Amanda Byler
“I chose SVSU because I heard about the quality of its nursing program from counselors and others.”
“The nursing program is definitely a challenge, even more than I expected. Academically you learn how to prioritize your time and energy, how to study effectively, and how to make decisions.”
“One of the best features of the program is that exceptional quality students are selected, and when you enter the program, you enter with a group of peers who will move through the program with you. Our groups bond and become very close-knit, almost like a family.”
“My two favorite professors are Professor Gravier and Professor Hewitt. They are both excellent teachers and have lots of experience. They taught me to consider the whole emotional and physical person as a holistic being as a part of my nursing philosophy.”
Amanda recently completed an honors thesis project as a student in SVSU’s Honors Program.
“The Honors Program paired me with Dr. Dutta of the psychology department, who is working on a research project comparing patients in the United States and India." Amanda was given a manageable portion of the research to assist with, which she eventually prepared as her own finished project.
“I was surprised at how much I could do. It was a wonderful experience to learn about the history and conventions of a new discipline (psychology), and I also learned that there is a whole lot more than meets the eye to scholarly research projects.”
In Amanda’s project, she looked at ways of measuring the overall sense of control that patients feel they have over their own lives in the U.S. and India, and then looked at the overall effect of this sense of control on the patients well-being over the lifespan.
“This project fit perfectly with my nursing education, because as a nurse, I am required to look at the patient as a whole person, not simply a condition. Having a sense of control helps people in the long run, and doing this research will allow me to better help patients have a sense of control over their own lives.”