Desire to Help Others Leads to Career in Nursing

After graduating from Delaware Tech with an associate degree in nursing and immediately beginning to work in the field, Stephanie Huerta jumped at the opportunity to enroll in the College’s BSN program.

Huerta had already earned her bachelor’s degree but hadn’t found work in her field of study. She decided to become a nurse after witnessing a traffic accident.

“I felt so guilty for not knowing what to do or how to help that it pushed me into nursing,” Huerta said.

Huerta graduated with her associate degree (ADN) in 2016. She worked in the healthcare field at a doctor’s office to gain experience while working toward her associate degrees. Toohey was an intern at Christiana Care and a home health certified nursing assistant.

After graduation, she began working for Bayhealth at Kent General Hospital in Dover in the medical-surgical unit. She knew she would eventually need a bachelor’s degree to stay in the nursing field.

“It was exciting being in the nursing bachelor’s degree program,” Huerta said. “It felt like we were pioneers.”

Huerta said it helped to have established relationships with nursing instructors during her time in the associate degree program. And it also helped having a friend going through the program at the same time – she completed the program with her best friend, and fellow alumni, Nicole Toohey. The BSN program helped teach leadership and management skills, how to be more assertive, and how to see situations from a patient’s perspective.

“They definitely teach you the real-world skills and how the job is really going to get done in the workplace,” Huerta said.

She currently work as pre-op/post-op nurses at Bayhealth’s Sussex Campus in Milford. And is actively spreading the word about her experiences at Delaware Tech and the BSN program.

In the future, Huerta hopes to obtain her master’s degree and continue working in preparation and recovery.