From a young age, Brandy Butcher knew her life goal was to help people.
The Ohio native became a Certified Nurse Aide and a pharmacy technician through her high school and set her sights on becoming a nurse. However, Brandy’s life took an unexpected turn: she became a mother at 19. “Being a young mom, I did what was best for my family.” That meant working as a CNA in long-term care for a few years while raising her son, then going back to school to become a Licensed Practical Nurse in 2009.
Expanding Her Clinical Experience and Her Education
Brandy’s LPN career took her from long-term care to a physician’s office, an OBGYN practice, and hospice care. She found fulfillment in each setting, which reaffirmed her goal of becoming a Registered Nurse. After welcoming her second child—a daughter—Brandy enrolled in the Associate Degree of Nursing program at Ohio University Southern and earned the degree in 2013.
For the next eight years, Brandy worked at a hospital, getting her start as a medical-surgical float nurse before floating throughout several critical care units and joining the emergency department. At the end of her career there, Brandy worked in interventional radiology for a change of pace.
Travel Nursing and Academic Pursuits
In 2021, Brandy left the hospital to join a healthcare staffing agency as a travel nurse, working in Ohio and Florida hospitals that were overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases. She also used that time to do something to strengthen her resume, she enrolled at Post University in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at American Sentinel College of Nursing and Health Sciences.
“I’d always wanted to go back to school to get my BSN,” Brandy says. “I am a member of the Emergency Nurses Association, and I’d seen several people there recommend American Sentinel. That spoke to me a lot, and I really liked the work-at-your-own pace setup of the SIMPath® program.” Brandy finished the BSN by the end of 2021.
Back to the Emergency Department in a New Healthcare System
Brandy joined Norton Healthcare in 2022 as a float emergency room nurse, first working at Norton King’s Daughters Clark Hospital and then Norton Clark Hospital. “It’s a great system that really cares about its employees,” she says. “Floating to different hospitals works well for my schedule, and each facility is different. King’s Daughters is rural, so we stabilized patients and flew critical cases elsewhere. Clark is a smaller community hospital near a bigger downtown hospital.” Brandy is now at Norton Audubon, again in the emergency department, which is a large hospital with a stroke center.
Next Goal: Family Nurse Practitioner
The onset of the pandemic was a turning point for Brandy, who embraced health and wellness more than ever. She earned certification as a nutrition coach and a personal trainer and incorporated her newfound knowledge into her nursing practice, and her work as a trainer at a local gym. “People with existing health problems were very vulnerable during the worst of COVID,” Brandy says. “I wanted to help patients become healthier and learn to take better care of themselves. I also realized that as healthcare continues changing, we need more providers.”
Once life settled down, Brandy explored several Master of Science in Nursing Family Nurse Practitioner programs. “Ultimately, I decided Post’s Master of Science in Nursing – Family Nurse Practitioner Specialization (MSN-FNP) was the best for me,” says Brandy, who started her first class in early 2024. “I was offered a tuition discount as an alumna, and I really like the structure of the program and how it prepares you for clinicals and the 3P exam. I cannot say enough great things about the MSN-FNP Specialization at Post University. Everything has been far beyond my expectations.”
Laying Out Long-Term Goals
When Brandy graduates with the MSN – Family Nurse Practitioner Specialization in 2026, she hopes to join a family practice in the tristate area of Ohio, Kentucky, or West Virginia. “My goal is to be a provider that patients trust with their healthcare needs, most likely in a family practice setting,” she says. “Sometimes, nurses lose sight of why we do what we do, and I never want to get to that point. I am a nurse because I love patient interaction. And I’m becoming an FNP because I want to feel confident in my abilities and give them the best possible care.”