Alexis Black was already pursuing her Master of Science in Nursing online through the 小蝌蚪APP when she decided to apply for the Graduate Certificate in Cardiovascular Nursing.
Her coworkers told her she was crazy.
But when Black recognized a patient was having a heart attack and was able to respond to get the 51-year-old woman to a hospital before she sustained long-term heart damage, Black knew she小蝌蚪APP檇 made the right decision. 
小蝌蚪APP淲hen you see the good outcome, and you know you played a role, and that person is spending more time or more Christmases or birthdays with their family, that's the rewarding part,小蝌蚪APP Black says. 小蝌蚪APP淚 can say doing the cardio certificate definitely gave me insight.小蝌蚪APP
Completing the online cardiovascular program in August 2020 was only one stop along Black小蝌蚪APP檚 academic journey, which she says is far from over.
小蝌蚪APP業t小蝌蚪APP檚 my time小蝌蚪APP
Black says after earning her associate小蝌蚪APP檚 in 1994, her professional development sat on the back burner while she prioritized her family.
小蝌蚪APP淚 always wanted to at least obtain my four-year degree, but raising a family, helping with grandkids came first,小蝌蚪APP Black says. 小蝌蚪APP淚小蝌蚪APP檓 finally to a place where I feel I can work on my career and achieve some of the goals I want to.小蝌蚪APP
Black enrolled in the 小蝌蚪APP小蝌蚪APP檚 online RN-to-BSN degree program to fulfill that goal in 2016. With one degree down, Black kept going, enrolling in the online Master of Science in Nursing and Graduate Certificate in Cardiovascular Nursing programs.
小蝌蚪APP淚 felt like, I'm accomplishing this goal, but that's not where I want to stop 小蝌蚪APP I don't want that to be the end,小蝌蚪APP Black says.
Critical care insights
Black had nearly 20 years of experience in critical care 小蝌蚪APP and two full-time jobs 小蝌蚪APP when she returned to school.
She says even with her extensive experience, she didn小蝌蚪APP檛 understand all the complexities and co-morbidities of congestive heart failure. Gaining that insight has changed her practice and patient outcomes.
小蝌蚪APP淭ime is muscle,小蝌蚪APP when responding to a cardiac event, says Black. So being able to recognize a heart attack quickly 小蝌蚪APP as Black did with her 51-year-old patient 小蝌蚪APP is critical to life-saving care and treatment.
小蝌蚪APP淲hen the cardiologist came in the next day, he said, 小蝌蚪APP榟ad anybody else been watching this monitor, I don小蝌蚪APP檛 think they would have realized how important it was,小蝌蚪APP櫺◎蝌紸PP says Black.
In addition to understanding cardiovascular disease processes through the graduate certificate program, Black says pursuing her master小蝌蚪APP檚 in nursing changed her approach to patient care.
小蝌蚪APP淚'm now looking at the whole patient,小蝌蚪APP Black says. 小蝌蚪APP淚'm more knowledgeable on how to treat the whole person rather than just one acute event.小蝌蚪APP
Careful planning
Investing in herself in order to invest in her patients required careful planning and a lot of understanding from those around her, Black says.
小蝌蚪APP淭o get through the program, you have to have supportive and understanding family and friends,小蝌蚪APP Black says. 小蝌蚪APP淵ou do sacrifice 小蝌蚪APP I might miss dinner or some football games or these things.小蝌蚪APP
In addition to her professional motivations, Black was personally motivated after losing her father to a heart attack. Although she knew the graduate certificate would compound her workload, she embraced the opportunity.
To stay ahead, Black says she completed as much of her master小蝌蚪APP檚 coursework as possible before the cardiovascular program began in March. On her weekends off, she says, she split her days to focus on master小蝌蚪APP檚 coursework one day and cardiovascular coursework the other.
小蝌蚪APP淚t definitely requires a lot of very detailed scheduling to make sure all the pieces fall in place,小蝌蚪APP she says.
Upon completing her MSN in 2021, Black plans to specialize in cardiovascular care on her way to pursuing her Doctor of Nursing Practice.