In an interview for the Centurion, Dr. Constance (Connie) Corrigan weighed in on the many reasons why someone should, would, or maybe even shouldn’t think about pursuing a degree in nursing at Bucks.

Dr. Corrigan is the Dean of Health Services at Bucks.

“I’ve worked at Bucks County Community College for about four and a half years. Prior to this I was a Dean of Health sciences at a school in Lancaster County.”

Before launching her career into education, Dr. Corrigan worked in an operating room of a hospital in the Harrisburg area.

“I worked there about 10 years before moving into academia.”

When asked why students would choose Nursing as a major, she expressed that the decision tends to come from past experiences within the healthcare field.

“People who gravitate toward nursing often had experiences with the healthcare field, such as a family member’s illness. After being around that atmosphere, people feel the need to join the field,” said Dr. Corrigan.

For Dr. Corrigan, it was her mother’s history of working in a family practice clinic that became her introduction to the health field.

She would go on to explain, “My mom was a nurse, and I grew up listening to her experiences. She worked in a family practice clinic in our town and on weekends she would take me with her to read throat cultures and check on supplies. I don’t think there was ever any question that I would go into nursing.”

Anyone who is interested in the nursing program at Bucks will have to follow the application process.

This will include providing any transcripts of classes taken, scores from SAT and ACT exams, or taking the TEAS test.

According to the nursing program student handbook, nursing students are required to maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.75.

Also Dr. Corrigan said, “Students must wear a uniform to participate in the clinical setting. The college has chosen a dark blue scrub suit which is like the work uniform of those in the health field. Students are responsible for paying for their uniform.”

Referring to the potentiality of job opportunities after a degree in healthcare, Dr. Corrigan replied, “Students in healthcare career will have an opportunity to explore at least one clinical agency during their externship or clinical courses. That is also a time for employers to examine our students to ascertain if they would make good employees after graduation. In that way, your clinical experiences are your first job interview. Additionally, the program and the college will help you work on resumes and interview skills around the time of graduation.”

While Dr. Corrigan would like to encourage prospective nursing students to join the program, she would also like to remind them that it will not be a walk in the park.

“Nursing is a very rewarding career, but it is not an easy program. Being a nursing student is going to require a lot of work whether it is reading the textbooks, preparing for clinical assignments, or working on projects for class. Students who want to excel will devote as much time to their studies. I do not recommend working more than 20 hours a week if taking nursing classes, and if someone wants to take the program full-time, I recommend not working at all.”