{"id":477,"date":"2021-06-08T13:42:07","date_gmt":"2021-06-08T17:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/biology\/?p=477"},"modified":"2021-06-08T13:42:07","modified_gmt":"2021-06-08T17:42:07","slug":"physiology-graduate-alissa-copeland-looks-ahead-to-a-career-as-a-nurse-practitioner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/biology\/2021\/06\/08\/physiology-graduate-alissa-copeland-looks-ahead-to-a-career-as-a-nurse-practitioner\/","title":{"rendered":"Physiology Graduate Alissa Copeland looks ahead to a career as a Nurse Practitioner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi! My name is Alissa Copeland and I am a graduate of the University of Scranton\u2019s Class of 2021. I earned a Bachelor\u2019s degree in Physiology with a minor in Psychology, and I graduated with Magna Cum Laude honors. \"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

When I first began at Scranton, I was actually majoring in neuroscience on a pre-med track. However, I soon came to realize that my scope of study was somewhat narrow, and I wanted to explore coursework outside of the nervous system. After researching more about different majors, I discovered the new major in physiology at Scranton, an up-and-coming major that incorporates all of the systems in the human body. I learned that the opportunities in the field of physiology were endless – you could pursue medical school, nursing, physical therapy, physician\u2019s assistant, etc. This is when I decided to enroll in physiology courses to gain a broader understanding of all the systems in the body. I quickly fell in love with this immersive program and switched into the Physiology major!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The physiology program challenged me, yet rewarded me. I took courses such as Advanced Human Anatomy & Physiology I & II, Cellular and Integrative Physiology, and others that gave me a holistic understanding of physiology – but then I also got to explore specific systems through elective courses such as Genetics, Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy, Cellular & Molecular Neurobiology, and Cardiovascular Physiology. I feel confident in saying that I now have a holistic, deep understanding of the systems in the body, and that I didn\u2019t simply memorize and regurgitate material on my exams. This is really what distinguished physiology in my mind from other science majors – we are taught how integrative and codependent the different body systems are, and we learn to problem solve and piece all of this knowledge together.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the past four years, I have developed a passion for physiology, for learning, and for helping others. I was able to gain hands-on experience outside the classroom as well, in which I volunteered as a medical scribe at our school\u2019s local clinic, worked as a pharmacy technician at CVS Health, and volunteered as a hospital transporter in my hometown. I was able to see various areas of medicine and healthcare, and with all of these exposures, I came to the conclusion that I will be pursuing further schooling after graduation. I will be attending an Accelerated BSN program in 2022 followed by graduate school, to achieve my ultimate goal of becoming a Nurse Practitioner and helping others!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I am so thankful for all of the opportunities given to me by the University of Scranton and the Physiology program. I can\u2019t wait to apply all that I have learned at the University of Scranton in my future education and career!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi! My name is Alissa Copeland and I am a graduate of the University of Scranton\u2019s Class of 2021. I earned a Bachelor\u2019s degree in Physiology with a minor in Psychology, and I graduated with Magna Cum Laude honors. When … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,19,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alumni-profiles","category-physiology-first-graduates","category-student-success"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/biology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/biology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/biology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/biology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/164"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/biology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=477"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/biology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":479,"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/biology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477\/revisions\/479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/biology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/biology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/biology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}