Nursing student relishes new challenges
Marissa Marsh claims she once wasn't the type to embrace change and challenges.
But those days appear to be long gone.
Marsh is now immersed in exams, clinicals and the pursuit of a future in nursing — she's even eyeing the possibility of becoming a flight nurse just for the added challenge.
“There's a lot about being a new nurse today that can seem intimidating at first,” said Marsh, 27, of Herman. “But I've learned you cannot let things like that stop you. You must grab the bull by the horns.”
Marsh's attitude and work ethic earned her recognition earlier this year as one of two people to be given the inaugural Health Care Student of the Year Award from the Butler County Health Care Consortium.
Statistics say Marsh's class will be greeted with job opportunities. According to the state Department of Labor and Industry's Center for Workforce Information and Analysis, the health care and social assistance industry employed the highest percentage of Butler County workers in November at 16 percent. Butler County's 659 health care and social assistance companies were the most in comparison to other industries.
Registered nursing is expected to see a 15 percent increase in jobs through 2026, a percentage deemed to be “much faster than average,” according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Marsh is scheduled to graduate from Butler County Community College's associate of applied science degree program in registered nursing in May.
Marsh already has two-and-a-half years experience on her resume due to her work on a skilled nursing floor at Concordia Lutheran Ministries in Cabot. And she spends two days a week in clinical practice at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Natrona Heights as part of BC3's program.
“(Marsh) has wonderful leadership skills,” said Patty Annear, dean of BC3's Shaffer School of Nursing and Allied Health. “She is a very professional woman, very conscientious about her studies and serious about the profession. And she puts 100 percent into everything that she does.”
As liaison between her class of BC3's registered nursing students and the program's faculty and the dean of the college's nursing and allied health division, Marsh solicits suggestions from her classmates — often using online survey software — about how to improve students' experiences at BC3 in classes, labs and clinical experiences, Annear said.
“(Marsh) shows a great commitment to all her patients, both on and off the clinical units for BC3,” Annear said. “This is evidenced by her holistic approach to care for her patients not as a disease process and learning opportunity, but also as the individuals they are.”
Marsh, who noted that she grew interested in wound care while working at Just What the Doctor Ordered in Lyndora, said initially she picked a different career path.
In 2013, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in interior design from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She was employed in that field for five years when she decided to try nursing.
“I was working from home, doing housing and design plans,” Marsh said. “Working from home wasn't for me. I missed having that person-to-person interaction. I'm a people person, and it hit me hard to work from home.”
While some people might not see the connection between interior design and nursing, Marsh said, for her, there is one important constant: “Whether I'm helping someone build their future home or helping someone get better at the end of the day, the goal is making people happy.”
After doing shadow experience with Stat Medevac in Kittanning, Marsh said she is also intrigued by the possibility of being a flight nurse.
“They have to make split-second decisions where their patient's life is at risk,” Marsh said. “That really pushes you to be a better nurse and learn what can go wrong and how to fix it. That is a challenge, and I think I might like that.”
Facts about the Butler County Community College registered nursing program include:It is a two-year academically based program.- Aug. 1 to Oct. 31 is the annual application period for the following fall semester.- March 1 to May 10 is the annual advance standing application period for the following fall semester.Number of credits required is 70.Classes are conducted at the main campus in Butler Township and BC3 @ Brockway in Brockway.Students earn an Associate in Applied Science degree.Graduates are required to pass a licensing examination to practice as a registered nurse.4 Partnerships with senior institutions that allow BC3 registered nursing graduates to pursue a bachelor’s degree online in nursing are Carlow University, Chatham University, Slippery Rock University or Waynesburg University.Contact BC3 for more information, www.bc3/edu/programsSOURCE: Butler County Community College
Butler County Community College registered nursing program facts include:145 — Number of students enrolled in BC3’s registered nursing program as of spring 2019.55 — Number of students enrolled in BC3’s registered nursing program who expect to graduate in May.94 — Three-year average of BC3 students who have passed the National Council Licensure Examination.84 — Three-year average of students in Pennsylvania who have passed the National Council Licensure Examination.200 — Average number of applications BC3 receives annually for its registered nursing program.70 — Number of students BC3 accepts annually for its registered nursing program.70 — Average annual percentage of students who graduate from the two-year program.6 — Sites in which BC3 offers pre-nursing courses (BC3’s main campus, BC3 @ Armstrong in Ford City; BC3 @ Brockway in Brockway, BC3 @ Cranberry in Cranberry Township, BC3 @ Lawrence Crossing in New Castle and BC3 @ LindenPointe in Hermitage).3 — Ranking in popularity of BC3’s registered nursing program among BC3’s 56 career and transfer programs2 — Number of $1 million gifts to BC3’s Nursing and Allied Health Division since September 2017.SOURCE: Butler County Community College
