In Jason Vinson’s family, two aunts are in the long-term care field; one cousin is a registered nurse in obstetrics, and two others are currently in the Nursing Program at Gateway Technical College . So, it’s not surprising that Jason has become a nurse.

Jason was admitted to Gateway’s two-year Nursing program in 2004, doing most of his study at the Kenosha Campus, and found his classes challenging but rewarding. “The first two semesters taught me how to be a sound, fundamental nurse,” he says, “but the third and fourth semesters were really eye-opening.”

“I was intrigued by critical-care subjects, and I had many eureka moments as I learned more and more about the field,” he recalls. “In particular, I found that I just love the heart – its design, its function,” he says. And cardiology, he notes, is the key element in critical care, whether in the emergency room or the intensive care unit.

Jason earned two scholarships in his final year, but the workload got heavy. While a full-time student, attending evening and Saturday classes, he also worked 45 to 50 hours per week at two jobs. As things started to come apart a bit, instructor John Ujcich intervened.

“He kept my spirits up, and pushed me to do my best,” says Jason. “But he also helped me face some tough decisions about my workload.”

In mid-June, 2006 he joined the cardiac unit of St. Mary’s Hospital, in Racine as a Registered Nurse. He plans to work there for two years and then move into critical care medicine.

Nursing grad wins Froedtert excellence award

Gateway Technical College Nursing program graduate Sally Jansen was recently honored for her work as a nurse with Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital's 2007 Nursing Excellence Award. Jansen, who works in the hospital’s neurology department, is pictured second from the left at Miller Park, where she and her fellow nurses were honored on the field. Jansen now lives in Waukesha. Also pictured with Jansen are, left to right, Andrew Kontowicz, Jennifer Blissitt, and Brenda Baranowski.

A Gateway Technical College graduate was recently recognized for excellence in the field of nursing.

Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital honored Sally Jansen, a 2002 Gateway Nursing program graduate, with a 2007 Professional Nursing Clinical Excellence Award. The Nursing Excellence Awards are peer nominated and recognize staff who consistently exhibit excellence in the clinical setting at Froedtert.

Jansen, who has worked in the hospital’s neurosurgery unit since starting her career there in 2002, said she was surprised and happy by the award because it is peer-nominated and it was for actions she does within her everyday work.

“I was excited. For your peers to look up to you, for people to see the work you have done, this is wonderful,” Jansen said. “I was just doing what I do, and to get the award for that was great.”

Some of the work projects Jansen has undertaken include changing policies within the hospital, working for the hospital to get a Magnet status – the gold standard for nursing – and striving for excellence in care.

Jansen, 41, who lives in Waukesha, says her Gateway instructors first helped plant the seed for some of the actions honored by Froedtert.

“A lot of this I got from my Gateway instructors,” Jansen says. “They said to push yourself forward and that you are never too old to learn anything.”

After graduating from Gateway in 2002, Jansen has gone on to earn her bachelor’s degree in nursing science through the University of Phoenix’s online program. She is pursuing her master’s degree in nursing education from the same institution.