Senior nursing student Alexxis Randle of Indianapolis, Indiana always knew she wanted to be in health care and knew she wanted to go to Indiana University School of Nursing (IUSON).

“I was interested in the field when I was in high school, so I shadowed health care professionals,” Randle said. “I love the patient-care aspect and the ability to help people heal.”

After conversations with several colleagues and mentors, Randle decided to pursue a nursing degree because of the time frame and schooling required for some of the other health care professions.

“Nursing allows you to be flexible and become knowledgeable about a variety of topics,” she said.
As she gets set to graduate this May, Randle reflects on her experiences at IUSON and is amazed at how much she has learned in four years.

“I didn’t realize I was going to learn so many skills so quickly,” she said. “IUSON has been invaluable in teaching us the foundational pieces of nursing and giving us incredible opportunities.”

When Randle first began clinicals in the cardiac wing at IU Health Methodist Hospital, she was really nervous at first. But after time, she was able to embrace the chance to help with patient care and create relationships with preceptors, patients and their families.

While in nursing school, she was accepted into the Diversity Scholars Research Program, an initiative through the IUPUI Center for Research and Learning. The program matches students with faculty mentors to help with current research projects.

Randle has been mentored by IUSON Assistant Professor Lisa Carter-Harris, PhD, APRN, ANP-C, since she was a sophomore. She worked with Professor Carter-Harris on a research project about the shared-decision making and decision aid tools related to lung cancer screenings. Randle helped organize the 51-person study and worked side-by-side with the research team to analyze the data.

As a result, she was invited to participate in the poster session at the 2018 American Society for Preventative Oncology Convention in New York City. Randle was one of the only undergraduate students at the session, which is usually for graduate students to present their dissertations.

“It was so special to be invited to present and to meet people with similar interests,” she said. “Attending the conference answered questions I had about the field of nursing research and provided a multitude of networking and professional development opportunities.”

For the past four years, she is thankful for the chance to learn from and work closely with IUSON faculty every day.

“Faculty members are always pushing me to do my best,” said Randle. “My mentors ask me all the time if I’m going to pursue a doctoral degree – I don’t even have my master’s yet!”

After graduation, Randle will be working in adult critical care at IU Health Methodist Hospital.

“I look forward to learning what it means to actually be in the field while adapting to the pace of a hospital,” she said.

Is Nursing for Me?