Our Nurse of the Week is newlywed and new nurse Deanna Pavil who received a big surprise just two days after finding out she was pregnant – she had also been accepted to nursing school at the University of Alaska Fairbanks . Pavil was aware of the challenges that would come with juggling pregnancy and a newborn with a rigorous nursing school schedule and didn’t know how to make the right decision. However, her parents encouraged her to follow her dreams and she is now graduated and working as a registered nurse in the outpatient clinics at Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation.

“I enjoyed working in medical records, but knew it wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to do more to help people and make a difference in their lives. The same week I quit my job, I got a phone call about the CNA class.”

Pavil had known she wanted to pursue a career in healthcare since high school when her family traveled to Anchorage for her grandmother’s open-heart surgery. After high school, she worked in medical records at Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Regional Hospital for four years, then started taking classes to become a certified nurse aid (CNA). It was then that she realized her true calling to become a nurse, and later graduated from UAF with an associate of applied science degree in nursing in December 2016.

In an interview with News.UAF.edu, Pavil says, “I enjoyed working in medical records, but knew it wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to do more to help people and make a difference in their lives. The same week I quit my job, I got a phone call about the CNA class.”

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Pavil was thankful for her CNA experience which made the transition into nursing school much easier. It gave her the training and academic foundation needed to succeed in a challenging nursing school program, but she also couldn’t have graduated without the help of her husband and parents who took time off to help care for her son Bennett. Now that she is a working nurse, Pavil says the best part of her nursing work is helping people in her community.

Thank you, Deanna, for showing other nurses that it’s possible to pursue personal and professional goals simultaneously if you’re willing to put in the hard work. To learn more about Pavil and her experience tackling nursing school and a new family at the same time, visit here.

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