RN Espouses Boy Scout Motto as Key to Success

"Be prepared.”  That’s the life-lesson Donna Gause, Quality Management Consultant for Dixie Regional Medical Center (DRMC), would pass on to others as a key to securing a good job and building a good life.  Reflecting on an educational journey that has resulted in three associate degrees, a B.S. in nursing, an M.B.A. and an M.S.N., and a rewarding career in health care management, the 50-year-old RN says, “You have to be prepared to meet an opportunity when it comes up.  If you’re not, it will pass you by.”

Gause credits the University of Phoenix and its innovative approach to higher education for giving her the preparation that enabled her to move into her current position at DRMC.  “I was a nurse-educator when I first enrolled at the University of Phoenix,” she said.  “I wasn’t seeking a promotion.  I was seeking knowledge and a better understanding of the health care field.  But when a position opened up for a nurse-manager, the fact that I was pursuing an M.B.A. made me more competitive than I would otherwise have been, and I got the promotion.  And then, after I received the degree, the position I currently hold, Quality Management Consultant, became available.  The degree is a requirement for that position.  If I had waited, I would not have been qualified.”

Gause’s preparation for her career actually began years ago in northwest Florida, where she grew up.  She earned an associate’s degree from a Florida community college and then took a six-year hiatus from education to get married and begin a family.  A move to Utah followed, and she immediately resumed her educational journey, earning a second associate’s degree—this time, in accounting—and then enrolling in the nursing program at Weber State University.  This led to two more degrees—an associate’s and bachelor’s in nursing—and a job as a nurse-educator at DRMC.

Working full time in a job she loved and raising a family, Gause could have stopped there.  Instead, she decided she needed to know more about the financial side of health care and began looking for a graduate business program.  At the time, both the Chief Operations officer and the Chief Nursing Officer at DRMC held degrees from the University of Phoenix.  Gause decided to look into the MBA program there, liked what she saw, and enrolled in 2003.

The University of Phoenix is a non-traditional institution of higher learning established in 1976 to serve working adults.  Pursuing the M.B.A., Gause was enrolled in the university’s Flex-Net program, which relies heavily on the Internet for instruction, discussion, and interaction but includes periodic class meetings.  “The program let me work my education around my life,” she said.  “I didn’t have to take time off from my job or bail out on family responsibilities in order to attend classes.”  But, she added, the program was just as challenging as anything she had experienced at the more traditional institutions she previously attended.

In fact, to those who express skepticism about the quality of the educational experience at the University of Phoenix, she says, “Show me the content of your courses and the amount of time and work required.  I’m confident the University of Phoenix program will measure up.  It is definitely not an easy option.  You have expectations to meet and tough concepts to master.  And while you have all the support you need from your professors and the university’s staff, you are expected to take responsibility for your learning.”  

That responsibility became even more demanding when, nearing the end of her   M.B.A. program, Gause decided to pursue a master’s in nursing.  That program, unlike the M.B.A., is conducted completely online.  “I tend to be an auditory learner,” Gause said, “so I was a little anxious about how online instruction without a classroom component was going to work for me.”  She soon adapted, however, and now feels that the experience was particularly beneficial in that it mimics the way the modern workplace functions.  “Most of us today work in an electronic environment.  We don’t sit in boardrooms.  We communicate through email, cell phones, and other electronic media.”

Another aspect of the University of Phoenix’s approach to education that seems especially valid to Gause is the emphasis placed on group assignments and teamwork.  “Again,” she says, “that’s how the workplace functions today.”  She noted that her classmates were logged in from all over the world.  “One was in Athens, Greece,” she said, “and another in Abu Dabhi.  Others were located throughout the United States.  Working with a diverse, international group like that was great preparation for working in the global economy.  You’re forced to see things from a broader perspective.  What better preparation could you ask for the kind of world we inhabit today?”

Reflecting on her experience at the University of Phoenix, Gause said, “Every single class contributed to my knowledge and led to a better understanding of the issues I face daily in my job.”  She cited one course, “Economics for Managerial Decision-Making” taught by S. Mark Barnes, as especially meaningful.  “That class probably opened my mind more than any other single class I have ever taken,” she said.

Gause pointed out that even the non-traditional teaching method is beneficial in preparing students for the contemporary workplace, where workers collaborate in teams and communicate electronically.  “Much of this stems from the fact the University of Phoenix faculty is made up of people who are successful in careers outside the academic world.  Their focus is on practical, real-world situations and practices.  They know how the modern workplace functions, and they know what you need to learn in order to be successful out there.”

If success is a measure of a program’s worth, then the University of Phoenix has excelled in Gause’s case.  She has had two promotions since beginning work on her M.B.A. and is accountable for regulatory compliance in regard to quality and patient safety for all three hospitals in the Intermountain Southwest Region--Dixie Regional Medical Center, Valley View Medical Center, and Garfield Memorial Hospital.

So is Gause ending her educational journey at this point?  Well, even though she says she has ordered colleagues to shoot her if she so much as mentions going to school again, she quickly adds that she has been “looking into” some doctoral programs in the area.  After all, you never know what other opportunities might be out there, lying in wait.

ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX

University of Phoenix is constantly innovating to help students balance education and life in a rapidly changing world. Through flexible schedules, challenging courses and interactive learning, students achieve personal and career aspirations without putting their lives on hold.   As of February 28, 2009, 397,700 students were enrolled at University of Phoenix, the largest private university in North America. University of Phoenix serves a diverse student population, offering associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs from campuses and learning centers across the U.S. as well as online throughout the world.  www.phoenix.edu.