Galen Stories – Doris Sanchez: It Is Just About the Dream of Nursing

— Audio Transcript — 

Hi, my name is Doris Sanchez. I am an RN, recently completed the online RN to BSN program with Galen College of Nursing, and I’m a clinical instructor at Galen College of Nursing.

Why Pursue your BSN at Galen?

So as an educator, it’s almost logical to continue your education. And the online RN to BSN program was the logical choice for me knowing that this is such a great program, working for the company themselves. It met the demands of my job where I was able to work at my own pace, do things at home, online and meet the demands of my family as well.

Describe the Galen Online RN to BSN.

I think the best thing about the online program was that there was not just one method of learning or teaching with them. It wasn’t just the discussion post or the required readings, there were also videos to watch, and there was also always open communication with the instructors. They were always available to you whether it was through video conferencing, or through telephone calls, or through emails.

What do you love about teaching at Galen?

So I teach clinicals, which is where we actually go out to the clinical sites. But one of the great things that Galen has is the simulation lab. We come into this room where we have the mannequins and we simulate a safe environment where they can provide patient care without actually hurting somebody.

The mannequins that we have in the simulation lab are not just dolls. They breathe, you can measure respirations, you can take blood pressure, you can check their pulse. They talk, they’re interactive with you. So it feels like a real-life scenario as you’re going through it.

I feel like I’m making a difference here as an educator. If I can teach the new nurses coming onto the field how to do things right, and how to do nursing for the right reasons, then I think that’s where I can make a change later on – that’s where we’ll have quality nurses who really care.

Describe your approach to teaching.

When dealing with students, I and my peers are continuously thinking about how they’re going to be our future colleagues, they’re going to be future nurses. You cannot give up on them. They hopefully will be side-by-side working with us one day if not on us. So you can’t help but treat them almost like family members. I try and make it a point to take a really big lunch with me or extra snack bars, because in the past I have had students that I’ve noticed they’re not eating because they’re having a hard time making ends meet, just so they can get through school so they can make a better life for themselves.

What sets Galen apart from other colleges?

Pure nursing. I think that’s one of the reasons that Galen has been so successful, is that we are all about nursing, and only nursing. We’re not delving into things that we don’t understand or going into x-ray technicians, or dental assisting, it’s just about the dream of nursing.