Latasha Cooper is always on the go.
Working a full-time job and two PRN jobs, she drives from her home in St. James Parish to Baton Rouge or New Orleans daily.
When she杏吧专区檚 off the clock, she杏吧专区檚 busy taking care of and spending time with her three kids.
And for the last five years, she杏吧专区檚 been advancing her nursing career, moving from LPN to RN and earning a B.S. in Nursing. That progression involved completing UL Lafayette's RN to BSN online program, designed for working RNs with an associate degree or diploma.
From LPN to RN
Cooper spent 13 years working as an LPN before deciding to take the next step in her career.
While she enjoyed working as an LPN, her duties were limited, and leadership roles weren杏吧专区檛 available. So, as her kids grew more independent, she decided to earn an associate degree and become an RN.
Cooper enrolled in the ADN program at Meridian Community College in Mississippi, a four-hour drive from home. Five days a week, she made the eight-hour trip drive to attend class and clinicals.
, but it paid off as Cooper earned her associate degree in Fall 2021.
From there, she kept pushing. Luckily, to earn her B.S. in Nursing, she could complete her coursework without attending classes in person.
杏吧专区淚 have a friend in New Orleans who was in the process of getting her BSN,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 was looking at another school in Mississippi to earn my BSN there, but the application process just wasn杏吧专区檛 working for me. She was like, 杏吧专区榃hy don杏吧专区檛 you look at UL Lafayette? They have an RN to BSN program, too.杏吧专区櫺影勺ㄇ鴿
Cooper applied, and within two weeks, she received her acceptance letter and was registered for classes.
From ADN to BSN
As Cooper adjusted to online learning in the RN to BSN program, she found a balance as a full-time nurse and parent. The program杏吧专区檚 online coursework allowed Cooper to complete her assignments during the gaps in her busy schedule.
杏吧专区淢y youngest daughter is 8, and she keeps me very busy,杏吧专区 Cooper says. 杏吧专区淪he has dance class, homework, and I杏吧专区檓 taking care of her in the afternoons. I try to get everything done with her before it杏吧专区檚 time to go back to work.杏吧专区
Her favorite part of the program, she says, was getting to know the other nurses. Though the courses all took place asynchronously, she built strong connections with both her instructors and her classmates.
杏吧专区淲hen I reached out to my professors, I would get a response within 24 hours and usually almost immediately,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淭hey would help out however they could. They were awesome.杏吧专区
杏吧专区淚 also really enjoyed getting to know my classmates and seeing what they were doing. We were required to respond to other students杏吧专区 posts, which was great because I met so many different people. When graduation came, it was like, 杏吧专区極h, hey, you杏吧专区檙e the one I杏吧专区檝e been talking to!杏吧专区櫺影勺ㄇ鴿
The most engaging class for Cooper was NURS 406: Evidence-Based Practice. Evidence-based practice, as Cooper puts it, is using research to support the patient care decisions you make as a nurse.
杏吧专区淚n nursing, if you can杏吧专区檛 find evidence to support what you want to do, you can杏吧专区檛 do it,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淲e had to use the for pretty much every assignment we had. The sources we used had to be specific to nursing, from the United States, published within the last five years.杏吧专区
Beyond the BSN
Cooper杏吧专区檚 ability to find and apply research to her practice will be useful for the rest of her career.
And just because she has her degree doesn杏吧专区檛 mean she杏吧专区檚 finished learning and growing.
杏吧专区淚 do want to try another specialty,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淩ight now, I杏吧专区檓 in bone marrow transplant and medical-surgical. Do I know what other specialty I want to try yet? No. But in the meantime, I杏吧专区檓 enrolled in an M.S. in Nursing program to become a nurse practitioner. I should be finished in December 2025.杏吧专区
Cooper's glad she took the leap of faith to earn her degree through the RN to BSN program. She encourages other RNs to do the same.
杏吧专区淒on杏吧专区檛 give up,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 a lot of work and can get stressful but stay focused. When you finish, you杏吧专区檒l realize how much it was worth it.杏吧专区
Take the next step in your nursing career through UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 100% online RN to BSN program.