Education Pipeline Helps Keep Students in the Community They Love

Celene Boyce, DNP, AGACNP-BC did her clinical rotations in the Baystate Health system as a doctoral student at Elms College and appreciated her “great education” so much that she accepted her “perfect job” in Baystate Medical Center's Surgical Trauma ICU.

She's the one now teaching Advanced Practice students—and recently won the Above and Beyond Preceptor of the Year Award.

Dr. Boyce has lived in western Massachusetts her entire life, loves the area, and wanted to stay local for college and career.

"This highlights the success of the Baystate education pipeline—a former student who trained here is now not only employed with us but is also educating current students at her former institution who will be the future generation of Advanced Practice Providers in healthcare, " said Hadley Byrne, Student Placement Coordinator, Healthcare Education Office.

Baystate's Affiliations with Local Educational Institutions a "Plus"

Boyce says she was fortunate that the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree was offered locally and the program's affiliation with Baystate Health was an “outstanding plus.”

She did her hospitalist and emergency medicine rotations at Baystate Wing community hospital, and another two rotations at Baystate Medical Center—in the heart and vascular critical care and medical intensive care units.

"People tend to gravitate towards facilities where they had a good experience during their clinical rotations," she said. "Baystate being affiliated with academic institutions in the community and offering rotations increases the potential that students stay within the Baystate Health system once they graduate."

Boyce Sought an Environment with a Large Focus on Learning

"Based upon my experience during my clinical rotations, I knew that Baystate had a welcoming culture, prided themselves on being a great learning environment, and strove for excellence in care," Boyce said. "Those were all the qualities that I was looking for."

After about a year and a half as a nurse practitioner in the SICU, she felt ready to pass along the knowledge gained during her career as well as what she learned from the Baystate preceptors that taught her.