Former Business Owner finds a new calling in PBSC Nursing Program

For Andreca Stewart, 52 was not too late to begin a new career — it was the right time. After years of running her own business in Jamaica, she is pursuing nursing in the United States.

Now a full-time student in Palm Beach State College’s registered nurse (RN) program, Stewart moved to the United States a few years ago and returned to the classroom to prepare for a career in health care. Returning to school meant entering a new field while adjusting to a different way of thinking.

“It has been a challenge to work, especially switching from a business mind to a scientific mind,” Stewart said. “I think I have to work much harder to grasp the material, but I am doing my best.”

Stewart first heard about PBSC’s nursing program through her sister, who is a nurse. At the time, Stewart was uncertain about her next step, but she soon found that caring for others gave her a sense of purpose.

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do at the time, and my sister was a nurse, so I decided to go into the health care field,” Stewart said. “I tried it and loved caring for people, so I decided to continue pursuing a career as a registered nurse.”

Her decision was reinforced during clinicals, the supervised, hands-on training shifts where nursing students apply classroom and skills-lab instruction while caring for patients in hospitals and other health care settings.

“For me, it was when my patients would say, ‘Thank you for taking care of me. Will you be coming back to work tomorrow? I am going to tell your manager that you made me feel like a person, not just a patient, today,’” Stewart said.

Those words affirmed that she made the right decision

“These words sometimes make me cry because I know I have touched someone in a positive way,” she said.

At PBSC, clinical instruction is integrated throughout the nursing curriculum, allowing students to connect what they learn in class and the skills lab with patient care each semester. The College has agreements with approximately 16 to 18 health care facilities across Palm Beach County.

“We have contracts with HCA, Tenet, Baptist, long-term care facilities, the VA, rehabilitation centers and psychiatric or mental health sites,” said Rhonda G. Boles, Health Sciences program specialist.

For Stewart, the work remains demanding. Like many adult learners, she balances the workload of a nursing program with family responsibilities.

“It can be very challenging, especially with children around,” she said. “You have to find the best time to try to study.”

PBSC’s nursing programs provide several scheduling options for students navigating those realities, including online, evening, weekend, part-time and full-time formats. The College also offers stackable pathways from patient care assistant/CNA training through LPN, RN and BSN options, as well as an accelerated RN pathway for qualified LPNs and paramedics.

“Online, evening, weekend, part-time and full-time—a student does not have to choose just one option,” said Carol A. Clarke, EdD, DNP, associate dean of nursing. “We have different options for them.”

Those options serve a student population that includes many adults returning to college or changing careers.

“Our average student age is about 35 or 36,” Boles said. “I’ve had some teachers switch over to nursing. I had one who is still a teacher and completing nursing in our evening-weekend program while teaching during the day.”

The College’s flexibility has expanded over time. Boles said PBSC began with a Lake Worth-based full-time program and later added the Belle Glade full-time program, evening and weekend instruction, and online coursework.

“When I started, we only had the Lake Worth full-time program,” Boles said. “We added the Belle Glade full-time program, our evening-weekend program and online courses. Students could not take didactic instruction online before; everyone had to be here for lecture.”

PBSC is continuing to adapt its nursing offerings. The college plans to move its RN program from Belle Glade to the Loxahatchee Groves campus and add an LPN program at the Belle Glade campus.

For Stewart, the combination of classroom learning, clinical experience and persistence is moving her closer to a new career. She encourages other adults who may be considering a return to school not to give up on their own goals.

“It is really challenging, but it will be rewarding in the end,” Stewart said. “It is a lot of work—reading the materials, attending clinicals and the skills lab. You just have to be organized and focused and not give up. I almost did, but I pushed forward.”