From Pharmacy Tech to Vocational Nurse: Gina Arguijo’s Journey of Resilience and Ambition

As a 23-year-old divorced mom of a 4-year-old son, Gina Arguijo wanted to stretch beyond her career as a pharmacy technician. Now in a single-parent household, she needed a higher income. She had maxed out her pay level and needed something with open financial and growth opportunities.  The medical field had great job advancement potential and Vocational Nursing caught her attention.

But direct patient contact – providing medical care and support at a personal and professional level – was a completely different relationship than customer prescription processing. What if she didn’t like working ‘close-up’ with others? What if her personal empathy would not stretch that far? She was ready to take those first steps toward answering all her questions.

Gina had one thing solidly in her corner: very little self-doubt. “I know I’m smart and could go back to school. I just never did. Now, as a single-mom, I had that reason to push myself.”

Why San Joaquin Valley College’s Vocational Nursing program?

A pharmacist I was working with knew a lot of other Pharmacy Technologists who flipped to SJVC’s Vocational Nursing program. He told me if I wanted to go back to school, I should start there.

And I didn’t want to start at Square One. SJVC’s Vocational Nursing program didn’t require any courses I had to take before I got in. The program was set up so i could take some general education courses online while also completing the hands-on coursework.

Community College was competitive, but it had a long waitlist.

What was your first impression of SJVC’s Vocational Nursing (VN) program?

I got a tour of the campus, sat with other students, met with the program director and the financial aid advisor. The VN program was four days a week for 64 weeks. And the hours were convenient for me to still be working and going to school.

What was your greatest struggle as a Vocational Nursing student?

Time management. I had a part-time job, VN in-class hours, clinical hours at different locations, plus driving to my Mom’s to pick up my son—and didn’t really have a regular routine because I shared custody of my son.  It was a lot.

Some days I couldn’t go home right after class because I had to work. It made for longer nights when I finally got to go home and study that day’s material.

Was your family able to help you while you were in school?

My husband Matthew, paid for everything – at one point he had two jobs so that I would have the option not to work while I was in the VN program. We had gotten married a month before I started school. It was because of him and his encouragement that I could even do this.

Also, I totaled my car while I was in school, and my parents (Leticia and George) loaned me a car. My mom offered to watch my son a lot and sometimes kept him overnight.

Did the coursework reinforce your decision to become a vocational nurse?

Clinical studies (direct patient care with participating medical facilities) gave me a better understanding of health care from a patient’s point of view; why they feel what they feel. It’s a stressful job, dealing with sick people. But I was happy to get deeper into health care.

What was your greatest inspiration to complete the VN program?

I just felt like I had to keep going. I wasn’t going to give up, quit. I was already invested and stopping wasn’t in the plan.

Did you find the support you needed at school to push forward?

I did make friends with classmates, and we’d meet up and study the material we’d learned that week. We were able to see things differently and their perspectives would break it down for you in ways that really helped.

Instructors were definitely invested and able to give us support and advice on how to move forward and get things done. You have to love what you do to be a teacher.

When did you discover you had what it takes for empathetic patient care?

Patient relationships change you. You come to understand why a patient is the way they are; you understand the psychological/physiological factors they might have. You spend more time with patients and understand why they might be more upset. You learn to be more patient, learn how to calm them down. The deeper you get into health care, the better you understand where they’re coming from.

What did you enjoy most about your Vocational Nursing program?

I enjoyed my clinicals, (on-the-job experience in the field) getting practical experience as a nurse at different locations: hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and community health centers. We also build relationships with other classmates, teachers and patients while we’re there.

Were you drawn to any particular medical environment?

Spending time in Labor and Delivery (L&D) is what made me decide that was the field I wanted to go in. People were there because they were adding a member to their family. It’s very mom-oriented and all your support is focused on her experience.

One of my rotations was with a nurse working with a woman in delivery who was really stressing. The nurse was very calm, helping mom to change positions, placing her leg in a certain position to help relieve her pain and having such a positive effect on the mom’s experience.

Do you have a favorite experience in your clinical experience in L&D?

I got to watch a C-section and vaginal birth right in the room. With the natural birth, I was on one side of the mother, holding one of her legs, watching the baby come out. It was very exciting.

What was your greatest challenge in the VN program?

I was very worried about passing the NCLEX-PN (National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses). We got to take practice exams that gave me insight into what I needed to focus on better. Each time I took it I got a lower grade! But it gave me insight on what I needed to focus on better. I took an online study program for two weeks and when I took the actual NCLEX-PN exam. I passed it!

What advice would you give others interested in this field?

It’s a commitment, and you have to be willing to put in the work. You’re going to lose your social life a little bit and sacrifice a lot. But there’s a reward at the end of the program. Graduating with your Associate’s degree and passing the passing the NCLEX-PN – is a big accomplishment.

And save yourself a lot of trouble in the beginning and don’t fall behind because it’s a lot to catch up.

Where are you working now?

I got my licensed as a Vocational Nurse after finishing SJVC’s VN program and now work for Dignity Health (hospital) and Maxim (home health company) as a LVN (License Vocational Nurse). I work approximately 52-hours/week.

What is your vision for the future?

Four years from now I want to be enrolled in a Registered Nurse (RN) program…or almost done. I will be content as long as I’m working on that Labor and Delivery floor.