The Spectrum of the Nursing Career Field

Name: Angela Dryden

Position: Instructor, RN-BSN Program at Riverside College of Health Careers

Education: BSN from CNU, Master’s of Nursing from ODU (in progress)

What inspired you to get into your current field?

Had a friend with cystic fibrosis when she was a kid who passed at 14, also had a father with cancer at around the same time. Decided she wanted to help people in need.

How did you get to your current job position? What path did you take?

Started as a floor nurse, decided she really enjoyed teaching, went back to school for her master’s so she could teach. Started at her current position in March.

What are your basic roles and responsibilities?

Works with accreditation, Title IV, etc. for the Riverside College of Health Careers

What is your favorite part of this job?

Getting to help people.

What is the most surprising aspect about your career and the path you took?

Going back to school was a surprise.

What is the most challenging aspect of your career?

Not being able to help everyone to your full ability due to having to work through protocols, higher-ups, etc. 

Why should someone enter your career over another similar career, like RN or another teaching licensure?

Very flexible; once you get here, you can go anywhere.

What advice would you give someone entering the health field?

Get your career started early, before you’re married with kids. Everything gets much harder after then, so get all of your time-sucking aspects like school, internships, and residencies over with early.

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In talking to Mrs. Dryden, I learned how incredibly flexible the nursing career field really is. She was able to jump from hospital, to clinic, to yet another hospital, quite easily. She was even able to seamlessly return to schooling and immediately be back in the field she loved. Nursing is one of the few healthcare fields that allows that kind of versatility; it’s a career you can never really get bored of.