Healthcare has been of interest to Megan Evans since she participated in a shadowing program as a high school student. That experience, combined with the influence of her mother, a nursing school graduate, led Megan to the decision to major in nursing when she left her small town in Arkansas to attend Southern Arkansas University an hour away.
“I’ve always liked caring for people, and I am a compassionate person by nature,” says Megan. She graduated in three years and started her career at the Medical Center of South Arkansas (now South Arkansas Regional Hospital) in 2022. “Nursing is a special career, where you have the opportunity to be there for your patients during their most moments. I give them the very best care I can when I am with them. My goal is always to make their day a little bit better even though they are in the hospital.”
Seeking Work-Life Balance
After she got married in December 2022, Megan started thinking about other opportunities in nursing. “I want to have a family one day, and was thinking about options with less than 12-hour shifts,” she says. A coworker at the hospital in the acute care area told Megan to consider becoming a family nurse practitioner. “I like that as a family nurse practitioner, I can go in any direction. I love being a nurse and connecting with my patients. As a nurse practitioner, I would still get to build those relationships while having the work-life balance I want.”
Megan did her research and came across the Master of Science in Nursing – Family Nurse Practitioner Specialization program at American Sentinel College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Post University. “I had an amazing advisor who was so helpful and got me conditionally accepted into the program once I had a full year of nursing experience under my belt,” Megan says. She even received a Rural Health Scholarship. “Where I live, Little Rock is the closest city with a university that has an Nurse Practitioner program. For me, the convenience of online learning made this a perfect fit.” Megan started the MSN – Family Nurse Practitioner Specialization at Post in May 2023.
A Very Special First Clinical Experience
Last summer, Megan completed her first clinical practice experience within the MSN -Family Nurse Practitioner Specialization at Smackover Family Practice, where she has been a patient her whole life. “I worked with my own doctor who has treated me since I was a baby and the nurse practitioners under him, one who I saw a lot when I was young,” Megan says.
She is hoping to complete a pediatric clinical rotation with the same nurse practitioner. “The physician owner of this practice started it with his father. His wife is a pharmacist who runs the pharmacy next door. It’s great to be able to help people I grew up around who know me on a personal level. They’ve seen me progress in my career, so it’s meaningful to me. It would be a dream come true to work as a nurse practitioner at this practice or in my area one day.”
A Goal to Fill the Healthcare Provider Gap in Arkansas
A driving reason Megan wants to become a family nurse practitioner is to help her community. She is aware that many states, including Arkansas is facing a shortage of physicians, nurses and healthcare providers. The regional hospital where Megan works is the only one within a two-hour drive radius, and the need for healthcare providers is high, with some of the area’s physicians nearing retirement age.
The job security is a perk, but for Megan, the best part about her plan is that she’ll be giving back to her community. “I’m so excited to do that,” she says. Once she finishes the MSN – Family Nurse Practitioner Specialization program in the fall of 2025 and gains the necessary collaborative practice hours to be granted full independent practice authority in Arkansas, she hopes to eventually open her own clinic. Her positive experience at Post University only furthers her excitement. “Everyone at Post—from the advisors to the instructors—has been so helpful and committed to making sure I feel supported. I’m learning a lot.”