Tiffany Stallard Starting Her Journey to Become an RN

Tiffany Stallard of Whitesburg has been named an Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) 2017 Scholar and will receive a scholarship worth $2,500 for each of the next two years. She was one of 11 individuals to receive the award and will be attending Galen School of Nursing, Hazard, in the fall.

The scholar program is awarded annually to employees of ARH or to family members who are currently part of the ARH team. “The competition was very intense,” explained Christopher Johnson, System Director Employee and Labor Relations at ARH. “We are pleased to offer these awards in an effort to encourage individuals to pursue higher education.”

Stallard, who currently works as a medical assistant at Hazard ARH Regional Medical Center, says she is thrilled to begin studying to become a registered nurse (RN). “It’s been a life long dream. I come from a family of RNs and I’ve always looked up to them. “I’m very excited for the future.”

“Being a nurse is challenging and I love working at ARH,” she said. “I work with a great team of people now and I will want to be working with that same team in five years, just in a different capacity.”

Stallard says she is supported well by her supervisors and that she looks forward to working hard to accomplish her goals. “Applying for this award allowed me to consider several things,” she said. “The application was laid out logically. They asked for things such as a budget, an essay, and as much indication as possible that you would be successful. It’s important to plan and to know you are ready for the challenge.”

She is also looking forward to working with a mentor. Each scholar will be assigned a mentor to help navigate the process. “I think that is one of the more important elements,” she said. “In addition to the mentor, my supervisors have said they will also work with me in terms of scheduling around my studies. When you consider all aspects of the award—the money, mentor, support at work, it does make you believe in yourself. I just look forward to a time when I can be there for the patients.”

For more on this story, Read: Two Letcher Countians named ARH Scholars, Credit: The Mountain Eagle