A Labor of Love: Meet Alumna Jackie Walker Rice

When a good friend announced, “We’re going back to nursing school in two weeks,” Jackie Rice congratulated her and asked what she meant by “we.” They were both nurses and had a lot of nurse friends in common, so she figured it had to be someone she knew. It turns out it was someone she knew very well.

“You and me,” the friend told her.

“I said, ‘No, no, no. We’re so busy. Everybody’s out of car seats. Everybody’s potty-trained,’” said Rice, the mother of three. “‘No. I’m not going to do it.’ And she said, ‘Well, I’m doing it with or without you.’ So, I said, ‘OK, fine, let’s do it.’ There are always reasons to make up excuses why now is not a good time. And I realized, if I can scroll through Facebook, Instagram and my emails incessantly, I can probably find time to do an assignment, too.”

Rice, MSN-Ed, RN, RNC-OB, RNC-MNN, C-EFM, graduated summa cum laude from Chamberlain University in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree and in 2018 with a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN). She said the HLC-accredited university’s support, the quality of the online nursing degree programs and her friend’s encouragement helped her achieve her goals.

“Chamberlain University and its community are very supportive. I always felt like I had access in real time to what I needed. I always got the answers I needed. The professors were very responsive. I didn’t have time to get in a car and go to a brick-and-mortar institution, so the flexibility of the online option really worked for me. I’d do my homework in the morning … or while the pasta water was boiling. And certainly in the middle of the night,” she said.

“And for me, it helped to have a buddy in the program as well. So, if you can convince somebody to come with you, just do it.”

Building a Purposeful Career

Rice’s education has helped her reach milestones in a nursing career that was inspired by personal experience. Her career path came into focus after she gave birth to her first child at 23. “I wasn’t even out of the delivery room and I thought, this is the role for me. I knew that I not only wanted to be a nurse, but specifically a labor and delivery nurse.”

Rice said she was “a happy associate degree nurse for 14 years,” working at the bedside in labor and delivery, when the next step in her career progression became clear.

“I had a professor who worked at a community college close by. She would send her students to my hospital, and I always latched on to those students — come with me, spend the day with me. And the word kept getting back: ‘That nurse Jackie, she really taught me a lot.’ When my friend gave me that final nudge, it was just so right. It was the absolute best thing to do.”

With her BSN, Rice became a clinical instructor. When it came time to earn her MSN degree, Rice chose Chamberlain’s Nurse Educator specialty track, which she said “opened up doors right away.” She is now a nursing department assistant manager and perinatal educator for Kaiser Permanente in Southern California.

“And I thought, this is fantastic. I’ve got this. My MSN program has prepared me to figure out exactly what to do. Evidence and research. Change that policy. … That really was significant for me. I had this realization that my MSN really did prepare me for the real world,” she said.

Becoming a Social Change Agent

And as a Chamberlain graduate, Rice’s efforts mirror the university’s commitment to health equity. Her extensive experience in the labor and delivery field has reinforced her dedication to ensuring that all patients have equal access to the necessary care for a safe pregnancy, delivery and postpartum recovery.

“Racial disparities in healthcare do exist. So, in my labor and delivery world, birth equity is very important to me. Whether I’m in a leadership role or at the bedside or working with a student nurse, that’s something that I really stress. We need to listen and provide the best care to all of our patients,” she said.

Chamberlain is committed to addressing racism and working for social justice. One of Chamberlain’s commitments is to “partner with organizations that share our values so we can collectively address this public health crisis and influence the healthcare industry, the professions of our students and alumni, and the communities in which we live and work.”

Finding a Home at Chamberlain

Rice said it didn’t take her long to realize she’d found a nursing school invested in helping her meet her academic goals.

“I knew Chamberlain University was the right choice for me on week one. I looked at the syllabus and I said, OK, I can see what is due and when it is due. I set up the other bits of my life to work into that. So, the structure of Chamberlain really helped me.”

Rice also appreciated Chamberlain’s flexibility, which allowed her to balance work, family and other commitments.

“I might’ve missed a few barbecues here and there. But when people would ask me, ‘Where do you go to school?’ I’d say Chamberlain University. They said, ‘Where is that?’ And I said, it’s on the couch, at the beach, in the backyard — wherever I have Wi-Fi,” she said.

“I am thrilled that I found Chamberlain University. It was so supportive. It was cost-effective for me. It fit into my schedule. But more than that, I actually feel like I did become a better nurse.”

Find Your Nursing Degree

Are you inspired to earn a nursing degree or enroll in a certificate program? Chamberlain offers a variety of ways to build knowledge and skills you can apply to your nursing career goals.

The Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) online degree program offers specialty tracks that allow you to tailor your studies to your interests. There are four nurse practitioner specializations: Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner (Acute or Primary Care), Family Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP). Non-clinical tracks are: Healthcare Policy, Nurse Educator, Nurse Executive, Nursing Informatics and Population Health.

Chamberlain offers its Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree program online or in a campus hybrid learning model. With hybrid learning, your nursing classes are online and in person. Both options provide an opportunity to earn your RN in as few as three years. Other highlights of the nursing bachelor’s program include simulated experiences for practicing nursing skills and clinical experience in diverse settings.

You can learn more about Chamberlain’s nursing programs by contacting an enrollment representative at 877.751.5783. Find out how online learning can give you the opportunity to broaden your education.

Chamberlain University, an HLC-accredited institution, offers bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral and certificate programs in nursing and healthcare professions. With a growing network of campuses and robust online programs, Chamberlain continues to build on more than 130 years of excellence in preparing extraordinary healthcare professionals.

By Chamberlain University