A Peek into Life after OBU’s Nursing Program
When most people picture nurses, they imagine the hustle and bustle of a hospital setting, where nurses scurry the hallways caring for patients and assisting in many different ways. While this is a very real and popular destination for many nurses, there are many other career options available for nurses as well.
At Oklahoma Baptist University, we prepare our students for a wide variety of fields they may enter with a nursing degree. We equip students to achieve both their personal and professional goals through many program options:
OBU Nursing Alumna Pam Malloy
We recently spoke with OBU Alumna Pam Malloy, who graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree in 1974. She then earned her Master of Science in Nursing and became a member of The Family Practice & Counseling Network and a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.
What was the highlight of your experience with OBU’s nursing program?
I have so many wonderful memories. The faculty were all so wonderful and patient with us. They taught us that it was not just taking compassionate care of the body, but also the mind, heart and soul of a person. They were great role models for us. We would go from one room where we could share an exciting time with a husband and his wife who was about to give birth and then one hour later, go into another room where a patient was actively dying. This was a wonderful reminder of the sanctity of life, whether that life was just beginning or ending. They instilled in us the important role of the nurse in caring for the people in this great nation — no other health care professional spends more time at the bedside or out in the community caring for patients and their families than the nurse.
I also made wonderful lifelong friends while at OBU. We went through so much together in those early, formative years. Much of those four years shaped me into the person I am today.
What did you do after graduating from OBU?
After graduation, I worked at Presbyterian Hospital in Oklahoma City to learn as much as I could. I started in a pediatric oncology unit. I then moved to California to establish residency so I could go to graduate school. I completed my master’s degree in nursing from the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1979, with an emphasis in oncology nursing.
I taught for a year at UCLA after I graduated and then my husband was transferred to Colorado. I took seven years off to have my children, and then went back to work on an oncology unit in Pennsylvania. From there, I spent twelve years at the George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., and worked in oncology — bone marrow transplant — and was also an educator and administrator there.
The past 13 years, I have been working at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing in Washington, D.C., primarily working on the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium Project. I develop curriculum to help nurses and other health care professionals learn to better care for patients with serious, life-threatening illness. This project has been so successful that it has been presented in all 50 of the United States, 90 countries world-wide, and has been translated into eight languages. I am grateful for this opportunity and believe that my education at OBU prepared me for this.
OBU provided me with a strong education base, great mentors and reinforced the belief that we all have our own calling to help make the world a little better.
What do you recommend current or future nursing students do as they evaluate different educational opportunities?
Life is short, so find what you love to do. Have a vision of how you can contribute to this world with your God-given talents.
Travel and experience other cultures. It reminds us of the beautiful world that God has created.
Go beyond just getting your bachelor’s degree. Graduate school will allow you to zero in on what you really love. Education is key!
Always pray. Ask God to direct your path.
OBU’s Many Options
Malloy’s story is just one of many to come from OBU’s School of Nursing. If you are considering going to school for your nursing degree, OBU offers many different programs to suit your needs. Your career path may lead you to a hospital setting, global missions, or beyond. The options are limitless.
Contact us today to learn more about how OBU can help you prepare for the future you have imagined.
