Meet Badass Katy R. // BSN ’15

Katy R. BSN ‘15 changed careers and became a champion of outpatient nursing.

In college, I thought I wanted to be a doctor, but then I took organic chemistry. It was a headache, so I earned a degree in biology and physics. I thought I would graduate and build a career in Pharma. or Medical Devices, but then I met my future husband and all that would have to wait for a while.

After we were married, we moved to South Africa and it really had an impact on me. I worked with the African Children’s Feeding Scheme – ‘scheme’ is European language, and it’s actually a good thing. I initiated the fundraising arm and it grew to be 20% of all funds raised.

I had little kids at the time and when we moved back to the states, I became a real estate consultant. We moved to Chicago, then to Kansas City, then back to Chicago. Each move meant building or rebuilding my real estate career.

After a couple of moves, I decided that it was time for a change and I thought about what I had always wanted to do. One of my goals has always been to help people medically, so I determined that nursing was right for me. I headed back to school. I earned my degree from ResU, but even while I was working on my degree, I never saw myself as a bedside nurse. I have a business and a science background and I knew I wanted to work in an outpatient setting.

Going to outpatient right out of nursing school is different. Some people feel that outpatient is a deadend – you have to work in a hospital ICU or Telemetry Unit to get ahead. But I can tell you that’s not true at all. Things are changing for outpatient nurses – fast. Ninetynine percent of the time, hospitals are trying to get patients out of the hospital when they still need care. That’s where we come in. I’ve actually been working at ResU mentoring students about role transition. I like to think that I’m helping to change perceptions about building an outpatient nursing career. It’s a great option for nurses at any stage in their professional lives. Even for those of us who started a little late.” Katy is currently a Nurse Manager, Interventional Pulmonary at AMITA Health Suburban Lung Associates.

“One of the things I really enjoy about outpatient nursing is the way I can develop a relationship with patients. My patients know me and they like seeing me.”

Katy loves working in an outpatient role.