Since earning her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the 杏吧专区 in 2001, Loretta Heggelund杏吧专区檚 career has centered on cardiovascular care, from telemetry to cardiovascular intensive care and emergency at Our Lady of Lourdes Heart Hospital.
杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檝e always been interested in and fascinated by cardiology,杏吧专区 Heggelund says. 杏吧专区淲ith recent advances in medical technology, it's amazing to witness what we can do to help our patients.杏吧专区
Heggelund decided she could further help patients by advancing her education through UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 online Master of Science in Nursing - Family Nurse Practitioner degree program as well as the online Graduate Certificate in Cardiovascular Nursing.
Expanding Scope
Heggelund was seeing patients at the intervention stage, but she wanted to help patients better manage their cardiovascular health to prevent those measures. 
杏吧专区淲e see many patients in the ER who don杏吧专区檛 have primary care providers. Obtaining my advanced practice degree gives me the opportunity to help those patients,杏吧专区 Heggelund says. 杏吧专区淢y goal as a provider is to encourage patients to make better choices and offer options to improve their health status before medical interventions are needed.杏吧专区
In 2018, Heggelund enrolled in UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 online MSN degree program to position herself to fill the need for primary care, especially in rural areas.
She says UL Lafayette was a natural choice as her alma mater and for the quality of its nursing programs.
杏吧专区淚 know firsthand that UL Lafayette provides a quality education,杏吧专区 Heggelund says. 杏吧专区淭he nursing program has an amazing reputation and I love our 杏吧专区. Returning for my master杏吧专区檚 degree felt like coming home.杏吧专区
The difference for Heggelund was that instead of attending courses on UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 oak-shaded campus, she杏吧专区檇 be completing her coursework online. She says although it was an adjustment, it was the best option for her.
杏吧专区淲ith younger children at home, the online program provided my best opportunity for success,杏吧专区 Heggelund says. 杏吧专区淚t required endless discipline and motivation; I created a schedule for studying and completing assignments around my family life and full-time job. I knew that staying on task and maintaining a balance between family-work-school was the only way to be successful.杏吧专区
Challenge Accepted
Working full-time, managing graduate coursework, and keeping up with four children, including two pre-teens, is no small task. But when Heggelund learned about the Graduate Certificate in Cardiovascular Nursing, she decided the opportunity was worth the extra challenge.
The graduate degree program is designed for advanced practice nurses or those enrolled in an MSN degree program. It was developed in partnership with Cardiovascular Institute of the South to fill a growing need for advanced practice nurses with specialized cardiovascular knowledge and experience.
Cardiovascular Institute of the South has supported the program by providing scholarships as well as its facilities and staff for precepting.
Heggelund enrolled in the six-month program in March 2020, simultaneously pursuing the specialized graduate certificate and her master杏吧专区檚 degree.
杏吧专区淢y background in cardiology nursing provided a foundation to build on and this was an excellent opportunity to advance my knowledge as I transition into a new role as a nurse practitioner,杏吧专区 Heggelund says. 杏吧专区淐ardiovascular Institute of the South is world-renowned in their advances in cardiovascular medicine, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to work with them and to take part in the program. It was very challenging at times, but it was manageable, and I learned so much.杏吧专区
Heggelund says in addition to expanding her knowledge of cardiovascular diagnosis and treatment plans, she was able to gain a new perspective on cardiovascular procedures.
杏吧专区淚 was able to develop skills such as evaluating exercise and nuclear stress tests, echocardiograms, and advanced EKG. The cath lab rotation included observation of procedures such as coronary and peripheral angiograms, pacemaker placements, and minimally-invasive valve replacements,杏吧专区 Heggelund says. 杏吧专区淎s a nurse, we rarely get to observe these procedures firsthand. Each aspect of the CV course was another piece of the puzzle that lends to a greater comprehension of cardiovascular care.杏吧专区
Heggelund earned her graduate certificate in August 2020 and her MSN in December 2020. She says she hopes to schedule boards in early 2021 to apply for an advanced practice license.
杏吧专区淭here are so many options for advanced practice nurses,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 exciting to explore each new opportunity.杏吧专区