For Janet Colόn, 2020 marked a turning point. It was the year she earned her first nursing degree and the start of her journey toward advanced practice.
The North Carolina native had graduated high school 17 years earlier with ambitions to attend medical or physician assistant (PA) school. She began at her local community college, earning an Associate of Science and the emergency medical technician (EMT) certification, and transferred to North Carolina State University.
However, Janet faced difficult personal circumstances that disrupted her studies. “My grades dropped because of severe domestic violence in my relationship, and I had to withdraw from college due to physical and financial hardships,” she recalls. With help from her family, Janet moved back home in 2008 to regroup and heal.
Starting Over, Never Giving Up
For the next two years, Janet worked as a bartender, valet, and personal trainer, all while taking college classes. A chance encounter at a hockey game opened the door to health care. “My coworker invited me, and I met a doctor who was influential in the community,” says Janet. He became a mentor, and when a secretary position opened at Duke University Medical Center, he wrote Janet a recommendation. Her EMT certification made her a strong fit for an emergency department technician role, and Janet joined Duke University Hospital in 2010.
Taking advantage of Duke’s tuition reimbursement, Janet pushed herself to finish her bachelor’s degree in human biology in 2013. Driven by her longtime dream, she applied to several PA programs. Her early academic record was still a barrier. “I tried three application cycles to get in, and no matter how much schools admired my story and liked my experience, it wasn’t enough,” she says. Ready for a change, Janet went part time at the hospital and took a clinical sales representative job with a medical equipment supplier in 2015.
Answering the Call to Nursing
At the end of 2017, Janet lost someone very close to her, which caused her to reassess her goals and calling. Within days of their passing, she left her PRN position at Duke after nearly eight years and applied to an Associate of Applied Science in Nursing program. With her company’s support, Janet attended school full time and worked full time—and remained the company’s top sales representative. “There was no work-life balance, only discipline and endurance,” she says. In 2020, she completed the degree and became a registered nurse (RN).
Janet returned to Duke University Hospital in early 2021, this time as a critical care nurse, providing care to high-acuity patients across surgical trauma, neurosurgery, and other units. She also enrolled in an online Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program through the University of North Carolina Wilmington and graduated summa cum laude in 2022.
Finding the Right Path
With her nursing career underway, Janet decided to give PA school one more try. She applied again, hopeful that her new credentials would make a difference, but she wasn’t accepted. “The minute I got the rejection, I decided to explore family nurse practitioner programs, and that’s when I found Post University,” she says. Janet spoke with an admissions advisor who impressed her with his responsiveness. “He matched my energy and was amiable and kind, and he didn’t present any barriers, only solutions. I wanted to see whether Post would help me reach my goals, and those interactions convinced me that it would.” In 2023, Janet started the Master of Science in Nursing – Family Nurse Practitioner (MSN-FNP) program at American Sentinel College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Post University.
Janet likes many aspects of the Family Nurse Practitioner program: the flexible 8-week terms, supportive professors, and well-structured courses. “I like that students with different backgrounds contribute to discussion posts and we all learn from each other,” she says. “I’m learning as much as friends in other FNP programs. If you put in the effort, you get a lot out of this program. I definitely recommend it to others.”
Returning to the Emergency Department
When Janet graduates from the MSN-FNP this summer—again summa cum laude—her goal is to become a nurse practitioner in the emergency setting, where her heart is and where she has years of experience. After she sits for the family nurse practitioner board exams, she’ll apply to a post-master’s adult-gerontological acute care nurse practitioner certificate program to become dual-certified and ensure she can provide the exceptional care that her patients deserve.
For someone who is “comfortable with being uncomfortable,” Janet says she will go where there’s a need and an opportunity to positively impact patients and her community. Her time in critical care has shaped this perspective. “I’ve learned firsthand what a difference it makes to have a skilled provider who stands with you while you grieve, trusting that they did everything they could to help your loved one,” says Janet. “Being a critical care nurse, I’ve seen some amazing providers, and I try to emulate them. I want to be that kind of nurse practitioner in this next phase of my career.”