Spring — 2006

Linda Rodriguez-Gilmore

Nursing

“The best thing you can do about any program you want to get into is to talk with your peers. They’re the best source of information.”

“I think that what really attracts me to medicine is the human body itself,” says Linda Rodriguez-Gilmore. “It’s the physiology, the cardiovascular system… all the processes of life that are going on, and how all the organs function. Or don’t. And being a nurse is a lot different from being a doctor,” she adds. “Doctors treat the disease, but nurses treat both the patient and the disease. You have to be right on top of all the medications that get ordered. But you also have to get involved with the holistic side of treating people.”

Now in her second month in SMC’s Nursing program, Linda reports having made an excellent choice. “It takes a long time to get into the program, but it’s worth the wait,” she says. “We have a really good passing rate for our Nursing exams. And when we leave the College and go to work, I think we’ll do a good job of representing SMC.” It’s Linda’s plan to “transfer on to a four-year college through a ‘bridge’ program. But ultimately, I think I might want to get involved in hospital management, because nursing is a tough job. There’s a lot of physical work, and as you get a little older you don’t always want to be doing all the heavy lifting.”

Linda says that SMC “feels like a really positive place to be, because instructors here really drill that education into you. It’s a very professional learning environment, one where you get the sense that instructors are focused on getting you prepared. They do push us hard,” she says with a laugh. “But that’s a good thing for almost anybody.”

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