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BROOKE BYRNE, MSN,

NURSING MANAGEMENT

AND ORGANIZATIONAL

LEADERSHIP

Michigan Oncology Nurse Earns MSN, Sets Sights

on Future in Leadership

When Brooke Byrne was a senior healthcare administration and exercise
physiology major at Grand Valley State University, she was diagnosed
with an auto-immune disorder. “I wound up in the hospital very sick,”
says Brooke. Prior to that, she had been contemplating her future, unsure
exactly what she would do with her degree after graduation. While she
recovered and adjusted to her “new normal”, Brooke came to a career
epiphany of sorts—and ultimately, to nursing.

Back to school

Brooke graduated from Grand Valley State in 2003 and started nursing
school at Lake Michigan College one week later. “I realized I wanted to
be that person for someone,” she says. “I want to develop relationships
with patients and help them through a time in their life that might be
difficult or scary.” Two years later, Brooke became a Registered Nurse.
In 2005, Brooke accepted a position in the inpatient oncology unit
at Spectrum Health, a nonprofit health system in Western Michigan.
“Oncology patients are the coolest patients you’ll ever meet,” she
says. “They have every reason to be upset, but they’re the first ones to ask
about you. I absolutely love working with them.”

Life changes

When Brooke and her husband decided to start a family, she began to
think about going back to school for an MSN. During her maternity leave
with her second son, she attended an education day hosted by Spectrum,
and learned about American Sentinel University, where several of her
coworkers were also students. “I’m an extremely motivated person, and
knew that online learning fit my personality well,” Brooke says. While
raising a newborn and a toddler, she returned to work and started the RN
to MSN in 2013.

www.americansentinel.edu

8 | Transforming Healthcare Through Education