Angela Brittingham.

Angela Brittingham of Salisbury said she chose to become a nurse because she wanted a stable career that would allow her to support herself and her son. “I chose Wor-Wic for many different reasons,” she said. “It was close to home, it was affordable and most important of all, I had heard great things about the program — from both nurses who had been through it and employers of nurses. The program has a reputation for being challenging, but also for preparing its graduates well to start their careers.”

Brittingham was working as a certified nursing assistant at Peninsula Regional Medical Center (PRMC) in the mother-baby unit when she began her studies at Wor-Wic. “I was a single mother of a toddler during nursing school,” Brittingham said. “I worked full time during the day and participated in the first evening nursing program that was offered at Wor-Wic. It was a very busy time for me, but I had great support from my parents and my boyfriend at the time, who is now my husband. There were certainly challenges with balancing all of the requirements of motherhood, being an employee, being a student and maintaining my sanity, but my instructors were all very supportive as well and I was able to persevere.”

She said she really liked the availability of the evening classes and the personal attention that the instructors gave her when she needed it. “I also enjoyed my peers,” she added. “We were all like a family. We studied together all the time and helped each other out. My fellow students were always a bright spot in my day.”

Brittingham said that the many different opportunities in her clinical experiences through Wor-Wic really helped her get some perspective on the different kinds of nursing and figure out what she wanted to do. “Also, I am a very hands-on learner,” she added, “so the lab time as well as clinical experience were very valuable.”

She became a licensed practical nurse through the Wor-Wic nursing program and was able to work as such on the mother-baby unit while she completed her associate degree in nursing. This allowed her to obtain some experience prior to passing the licensure exam to become a registered nurse.

“I feel that my educational experiences at Wor-Wic provided me with a strong foundation to be a successful nurse. I have worked at PRMC since 2001 and have been in the emergency department there since 2005. I have been a staff nurse, a charge nurse, a clinical supervisor, the manager of the pediatric emergency department and the inpatient hybrid unit. I am currently the director of emergency and trauma services. I believe that the education I received at Wor-Wic thoroughly prepared me with the skills and understanding that I needed to excel at my job. It prepared me to work hard and be engaged in my education and career.”

Brittingham went on to earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing.

Of her career choice, she said, “I’ve found nursing to be very interesting and a way to help people in the community. It is a very rewarding profession. Numerous opportunities open up with a nursing degree. You can work in a hospital, a school, a doctor’s office or from home. The possibilities are endless.”