When oncology nurse Jessica Bezotte landed her dream job in 2011 working with cancer patients at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America on the medical oncology ward, she knew she would need more education to advance her career. She was working as a unit shift lead when her employer announced an initiative to have 80 percent of their nursing workforce become BSN educated or higher, so she began exploring her options immediately.
With 80,000 qualified applicants turned away from nursing schools each year due to a shortage of nurse educators needed to train future nurses, nursing education is becoming an in-demand career that offers high job security and opportunities for advancement and personal reward. Many nurse educators feel a calling to their work and are highly satisfied with their jobs, finding interaction with students very rewarding. It is a point of pride in a nursing educator role to play a large part in preparing future nurses to care for their patients.
Knowing she wanted and needed to go back to school, Bezotte said she knew it was time when her youngest child started kindergarten. With her husband’s support, she approached her boss who was a student at American Sentinel University, and shortly after she was enrolled in their RN to BSN/MSN program. Jessica started the program at American Sentinel in 2013, working hard to maintain her multiple roles as student, wife, mother of four, and full-time nurse. In addition to working at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Jessica was also working as a PRN nurse in the intensive care unit at Wheaton Franciscan with just one shift a week to keep her current on clinical areas outside oncology.
After several years of hard work, Bezotte graduated from the MSN program in March 2016 with a specialization in nursing education and a 4.0 GPA. Bezotte says she pursued the MSN with nursing education specialization to lay the groundwork for returning to the place where it all began for her. She had a great experience as a first-time student at Gateway Technical College, and says she would love to become a first or second semester nursing instructor one day. In the meantime, she plans to continue working night shifts while her children are young so that she has time to spend with them after school, but she would love to start teaching in the next few years.
Bezotte recognizes the impact that instructors can make on new nursing students who are eager and excited, and she would love the opportunity to teach students in that part of their lives. She also says she was grateful to have her children watching her pursue her goal, noting that it is an unexpected benefit of going to college as an adult to have your children see you doing it. She was thankful for the opportunity to serve as a role model to them.
Congratulations to our Nurse of the Week Jessica on completing your MSN and moving a step closer to your goal of becoming a nurse educator.
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