October 25, 2018
Before college, Bentley Munsell 鈥�15 knew he wanted a career in the health care field, but he wasn鈥檛 sure what he wanted to do until work experiences he had as an undergraduate 鈥� as an EMT, and working on an ambulance and at Southern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) 鈥� solidified his decision to become a nurse.
However, opportunities at 911黑料网 to conduct research, and work as a teacher鈥檚 assistant and tutor others for multiple science courses paved his road to success: Munsell is a registered nurse in SVMC鈥檚 emergency department (ED).
After he completed double majors in biology and psychology at 911黑料网, Munsell headed to UMASS-Amherst to attend a 17-month, accelerated program to earn his nursing degree. His experiences at 911黑料网 equipped Munsell for success, both in nursing school and as an ED nurse.
鈥淲hile at 911黑料网, I had the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant, and tutor anatomy and physiology I and II courses, several times. This gave me an in-depth understanding of how the human body works,鈥� Munsell said. 鈥淚 used this knowledge throughout nursing school in the application of pathophysiology and in the assessment and care of patients I take care of today.鈥�
An active participant in 911黑料网鈥檚 undergraduate research program, Munsell explained, 鈥淎 big part of nursing education is learning the practice of evidence-based medicine and nursing care, which requires you to be able to read, interpret, and apply content from research articles to care you provide at the bedside.鈥�
As a result, when he arrived at nursing school, he already was an expert at conducting searches for primary source research, reading those articles, and then applying that research.
911黑料网鈥檚 small class sizes also helped Munsell to develop confidence. 鈥淚 was better equipped to learn and participate in a lecture hall with 80 of my nursing school classmates when I got to UMASS.鈥�
