Chris Zapata (center) and Paige Lawhorn with Patti Altman, dean of nursing at Northwest State Community. Courtesy Bluffton University Public Relations
Watching his brother battle a brain tumor was something that left a huge impact on sophomore Chris Zapata. Countless hours spent in the hospital alongside his brother exposed him to a completely different world–one that he now hopes to be part of one day. Zapata entered Bluffton University as a nursing major with the goal of being able to care for other people’s loved ones the same way he saw nurses look after his brother.
Zapata is part of the first class of Bluffton students in the nursing major since its introduction in the fall of 2017.
Zapata said the nursing curriculum is strenuous. He travels to Northwest State Community College in Archbold, Ohio, three times a week for classes. He has to be on the bus to go to Northwest State by 7:30 a.m., and doesn’t arrive until around 8:45 a.m. On Mondays, he has a pharmacology class from 9 to 11 a.m., a health and illness concepts class from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., which is followed by a lab to practice a weekly skill.
On Thursdays, Zapata has a professional illness class and health and illness concepts again in the morning, followed by a two-and-a-half-hour lab where he has to do skill check offs and pass all of his skills.
While he has no classes on Tuesday, he usually still travels to Northwest State to practice his skills, such as testing vital signs or assessing the chest.
In addition to his nursing classes, Zapata is also taking sociology and developmental psychology courses at Bluffton. Since he misses his Monday classes while he’s at Northwest State, they are recorded for him to watch later.
After a long day of classes, Zapata still has to leave time for soccer practice.
“[The nursing major] is hard to do with sports, but coach is super understanding,” said Zapata, “Usually I’ll just send him a text and he’ll move practice back. There have been days when I don’t get back from lab in time and have to miss practice, but it’s really just communication and trying to find time to train but also making sure I have enough time to study.”
After practice, Zapata said he generally has four to five hours left of homework and studying. He said the most challenging part of the program is getting enough sleep among all of his other responsibilities.
Some students are caught off guard by just how demanding a nursing program can be.
Director and associate professor of nursing Sherri Winegardner recognizes that there are a variety of reasons students change majors and said this typical pattern isn’t a cause of concern.
“I think what happens is sometimes people drop because nursing is so academically rigorous,” Winegardner said. “I think that sometimes the students are really heavily involved in activities and then see the academic rigor of nursing and they drop the major. Sometimes students will drop early on, even before they start the true nursing part of it, because they decide nursing isn’t for them.”
Winegardner said she does not see these being a problem for Zapata.
“What stands out the most with me is his openness to opportunity,” Winegardner said. “He has taken on the challenge of going to Northwest State and coordinating it with his activities here. He’s taken that challenge head on and seems to be forging ahead and I don’t think he allows a lot of barriers to form for him.”
Winegardner said Zapata’s drive will help him reach his goals.
“Chris is a very quiet guy, but I think he has a very clear definition of where he wants his career path to go,” Winegardner said.
While the program is tough, Zapata’s long-term goal is helping him get through it.
“I do plan on sticking with it,” Zapata said. “It’s been overwhelming, but I think in the long run it’ll be worth it. Nursing school is nursing school, it’s gonna be tough anywhere you go.”
