inPractice - Spring 2020 - 10

PA COLLEGE / FEATURE

THINKING CRITICALLY:
For nearly a decade, Brad Smith ran student
programs and campus Greek life, oversaw
student government, and managed student
activities and programs at Albright College,
his alma mater, in Reading, Pa. He loved his
45-plus hour work weeks as director of student
involvement and leadership. Until he didn't.

care," says Smith, who currently works full
time as a unit secretary/monitor tech for a
cardiovascular step-down unit at York Hospital.
"I came from a small, private, liberal arts
college background where the focus was on
the whole student, which has helped me be
successful in school and in my job. I can think
critically and apply different information in
different environments."

Burned out, Smith needed
a change. He completed
" A lot of the leadership
the EMT program at
skills that I was helping to He is clear about what he
wants to do once he completes
Harrisburg Area Community
teach students, I find
College - both his parents myself using in health care." his nursing degree. "Cardiac
nursing is my passion," says
were volunteer EMTs and
- Brad Smith
Smith, who will begin the
firefighters - and then
RN to BSN program at PA
began his nursing studies
College after earning his ASN in May. He plans
at PA College shortly after receiving his EMT
on starting as an RN in his current unit at York
certification. For the past four years, he has been
Hospital after he passes his National Council
pursuing his studies both full time and part time.
Licensure Examination. "In nursing, I have the
opportunity to do a bunch of different things,"
"A lot of the leadership skills that I was helping
Smith adds.
to teach students, I find myself using in health

Brad Smith, ASN '20

PROVIDING CARE:
A bad case of pancreatitis. That's all it
took to change Jess Stern's course from
the spa industry to health care. She had
been working for eight years as a licensed
cosmetologist and massage therapist at
Serenity Day Spa in Intercourse, Pa. But
after being hospitalized with pancreatitis
and receiving her first MRI and CT scan,
she was intrigued.
"I never really considered becoming a
radiographer until [those scans] and
thought how cool would it be to have
that job," Stern recalls. Soon after, Stern
started working full time at Lancaster
General Hospital as a cardiac monitor

10

technician, and she enrolled in PA
College's Radiography program.
"I got into the beauty industry because
I enjoy helping people feel good about
themselves," says Stern, who hopes to
become a traveling radiographer.
"[Radiography] is a different way of taking
care of people." Though she jokes that the
biggest difference between the spa and
PA College is "not having any Enya music
playing" during class, she relishes her new
environment. "It definitely involves a lot
more critical thinking, and it's all brand
new to me," she says. "My professors are
amazingly supportive, though."

Jess Stern, RAD '22

" I never really considered becoming
a radiographer until [those scans]
and thought how cool would it be
to have that job."
- Jess Stern

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inPractice - Spring 2020

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