The-Laker-Issue-Fall-2021

from the cover Demands of life Ashley’s doubts grew from her age – she was 30 when she decided to go back to school – and her children’s medical needs. Her two boys, Carter, 12, and Chase, 6, have Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a disorder that leads to worsening muscle degeneration and weakness. Yet she knew that as a nurse, she would be prepared for the high level of care they would need as the disease progressed. The death of her father due to cancer and loved ones of other causes convinced her to apply. “If I couldn’t save them, maybe I can save someone, and that’s really why I went into nursing,” she said. The same semester that her older son transitioned to a wheelchair, she drove twice a week from her home in Penn Yan to her clinical assignment in Rochester. She suffered anxiety. Her grades fell. “I just got swamped,” she said. Ashley confided in faculty members Lisa McAnn and Susan McCarthy. “As long as you communicated with them and were very honest with them, they did go out of their way to help you,” she said. “I would email them and be like, ‘Hey, this is what I am struggling with. What do I do?’” She sought testing accommodations – more time and a quiet room – to help her focus and get back on track. “If you put in the work, you can make it,” she said after graduating this past May. She started work in an orthopedic office in September, a job that gives her regular hours and time with her husband, Craig, and their sons. Mary and Heather say students like Ashley and Ivan are increasingly common. Students tend to be older and have family and work responsibilities. Others, like Ivan, speak English as a second language. “Just as society as a whole, people carry a lot more problems than they did back in the 80s,” Heather said. At the same time, Mary added, nurses are part of the community, and they share the experiences of the diverse population they serve. The future The nursing wing expansion will allow the College to increase the number of incoming registered nursing students from 80 to 128 per year. Their entry will be staggered with 64 in fall 2022 and 64 the following spring with two corresponding application periods. The LPN program is under development with a launch date to be announced. The new curriculum will shift away from understanding disease processes to the basics of health. For example, Heather said, if a patient is short of breath, the first question is not: What is the diagnosis? A concept drawing by PLAN Architectural Studio of the Sands Family Center for Allied Health, now underconstruction at the FLCC main campus.