Degree/training: Certified medical biller
Career Aspiration: My goal is to eventually go back to school for my RN.
Why did you choose your career path? I love people and I always knew I wanted to be in a field where I would have a meaningful impact on my community. I have been interested in the medical field for as long as I can remember, but it wasn’t until recently that I got the courage to go back to school and follow my passion.
Where did you hear about a health career path and how did you enter this path? My grandmother was a nurse and hearing her tell stories about her job when I was a kid was the first time, I really paid attention to what it means to be a nurse.
What advice would you give those who are guiding students into health careers? I think it’s important to let people know that it’s okay to take baby steps into a career in healthcare. I felt very discouraged about a career in nursing when I was first considering it a few years ago. I felt like I didn’t have the GPA or experience to get into a program, but throughout my own journey, I’ve gained meaningful experiences, built a support system, and took the time I needed to prepare myself for nursing school.
Did you start to think about this career path in middle school? No, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do as a career until I was 21. I had already gone to school, gotten my associate's and started my job as a medical biller when I finally realized nursing was what I wanted to do. It took me even longer to figure out how I could pursue nursing as a career.
What high school courses do you feel helped you? The only course in high school I took that may have helped me was biology.
What courses do you wish you took to prepare you for current health career training? I wish I had taken more science courses in high school, specifically anatomy and physiology. I didn’t have a solid science background prior to nursing school, and I spent a lot of time teaching and reteaching myself science content to prepare myself for the LPN program.