Jorge Juarez, 41, was faced with major life tragedies that could have easily made him give up his goal of being a nurse. But he’s graduating this Friday.
He and 16 of his fellow students, are the first graduating class of the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing program.
The program began in January 2005 with a $1.17 million grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. The grant provides three years of funding to launch and establish the program.
To earn the degree, Juarez endured many hardships that may have caused others in his situation to give up. His parents died, his brother had a stroke, and he lost his house to a fire caused by lightening — all during while pursuing an accelerated bachelor’s degree in nursing – first at Creighton University Medical Center, then at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Before he enrolled in the nursing programs, he was serving in the Air Force at Offutt Air Force Base. It wasn’t long retiring from a 20-year career in the Air Force, when his father had a stroke and his mother was diagnosed with cancer. The stroke left his father partially paralyzed and his mother ultimately went into a nursing home.
He and his wife, Lynelle and two children traveled to Texas, to visit his parents.
“This was one of the things that introduced me to the health professions. I saw all the nurses who interacted with my mom and dad. It really had an impact on me,” Juarez said.
In 2002, when he retired from the Air Force, he was trying to decide what he wanted to do. Then more crises.
In September 2002, his 50-year-old brother, who lived in North Carolina, had a stroke. “We really had a rough time,” said Juarez talking about his family. It kind of made me look at myself. I also have high blood pressure. It got me closer to the medical profession.”
While Juarez was visiting his brother, his house in Bellevue was struck by lightning and burned down. His family, including the dog and cat, fortunately got out of the house unharmed.
The events caused him to reflect. “It gives you a new perspective on what you value. It brings you closer to your family and God….”
While the family was having their house rebuilt, he decided to pursue a nursing degree.
“It’s a total 180 from what I did before. It was a total change in careers,” Juarez said, explaining his job in the Air Force was working with primarily computers and electronics in aircraft and satellite.
He ultimately was accepted into Creighton’s accelerated nursing program in January 2004.
That spring, his mother’s cancer got worse. “The chemo wasn’t working, the radiation wasn’t working. The tumor got worse,” Juarez said.
Sometime in April or May, he said she was admitted to hospice. She died May 22.
“It took a toll on me. My grades kind of suffered. So I pulled out. Looking back, I should have pulled out sooner than I did. I tried to stay in the program,” Juarez said.
Juarez said while visiting his mother in hospice, she would tell the nurses that her son was in nursing school. “She was proud.”
He made a promise to his mother that he would continue to pursue his nursing degree.
When he came back to Bellevue after her death, he had to reapply to get back into Creighton’s program. He decided to check into UNMC’s program. He spoke with Larry Hewitt of the UNMC College of Nursing. To get into the program he needed two more classes.
Though the classes he needed had begun a week earlier at Metropolitan Community College, he convinced officials to let him enroll. He took the courses, passed, applied to UNMC’s accelerated nursing program and began class in January 2005.
“It was very exciting for me,” Juarez said.
He and his wife explained the pace of the program as “insanity.”
“It was really hard,” Juarez said. He said he was taking 27 or 28 credit hours at once versus a typical undergraduate student load of 15 hours.
With the accelerated program, students earn the degree in one year – taking classes for two semesters and in the summer – without typical breaks. Clinical rotations and academics also held on evenings and weekends. The traditional BSN program typically takes five semesters over two-and-a-half years.
Just as his first semester in May of 2005 was about to end, tragedy struck again. Juarez’s father had a massive heart attack and died on May 23 – one year and one day later than his mother died.
Juarez finished the first semester. “The campus really worked with me. I finished the semester then was able to be with my family. He returned to Omaha from Texas and started the summer semester, then finished last week.
He said he and his classmates were glad the accelerated program ended when it did. “I think when we got to a point towards the end, we were thinking if it wasn’t going to end soon … we were really burned out,” he said. “You really had to have school be committed 100 percent in your life.”
Juarez said it wasn’t the challenging academics, clinical rotations nor even the pace that was the hardest part.
“I think the very hardest part was not being able to be there for my kids.
"I barely saw my wife and kids. My daughter is in a soccer club…my son is in band. I missed out on a lot of that,” Juarez said. “The pace was insane. It was rough for all of us. It was funny but sometimes my kids would be doing their homework and I’d be sitting there doing mine too. I came home to do my homework till the wee hours in the morning.”
He admits his age made studying a challenge. “I fell back on my Air Force experience,” said Juarez. Part of his military job was to teach, which required him to study a lot, something that helped him.
Through tragedy and triumph, Juarez’s goal of being a nurse was always in the back of his mind.
“Nurses really make the difference. The way you interact with a patient. It really makes a difference. You can see it. I had a preceptor, Kim Janssen, who works at Clarkson Tower, who emphasized the importance of being a patient advocate and that’s a big draw for me …. helping people.
“I’m so excited about going to work and on to that next step.”
He praised the accelerated program.
“At UNMC, they really hit the mark when they created the accelerated program. The experience was just outstanding. I don’t know if it was coincidental, or if it just happened that way but it seemed like everything we learned was reemphasized in the next part of the program. We were in an ICU (intensive care unit) environment when only 10 months before we didn’t know anything about nursing.”
As for being a male in a female-dominated profession, Juarez said he realizes some people have stereotypes about male nurses. “I don’t see it as any difference. I don’t see genders. I see a nurse, a professional. We’re taught to uphold nursing standards. I think men should go into the nursing profession. I’m really glad I went into it.”
Juarez said he also wanted to prove something to his children.
“I’m very happy I got through not just for myself. I really wanted to give a good example to my kids that you can do anything you set your mind to. If you really feel strongly about something, you can do it. The sky’s the limit,” Juarez said.
Names of other students graduating:
Analisa Colglazier
Carolyn Cotton
Cristy Drake
Christopher Michael Dunn
Elizabeth Kirstin Harris
Brandi Jo Herbolsheimer
Jessica L. Hubl
Katie Kristine Hurst
Robert Jerard Lally
Rebecca Church-Maertens
Alicia Katherine McCune
Marc David Michel
Raime Lee Misko
Sybil Jill Raney
Blake Keith Renner, Jr.
Dawn Marie Zachry