Josiah Myers (’17) wanted to become a nurse after learning more about the medical field through his mom, who is a veterinarian. Although he wasn’t interested in working with animals, his passion for the medical profession still existed.

In high school, Myers was able to shadow nurses and eventually learned that he wanted to pursue a nursing degree.

“If you are a potential nursing student, it would really benefit you in the long run to shadow a nurse or a variety of nurses in different settings,” he says. “Make sure this is the field you want to pursue because during school and afterward, you’ll be devoting almost 100 percent of your time to this.”

Myers fell in love with NKU through his dual-enrollment in NKU's School-Based Scholars program and because of the university's strong Nursing program.

“The board-passing rates and the job securement within six months is almost 100 percent, which is extremely good in the state of Kentucky and Ohio,” he says.

Myers also found that NKU's nursing students were a close-knit group. He formed amazing relationships with his fellow students because of the hard work they did together.

Myers is temporarily placed in the COVID Intensive Care Unit at a local hospital, but he normally works in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.

“The biggest takeaway from this for the general public is just the basics of hygiene,” he says. “I hope after all this is done, people can take away good health practices, but we should do this regardless of a pandemic or not.”

During a pandemic or not, it’s important to remember that nurses do a lot for their patients. Myers wants to celebrate the evolving nature of being a nurse.

“The modern-day nurse is not just a nurse,” he says. “The modern nurse’s role has evolved into so many things. A nurse used to wear only one hat and do one thing, but the modern-day nurse is doing casework, social work, administration and physical therapy.”