What should you know about the RN-BS program?
Casey Seckel, Chief Clinical Officer for Life Flight Network and a 2009 alum of the RN-BS program is grateful for the impact Boise State had on his career.
“This is a great program,” he said. “Boise State really leaned forward in developing it…I think they saw a need for people like me who are already practicing. We can’t afford to quit school and go back, and we’re non-traditional students, but we have a desire to continue to learn and continue to grow in the profession.”
“The online degree completion program, it really gave me the best of both worlds,” he said. “It gave me this opportunity to get the knowledge and have the community of students and the support from the faculty. But I could do that at a coffee shop.”
“For me it was a game-changer.”
Advice to help you succeed
1. Keep up with assignments
Seckel is no stranger to online education, and his first piece of advice is to be disciplined and stay caught up with assignments.
“I jumped in and I didn’t plan very well sometimes, and so I found myself behind,” he said. “My advice would be to understand what you’re getting yourself into, and don’t let the disconnect from in-person learning get in the way of you continuing that path.”
2. Connect with your instructors
Drawing from his own experience, Seckel also encourages making connections with faculty and staff.
“I didn’t have a relationship with the faculty so that I could let them know when I was struggling,” he said. “So you kind of have to reach out and build those in the online world.”
3. Enjoy the journey
Finally, Seckel encourages students to have fun and make sure they take care of themselves, too.
“If you don’t figure out how to process the things that you’ll see and do early on, it will weigh heavily on your soul. Then at some point that’s going to reflect in your care and and even your own livelihood and resiliency,” he said.
“But you don’t have to suffer through that. Have a good time and enjoy nursing school, enjoy learning. It’s a lifelong journey, and you’re never going to reach the destination. You’re never going to know it all. You should enjoy the journey instead of looking for what the end of the road looks like.”
“I’ve seen so many people either exit the profession or were forced to exit the profession because they weren’t taking care of themselves,” he said. “So I would say, have fun and get a counselor.”