Adam Miller is a serious student about to go into a serious profession – nursing. And he’s getting a boost from someone who knows what nursing is really like.
Sarah Stout ’08, an oncology RN at Wesley Long Hospital, lives the day-in and day-out challenges and exhilarations of her profession and shares that perspective, as well as technical know-how, with Miller. Working regularly with Stout has given Miller much more than an academic boost.
“It’s been instrumental,” he says. “It’s given me a real-life application to what I’m learning. It’s really helped me grow as a student. What you learn in the classroom, as Stout puts it, it’s your life. This isn’t just a grade anymore.”
UNCG’s Nurse Tutor program, a joint endeavor between the School of Nursing and the Student Success Center began two years ago. Lynne Pearcey, dean of the nursing school, provides $18,000 from the school’s budget each year to pay nursing alumni to tutor current students.
The nursing school already has an exceptional graduation rate. The idea is to give students extra support and a more hands-on, practical look at the profession. “The School of Nursing values the success of our students,” Pearcey says. “The program is very demanding, and we try to make available all support services possible.”
It’s fun for me to work professionally with people who will one day be my colleagues. I had a lot of people invest in me as a student. It’s a way to give back.
Tutoring is free to students. Although nurse tutors can make anywhere from $25 to $100 an hour depending on their training and expertise, tutors get more out of the deal than money. “These students are outgoing and motivated, and working with them is a joy,” Stout says. “It’s fun for me to work professionally with people who will one day be my colleagues. I had a lot of people invest in me as a student. It’s a way to give back.”
Tutors generally work with 2-5 students, spending about an hour a week with each student. Geoff Bailey, assistant director of the Learning Assistance Center within the Student Success Center, says the program served 75 nursing students during the 2008-09 academic year. “You’re getting a different perspective from someone not far removed from where you are now,” Bailey says. “You can only get so much from a textbook.”
Miller plans to take advantage of the program again when tutoring resumes in the fall. He feels gratified that the nursing school has invested so much in students like him.
“It shows they care,” he says. “It shows they really care about their students.”
Photography by David Wilson, University Relations
