What it means to be a Nursing Student at SUNY Brockport
Written by Caitlyn Stair
Getting into college isn’t easy. It requires hard work, academic dedication and drive. While the path to admission is difficult, the path to particular majors is even harder. Programs such as SUNY Brockport’s nursing program is rigorous, challenging and demanding. Only 20% of those who apply successfully make it into the SUNY Brockport nursing program. Created within the last decade, the nursing program is designed as a fast track into the medical profession.
The program is demanding with many students dropping out prior to beginning the nursing classes junior year. Rather than a more traditional college schedule, nursing students have different classes every day and are required to participate in hands-on training known as “clinical”, which are similar to student teaching requirements for education majors. Students are placed in clinicals such as trauma, pediatrics, critical care and the psych wards.
Out of the 80 members in the program, senior Ashley Miller is top of her class. Miller says she’s finally found a way to balance the demands of the program.
“The social situations… you have as much time as you allow yourself,” said Miller. “So, if you stay on task and get work done during the day, you must plan out how you are going to do things. You have a lot due at the same time and multiple exams on the same day. So, if you want to see friends, go out, do something fun, it’s already in your schedule.”
Professors in the program encourage students to sit down and plan the semester out by each day; to study certain days of the week, do homework on other days, and plan out the whole semester ahead of time. This technique helps to prevent cramming for tests and keeps students organized within the high stress program.
“You always feel a little stress but it’s what motivates you to get things done,” said Miller.
During the COVID-19 shutdown, the nursing program dramatically changed how it operated. The clinicals were suspended and students were only permitted to work with lower risk patients.
The nursing program at SUNY Brockport is considered to be one of the best in New York state. Although one of the most challenging programs the college has to offer, nursing students say it certainly is one of the most rewarding, and most needed.
