Registered Nurse, Emergency Department
Baylor University Medical Center

“This was my fourth career change. I’d already had careers in the Royal Air Force, the British Foreign Service and the IT industry. This time, I wanted a career where I could really make a difference in people’s lives.

“Nursing is such a vast field that no one program can prepare you for everything — there are so many directions to take, from geriatrics to pediatrics to hospice care. I chose the emergency department because I like to be able to immediately intervene to help patients. The emergency department also has a high patient turnover, and you never know what you’ll do next.

“The Brookhaven Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) program gave me the basic preparation for my career in nursing. No program can prepare you for everything you will see in the clinical setting, but Brookhaven prepared me well to take and pass the NCLEX examination. The most valuable part of my education was the clinical rotations — medical, surgical, psychiatric, labor and delivery, and pediatric — which gave me a greater exposure to the wide variety of careers in nursing.

“In terms of personal attributes, I think it helps to be older when you enter the nursing profession. Nursing can be very challenging, and it helps to be able to draw on life experiences in dealing with different personalities. Being confident and organized is also essential, and of course you need to be prepared to work as part of a team.

“Nursing is not a career to take lightly. Brookhaven gave me a foundation of skills that allowed me to build on my life experience and go forward with a new career.”

Originally from England, Mark Powell had careers in the Royal Air Force and British Foreign Service, as well as the IT industry, before earning an associate degree in Nursing at Brookhaven College.