Mount Mercy

When we moved to Cedar Rapids, Ann was working on qualifying as a Registered Nurse.  Her nursing degree from Waco was from an unaccredited school, and she needed proper credentials in order to work effectively in the medical field.

As I previously mentioned Ann had enrolled at Houston Baptist University in a nursing challenge program and studied there for a year.   She was able to transfer her work to Mount Mercy College (now University)  - a Catholic school in Cedar Rapids.  Academically she was well suited for Mount Mercy.  When she tried to challenge the third year of nursing, she fell short by about three percentage points, but that meant she would have to take the third and fourth year nursing program at Mount Mercy.   While it meant an additional year, it also meant that she would be able to obtain an additional degree.   She has a BA in psychology, a BSN in nursing, and she has a minor in sociology.   In addition to that she passed the boards for her RN license.

Ann began school at a time when there were a large number of “non-traditional” students on campus.  I jokingly called them “the senior citizens.”   She was highly thought of on campus and established some wonderful friendships.  

The nursing study program presented a formidable challenge.  In the senior year of nursing, she was required to do field work in psychological nursing, industrial nursing, and several other nursing disciplines.  No two instructors agreed with each other on the report writing format.   Your grade didn’t depend on your skill as much as it did on how well you satisfied the instructor in writing up your experiences.  Ann was so frustrated by the whole experience,  that she went to the nun who was in charge of nurse’s training.  The woman knew Ann’s history and her abilities.  She finally said, “You do not have to become a nurse. You are a nurse.  What you don’t have is a piece of paper, and that’s what you’re trying to get.  Do whatever it takes to get that.  If your instructor says, ‘Stand on your head, then do that.’  You’re too close to give up on it now.  She persevered.

After she completed her degree she had to go to Des Moines for state boards.  Throughout her college career Ann was plagued with a “test taking” phobia.  Even though she had diplomas in hand, she still had one more hurdle to clear.

When she went to Des Moines, she stayed together in a motel room in with some fellow Mount Mercy nursing graduates.  Together they prepped for the exams.  She did so well that she was commended for excellence in several areas.  She left Des Moines knowing she had conquered her test taking phobia and never looked back