Floating as an MA Gives Vocational Nursing Grad Kenya Waldon a Preview to Being an RN

As a Medical Assistant, Kenya Waldon was given the opportunity to work at a specialty clinic which usually assigns an MA to each doctor. But Kenya was given the role of “float Medical Assistant,” which meant she could be assigned to work with any specialist for additional help if needed. That translated into working for many different doctors in a variety of fields: gastroenterology, dermatology/ Mohs, orthopedics, general surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, internal medicine, and even plastic surgery. That varied experience prepared her for nursing so well that when she eagerly applied to several programs for the next step of getting a Vocational Nursing degree. “I was angry at the time; it was so confusing. Secretly, I was a little fearful of all of the responsibilities of a registered nurse. I wanted to be the best, but I didn’t think I could go straight to that.” She says she will always keep with her that “weird” conversation. But with the positive encouragement of her mother, a certified nurse midwife and former labor & delivery nurse, Kenya graduated from the SJVC Visalia Vocational Nursing program, class of 2021. Kenya now has plans to complete two prerequisites before applying for the SJVC Registered Nursing LVN to RN Bridge program in 2025. This is her story.

Tell me about yourself.

I was born and raised in Hanford, California. I am the daughter of a single mom and I myself am a single mom. My son Kanye is college freshman this year in Washington D.C.

Kanye? Is he named after who I think he is?

No – I thought I made up his name back in high school, but apparently I didn’t! Kanye West wasn’t yet an artist at that time, so I hadn’t heard of him. But, my son is a singer who loves theatre, gospel and opera. He’s majoring in music performance.

Wonderful! Where does he get that from?

My son grew up singing in my grandpa’s church. I pursued modeling and acting first. Those that know understand that industry can be different to break into and make a good living, requiring a lot of time networking, patience & hard work. I did open calls and auditions until I was 25; then Mom said I needed to stop and do something that I could live on. So in 2005, at 7 months pregnant with my son, I began the Clinical Medical Assisting program at SJVC in Visalia. My advisor said I would only be allowed to miss eleven days in order to graduate. I went into labor over Christmas break, had a C-section, and only missed 4 days! I was very determined to get back to class in January.

And now that you’ve earned your Vocational Nursing degree from SJVC, is there anyone who influenced you as you were learning about nursing?

Denise Grant was my clinical and online theory instructor for the first half of the program. She is caring yet tough, and a great instructor. She went with us to clinicals, helped us get through pharmacology, which I think is the scariest part of any program! She would wear hats, sing songs, tell jokes and rhymes, anything to help us retain important information, while keeping us engaged during the online theory lectures. My best grade in the program was in Pharmacology for Nurses, which I was really proud of. I owe a lot of that to her. The success of her students is a true testament of her dedication to her work. I nominated her for a Daisy Award and presented it to her at our graduation.

What a great way to celebrate your teacher. And now I understand you’re now a correctional LVN at the Corcoran Substance Abuse and Treatment Facility. That must be hard work. Is there anything you can tell the reader about the difference between what you thought nursing would be and what it really is?

I thought that it would be scary to be held responsible for people’s lives and well being and that it’s only for certain people, as brilliant and strong as I see my Mom. But I learned at SJVC, you must be assertive, competent, and confident once you get out there. You can’t hide, cut corners, copy answers or skate through. I’ve seen some students come out of other programs without completing certain skills, but SJVC makes sure all the nooks and crannies are covered. You must be competent performing patient assessments, performing life-saving interventions and know your medications. When you have a degree from SJVC they know you demonstrate the skills required.