When Megan Krupp moved with her family to the Flathead Valley in 2016, she had her sights set on a nursing career. She had been staying home with her three children, but family circumstances meant she needed to go back to work, so she knew she needed a job that would make going back to school as easy as possible. Nursing was a natural fit; she loves helping people and forming relationships. A spot in Immanuel’s in-house CNA class seemed like the perfect way to get started on her new dream.
Megan is very grateful that Immanuel’s class was available. Because it took only three weeks, “it was fast and furious,” and it got her “back in the swing of school.” Since she didn’t have to pay for the class, it also “made life easier” for her and her family. As soon as she achieved her certification, Megan began working as a CNA at Immanuel. She describes her job as “hard work, but rewarding.”
After achieving her CNA credential, Megan immediately began working toward a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) degree, which she achieved in the summer of 2018. In fact, I spoke with Megan on the day after she passed her last final—with one more A in a whole series of high grades. Immanuel helped Megan achieve this goal, too; she received money from the Employee Education Fund every semester as she pursued her license. And she’s a great example of why we offer this benefit to employees. Megan plans to use her credential right here, to benefit Immanuel’s residents. She’ll continue to do that when she achieves her Registered Nurse (RN) credential in the future (she’s already hard at work on the coursework she needs to get it!).
For Megan, Immanuel’s CNA class really was the first step toward a career in geriatric nursing. She had been a CNA when she was eighteen, and she’s spent a lot of time volunteering. She wanted a career where she could make a difference in people’s lives. Megan has come to love the personal connections she’s able to make with residents she sees every day. She particularly loves hearing their stories and describes her experience as humbling. Our everyday challenges and struggles are “just a little piece of the whole life spectrum,” she remarks. Because residents tend to stay in long-term care for some time, the connections she makes with them are much deeper and longer term than those she could make in a medical office. She loves “being part of their lives instead of a 10-minute segment twice a year.”
During our conversation, Megan mentioned several times how grateful she is for the opportunities Immanuel has offered her. Her experience has been so positive that leaving for another job is “not even an option.” “I just like working here,” she told me at the end of the conversation. Immanuel is grateful for Megan, too, and delighted that she has chosen Immanuel Lutheran Communities as the place where she will grow into her nursing career.
