Dusti Bourque knew by age 10 that she wanted to become a nurse. When she graduated from nursing school, she went straight to work in the NICU.
“I absolutely love it,” Bourque says. “I couldn't see myself anywhere else.”
She found her place there, caring for premature babies as they grew stronger and, ultimately, watching them go home with their families.
Bourque was just as certain about continuing her education. Before completing her associate degree in nursing, Bourque had already decided she would pursue her bachelor’s degree at UL Lafayette.
“I enrolled right after nursing school. I never took a break.”
That meant fitting
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s RN to BSN online program let Bourque keep building experience in the NICU while earning her bachelor's degree around — and during — shifts.
Bringing the Classroom into the NICU
Most nights, Bourque worked from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., completing assignments in the pockets of time between rounds. Other days, coursework came home with her or filled part of a holiday.
She was also coaching competitive cheer four to five days a week.
“I had a lot on my plate, so fitting an online program in was sometimes tough, but I was able to do that work,” she says.
Being able to connect coursework to what she was already seeing in the NICU helped Bourque persist as an online RN to BSN student.
For research assignments, Bourque could start with questions from her own unit.
“It was cool to write research papers about things we do specifically in the NICU,” Bourque says. “I was able to learn and even bring it to my managers, providers or neonatologists like, ‘Hey, this is interesting.’”
That emphasis on evidence-based practice is built into UL Lafayette’s RN to BSN curriculum to help nurses look more closely at the research behind the care they provide.
That habit of looking more closely at her work stayed with her.
“The program helped me think more critically,” she says. “Now I really consider the why behind things.”
Faculty Support Beyond Business Hours
Online courses in the RN to BSN are taught by faculty in the LHC Group · Myers School of Nursing who are specifically dedicated to the RN to BSN program.
Bourque says even though she was often emailing instructors outside of standard office hours, they were quick to respond.
“Sometimes I had a response between the end of my shift at 7 a.m. and going to bed.”
Her coworkers became another source of encouragement. Many had already balanced nursing with continuing their education, so they understood the demands firsthand.
“They kept me going when it felt like too much,” Bourque says. “They always pushed and encouraged me to continue.”
Building on a NICU Career
With her bachelor's degree complete, Bourque is turning her attention to what she can do next in the NICU.
Her next goal is to train for her hospital's NICU transport team, whose nurses travel to surrounding hospitals to bring babies who need a higher level of care back to the NICU.
She’s also considering graduate school to prepare for an advanced role in neonatal care. But after going straight from an associate degree program into the RN to BSN program, Bourque is giving herself time before deciding what comes next.
“Seeing babies go home with their families is the most rewarding part of the job,” she says. “That's always the end goal.”
It’s the same perspective she shares with other working nurses earning their degrees:
“Find your why.”
Advance your nursing career with UL Lafayette’s RN to BSN online degree program.