Alicia Paqueno shares her experience as a Baylor online Distance ABSN student. View her testimonial below.
Read full testimonial transcript below.
Tell us about your professional and educational background before starting in Baylor's ABSN program.
Prior to starting the DABSN program here at Baylor, I worked for 14 years in at a pharmaceutical manufacturing company, and I have a bachelor's degree in medical health management.
What inspired you to become a nurse? Do you have a personal story to share?
What inspired me to become a nurse was the personal calling to want to help people, and being in a healthcare career would allow me to be more hands-on and really focus on the patient care and be a part of a patient healthcare team.
Why did you decide now was the right time for a career change and to pursue an ABSN?
I chose to pursue the ABSN program here at Baylor now [because] there was such a need in the healthcare industry, and I felt that I could really be more of service to my community.
Why did you decide to enroll in Baylor's ABSN program?
I decided to enroll at Baylor's ABSN program because Baylor has such a strong reputation in the healthcare industry. I chose Baylor because their core values and beliefs lined up to mine. So those two factors played a really big role as to why I chose Baylor.
What does it mean to you to be a Baylor nurse?
Being a Baylor nurse is such a big sense of pride because of Baylor's rigorous program. Being successful in completing, it just solidifies that pride in becoming a Baylor nurse.
Tell us about your experience with your dedicated student success advisor. How has working with your advisor impacted your student experience?
Working with my student success advisor has been great. The advisor checks in on us often, and when she does check in, it is more of how are we doing? How is our experience going? Baylor really does care about us: the individual as a student, as well as a person in the real world. It's very comforting to know that they genuinely want to know how we're doing and offer their support.
Tell us about the virtual courses. What are some of the online course features that you find to be the most impactful and engaging?
The online classes have been very interactive. They feature patient simulations that are real to what we will be experiencing, so that is a big plus. [In] our class meetings, the professors are there face-to-face with us, so it's really like a live classroom setting.
Did you have any concerns before enrolling or about choosing a second career? What changed?
I had concerns about re-enrolling back into school because there was that gap in between. Being in school, having a career, and coming back to school, there was always that fear of, can I do it again? But I really felt that I wanted to pursue this, and it's never too late. The admission's recruiter really made that process easy for me and just getting me through the hump of being nervous and starting again.
What type of nurse do you want to become after you get your RN license?
After I get my RN license, I would really like to become a community nurse and really serve the people in my community.
How important is it to you to work with underserved populations and rural communities as an RN?
It is very important to me to serve underprivileged communities and rural areas because a lot of these individuals that live in those areas are not able to afford certain healthcare services, and so it is very important for me to be able to humble myself to work there and work for them and serve that community.
Tell us about your vision. What kind of impact do you hope to have as a nurse?
The vision I hope to have as a nurse is when my patients are discharged, I want them to go back to their daily lives and really have positive things to say about their treatment and continue their treatment, be well-educated. I want to make an impact in everyone's life whom I have served and helped through the healing process.
