Amanda Knapp
The opportunity to join fellow Nursing students from the College of Health Professions in Ferris State University’s Fall 2023 Commencement ceremony means Amanda Knapp caps years of anticipation and effort with her Bachelor of Science degree.
Knapp graduated from Grand Rapids West Catholic High School and earned my Associate of General Studies in Science at Grand Rapids Community College.
She has more than a decade of experience in healthcare, working in the Labor and Delivery unit of Corewell Health-Butterworth Hospital as a surgical scrub tech.
“I was able to work up to that position after beginning as an aide and secretary, thanks to training at the hospital. It is a busy place, sixth in the nation for birthing numbers in a recent accounting of deliveries, a really great place to work,” she said.
All the while, Knapp held onto intentions of earning a BSN degree while she and her husband are raising young daughters in Sand Lake.
“I have an easy commute and began studies in the Fall 2020 semester,” Amanda said. “When Ferris established a third cohort for Nursing students starting in the summer semester, it allowed me to pursue my degree for 18 months without a pause. The increased available nursing seats allowed me to start after only applying once. Being in my clinical rotations meant lots of demands on my husband since the girls are six and nine years old. I am so fortunate to have his support, serving as a solo working parent would. We are fortunate that his employer can provide the flexibility allowing him to work full time while I continue with Corewell and complete my studies at Ferris.”
Amanda’s educational journey was well known to her co-workers in Grand Rapids.
“The nurses and surgeons on my unit are so inspirational. They have helped me to approach my education with focus and drive toward the goal of providing quality care like them,” Knapp said. “Corewell has assigned me as a resource staffer, which means I can take weekend and evening shifts. I serve in secretarial roles and surgical scrub, which helps the unit and me in terms of their staffing requirements. I am lucky to be in a family-oriented, supportive environment while I work and study to complete my degree.”
Knapp expanded on the importance of her being part of Ferris’ first offering of a third cohort of Nursing students.
“Being able to begin courses in the summer really gave me a great leap of progress toward my degree,” Amanda said. “It was like Ferris said, ‘We are ready to assist you right now. You’re going to be a nurse in 18 months.’ I was excited by the opportunity and ready for it, though there was a bit of panic to suddenly be on course to pursue my dream, getting right after what I wanted and had thought of for so long.”
Knapp said her cohort is a diverse and closely knit group of concerted students.
“My classmates laughed about my saying, ‘I could do this! I could work on this unit and love it!’ as we completed each clinical rotation. It was a running joke but all truth.” Knapp said. “I find our responsibilities in women’s health to be very appealing. A woman’s body is very interesting to me. To carry life and deliver this little person of joy and love. I couldn’t see myself in any other field of nursing and feeling fulfilled. I was kind of shocked at how important each one of my clinical assignments was to me. And how I found myself with just as much interest in each unique area.”
Knapp said she is the only person in my cohort who is married and the only parent in the group. Most of her peers were born after she graduated high school, but she looks to them as family.
“We are a fun-loving, hard-working, and supportive tribe,” she said. “There is a great feeling of kinship, and I guess they look at me as sort of a mom, which is totally fine. I have enjoyed all our experiences and really enjoy celebrating the end of a semester with a night out as a group. I feel nursing school is something of a ‘boot camp’ experience. We survived it together and have created lifelong bonds.”
Knapp’s efforts to build her expertise while pursuing this degree resulted in a preceptorship with the Critical Care Unit of Corewell Health-Big Rapids Hospital. She submitted a formal letter of interest, an essay, and a letter of recommendation from a clinical instructor, then excitedly learned of her acceptance.
She was assigned eight 12-hour shifts with a precepting nurse. Her student nursing role provides the autonomy to provide bedside care and the opportunity to lead patient care.
“I feel this is a huge learning opportunity, which could direct my job selection after graduation,” she said. “Working within this level of patient care has proven to be demanding, along with my obligations to work, study, make the grades, and make time for my family, as this opportunity came about during my final semester. It has been an invaluable experience to precept a seasoned nurse.”
With commencement directly before her, Knapp considered the journey nearly complete and the peers who traveled with her, the prospect of celebration with her family, and the implications that certification as a registered nurse would mean for her, professionally.
“There is that feeling of shell shock and, ‘Oh no, what did I sign myself up for?’ as you start this kind of study, though now the change comes from considering I will no longer be in this group week by week,” Knapp said. “We have been together for our meals, sharing rides, and hours preparing presentations, so I often spend more time with classmates than I do with my family. A few of the students in my cohort are international students. Others are from around the state who plan to return home for their careers. We are all so glad to have reached this point, but we are a little hesitant about what our professional license testing will present to us. Some in the cohort have already accepted positions. In any event, I hope we use social media and keep close tabs as our paths and opportunities become clearer.”
Graduation day will be a thrill for the whole Knapp family.
“My girls have always found it kind of funny I would be headed to school as they were,” Amanda said. “When they see my big backpack in the car, they would say, ‘We’re all going to school today!’ They are excited by the idea of attending my graduation, that I will be able to accept a degree in front of them. Having them there will be special for me, so they can see that we completed an uphill journey, succeeding in all that was asked of us, in my coursework and as a family together.”
Coming to the end of her BSN studies has Knapp considering her future in that another degree may be to her liking.
“My only comparison to what I have experienced here is my studying for an associate at GRCC,” Knapp said. “The impact of being in my cohort and the experience of learning from such great faculty has simply been a blessing to me. It has me looking at the possibility of a Master of Science in Nursing, but that would not be an immediate action or goal. It just seems intriguing to consider clinical instruction and possibly one day becoming a preceptor to the next nursing students. I am currently focused on bedside service to patients and know that is where I will stay, so maybe training for intensive care work or an interdisciplinary team would be appropriate.”
Moving from a surgical scrub staff member of a vital medical facility to a registered nurse’s role means broad and new opportunities for Knapp and her family.
“The appeal of nursing is that you have so many avenues available,” Amanda said. “You can reinvent yourself and change disciplines of practice or set your course in a way that benefits family life. All of that will be interesting to consider and manage. I am looking forward to reaching that point of professional and family fulfillment that I anticipate having as an RN because of all the opportunities that will be there for me.”