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Cardiovascular ICU and ECMO nurse Samuel Breaux had long dreamed of a career at the bedside. 

At 18, he had his future mapped out: college, medical school, doctor. 

But as his health dwindled during his first college semester, so did his grades and goals of becoming a doctor. 

“My gallbladder stopped functioning and nearly ruptured. I had emergency surgery that winter break,” he says. “When I returned to school in January, my advisor told me I’d have a hard time getting into medical school with the grades I had.” 

He changed his major, completed his degree, and started his career, but ultimately, he was not satisfied. 

Breaux’s health emergency — and conversations with friends in healthcare — planted a seed. Once it took root, he began charting a new path: earning his ASN, his BSN, and hopefully, a doctoral degree in nurse anesthesia. 

“I had no idea what a CRNA was until I interacted with one getting that emergency surgery,” he says. “I was terrified because I was very sick, but my CRNA made me feel comfortable and safe within five minutes of meeting me.” 

“I want to make sure patients feel safe and come out of their surgeries in better shape than they went in.” 

In 2023, he earned his associate degree in nursing. In 2025, he earned his bachelor’s degree through the ��˾��������’s online RN to BSN program, gaining the tools to keep growing as a nurse. 

From New Grad to Seasoned Pro 

Once Breaux decided he wanted to become a registered nurse, he needed to figure out how to do it. 

“It was hard because I needed to find a way to pay for it,” he says. “I knew the quickest and most affordable way for me to start working as a nurse would be an associate program.” 

“Finally, everything just kind of fell into place, and I enrolled at my local community college.” 

After finishing his ASN and accepting a job as a cardio ICU nurse in Washington, D.C., he looked to his hometown university to achieve his next goal. 

“I grew up 30 minutes from UL ��˾��������, and I knew the nursing program had a great reputation,” he says. “Plus, the online RN to BSN was one of the most affordable of the 50+ programs I looked at.” 

Coursework in the RN to BSN program involves theory, leadership, and evidence-based practice. It's designed to build on the clinical skills students gain in their associate degree or diploma programs. 

For Breaux, who started the program at the end of his first year as an RN, that coursework was eye opening. 

“I really enjoyed NURS 327: Interprofessional Community Health Care. It focused on health promotion and disease prevention through vaccines and proper nutrition,” he says. “A lot of associate programs don’t cover community health care. But I found it helpful because in the ICU, I educate people on their conditions and how to care for themselves at home.” 

For his capstone project, Breaux pitched a procedure for enacting standardized bedside shift reporting to present to his hospital’s leadership. It was a chance to apply the evidence-based practices he’d studied throughout the program. 

“There are benefits to reporting from a patient’s bedside rather than the nurse’s station, where we currently do it,” he says. “It improves communication with patients, families, and nurses during shift changes.” 

“Ultimately, the goal is to reduce the frequency of adverse patient events.” 

Though the RN to BSN program is online and asynchronous, Breaux was still able to refresh his clinical skills. 

Courses like NURS 355: Health & Physical Assessment involve virtual simulations to build clinical reasoning skills. It also covers the tools and data collection methods nurses use to assess patients’ conditions. 

“My assessment skills improved greatly,” he says. “As a cardio ICU nurse, I’m super familiar with heart-related assessments. But after taking that course I feel more confident about going through a full assessment with a patient.” 

“Overall, I’d say that the RN to BSN has made me look at nursing differently. I used to see it as a practice, but now I see it as more of a science. It’s helped me understand how we develop and inform the practices we use as nurses.” 

From Patient to Patient Advocate 

Although Breaux’s career doesn’t match his original vision, he says it’s the perfect match for him. 

“Physicians are amazing diagnosticians who are trained to know how the body works and to pinpoint specific issues,” he explains. “However, they spend a lot of time moving from patient to patient.” 

“Nurses get to work with patients more holistically. We help treat their conditions while also providing the emotional and physical support they need. That’s the kind of work I really enjoy.” 

As Breaux finishes the RN to BSN program, he’s already working toward his next goal: starting a doctoral program to become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. 

For now, he leaves RN to BSN students with a few words of wisdom. 

“Don’t think of the program as just a series of tasks you have to get done. Converse with professors and get to know your classmates.” “For me, it was a chance to reflect on my work as a nurse and do something outside of my 12-hour shifts in the hospital." 

Prepare for the next step in your nursing career through UL ��˾��������’s online RN to BSN program.

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