Valerie with her husband, Joel
Valerie Lane is enjoying her experience in the Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing online program at UTA so much, she hopes to possibly work for the university one day.
“I want to finish my bachelor’s degree and get my master’s degree in education,” Lane said. “One of my UTA academic coaches asked me if I was going to finish my master’s degree. I said, ‘I want to.’ She said, ‘You should. Then, you could come work for UTA.’ I hadn’t really thought about it until then. I’m going to push through until I reach my goals. A large part of nursing is education, and I enjoy that.”
Lane, 58, has four courses remaining in the online RN to BSN program before she graduates in 2019. She is a legal nurse consultant for Dignity Health in Bakersfield, California, with a wealth of experience in numerous areas of nursing.
“I take one class at a time,” she said. “UTA is very supportive. If I have any questions, they are there to answer them for me. I am impressed with the University of Texas at Arlington, and the Texas education system, in general. It’s much better than our education system, in my opinion.”
Before going to work for Dignity Health in 2010 as a legal nurse consultant, Lane worked at the California State Prison-Corcoran, where Charles Manson was incarcerated.
“I worked all over the prison yard in the clinics and in the involuntary medication program known as Keyhea,” she said. “I became interested in legal nurse consulting while working at the prison and was asked to coordinate the administrative law hearings. The Keyhea program is for inmates with grave disabilities or are a danger to themselves or others. That experience helped me get the job I have now.”
Twist of Fate
Nursing is a second career for Lane. She was as a flight attendant for Continental Airlines for 10 years before starting a family with her husband, Joel, a wildland air attack firefighter. Because Lane wanted to stay home to be with their three sons, Kyle (28), Sean (28) and Trevor (25), and her husband who was busy fighting fire, she investigated becoming a surgical technologist.
“I was on a flight deadheading, or riding as crew, to pick up our flight in Houston as ours was delayed out of Los Angeles,” Lane said. “I was seated next to a Vietnam vet, a medic, who came home and finished his RN. He saw my surgical technology books and said, ‘Oh, no. You don’t want to do that.’ I said, ‘Why not?’ He said, ‘You’ll be on your feet all day. You need to go to nursing school and write your own ticket.'”
Lane completed her Licensed Practical Nurse certification, graduating first in her class, followed by an Associate Degree of Nursing with honors, from Regents College, now Excelsior, in 1999. In fact, Lane finished her ADN online before it was common. So, she was already familiar with the online format and loved it. She has worked in DOU, Med/Surg and the operating room, and also worked in the OR at California State Prison-Corcoran for four years.
“That’s the best thing about nursing, there are many opportunities in different specialties. If you want to learn something new, there’s always that option,” she said. “My education and experience led me to this fabulous job as an LNC. I am not ready to retire; my job is very busy, and I enjoy it.”
As Lane progresses steadily through the online RN to BSN program, her friends and family support her ongoing academic endeavors.
“It’s just what I’ve been doing,” she said. “In nursing, you’re always taking a class and always doing something to learn more. Sometimes my family asks, ‘When are you going to finish?’ If I didn’t have anything else to do, I would be finished.”
Texas, Our Texas
Lane found the UTA nursing program while researching online programs, but she also has a niece and a nephew who attended the University of Texas at Austin. She knew the UT system would provide a solid education for her nursing practice.
“I wanted a degree from a reputable university,” she said. “I wanted something recognizable where people wouldn’t say, ‘What university is that?’ I also looked at economics, and there’s nothing out there that beats UTA. The whole delivery system is also important, and UTA does a great job of that.”
A course Lane did not expect to love, POLS 2312: State & Local Government, was one of her favorites in the online RN to BSN curriculum.
“That was an interesting course,” she said. “It really emphasizes the ability to have Safe Harbor, where if you’re a whistleblower, there is not going to be any retribution. I also really liked [NURS 4465] Care of Vulnerable Populations Across the Lifespan. Geriatrics is a burgeoning population because of aging Baby Boomers.”
Once Lane completes the bachelor’s degree program, she plans to continue to an MSN degree program. She would even like to move to Texas one day, if her family was willing to go, too.
“I love UTA and recommend the RN to BSN program to everyone,” she said. “I’ve had a coworker, my risk manager and a cousin graduate from UTA. It’s the best decision you could make. It’s the best program out there — economically and academically. I know, I’ve looked at all of them.”
Learn more about the UTA online RN to BSN program.
