Latasha Cooper is always on the go.
She works a full-time job and two PRN jobs, driving from her home in St. James Parish, Louisiana, to Baton Rouge or New Orleans each day for work.
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, progressing from an LPN to an RN and earning a B.S. in Nursing. That progression included 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 responsibilities were limited, and leadership opportunities 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 Meridian, Mississippi, a four-hour drive away from her home. Five days a week, she made the eight-hour round-trip drive to attend classes and clinical.
, 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 try to earn my BSN there, and the application process just wasn杏吧专区檛 working out 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 switched from in-person learning in her ADN program to online learning in the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 RN to BSN program, she found new flexibility as a student and 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 she had 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, she has homework, and I杏吧专区檓 taking care of her in the afternoons and trying to get everything done with her before it杏吧专区檚 time for me to go back to work.杏吧专区
Her favorite part of the program, she says, was getting to know and communicate with other nurses. Though the courses all took place asynchronously, she built strong relationships 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 always required to respond to other students杏吧专区 posts, which I think was a great idea because I got to meet 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, involves using recent 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 back up 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 nursing-specific, from the United States, that were published within the last five years.杏吧专区
Beyond the BSN
Cooper杏吧专区檚 ability to find and apply current research to her practice will come in handy 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 is glad she took the leap of faith to earn her bachelor杏吧专区檚 degree and push 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 it can get overwhelming, but remain focused because at the end when you finish, you杏吧专区檙e going to 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.