Family Grads

Tammy Gomez
We moved our family here to pursue an education in MRI in October 2009. I finished my ex-tern hours Monday December 20th earning me a diploma from West Coast Ultrasound Institute. This qualifies me to sit for the Registry to test to become and ARMRIT certified MRI Technologist. I plan to sit for that exam late January. My family has undergone lots of changes in supporting me in this venture so hopefully it will pay off for us. I appreciate their support and hope they know their sacrifices have not gone unnoticed and I love them! I also hope my kids realize if their mom can do it they can do it!

Jennifer Nicoll
I decided along time ago that I wanted to go to nursing school but somehow getting married and having four kids took priority and nursing school had to wait. I made a few efforts along the way to get it done by completing the CNA course, getting my EMT license, and working as tech in the ER for about four years and the one thing I learned is that I definitely did not want to be a nurse...go figure! However, something kept me going and I finished all the prereq's and I turned my application in to the program. I thought it would take at least a year to get in, which was perfect for me because my boys were only one and I was really hoping that by the time I got in and finished the program the boys would be just about ready to start school and I would be ready to get a job, but I got right in...go figure! Most people would consider this lucky, so I knew I should be grateful and just go for it. There were times I wanted to quit, and times I wanted to cry, there were times I was mad, and there were times all I could do was laugh! But after it all I PASSED!!...then I totaled my car on the way home :( just goes to show you life is crazy whether your in nursing school or not! So even though I'm still not sure if I want to be a nurse, I'm just happy that I'm finally done and I would never have been able to do it without Nate and Shelbi's help!

Ashley Wiltbank
Nursing school has been a pretty crazy adventure! A poster I walked past every day in high school and the example set for me by my Grandma (who is a nurse) is what motivated me to want to be a nurse. I took CNA classes through NAVIT in high school to get a jump start and then did all my pre-requisites at EAC after graduation. Life doesn't always go as planned and 5 years post high school graduation, I still hadn't made much more progress on my nursing degree and began to wonder if it was really what I wanted to do or if I'd ever actually finish.

Finally after about a two year wait on Maricopa Community Colleges nursing program list, I happened to check my old e-mail address and found an e-mail stating that I needed to verify my top choices of schools by the next day or my application would be obsolete. So I changed my list to every school that had an accelerated program. I found out a few days later that I had been accepted into Phoenix College's nursing program (no, it's not the same thing as the University of Phoenix).

Since I was in a fast track program, my OB rotation was over the summer. My school friends teased me that I was taking the subject too far because that's when I got pregnant but Grant immediately got about 20 other moms who were constantly worrying and asking about him. Luckily, I got to do my 96 preceptor hours at the end of my last block/last trimester on a labor and delivery floor so I felt pretty safe in case something happened and I was able to learn from some VERY knowledgeable resources. However, I do NOT recommend 14 hour days at 8 1/2 months pregnant!
I think nursing school was just as hard on Mike as it was on me...probably worse at times because he couldn't take my tests for me. One of our instructors told us that there's a large percentage of marriages/relationships that don't make it through nursing school. I was a different person to have to live with this last year and a half and not only did Mike stick with me, he was one of my biggest strengths. I'm sure he got sick of my doomsday attitude and refusal to have any type of social life, etc. but he handled it like a champ and I have a greater respect for him because of it.

I love standing back in a hospital and watching the nurses and doctors work (if they're good). It's amazing to me the passion that some of them have for helping people and always reminds me that I want to be a good contributor to health care. I'm so excited to finally have accomplished a huge life goal and be able to use it to help support my family! I worry that it may take a toll on Grant but hope he knows he's a huge part of my motivation.

p.s. Emily Walter also graduated in speech pathology and Whitney Wiltbank got her bachelors, but that was last semester. Now all of the girls connected to our Wiltbank family have graduated.