Army Veteran Finds Career Path in PSC Nursing Program

U.S. Army Veteran Francine Poindexter had worked in several different careers in the 15 years after she completed her service before enrolling in the Nursing Program at Prairie State College (PSC) last year.

“I always knew nursing was something I wanted to do, but I always kept getting sidetracked,” she said. 

In 2011, though, she decided it was time to buckle down and start on her path to ultimately earning her bachelor’s degree, and the PSC/Governors State University (GSU) Dual Degree Program was the perfect fit for her, she said.

Through the program, Poindexter receives guaranteed admission to GSU upon graduation; academic advising from both institutions to complete an associate and a bachelor's degree in a minimum number of terms; a guaranteed tuition plan from GSU, locking in GSU tuition rate for up to four years from date of enrollment in the Dual Degree Program; the option to apply for the GSU Debt Free Promise and other transfer scholarships; and the opportunity to participate in social and cultural activities at both institutions.

In the program, Poindexter plans to earn her Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) in nursing from PSC in May 2013, and begin the bachelor’s degree program at GSU in spring 2014. However, after she receives her A.A.S. from PSC, Poindexter hopes to begin working in a hospital unit right away to start getting the experience she’ll need for the rest of her career. 

“I’m leaning toward medical/surgical because of all the different types of patients I would have, offering a wide range of experience,” she said.

Poindexter knows she’ll be ready to start her career right away because of the education she is receiving from the Nursing Program at PSC.

“The program really is helping me succeed, because I am able to learn the theory in the classroom first, then put those concepts to work in an onsite lab,” she said. “When combined with the clinical experience I am getting in the area hospitals, the program really prepares me with real life experiences and interaction with patients and hospital staff.”

Among the hospitals at which PSC students are able to complete their clinical studies are St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights; St. Margaret Mercy Hospital in Dyer, Ind., South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest, Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, Riverside Hospital in Kankakee, Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park, and Community Hospital in Munster, Ind. Other clinical sites for PSC students include Chicago Heights Community Center, Aunt Martha’s Women’s Health, and St. Colletas of Illinois, as well as St. James Manor in Crete, Nursing Care at Hartsfield Village in Munster, Ind., Alden Estates of Orland Park, Beecher Manor, and Prairie Manor in Chicago Heights.

Poindexter says that it is still too soon to tell what she wants to do when she’s completely done with school, because she says there are so many areas in which she is interested.

“When you really care about people and what to help them, it is really difficult to focus on exactly what form that help will ultimately take,” she said. “However, I do know that I'm on the right path.”