May 1, 2024

May is National Nurses Month and May 6 through May 12, Nurses Week.

It’s a time to celebrate nurses, nursing students and nurse educators who dedicate their lives to providing outstanding, compassionate care. We asked graduate nursing students some questions about their lives and the programs they are in and have created this series to highlight some of the folks we heard from. We will be sharing these throughout the month here and on social media.

Share your experiences with us. Tag @DrexelCNHP and use #NursesWeek2024 and #ExperienceDrexel.

Meet Jessica Evins.
Hi! My name is Jessica Evins, and I am finishing up my MSN in Nursing Education. I currently work in New York City, in a pediatric ED at a level-one trauma center.

Q: Why nursing?
A: Nursing, actually, is my second career. My first degree was in aerospace and mechanical engineering, and I worked for the U.S. Navy for three years before going back to school for a BSN. While I loved much about being an engineer, I found that what I really wanted was a career where I could spend more of my time working with others—colleagues and patients. Nursing turned out to be the perfect answer. The clinical role remains highly analytical, and science-centric, but the interpersonal components are what keeps me in love with my job.

Q: Why did you choose Drexel for this program?
A: I chose Drexel because of its expertise in online education. Attending school while working full-time is hard to juggle, so online learning was the practical answer. At Drexel, the online program is excellent and has allowed me to continue to balance my life without lessening the quality of my education.

Q: How are faculty and your cohort supporting you to be successful?
A: Before starting the program, I had no idea how connected I would feel to my faculty and cohort, even in an online environment. I love how I have gotten to know my peers (long-distance and virtually!) over the past two years; it has added a layer of engagement that I didn’t know I needed. The faculty have been really great; they lead such creative, fulfilling courses and have been amazingly supportive throughout the program. I cannot say enough good things about the faculty (extra shoutout to our track director 😊) – I was pregnant and gave birth to my second daughter during my practicum and they have been amazing in helping me figure out how to be successful in the program, while maintaining a balance with my family.

Q: What is unique about this program? Why would you recommend it?
A: My favorite thing about the nursing education program is how much experiential learning is built into the curriculum. From the very first course, you are taking what you have learned and putting it into practice—designing a curriculum, writing test questions, creating an online course. It has been a great way to learn, and I would absolutely recommend this program to anyone interested in pursuing nursing education.

Q: What are three things that you always have on you as a nurse?
A: My PALS card (we are a little superstitious in the ER…the day I don’t bring my PALS card is always the day we get a cardiac arrest patient), Stickers (I work in pediatrics!), and a pad of Post-It notes. No matter how good the EMR is, nothing works as well as a sticky note reminder.

Q: Something most people don’t know about me is...
A: I am a big space nerd! I went to space camp as a kid (ok…as a teenager…) and love to nerd out about rockets.