Finding Time and a Calling: Kiara Collins’ Journey to Becoming an RN
Written by:
Wilson College
• Jan 9, 2026
At 25 years old, Kiara Collins already has six years of healthcare experience. Before becoming a licensed practical nurse (LPN), she worked in allied health and has been both a medical assistant and a certified nursing assistant (CNA).
One of Collins’ most impactful career experiences was being part of an assertive community treatment (ACT) team, a group of healthcare professionals who help those with acute mental health needs live independently in their communities. Today, she works at a group home for individuals with behavioral and mental health issues.
“I pretty much handle all of their medical needs,” Collins said. “I give them their monthly injections to maintain baseline mental wellness, reorder medications, and I talk with the psychiatric MD a lot to coordinate care.”
Equipped with this impressive level of experience, Collins is ready to take the next step and is working toward becoming a registered nurse (RN).
As a very busy mother of a two-year-old, it initially looked like going back to school wasn’t going to be easy. However, in Wilson College Online’s LPN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program , Collins has found the support and education as an out-of-state online student to make it possible.
Making BSNs More Accessible to Talented Professionals
When Collins first started planning to go back to school, she was certain she’d have to retake the Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS) and a few of the classes she took as part of her LPN program. But after reaching out to Wilson, she discovered that wasn’t necessarily the case.
“Pretty much all I had to do was submit my transcripts, have a meeting with an advisor, and I was ready,” Collins said. “They also gave me 18 credits just for having my LPN.”
For someone who had recently moved away from her home state and support system to live in Delaware with her mother and young son, this streamlined process was a huge help. As classes began, she found that her instructors were just as committed to working with her needs as the admissions team.
“Of course there are deadlines when assignments are due and all of that, but you have a lot of flexibility and autonomy,” she said. “I also like the ease of being able to do online courses. I’m a single mom, so I don’t always have the time to be able to go and sit in a classroom for two or three hours.”
Providing Support for Meaningful Career Development
As much as Collins loves the flexibility Wilson provides to busy students, she’s the first to acknowledge that the curriculum is quite rigorous. After all, even for an experienced professional like her, becoming an RN means taking on more complex responsibilities.
However, Collins thinks Wilson’s faculty do an excellent job of easing students into the curriculum and the workload.
“There is a component of it kind of building your resilience,” she said. “For example, over the summer I took Fundamentals of Nursing, which was a four-credit course. The next course that I have is six credits, so there will be a lot more work that needs to be done.”
But whether Collins is preparing for pharmacology exams or completing interactive microbiology exercises, Wilson faculty are always there to help.
“I have one teacher in particular who is very near and dear to my heart,” she said. “I could email her right now and she’ll be like, ‘What’s your schedule so we can meet?’ Just having those people that will go the extra mile to make sure you understand the material—that’s really important.”
Beyond the Basics: Preparing Students to Overcome Personal and Professional Hurdles
Like many of her peers, Collins was drawn to nursing because of her innate compassion and empathy. During her time at Wilson, she’s had the opportunity to add new dimensions to these traits through a class on narrative medicine, an approach to healthcare that focuses on personal and emotional experiences.
In Wilson’s Narrative Empathy course, students write personal essays and other types of works. In some exercises, students are asked to write from a patient’s point of view. In others, they reflect on particularly difficult moments in their own careers. It has been one of Collins’ favorite classes so far.
“I just found it to be a really great place to express myself,” she said. “I was able to write an essay about a client who was in hospice who I took care of until she passed away.
“It’s a nice way to evaluate yourself as a caregiver. If you’re working in social services, healthcare, or in any other capacity where you have to take care of the general population, there’s always some risk for compassion fatigue.”
Compassion fatigue is a state of emotional exhaustion that can lead to feeling overwhelmed, apathetic, and generally withdrawn. Like burnout, it is particularly prevalent among nurses. Research shows that narrative medicine exercises can help caregivers of all kinds deal with both compassion fatigue and burnout, making it an invaluable tool for RNs at every level and in every specialty.
Find Out How Wilson College Online Can Help You Take the Next Step
As a junior in Wilson College Online’s LPN to BSN program, Kiara Collins has concrete plans for the immediate future. “I want to jump into critical psych once I graduate,” she said. “My degree will give me the autonomy to be able to do that.”
Just as importantly, though, Collins thinks her Wilson College Online experience has set her up to achieve her long-term goals as well. One day, she’d like to get her Master of Healthcare Administration degree. But, before that, she wants to pursue a more personal calling.
“I think women’s health will probably be the next space that I want to tackle,” she said. Ideally, she wants to be an RN caseworker who helps pregnant women utilizing public assistance programs.
“I actually graduated from my LPN program six months pregnant. I had a case worker who would call me and check in with me,” she said. “It would be like giving back and tying it all together. I’ll feel satisfied in my purpose.”
To find out how Wilson College Online can help you advance to the next step in your personal and professional journey, contact the admissions team or request more information today.
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