Carmelot’s Story:
Accomplishing Nursing Career Ambitions and Achieving his American Dream  

Carmelot Eliassaint loves Caribbean food and the color blue, and relaxes by listening to gospel music and reading. As someone who always enjoys helping people, his favorite quote is, “Never give up despite whatever you are going through,” a sentiment he carries throughout his career search to attain his American dream.

“I wanted to do something meaningful that makes a difference in people’s everyday lives,” Eliassaint explained. “Working as a nurse interested me because I knew I would always learn new things. Patients have different problems and needs, and it’s an exciting profession with so much variety.”

“I first heard about Goodwin when talking to a friend of mine about nursing school,” Eliassaint detailed. “She referred to Goodwin as one of the best nursing schools to go to. She thought that Goodwin had a flexible schedule for every student and engaged a solid, committed, and compassionate faculty.

“I knew that being a student requires dedication and time, and I was frustrated when looking at other nursing schools because I wasn’t able to find a program that would allow me to keep my job and other interests. Fortunately, I found Goodwin and quickly learned that they offer it all.”

After further research, Eliassaint found that the associate degree in nursing program’s completion time and cost were practical. He felt that the curriculum was carefully considered, he appreciated that students could make their own decisions about online or in-person formats, and he discovered that Goodwin’s nursing accreditation was well-known.

A flexible foundation for his future success

Now a graduate of Goodwin’s associate degree in nursing and RN-to-BSN programs, and a current student in the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) program, “Over the course of my nursing classes at Goodwin, I found each program to be flexible,” Eliassaint shared.

“For my associate degree, I took day and night on-campus classes. For my BSN, I completed the courses online, and for the FNP program that I am currently enrolled in, I take all my classes virtually.”

“Online classes allow me to learn at my own pace,” Eliassaint acknowledged. “The format helps develop self-discipline by allowing me to schedule my day and activities around class hours.

“While attending school, I was still able to work 40 hours a week and passed all my classes with the help of all the great instructors here at Goodwin.”

Uplifting interactions with professors and peers

“Goodwin professors are friendly, knowledgeable about the subjects they teach, ready to assist their students, and passionate about helping me succeed,” Eliassaint credited.

Reflecting on his most memorable instructors, he recalled, “I can still remember what one of my clinical educators said to me during rotation: ‘Stay positive, Carmelot, you can do this! You will be a nurse in one month — fight like one.’”

“I valued my relationships with my cohort, too,” Eliassaint revealed. “We carpooled to save money on gas throughout clinical rotations, and we got together outside of school — celebrating good grades on hard tests by going out to lunch and dinner.”

Practicum experience preparing for professional expertise 

“Before seeing real patients, I practiced my skills in Goodwin’s simulation lab, where I learned the basics of nursing by working with manikins that function like real patients,” Eliassaint enlightened. “The manikins had heart tones, palpable pulses, their chests rose and fell to simulate breathing, and they even had the ability to bleed and convulse. The manikins also had a monitor that showed pulse oximetry and blood pressure.

“I especially learned how important it is to communicate well with other nurses during a particular experience in clinical training. One day, an elderly patient had come up to me and said he had been waiting for his medication for 30 minutes. I was new to the hospital at the time, and as it turned out, the patient had dementia, and his attending nurses had already given him his medication. Thanks to proper protocols and communication, no additional medication was administered, and our team ensured the patient’s safety.”

During his clinical rotations, Carmelot also gained experience in:

• Assessments
• Developing his interpersonal skills with patients, families, and other members of the care team
• Diagnosis
• Empathetic behavior while relating to patients on a personal level
• Evaluations, and
• Therapeutic interventions

Passing the test and continuing to climb  

“I was at home when I found out I passed the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX),” Eliassaint disclosed. “I was notified through an email that read, ‘Congratulations, Carmelot Eliassaint, you have successfully passed your NCLEX EXAM!’ I was jumping all over the place. After finding out my results, I told my wife that I passed and she started proudly screaming, ‘My husband is a nurse! My husband is a nurse!’”

A registered nurse who has also earned his BSN degree, “I am the person my patients deal with daily,” Eliassaint described. “My responsibilities include administration of medication, assessing appropriate care options for patients with interdisciplinary teams, interpreting patient data, observing patients, and obtaining their medical history. I find it extremely rewarding to assist patients and their families by being as relaxed as possible and well-prepared for when the doctor is ready to see them.”

A lifelong learner continually striving to better himself, “The next question that came to my mind after becoming a registered nurse was, ‘Now what?’” Eliassaint admitted. “I took risks, made sacrifices, and worked hard during my nursing school career. Being a registered nurse (RN) in the United States is a significant achievement and was a major key in actualizing my American dream.”

“But it doesn’t end here,” he assured. Now a student of Goodwin’s Family Nurse Practitioner program, “I’ve only begun the long but rewarding journey ahead of me. The American dream is the ability to work my way up the ladder, and I will continue to climb. My long-term goal is to provide healthcare to the most vulnerable families. Becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner will help me to expand my role, advocate to improve the quality of care and safety of health care systems, and better serve my community.”

“My experience at Goodwin was life changing, and it turned me into a full-fledged nurse with compassion,” Eliassaint affirmed with gratitude. “Over the course of my education, I evolved into a competent, professional nurse leader. Every single class strengthened my knowledge and critical thinking skills. The coursework molded me into a thorough professional nurse with moral values and a strong work ethic. Goodwin taught me how to think objectively, minimize clinical decision errors, be imaginative, and think strategically — particularly in terms of my ability to adapt, interact, and lead.”

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