Bradley Green has been serving his country through the National Guard for six years and as of spring 2020, he began serving its citizens in a different way – as a nurse in the healthcare system.
Green was among the first cohort of students to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from West Virginia University School of Nursing on the Potomac State College campus, and he did it while also honoring his commitment to the National Guard.
“Serving in the National Guard and holding a full-time job while simultaneously earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing was definitely challenging. There were occasions when I had to miss class to fulfill my National Guard obligations, but my instructors were great with allowing me to catch up when I returned,” Green said.
Green has logged 1,000 clinical hours at various healthcare facilities in the area, including acute- and long-term care and specialty rotations.
“From long clinical hours to numerous hours studying, nursing semesters can be brutal. The pressure to perform under stressful situations was especially demanding while also serving in the Guard, but if it hadn’t been for the Guard, I wouldn't have been able to go to college in the first place,” he added.
Green chose the Potomac State campus because of its proximity to home. He decided to finish at PSC due to the addition of the nursing program.
He was introduced to the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) opportunities by Professor Sheri Chisholm and by former professor, the late Henry Falkowski, who encouraged him toward the health field. He received the Ruth Ward Davis Memorial Nursing Scholarship and was a recipient of the 2018 Human Anatomy and Physiology Award at the College.
Green believes that his success at Potomac State can be credited to not only putting in the effort to succeed, but is also due to the amazing people he met along the way who supported him, especially the nursing staff who were a huge inspiration by encouraging and motivating the students.
“We are so proud of Bradley and his accomplishments,” according to April Shapiro, chair for the WVU School of Nursing: Potomac State Department. “We thank him for his service to our county and now to the nursing profession. He was determined to make everything work and he did… his characteristics of diligence and persistence are a testament as to what he brings to patient care.”
Just prior to graduation in the spring, Green accepted a nursing position in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Ruby Memorial Hospital.
He plans to work as an ICU nurse for a few years to gain clinical experience, with the intent of pursuing a doctorate degree as a nurse anesthetist in the future.
To learn more about the WVU BSN Program on the Keyser campus, contact Shapiro at ashapiro@hsc.wvu.edu.