Graduate School: Nursing Graduate

Tina Bardavid, ’08, Regional Director, Nursing Resources, Providence Health and Services
It has been a journey to this position, allow me to share with you my story…I am proud to say I have been a nurse for thirty years. My nursing career began in 1978 when I graduated from a diploma program. I worked in the Intensive Care Unit at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center as a staff nurse and later charge nurse. After several years of bedside nursing it became clear to me that many other opportunities existed in nursing. In order to pursue those opportunities I returned to school and obtained my BSN. This degree allowed me to move into new roles within nursing where I experienced my first taste of leadership. I worked in a number of different capacities ranging from being a nursing supervisor to managing a vascular surgery office. My desires were still not satisfied and I knew that in order to impact patient care at a higher level I would have to obtain my Masters. I applied to graduate school at the University of Portland. I still remember the day I was notified of my acceptance into the program; what a thrill yet frightening time for me! My fears were settled quickly however once I met the faculty. It became immediately clear to me that the support I knew I would need would be present from the level of the Dean to the administrative staff. Though I worked full time while going to school, I was fortunate that my employer consistently supported me, and two years passed quickly. Before I knew it my world had expanded. I graduated in May of 2008 from the U of P, Clinical Nurse Leader Program with a Masters of Science degree, equipped with the confidence and the skill set to fulfill my career dreams and aspirations. Nelson Mandela wrote, “Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that a son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of a farm worker can become the president of a great nation.” For me, it is because of the great education I received from the graduate program at the U of P that I, the daughter of an Italian immigrant farmer, could qualify for my current position at Providence. I am grateful every day for this experience.