Alexis Black was already pursuing her Master of Science in Nursing online through the 杏吧专区 when she decided to apply for the Graduate Certificate in Cardiovascular Nursing.
Her coworkers told her she was crazy.
But when Black recognized a patient was having a heart attack and was able to respond to get the 51-year-old woman to a hospital before she sustained long-term heart damage, Black knew she杏吧专区檇 made the right decision. 
杏吧专区淲hen you see the good outcome, and you know you played a role, and that person is spending more time or more Christmases or birthdays with their family, that's the rewarding part,杏吧专区 Black says. 杏吧专区淚 can say doing the cardio certificate definitely gave me insight.杏吧专区
Completing the online cardiovascular program in August 2020 was only one stop along Black杏吧专区檚 academic journey, which she says is far from over.
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Black says after earning her associate杏吧专区檚 in 1994, her professional development sat on the back burner while she prioritized her family.
杏吧专区淚 always wanted to at least obtain my four-year degree, but raising a family, helping with grandkids came first,杏吧专区 Black says. 杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檓 finally to a place where I feel I can work on my career and achieve some of the goals I want to.杏吧专区
Black enrolled in the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 online RN-to-BSN degree program to fulfill that goal in 2016. With one degree down, Black kept going, enrolling in the online Master of Science in Nursing and Graduate Certificate in Cardiovascular Nursing programs.
杏吧专区淚 felt like, I'm accomplishing this goal, but that's not where I want to stop 杏吧专区 I don't want that to be the end,杏吧专区 Black says.
Critical care insights
Black had nearly 20 years of experience in critical care 杏吧专区 and two full-time jobs 杏吧专区 when she returned to school.
She says even with her extensive experience, she didn杏吧专区檛 understand all the complexities and co-morbidities of congestive heart failure. Gaining that insight has changed her practice and patient outcomes.
杏吧专区淭ime is muscle,杏吧专区 when responding to a cardiac event, says Black. So being able to recognize a heart attack quickly 杏吧专区 as Black did with her 51-year-old patient 杏吧专区 is critical to life-saving care and treatment.
杏吧专区淲hen the cardiologist came in the next day, he said, 杏吧专区榟ad anybody else been watching this monitor, I don杏吧专区檛 think they would have realized how important it was,杏吧专区櫺影勺ㄇ鴿 says Black.
In addition to understanding cardiovascular disease processes through the graduate certificate program, Black says pursuing her master杏吧专区檚 in nursing changed her approach to patient care.
杏吧专区淚'm now looking at the whole patient,杏吧专区 Black says. 杏吧专区淚'm more knowledgeable on how to treat the whole person rather than just one acute event.杏吧专区
Careful planning
Investing in herself in order to invest in her patients required careful planning and a lot of understanding from those around her, Black says.
杏吧专区淭o get through the program, you have to have supportive and understanding family and friends,杏吧专区 Black says. 杏吧专区淵ou do sacrifice 杏吧专区 I might miss dinner or some football games or these things.杏吧专区
In addition to her professional motivations, Black was personally motivated after losing her father to a heart attack. Although she knew the graduate certificate would compound her workload, she embraced the opportunity.
To stay ahead, Black says she completed as much of her master杏吧专区檚 coursework as possible before the cardiovascular program began in March. On her weekends off, she says, she split her days to focus on master杏吧专区檚 coursework one day and cardiovascular coursework the other.
杏吧专区淚t definitely requires a lot of very detailed scheduling to make sure all the pieces fall in place,杏吧专区 she says.
Upon completing her MSN in 2021, Black plans to specialize in cardiovascular care on her way to pursuing her Doctor of Nursing Practice.