BRCC Nursing: “Where art and science meet.”
Blue Ridge Community College graduate Emily Starks received an Emerging Nurse Leader award from the West Virginia Future of Nursing Action Coalition as part of their inaugural 40 under 40 leadership campaign. The award recognized nurses who are “empowering their communities, advancing nursing, and leading change,” according to a news release.
“Receiving this award is an amazing honor,” Starks said. “Many of the other recipients are people I admire and look up to. Being included in the group is a surreal experience.”
Starks is currently a graduate MSN student in the Family Nurse Practitioner program at West Virginia University and will graduate in May. She works as a clinical supervisor in the Emergency Department of a critical access hospital in Philippi, WV. Since graduating with an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Nursing from BRCC in 2003, she has also worked in critical care and in the emergency departments of trauma centers and pediatric trauma centers.
Working in healthcare was always a goal for Starks, and early on, she thought about being a physician. “I had thought I wanted to be a doctor, but it didn’t feel like the right fit,” she noted. “I wanted more interaction with the patients so nursing was a much better fit.”
Of her Blue Ridge education, Starks said, “I loved my nursing classes at BRCC, I learned so much. Linda Edwards was a teacher who really inspired and encouraged me.”
For those considering a career in nursing, Starks has this advice: “Remember that nursing is a place where art and science meet. At the other end of your stethoscope is a person and respect for the person is very important. Always trust your intuition, it can save you. And always be open to the possibility of learning something new.”
