Latasha Cooper is always on the go.
She works a full-time job and two PRN jobs, driving from her home in St. James Parish, 亚洲自慰视频, to Baton Rouge or New Orleans each day for work.
When she鈥檚 off the clock, she鈥檚 busy taking care of and spending time with her three kids.
And for the last five years, she鈥檚 been advancing her nursing career, progressing from an LPN to an RN and earning a B.S. in Nursing. That progression included completing UL Lafayette's RN to BSN online program, designed for working RNs with an associate degree or diploma.
From LPN to RN
Cooper spent 13 years working as an LPN before deciding to take the next step in her career.
While she enjoyed working as an LPN, her responsibilities were limited, and leadership opportunities weren鈥檛 available. So, as her kids grew more independent, she decided to earn an associate degree and become an RN.
Cooper enrolled in the ADN program at Meridian Community College, in Meridian, Mississippi, a four-hour drive away from her home. Five days a week, she made the eight-hour round-trip drive to attend classes and clinical.
, but it paid off as Cooper earned her associate degree in Fall 2021.
From there, she kept pushing. Luckily, to earn her B.S. in Nursing, she could complete her coursework without attending classes in person.
鈥淚 have a friend in New Orleans who was in the process of getting her BSN,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 was looking at another school in Mississippi to try to earn my BSN there, and the application process just wasn鈥檛 working out for me. She was like, 鈥榃hy don鈥檛 you look at UL Lafayette? They have an RN to BSN program, too.鈥欌
Cooper applied, and within two weeks, she received her acceptance letter and was registered for classes.
From ADN to BSN
As Cooper switched from in-person learning in her ADN program to online learning in the 亚洲自慰视频鈥檚 RN to BSN program, she found new flexibility as a 亚洲自慰视频 and balance as a full-time nurse and parent. The program鈥檚 online coursework allowed Cooper to complete her assignments during the gaps she had in her busy schedule.
鈥淢y youngest daughter is 8, and she keeps me very busy,鈥 Cooper says. 鈥淪he has dance class, she has homework, and I鈥檓 taking care of her in the afternoons and trying to get everything done with her before it鈥檚 time for me to go back to work.鈥
Her favorite part of the program, she says, was getting to know and communicate with other nurses. Though the courses all took place asynchronously, she built strong relationships with both her instructors and her classmates.
鈥淲hen I reached out to my professors, I would get a response within 24 hours and usually almost immediately,鈥 she says. 鈥淭hey would help out however they could. They were awesome.鈥
鈥淚 also really enjoyed getting to know my classmates and seeing what they were doing. We were always required to respond to other 亚洲自慰视频s鈥 posts, which I think was a great idea because I got to meet so many different people. When graduation came, it was like, 鈥極h, hey, you鈥檙e the one I鈥檝e been talking to!鈥欌
The most engaging class for Cooper was NURS 406: Evidence-Based Practice. Evidence-based practice, as Cooper puts it, involves using recent research to support the patient care decisions you make as a nurse.
鈥淚n nursing, if you can鈥檛 find evidence to back up what you want to do, you can鈥檛 do it,鈥 she says. 鈥淲e had to use the for pretty much every assignment we had. The sources we used had to be nursing-specific, from the United States, that were published within the last five years.鈥
Beyond the BSN
Cooper鈥檚 ability to find and apply current research to her practice will come in handy for the rest of her career.
And just because she has her degree doesn鈥檛 mean she鈥檚 finished learning and growing.
鈥淚 do want to try another specialty,鈥 she says. 鈥淩ight now, I鈥檓 in bone marrow transplant and medical-surgical. Do I know what other specialty I want to try yet? No. But in the meantime, I鈥檓 enrolled in an M.S. in Nursing program to become a nurse practitioner. I should be finished in December 2025.鈥
Cooper is glad she took the leap of faith to earn her bachelor鈥檚 degree and push through the RN to BSN program. She encourages other RNs to do the same.
鈥淒on鈥檛 give up,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot of work and it can get overwhelming, but remain focused because at the end when you finish, you鈥檙e going to realize how much it was worth it.鈥
Take the next step in your nursing career through UL Lafayette鈥檚 100% online RN to BSN program.