As the oldest daughter in her family, Brailey Newcom grew up looking after her younger siblings, making the desire to care for others come naturally. 

 By the time she reached high school, she had found a way to turn that instinct for caregiving into a career path, earning her CNA certification and later becoming a medication aide. 

“I just, from a very young age, liked the concept of taking care of people, making sure everyone was okay,” said Newcom. “When I got into high school, they told us they had a CNA class, and I was like, ‘Oh, I love it.’” 

But when she began her Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) at Galen College of Nursing’s Wichita campus, she wasn’t quite sure what that future would look like. 

“I’ve always known I wanted something with peds because I’m a very bubbly person,” she said. “I work a lot with Wichita and their nonprofit organizations for kids and young adults with disabilities, so I do a lot of respite care, and I do a lot of programs and coaching Special Olympics and stuff like that. I always knew I wanted something that kind of honed in on that.” 

It wasn’t until she took a pediatric nursing course with Galen instructor Ali Solis that one possibility began to stand out. 

From the beginning of the course, Newcom was fascinated by the differences between caring for children and caring for adults. Solis’ own experience working in the PICU gave Newcom an opportunity to learn more about the specialty. After class, Brailey often found herself staying behind with questions about the work and what a career in the PICU might look like. 

“She was talking about how she worked in the PICU and everything, and I was like, ‘That could be interesting.’ There were so many times that after class, I would be like, ‘I have about a thousand and one additional questions.’ I’m just so curious about it.” 

That curiosity led to an opportunity that would help shape her career goals. When clinical rotations began, she recommended that Newcom spend time in the PICU, the same unit where Solis had developed her own nursing foundation. 

“I went there and it was just like a breath of fresh air,” Brailey said. “It was more of an internal feeling that I was like, ‘Oh. This is me.’” 

This experience confirmed what Newcom had begun to suspect. She was drawn to the complexity of the patients, the teamwork among the healthcare professionals, and the relationships nurses can build with children and their families. 

For Newcom, discovering a specialty was only part of the journey. Having an instructor who encouraged her to pursue it made it feel attainable. 

Solis shared her own experiences in the PICU and even talked with Newcom about future opportunities, including the path toward becoming a nurse practitioner. When Newcom decided she wanted to pursue pediatric critical care, Solis became one of her biggest supporters. 

She offered to write a letter of recommendation, connected with people about potential opportunities and encouraged Newcom to pursue a nurse extern position. 

“I don’t have anyone in my family who’s in the medical field,” said Newcom. “It was nice knowing that I had someone in the same field rooting for me and who was as excited as I was when I figured out that I got the job.” 

That encouragement helped Newcom take a step toward the specialty she had discovered at Galen. 

She was hired as a nurse extern on a progressive care unit and has used her shadow days to continue spending time in the PICU. Even though she is currently gaining experience on another floor, Newcom is intentional about making connections with the PICU team and learning everything she can before eventually pursuing her goal of working there. 

Looking back at her time at Galen, Newcom is proud not only of the specialty she has discovered, but also of how much she has grown as a nursing student. 

“I now understand and can apply the concepts,” she said. “Where when I first started, I was like, ‘I don’t know what potassium is, other than it’s in a banana.’” 

That growth has extended beyond the classroom. Newcom entered her clinical experiences nervous despite her previous health care experience. Today, she feels confident in her ability to build relationships with patients and families and bring her own personality into their care. 

Her journey at Galen has helped her move from wondering which specialty might be right for her, to having a clear vision of where she wants to go. With her sights set on the PICU, Brailey is continuing to build the knowledge, experience and confidence she’ll need for the career ahead. 

Like Brailey, you don’t have to have every step of your nursing career figured out before you begin. At Galen College of Nursing, you can pursue your Practical Nursing (PN/VN), Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN), Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and RN to BSN, all designed to help you reach your career goals.With hands-on learning, clinical experiences and support from faculty can help you build your skills, discover where your interests may lead and prepare for what comes next.