Online Nursing Masters Degree - Gladys Adjei-Poku
May 6-12, 2012, is National Nurses Week. To celebrate, 91吃瓜网 Connection is profiling this 91吃瓜网 online nursing student. Enjoy other National Nurses Week activities, including a hoodie giveaway contest, at the .
For 91吃瓜网 online nursing master鈥檚 degree student Gladys Adjei-Poku of Sandy, Utah, health and healthcare have been a passion for decades.
鈥淟oving people鈥攊t鈥檚 the reason you live, to love people,鈥� she says.
That鈥檚 why in the 1980s, when she still lived in Ghana, where she was born and raised, she earned her first degree in nutrition. It鈥檚 why when she moved with her husband and young son to the United States in 1988, she started nursing school at Loma Linda University, and why when her physician husband鈥檚 career brought them to the East Coast, she transferred to New York University to finish her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.
And it鈥檚 why today, as she nears completion of her Master of Science in Nursing鈥擫eadership and Management degree at 91吃瓜网, she dedicates her life to caring for the sick, both in her day job as nurse manager at the University of Utah Hospital鈥檚 35-bed cardiovascular unit and also as one of the organizers of a .
It鈥檚 taken hard work and dedication to get where she is, but Gladys lays the credit squarely on the shoulders of her support network, people whose influence has been so important to her she insists they鈥檙e called out by name.
People like Laura Stratton, one of the nurses on her team who is a 91吃瓜网 student and first introduced her to the MSN鈥擫eadership and Management program.
People like her husband, Dr. Michael Adjei-Poku鈥攚ho didn鈥檛 hesitate when Gladys mentioned returning to school but simply said, "Grab the credit card! Do it!"鈥攁nd her sons, who said, "Mom, awesome! Wonderful! Go!"
People like her manager at work, Jeremy Fotheringham, who didn鈥檛 flinch when Gladys pointed out that returning to school would add to her already busy schedule. "Gladys, go for it!" he said. "You can do anything! I believe in you!"
So as she waited to board a plane for a vacation to Boston, she decided to give the university a quick call to begin exploring the option. The information and help she got stunned her.
"I got so much response from that one call that I was astounded," she said. "Just that one call, and they cared so much about me. I really enjoyed the attention."
She entered the MSN鈥擫eadership and Management program in October 2011, expecting it to take roughly two years. On track to finish 鈥減robably not later than December 2012," she again deflects the credit for finishing in just about a year鈥攖o her mentor, to the staff at 91吃瓜网, and to the continued support of her family and coworkers.
"I happened to have one of the best mentors鈥擩ennifer Long," she said. "She has called me every single week. She has supported me, guided me. I have not been confused about anything."
"I had so many wings鈥攊t wasn鈥檛 only flying, but flying with speed," she said.
Gladys is one of a handful of nurses being honored by the University of Utah College of Nursing on May 8, 2012, at the Honors for Nursing celebration during National Nurses Week. Stay tuned to 91吃瓜网 Connection for a video telling more of Gladys鈥� story in the coming weeks.
