As I did some research into my own continuing education, I found more information than I was prepared for. By merely typing in a few key words, the world seems to be at your doorstep. I struggled with which path to choose. I knew I wanted to complete a masters degree.....I had always wanted that since my early 20s. I thought that I wanted to study education, and therefore did some extensive research. I found some wonderful schools that offered what I thought I was looking for. One that was particularily interesting to me was the St. FX Adult Education Program. I gave this some serious thought for several months. Recognizing that I am not currently in an education role at this time, and the probability of changing my career path in the near future was small, I let go of the idea of an education degree.
This lead me to consider a masters degree in nursing, something which I felt I would not do. For whatever reason, I was never interested in persuing a MN. I had no reason behind this decision on my part, I had a rewarding BN experience, I like nursing, but for whatever reason I just wanted to do something "different". That being said, I went 'online' yet again, to see what was out there. I knew of Athabasca University, as many of my co-workers were pursuing the Advanced Nursing Practice stream. I knew that was not for me. I had made a personal decision that I was done the portion of my career caring for patients directly. I really enjoy being in a mangerial role. I enjoy encouraging people in their own career development. I enjoy the challenge of managing the financial portions for which I am resoponsible, and I really enjoy being a voice of change. That lead me to the leadership stream of the MN. I thought "this is for me". This is what I am going to do.
Having made my decision, I decided to discuss the program with those I knew were currently enrolled. I did not do this before, I did not want people to think I might be interested in pursuing a masters course because then they would ask how's it going, and if I decided not to pursue it, there would be too much explaining, or so I thought. These conversations were eye openers to me. The more I heard, the more apprehensive I got. I am a struture person, nothing wrong with that I am sure, but the notion of me controlling when I do things, trying to juggle the balance of getting online to participate in my our education, I could see disaster. I felt that this would never hit the target in my household. Full time working mom of 2 active boys, looking for time to get online to complete a degree. Knowing myself, I knew that I would only start at 10 o'clock at night. What was I going to get out of that? I can see for those who are well organized, who MAKE it a priority, it would be wonderful. But that is just not me.
So again, I think about what I really want. What do I like? Where am I? Where do I want to be? Does it mean a masters in Nursing, or something else? I need to attend classes, be part of a visible interactive group. And then I remember....MBA. So sitting less than 2 miles from the Universite de Moncton, I log on to their website. I find what I am looking for. Something in my community, that I can physically attend, that is a reasonable time for me. And so here I am.
What I learned from this year and a half of searching for the right program for ME, is that one google search opens doors all around the world. There is something for everyone. I just had to go around the world to find something in my backyard.
This lead me to consider a masters degree in nursing, something which I felt I would not do. For whatever reason, I was never interested in persuing a MN. I had no reason behind this decision on my part, I had a rewarding BN experience, I like nursing, but for whatever reason I just wanted to do something "different". That being said, I went 'online' yet again, to see what was out there. I knew of Athabasca University, as many of my co-workers were pursuing the Advanced Nursing Practice stream. I knew that was not for me. I had made a personal decision that I was done the portion of my career caring for patients directly. I really enjoy being in a mangerial role. I enjoy encouraging people in their own career development. I enjoy the challenge of managing the financial portions for which I am resoponsible, and I really enjoy being a voice of change. That lead me to the leadership stream of the MN. I thought "this is for me". This is what I am going to do.
Having made my decision, I decided to discuss the program with those I knew were currently enrolled. I did not do this before, I did not want people to think I might be interested in pursuing a masters course because then they would ask how's it going, and if I decided not to pursue it, there would be too much explaining, or so I thought. These conversations were eye openers to me. The more I heard, the more apprehensive I got. I am a struture person, nothing wrong with that I am sure, but the notion of me controlling when I do things, trying to juggle the balance of getting online to participate in my our education, I could see disaster. I felt that this would never hit the target in my household. Full time working mom of 2 active boys, looking for time to get online to complete a degree. Knowing myself, I knew that I would only start at 10 o'clock at night. What was I going to get out of that? I can see for those who are well organized, who MAKE it a priority, it would be wonderful. But that is just not me.
So again, I think about what I really want. What do I like? Where am I? Where do I want to be? Does it mean a masters in Nursing, or something else? I need to attend classes, be part of a visible interactive group. And then I remember....MBA. So sitting less than 2 miles from the Universite de Moncton, I log on to their website. I find what I am looking for. Something in my community, that I can physically attend, that is a reasonable time for me. And so here I am.
What I learned from this year and a half of searching for the right program for ME, is that one google search opens doors all around the world. There is something for everyone. I just had to go around the world to find something in my backyard.
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