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TRACEY BIXLER

BSN GRADUATE

25-Year Geisinger Nurse Earns BSN, Begins MSN

Tracey Bixler is “born and bred in Shamokin,” having grown up
in the small Pennsylvania town. After high school, she attended the
Pennsylvania State University main campus, majoring in pre-medicine,
but soon switched gears and decided to become a nurse. Tracey earned
a nursing diploma at Geisinger Medical Center School of Nursing in 1992
and began her career in the emergency department of Shamokin Area
Community Hospital.

A Merger With Geisinger

Twenty years later, Shamokin merged with Geisinger Health. Tracey
stayed on with the newly combined organization, but became the
emergency department team coordinator. The family atmosphere is
what’s kept her around all these years. “I love the community feeling of my
hospital and I love the Geisinger organization,” she says. “I work in a unit
with people who have each other’s backs—if one of us needs coverage,
someone steps up to help. We are an excellent team that works great
together. This is where I want to be.”

Pushed Toward The BSN

When Tracey became a team coordinator, it became required by Geisinger
that she earn a BSN within five years. “I’d thought about earning a
bachelor’s degree through the years, but it was always, ‘Maybe next
year,’ until it was required of me,” she says. As an educational partner
of American Sentinel University, Tracey explored the BSN program at
the encouragement of her manager and ended up starting right away—
alongside a friend at work. “I was scared about returning to school, but one
class in and I wondered what I was ever afraid of. Since then, I’ve referred
many other people. American Sentinel’s support and library services are
just great. I had a really great time and was impressed with the program.”

www.americansentinel.edu

4 | Transforming Healthcare Through Education