LVN decides to take a shot

Mother of 8 studies to become RN; dreams of having 85-year-old RN mom pin her on graduation day

Jason Alford of Tyler, Jessica Fultner of Dallas and Mary Jane Mathis of Jacksonville are among a class of 40 nursing students at Tyler Junior College's new campus in Jacksonville. All three are taking a curriculum to transition from LVN to RN certification. Mrs. Mathis is a mother of eight children.

In August of 2008, Tyler Junior College partnered with East Texas Medical Center - Jacksonville to create a nursing school. Classes would be held at ETMC for individuals interested in either becoming a licensed vocational nurse (LVN) or transitioning from an LVN to a registered nurse (RN). This allowed brand new opportunities for students at TJC looking to get a headstart on their nursing careers.

The school also allowed one Jacksonville resident to live out her dream.

Mary Jane Mathis, 53, is one of 20 students taking part in TJC's LVN to RN transitional class, which meets one day a week on the fourth floor of ETMC - Jacksonville. Mrs. Mathis has worked as an LVN for 30 years and finally got the opportunity to become an RN with the start of the partnership.

"I can honestly say that I wouldn't have gone back to (nursing) school if the classes weren't offered right upstairs," Mrs. Mathis said. "ETMC has been great in helping me, making it to where I could work and go to school."

The proximity of the TJC nursing school made a difference to Mrs. Mathis, especially given her life at home. She is the mother of eight sons and daughters, five of whom were adopted. Each of the adopted children, ages 35, 23, 21, 18 and 14, is diagnosed with a developmental disability and lives with Mrs. Mathis and her husband at their home in Jacksonville.

"I knew it would be hard to go back and forth to Tyler with my job and with my kids," she said. "We have two old cars that aren't very dependable, so I was worried about transportation. Having the class here is truly a gift from God."

Mrs. Mathis and her husband served as foster parents for 16 years but found it hard to let go of the children they'd reared and loved.

"These were kids that were going to be placed in institutions but we loved them and didn't want to let go of them," she said. "They're a lot of fun and they have been a blessing."

The decision to become an LVN wasn't something that appealed to Mrs. Mathis after graduating from high school. This is despite the fact that her mother, now 85, was an RN and worked in Jacksonville at Nan Travis.

"She always wanted me to go back to nursing school," Mrs. Mathis said. "She's proud that I went back to nursing school."

She pauses, then laughs. "When I was younger, my mother told me, 'Don't be a nurse unless you want to work hard and not make much money. I was 17, 18 and had the opposite thought. I didn't want to work hard but make a lot of money."

Ms. Mathis received her associates degree from Jacksonville College and received her secretarial degree soon afterwards, but the call of nursing started to become alluring, even though life was making its presence felt.

"I'd gotten married while I was in college and I went to nursing school and loved it," she said. "It wasn't easy, though. After I finished, my husband and I lived with my mother-in-law."

That was the point where life intervened. Mrs. Mathis and her husband began to adopt their children and he became a minister. Mrs. Mathis went to ETMC and used her LVN training to carve out a nice career.

Now, almost 30 years later, Mrs. Mathis is taking advantage of the school located one floor above her station at the hospital. She takes classes one day out of the week with students half her age.

"These students are my children's age," she said. "I'm 53 and they're 20-22. It's interesting to see their perspective.

"Some may fail a test and simply shrug it off. I was the same way when I was their age, but I know that right now, I don't have that opportunity to fail."

She also wanted to become an RN knowing that time continued to move on and says that she could never see herself leaving Jacksonville.

"Most of them are young, so they'll have years to transition from LVN to RN," she said. "I don't have a lot of years left and I want to be an RN and work here in Jacksonville."

Mrs. Mathis also says that in addition to ETMC, the faculty members from TJC are helpful and inspiring as well.

"On one of our first days, they said to the class that they were here to make us successful," Mrs. Mathis said. "They said, 'If you have problems, we'll get face-toface with you and explain until you understand.' Hearing that was an encouragement to me."

Mrs. Mathis' dedication to her family, her job at ETMC as well as to her transition class is a fact that impresses ETMC Director of Nursing Jana Bateman.

"There is nothing average about Mary Jane," Ms. Bateman said. "She's a very caring individual and I love her attitude. We've hired some of the students in the LVN school as nurse technicians here at ETMC. I hope they love it here like Mary Jane does and choose to work here in Jacksonville."

Mrs. Mathis says that the most satisfying part of being a nurse, whether LVN or RN, is the people.

"I love just interacting with and helping patients," she said. "Nurses are, by nature, people pleasers. You do this job because you love people.

"I love hearing their appreciation. Every day, I just pray that I can make a difference."

It is evident that nursing runs in Mrs. Mathis' family. Her mother was an RN, Mrs. Mathis is training to become an RN and her 28-year-old daughter is currently an LVN at ETMC in Carthage. It is a proud tradition that her mother hopes to uphold in December.

"My mom says she's going to do everything she can to be healthy enough to pin me at my graduation," Mrs. Mathis said.