In 1970 the single “The Long and Winding Road” was released. If anything, Dr. Charlene Aaron can relate to the title of the Beatles’ latest No. 1 hit. She has come such a long way to her current position and the new job she will be starting in July.
Dr. Aaron is in her seventh year at St. John’s College of Nursing, where she served as Chancellor and Professor. On July 5, she will begin her new job as president of Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing and Saint Anthony College of Nursing.
Aaron’s nursing journey began when he was a student at Fairbury-Cropsey High School. She graduated in 1976, but she took a break from her studies. Her first goal was to become a licensed practical nurse (LPN). She married Doug Aaron and they have two children, Matt and Whitney. She began her career at Saint James Hospital in Pontiac.
“After my daughter was born, I began my journey back to school to become a registered nurse,” Dr. Aaron said. “It took what felt like a long time because I had to go part-time.” She was raising her two children at the same time.
In 1994, Aaron received his Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Illinois Wesleyan. It helped her as she worked in the hospital and started working in long-term care.
“I wanted to lead nursing teams so I could organize how care was delivered,” Aaron said. “I thought I would like to be a leader in long-term care.
Before completing his bachelor’s degree, Aaron said he was offered the position of director of nursing at the Good Samaritan Home in Flanagan.
“I was the first in my class to get a job,” she said, noting that it happened three months before graduation. Aaron was only at Good Sam for six months before having to take on the role of administrator for about a year.
She liked the position but quit to take up the position of Director of Nursing at Fairview Haven in Fairbury. She then held the same position at Evenglow Lodge in Pontiac.
It was at Evenglow that Aaron decided to get her master’s degree, which she earned at Illinois State University’s Mennonite School of Nursing. She decided that maybe it was time for a different kind of work while working on the master’s degree.
“I had a conversation with the dean, she offered me a job at the Mennonite College of Nursing,” Aaron said. “This was a grant from the program to get student nurses to visit nursing homes to care for residents and learn about nursing and nursing homes.”
Aaron noted that at the time, she had become a student as well as a fellow staff member at the school. Part of his responsibilities included taking students to nursing homes for clinical experience in addition to hospitals.
“It went on for five years and it was a great program,” Aaron said. “It was called the ‘Nursing Home Project’. It was like a pilot, or a reboot, of a similar program at New York University. We have just reproduced it thanks to this grant.
It was this program that helped Aaron earn his doctorate. She said she was able to go to NYU and make connections while there. She wrote a scholarship that paid for her doctoral work at the University of Iowa.
“I went to a program that focused on elder care,” Aaron said. “This is my favorite patient population to care for.”
When the fellowship ended, he was offered a position at Mennonite as a teacher. This helped her take a new step in her career. She was presenting at a conference about minority nurses and leadership opportunities in nursing colleges and where progress needs to be made for people of color.
“Part of my thesis work was about leadership, so I went to this conference and gave a presentation about it,” Aaron said. “At the end of the day, someone in the audience commented on my presentation and let me know that there would be an open leadership opportunity in Springfield at St. John’s College of Nursing for the position of chancellor.”
She said she was encouraged to apply, which she did and she got the job.
While in St. John’s, Aaron said she was able to develop many programs. Among these is the Nursing Pipeline program, which is an after high school program. It allows high school students to come to St. John’s College after school, interact with faculty, and learn various aspects of nursing.
Aaron said she started a vocation program in Fairbury-Cropsey. She would go to school part of the day and then work at Fairbury Hospital.
At St. John’s, Aaron promoted the work that LPNs can do in hospitals, but sometimes aren’t allowed. She said they are not allowed to work to the full potential of their license, but are often treated as certified practical nurses (CNAs). They are not allowed to work at the top of their license, such as dispensing drugs or being in charge of a wing or department or even calling a doctor, Aaron said.
Aaron said she went to congratulate members of the LPN program in St. John’s for the first time and offered words of encouragement to keep moving forward in telling them her story.
“I told them it didn’t have to be a straight line,” Aaron said. “I told them there were times when it was really difficult. I was no longer needed at home, so I had to take a break and go part-time. When I shared these stories with them, I could see that I was getting their attention.
She added that there are many ways to become a registered nurse; we don’t have to take it the hard way like she did.
“Just think how much better off you will be and how much better able you will be to support your family if you put in the work and get your RN degree,” Aaron added. “Don’t just become an LPN. It’s a great achievement, but don’t stop there.
“When I said that, I really had their attention. We have some of these students in our program right now.
Diversity is a key part of Aaron’s method. She said 60% of the students in her program are people of color. She wants students to understand that they can go further.
“We’re in a good place where a lot of companies are trying to have a more diverse approach in working with people, hiring people of different colors and cultures, etc.,” Aaron said. “I feel good to have accomplished this during my time at St. John’s College.”
Aaron, a deeply religious person, knows that God is working through her and that his plans for her have created an opportunity to move from Springfield to Peoria.
Aaron said she learned of the need for a president for the college of nursing at Saint Francis in Peoria and Saint Anthony in Rockford. Having three sisters in Peoria made the decision to apply easy.
She will take up her new duties on July 5.
“I’m really glad they saw the potential in me, they respect my experience and see the value in what I’ve done in my career,” Aaron said.
“My main goal is to train more nurses,” she added. “We need to find out how we encourage more people in the community (to get into nursing). We have to let them know that it’s a pretty satisfying career. It really is an exciting time to be a nurse, to be a nurse educator and to be able to influence the care of communities.
Aaron will be responsible in Peoria and Rockford through OSF.
“I am so grateful to have this opportunity to continue to lead and develop more nurses in central and northern Illinois,” she said.
She will be mainly in Peoria but will be in daily contact with Saint Anthony via the internet. She will make trips to Rockford.
The program she is responsible for – LPN to BSN program – is the first in Illinois.
The Nursing Pipeline Preparatory Program (NP3) is an after-school program for which students must apply. At least a third of the students must come from poorer families, people of color, she said.
“We make sure we are aware that we are getting these kids.”
Her greatest support during her 45-year nursing career has come from her family, primarily her husband Doug. The two created a scholarship program at the Mennonite College of Nursing for nursing students interested in caring for the elderly. And, they created a scholarship at St. John’s College for faculty development.
“There’s no way I could do all of this without my husband’s support,” Aaron said. “I’ve been in school most of my adult life. He always supported me through all these goals that I had and that I was able to achieve. I couldn’t have done this without his support. »