “I’m still going to relax and write in my journal.”

Becky Bracato

Becky Bracato

There are days when Becky Bracato (BSN ‘05) is physically and mentally exhausted. Take this past Wednesday. It started early with a 7 a.m. stop at a friend’s house, followed by seven hours in class, three hours working at Ragged Mountain Running Shop, a several mile training run, and four hours volunteering for the University’s student-run Madison House (an organization that enables students to volunteer in the community). Still, there’s nothing she’d change. “”Everything that’s on my plate is definitely where it should be,” she says. “I’ve always been like this and I work well when I’m really busy.”

A third-year nursing student, Becky heads volunteer health services for Madison House. In fact it was her work with the volunteer organization that led her to transfer into nursing education her second year. Assigned to volunteer in the hospital’s cancer center her first year at U.Va., she loved the work and patient contact. “It solidified my decision,” she says. Her passion for nursing has only grown as a result. “It’s gotten better with each year and each clinical,” she says. “I fall in love with it every time.” Since her first volunteer assignment, she’s taken on increasing responsibility with Madison House and in her current position supervises volunteers working in twenty different units. “It involves a lot of management problem-solving, but I love it,” she says.

Is there any time for fun? Sure, Becky says with confidence. “I run for three hours with friends every Saturday and I ran the Richmond marathon this year.”
So how does she juggle so much? Time management, and desire. “Volunteering is so awesome,” she says. “Once you get involved, it enhances everything…I encourage people to think about volunteering, about stepping outside the U.Va. bubble.”

Sarah Riggs

Sometimes doing what you love comes so naturally, you can’t imagine a world without it. That’s how cheerleading is for third-year nursing student Sarah Riggs (BSN ‘05). She’s been cheering since second grade, and now she’s on the University’s Varsity squad. Responsibilities including long, strenuous practice sessions, summer cheerleading camp, home basketball games, traveling with the football team to all their games, and public relations events just keep her more organized. It doesn’t matter that clinicals begin at 6:30 a.m. and cheerleading practice begins twelve hours later. It’s just part of being involved. Although she admits, academics come first. “If I didn’t have cheerleading to keep me busy, I wouldn’t get everything else done,” she says.

Sarah Riggs and Connor Ginley

Student life is good for Sarah. Blending the intimacy of the nursing school with much more public endeavors like cheerleading and weekly Delta Gamma sorority meetings in some ways colors her nursing experience. “I can’t imagine not being involved, it makes me feel part of the bigger university picture,” she says. “I meet so many people and I have so many opportunities to interact with a variety of types … that gives me a better bedside manner.”

Even so, balancing two clinicals with games and practice can challenge even the most ardent organizer; so when the nursing school offered a condensed May clinical experience, she was quick to pick that option. That way she can devote more intensive time to her clinical practice. “I want to be an obstetrics nurse.” she says. “Having the opportunity to do my next clinical in May, after most cheering obligations are complete, works out well.”

Connor Ginley

Third-year Connor Ginley’s (BSN ‘05) schedule is pretty tough this year with class and clinicals. But his mother is an emergency room nurse, so he’s been around the profession all his life and understands nursing education rigors. He also understands the value of doing more than nursing, of stepping away from it from time to time; sometimes to help others, sometimes to just have fun. “This is an important time for me to develop all aspects of my life,” he says. “Between work and extra-curriculars I stay pretty busy.”

A couple of surgeries on his neck during his second year of college made Connor reevaluate his own life and decide on nursing education. “I was sure that I was eventually going to get a teaching degree and a nursing degree somewhere down the line,” he says. “So I decided there was no time like the present.”

He’s volunteered as a medic with Nursing Students Without Borders for three years. As a member of the Delta chapter of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity, he’s been the chaplain, community service chair, and pledge master. Still, he admits his number one priority in the fraternity is to have a good time.

What motivates Connor’s involvement in University student life? “I am at an amazing place with more opportunities than I will ever have time to sample, and I can be involved with passionate and dynamic people,” he says. “It all gives me a different perspective and I am able to relate to people in a more holistic way.”

His advice to nursing students considering taking on more than just nursing? “This is your university too, take some ownership in it, and try to have it all.”