Practical Nurses provide direct client care in hospitals, home health agencies, physicians' offices, health clinics, and many other health care settings. The work environment is typically fast-paced and ever-changing, requiring the ability to be flexible, to adapt quickly to change, and to maintain composure while working under pressure with a high degree of initiative, creativity, motivation, and flexibility. The demand for highly qualified nurses continues to grow as the need to replace healthcare workers who retire or leave their jobs for other reasons continues, the population ages, and healthcare spending escalates. This demand means excellent employment opportunities for qualified nurses! Be one of them!
Employment Opportunities
Hospitals, Home Health Agencies, Physicians' Offices, Long-Term Care Facilities, Community Health Agencies, Health Clinics
About this Occupation
Practical nurses provide direct client care in a variety of health care settings. They work primarily indoors and sometimes in close spaces. The work environment is fast-paced and ever changing and requires the ability to be flexible, to adapt quickly to change, and to maintain composure while working under pressure. In this occupation there is occasional to frequent exposure to communicable disease. Direct contact with blood or other bodily fluids requires that personal protective equipment be worn in some circumstances. Tasks may require short term physical effort and/or prolonged exertion such as standing or walking. For success in this career, students should have a high degree of initiative, commitment, motivation, and flexibility; self-direction and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team; willingness to adapt to new technologies and methods for performing work; excellent oral and written communication skills; a high degree of professionalism; time management skills; and basic computer skills.
Learn from Experienced Instructors
Sandra George
Practical Nursing instructor
Sandra George teaches Practical Nursing in the Health Sciences Center at the Rockwell Campus.
Krystal Gleese
Practical Nursing instructor
Krystal Gleese teaches Practical Nursing in the Health Sciences Center at the Rockwell campus. She earned both Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Nursing from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Krystal previously worked as a night shift relief charge nurse at Lakeside Woman's Hospital in Oklahoma City, and as a clinical instructor at the University of Oklahoma College of Nursing.
Sue Kerr
Practical Nursing instructor
Sue Kerr teaches Practical Nursing in the Health Sciences at the Rockwell campus. She earned both a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, and a Master of Science in Nursing Education at Walden University. Sue previously worked at the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) in Butner, NC, as a Commissioned Nurse Officer at The Federal Bureau of Prisons, and in the neurology/orthopedic unit at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center in Oklahoma City.
Kassie Medgaarden
Practical Nursing instructor
Kassie Madgaarden teaches Practical Nursing in the Health Sciences Center at the Rockwell campus. She earned an Associate degree in Allied Health from Carl Albert State College in Poteau, Oklahoma, and a Bachelor degree in Science of Nursing from Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Oklahoma. Kassie previously worked as a register nurse at both Alliance Health in Midwest City, Oklahoma, and at OU Children’s Physicians in Oklahoma City.
Melissa Peterson
Practical Nursing instructor
Melissa Peterson teaches Practical Nursing in the Health Sciences Center at the Rockwell campus. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Tulsa, and a Master of Science in Nursing Education from the University of Arkansas. Melissa previously worked as an adjunct professor at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Oklahoma, and as a registered nurse – interventional radiology at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City.
Leslie Quick
Practical Nursing instructor
Leslie Quick teaches Practical Nursing in the Health Sciences Center at the Rockwell campus. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Phoenix in Oklahoma City, and a Master of Science in Nursing from Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Okla. Leslie previously worked for Francis Tuttle as a Practical Nursing Adjunct Instructor.
LaDonna Selvidge
Practical Nursing instructor and program director
LaDonna Selvidge teaches and serves as program director in Practical Nursing.
Cari Vasfaret
Practical Nursing instructor
Cari Vasfaret teaches Practical Nursing in the Health Sciences Center at the Rockwell campus. She earned an Associate in Applied Science degree in Practical Nursing and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, both from North Dakota State University. Cari previously worked as a Registered Nurse Case Manager and Palliative Care at SSM Health at Home in Oklahoma City, and as a Registered Nurse Case Manager for Carter Home Health in Oklahoma City.
