From Nurse to Dean: Dr. Cynthia McCurren's Successful Graduate School Path

Graduate education is often seen as a pivotal point in advancing one’s career and personal development. The journey, while arduous, offers substantial rewards and opportunities. In a recent episode of the Victors in Grad School podcast, Dr. Cynthia McCurren shared her extensive experience in the field of nursing education, highlighting key elements that influence success in graduate school. Below, we distill some of her most valuable insights and advice for anyone considering or currently navigating the journey of graduate education.

The Spark: Recognizing the Need for Advanced Education

Dr. McCurren began her educational journey at the University of Missouri in Columbia, where she studied nursing. After working in the field for seven years, she realized that advancing her education was necessary for her career development and personal growth. She was motivated by a combination of intrinsic desire for knowledge and the practical need to meet the academic requirements for a faculty position in higher education.

For many, the decision to pursue graduate education often stems from a similar dual motivation. Whether it’s the allure of expanding one’s knowledge base or the necessity to advance in a chosen profession, identifying the underlying reasons for this pursuit can provide a strong foundation and a clear sense of purpose.

Balancing Life and Education: A Careful Juggle

One of the prevalent themes in Dr. McCurren’s narrative is the challenge of balancing life responsibilities with academic pursuits. Being a married mother with young children, she had to consider factors such as geographic convenience, childcare, and financial stability when deciding where to continue her education.

Dr. McCurren’s situation is not unique. Many graduate students face similar challenges. She advises a realistic approach: accept that life will never be without its complications and that there’s no perfect time to return to school. Instead, focus on making the conditions manageable.

Key Tips:

• Seek Convenience: Opting for a geographically convenient school can alleviate commuting stress and time constraints.
• Plan Financially: Look for scholarships, grants, and part-time work opportunities to reduce financial burdens.
• Utilize Support Systems: Rely on family or social networks for childcare and other support to focus on academic responsibilities.

Embracing Research and Intrinsic Motivation

During her master's program, Dr. McCurren discovered an unexpected passion for research, which significantly shaped her career trajectory. The excitement of conducting original research and the desire to contribute new knowledge to the field of nursing propelled her forward, eventually leading her to pursue a PhD at the University of Kentucky.

Intrinsic motivation is crucial for success in graduate school. Pursuing an advanced degree simply for external rewards, such as job security or increased salary, may not sustain long-term commitment and enthusiasm. Dr. McCurren emphasizes the importance of finding genuine interest and value in your field of study.

Key Tips:

1. Find Your Passion: Engage deeply with your subject to uncover areas that genuinely excite you.
2. Commit to the Journey: Let intrinsic motivation drive you through challenging courses and research projects.

Overcoming Academic Hurdles: Discipline and Dedication

Transitioning from undergraduate to graduate study requires a high level of self-discipline and dedication. Dr. McCurren stressed treating studies with the seriousness of a job. Setting aside dedicated time each day for study and ensuring a disciplined approach can help maintain academic success.

Moreover, understanding the value of every course, even those that seem tangential to your primary interests, can enrich your educational experience. For instance, Dr. McCurren highlighted the unexpected benefits of courses in philosophy and language proficiency during her PhD.

Key Tips:

Structured Schedule:

• Create and adhere to a consistent study schedule to manage time effectively.
• Open-Minded Learning: Approach every course with an open mind and a willingness to discover its value.

Advice for Aspiring Graduate Students

Dr. McCurren’s experience offers practical advice for those considering graduate education. Talking to colleagues, seeking career coaching, and consulting with both educational institutions and employers are pivotal steps for a well-informed decision. Early planning and not postponing the pursuit of higher education can mitigate challenges and set the stage for a fruitful academic journey.

Key Tips:

• Early Preparation: Avoid waiting for the ‘perfect time’ to pursue further education.
• Consult Widely: Seek advice from a variety of sources to make informed decisions.

The path to graduate education is fraught with challenges, but with the right mindset and preparation, it can lead to immense personal and professional growth. Dr. Cynthia McCurren’s journey underscores the importance of intrinsic motivation, disciplined study habits, and strategic planning. By embracing these principles, aspiring graduate students can navigate their educational journeys with clarity and purpose, ultimately achieving their academic and career goals.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:01]:
Welcome to the victors in grad school, where we have conversations with students, alumni, and experts about what it takes to find success in graduate school.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:11]:
Welcome back to Victor's in Grad School. I'm your host, doctor Christopher Lewis, director of graduate programs at the University of Michigan Flint. Really excited to have you back again this week. Every week, I love being on this journey with you. This opportunity for us to talk every week about the opportunity to go and continue your education, but to do it in the right way and to prepare yourself for the things ahead. And there are things that you can do. There are things you can do right now, even before you step foot in that classroom, before you even decide to apply, to start thinking about your ultimate success in going through this journey. And that's why this podcast exists.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:50]:
I bring you different people every week that have gone through different experiences that have led them to getting that graduate degree, to being successful in that graduate pathway for themselves. And they have done it and you can too. That's why every week we bring you those people so that you can hear them, learn from them and be able to go from there to be able to add some tools to your toolbox and be able to then prepare yourself even more for the application and for the journey itself. We've got another great guest with us today. Doctor Cynthia McKiernan is with us today. She is the Dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Michigan Flint. I'm really excited to have her here and for sharing her journey with you. Cynthia, thanks so much for being here today.

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:01:37]:
It's my delight. Look forward to sharing my experiences.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:01:40]:
Now I know that you started your journey University of Missouri in Columbia, and you ended up going there, you decided to study nursing, you ended up graduating from that program worked for a number of years. And at some point during that time, you were out in the workforce, you were working as a nurse, and there had to been some kind of inkling, something that made you decide that it was time, it was time to continue my your education. Talk to me about that moment, that spark, that thing that made you decide, I wanna go further.

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:02:15]:
Actually, I I have made this decision to go to graduate school twice in my life. So once to pursue my master's of science in nursing and then ultimately to pursue my PhD in nursing. But my first decision to do the master's degree came about 7 years after I had completed my baccalaureate degree, after I had had several years of clinical experience, had done some part time teaching in a baccalaureate program, the clinical education component. And I became very aware that if I wanted to continue with having an opportunity to serve as a faculty member in higher education, I was going to have to advance my degrees. So that was one reason. But the second reason was I was just highly motivated, had a lot of intrinsic motivation to want to advance my knowledge. I wanted to have a greater understanding of underlying mechanisms from a pathophysiological perspective, pharmacological, etcetera, behind the conditions in which I found myself working with as a nurse. And I also had great admiration for those nurses who I had the honor of working with who had that kind of knowledge.

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:03:26]:
And it was like, I wanna grow up and be like you sort of a phenomena. So I knew that by going back and advancing my education, I could attain that greater breadth of knowledge and also attain advanced clinical skills so that I could have different kinds of clinical positions within the care delivery system. So that was my real motivation. While I was pursuing my master's degree at the University of Missouri in Columbia, I finished the requirements to be what was a title called a clinical nurse specialist for adult nursing. But surprisingly, I became quite bitten, if you will, by the excitement of research. In my master's program, we have a lot of intensive focus on learning how to be a researcher. We had to do an independent original research project for our thesis. We had a fair amount of statistical requirements in that degree program, and I actually conducted an original study and published it.

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:04:29]:
So all that was very exciting for me. Ultimately, I did secure a position in a university that was a research one level university. By then, I had moved out of the state of Missouri and was living in Louisville, Kentucky, and I was working at the University of Louisville. And I knew that in order to keep a faculty position, number 1, I had to have a PhD. So part of it was just knowing if I wanted to continue in that kind of a faculty capacity, I would need my PhD. But I also worked with colleagues that I respected and I wanted to be like them. Again, I'm motivated by what my colleagues are able to do, and they were very experienced in executing their ability as a researcher in addition to being a faculty member. And I wanted to have parity with them.

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:05:19]:
I wanted to be able to contribute to new knowledge for nursing and understand how to do that in ways more advanced than what I'd gotten in my master's program. So that was my real drive to go back and get my PhD.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:05:34]:
So talk to me about I know that you like I said, you got your bachelor's degree and your master's degree at the same institution. It probably had some options and you could have chosen to go somewhere else and get a different experience. So let's first talk about the master's degree. And what made you decide to stay at the same institution versus going somewhere

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:05:54]:
else? Well, I think I'm not unlike many individuals, and I'll just say particularly women, probably. Because by this time, I was married. I did have a child. I had to think about the security of my husband's employment and where he worked, and I had to think about having resources available to me to for childcare. At so geographical convenience was part of why I chose to go back to the University of Missouri Columbia. And at the same time, I would never tell anyone, including I didn't tell myself that that's your only choice. So if it hadn't been known for its quality and its rigor, I wouldn't have gone there. So I I think I got all of it in one.

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:06:44]:
It was convenient geographically for me. It was about a 45 minute commute, so that was possible. And I lived in an area where I had some family members that could help me with child care as well as having child care established before I started back. And then, as I said, my husband could keep his employment, and we had secure income, and that was my choice for the University of Missouri Columbia.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:07:08]:
Now you ended up deciding, you said you got those experiences in research that kind of pushed you further, and you wanted to go further the talk to me about the decision there because you ended up going to the University of Kentucky. Again, there are other programs across the nation. You were going to this program was away from where you went for your bachelor's and master's. So what were you looking for in that PhD? And what made you decide to ultimately attend the University of Kentucky?

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:07:45]:
So one of the things that surprised me in my master's program, I didn't expect that my population of interest that I was doing my research on is I turned to geriatrics, and I didn't expect that going in. It just was an interest that developed. So when you are seeking your PhD, you're looking for a place where there are individuals who have like expertise within the graduate program so that they'll be good mentors and can help you with that. So I was fortunate in that once again, by the time I was seeking my PhD, which was about 5 years after I'd completed my master's, by then I had a second child. So and I was living in a state of where I had no family in Kentucky. As I said, we had moved to Louisville, and I needed to think about geographic convenience as well. Once again, my husband had a new position in Kentucky, and he traveled Monday through Friday. So I basically was like a single parent during the week.

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:08:41]:
So I needed to think about managing how I would go back and do this given my personal circumstances as well. So, actually, when I I mentioned that with the master's degree, you wanna ensure that you go to a program that's got quality and rigor and so forth, and there was not a PhD program in the state of Kentucky until the program opened at the University of Kentucky Kentucky in Lexington, And I was actually in the 1st cohort of nursing students. So I might've had some trepidation about that because it didn't have a reputation, if you will, as a program for getting a nursing PhD. However, the university itself and the graduate program has a very strong reputation. And of course, all PhD programs fall under the graduate school. And so there's lots of obligation to meet the expected criteria. So I had confidence because of that. And then there were individuals that did gerontological research.

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:09:39]:
And so that was another plus for me. I had, a colleague that lived in Louisville that also was going to be in this cohort so we could share transportation. Cost was a big problem for me at that time. So being able to share the cost of commuting, which was about an hour in this case, and also in state tuition was important for me at that point. So I really was grateful when a PhD program opened in the state that I could attend, and that was that was, a lot of it. And I was able to continue some part time employment with the University of Louisville because they certainly encouraged me to go back and get the doctoral degree. I was able to figure out my parenting responsibilities and have childcare and then have someone to commute with.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:10:25]:
Now for each of these opportunities, these experiences that you had in graduate education, you had to make transitions. And the way that you are taught as a undergraduate student is different than the way you're taught as a master's student, is different than what you're taught as a PhD student. There's transitions amongst all of those, and you have to be able to set yourself up to be able to find success. So and you were able to find success, you've gone through those different programs. What did you have to do to be able to set yourself up for success as you entered into these different programs and different experiences and different institutions? And what did you have to do to maintain that success throughout your graduate school experience?

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:11:07]:
I think the biggest focus I needed to have was self discipline. And I had to think about going to school like a job, if you will, in that if you have a job, you have to clock in at 8 o'clock, and you clock out at 5 o'clock, whatever or whatever your situation is. So I had to think about reserving time every day as if my studying and my success and my academic endeavor was like my job. And that was very it was it it's tempting if someone's not there. You don't have a task that you have to finish for your employer or whatever. It's it's tempting to be distracted, but you can't be. You have to really put your effort for it. The other thing is that sometimes we have to take courses that would they just don't appeal to us, And we're just not interested in them.

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:11:54]:
And it's very hard to focus or discipline yourself to want to study that. So I tried very hard to make sure that I really appreciated every course I was taking and strove to understand why it was valuable. So I always say, take your blinders off, you know, but keep your mind open to why you're taking a particular course. I'll just give you an example. One of the courses that you were required to take in your PhD program was a philosophy course. And I just could not get into that esoteric kind of a realm and and had a hard time figuring out how it was gonna help me in what I was pursuing trying to do. So I just I would share in dialogue with my colleagues and my cohort, and we really tried to learn to find the value of why we had to take that particular course. Another course that I had to take in my PhD program was I had to show proficiency in reading another language.

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:12:44]:
And I thought, why am I doing this? You know, it felt like a checkbox. But at the end of the day, there was value in that too. And I had to, again, just discipline myself to appreciate why I was being asked to do what I was asked to do. And then as I said, disciplining my time. The other thing was controlling how much time I worked, my actual employment. And I knew I couldn't continue to work 40 hours a week and also be successful in graduate school. So in my master's and my doctoral program, both, I worked very part time. I was very lucky that I was able to apply for both of my degrees.

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:13:22]:
I was able to get a federal nurse scholarship, and it completely it was a traineeship, and it paid for all my tuition. I never paid a dime for either one of my graduate degrees in terms of tuition. And even in my master's program, I got $250 a month, I remember as a stipend as well. So I was very, very fortunate for that. But any way that you can seek scholarships or opportunities to help offset the cost of tuition, that takes a great burden off of you in terms of your worry or your ultimate debt, and also how many hours you have to work.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:13:56]:
Now I know throughout your career, you've had a lot of opportunities to be able to work your way up in regards to leading different nursing endeavors at different institutions. You've been an interim dean. You've been deans at other institutions. You've even been the president of the Michigan Association of the College of Nursing. You've gotten very involved at the national level with the Association For Nursing as well. You've been very involved in the profession itself, and you've worked with many students along the way at different levels. You've engaged with different students at different levels and probably seen students come in and struggle and have their own challenges. As you're working with students, as you're working with the faculty that you work with now and they're working with students, what are some of the biggest challenges that you're seeing with students entering into graduate study right now? And what would you say to them?

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:14:52]:
Well, some of what I was just alluding to, I I think one of the biggest challenges is always the cost and how much they continue to try to work while they're trying to do their graduate education. So I think you have to be very thoughtful about intentionally recognizing what your challenges are going to be once you decide that you wanna go back and pursue your education. And there's no reason to fool yourself that they're not gonna be a problem or that they're gonna go away. You have to be intentional about planning for how you're gonna manage them. So I don't think I'm unlike many individuals who come in to advance their education in nursing. Even though there's been a number of years ago that I did my graduate work, students still have to worry about those same issues. Most of us, by the time in nursing that we're pursuing graduate education, we've started families. We have children.

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:15:39]:
We have those obligations. Our lifestyle and our commitments are already dependent on our income. So we have to think about how are we going to manage that? I think, how do you do that? Well, being intentional about what it is you're going to pursue. You don't go back and pursue a graduate degree just because you think it'll help your work schedule. Like, if I have a graduate degree, I can work Monday through Friday and not have 247 obligations, which many nurses in different kinds of staff positions have. So that can't be your driving force. You need to work with your employer. I think it's very wise to have some career coaching, become aware of what are the possibilities in nursing education and in my career, and what should I pursue that are really helped me get there.

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:16:24]:
And then in that coaching or, working with a consultant is what what are ways that I can do that, and how can I make it manageable to fit my lifestyle or or my commitments that I have? And also those individuals can begin to direct you towards ways that you can get sources for scholarships or loans that are feasible. And there are quite a few in nursing and particularly right now at the state and the federal level that they're trying to draw individuals into the profession, that they're trying to create financial support. So those are some things I think are really important for them to think about. The other thing is don't put off seeking your graduate education. Many of us keep waiting for the perfect time. So when we first graduate, we think, oh, I'm I'm done. I don't wanna go back to school, but be thoughtful. Be thoughtful early before you have some of the commitments that you have, if at all possible.

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:17:18]:
And if you look at other graduate degrees in healthcare disciplines, they're going straight from their baccalaureate into their graduate work. So whether it's a physician or a physical therapist or whatever, they're going usually going straight on into their advancing their education, whereas nurses enter professionally at the baccalaureate level. So it's a bigger challenge for us to figure that out. But if you keep waiting for the perfect time in your life when you have no obligations, that doesn't happen either. It's always something that makes it not the perfect time. So just try to think about if it's not perfect, then how will I make it so that it's manageable? And I can pursue this full time. I can probably pursue it part time if I need to. Consultation from your educational program that you choose and consultation from your employer about how they'll support you.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:18:06]:
You know, one of the other questions that I guess that I would have is that, as I said, you've had a lot of different experiences. You've worked at a lot of different institutions. You currently are at the University of Michigan Flint. You are the dean of the School of Nursing. Talk to me about all of your graduate work and the experiences that you've had in your career, and how that coalesces into the work that you do on a daily basis as a dean now at the University of Michigan Flint, and how those past experiences, that past graduate education is forming your direction in regards to the way in which you are leading and pushing the nursing programs at the University of Michigan Flint to be different, to grow, to learn, and to be able to be better aligned for student success?

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:18:55]:
So I think there's no better experience one can have in life than to have the lived experience that you're trying to help others go through. And so one of the things I'm grateful for, even though my trajectory through my career has been a little slower than might have been ideal, but I also lived each experience that I think my students have for the most part. I know what it's like, as I've already described, to get my baccalaureate degree, decide to pursue graduate education, to realize what was gonna be difficult about it, to still want to do it all, wanted to be a mom, wanted to be a wife, wanted to work. I wanted to be the best nurse possible, wanted to be successful. So all those things made me understand and appreciate the stress that sometimes cause. Things happen as you go along, and I certainly had a lot of personal things happen to me that sometimes made me feel like I wasn't gonna be able to achieve where I was trying to get to. And so that gave me a lot of internal resilience, not to wear that word out, and to understand what it's like to have these really big setbacks in your life and how you pick yourself up and keep going. So I've had that.

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:20:04]:
We learn so much from adversity is what I'm trying to say. So I think I can help students from that perspective. I haven't had it smooth sailing. It hasn't been a faculty, I've also been a very novice faculty member. I've been the faculty member that didn't have their doctoral degree yet. I've been the one who went back to school while I was trying to teach and get my doctoral degree. I know what it's like to go through the journey to be a faculty member and what it takes to continue to strive and meet your students' expectations. The other thing is that I've mentioned this earlier that this idea of intrinsic motivation, you should never try to go back to school because I have to do it and keep my job.

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:20:49]:
So if I had entered into my PhD, for example, not really wanting to do it, but just having to do it in order to keep my position, I don't think I could have been as successful as I was in that particular pursuit. So being intrinsically motivated, I would avoid thinking I just need the letters as a credential, and I just want to do this quick, easy, and cheap because that will make you feel like an imposter then. You really have to realize that it's up to you to get the most out of it that you can. So I tell that to students that I work with. I think that most of the time when I'm working with individuals that are considering whether or not to advance their education, I would say they don't know what they don't know. So I'm gonna go back to how important it is when you're thinking that that might be what you wanna do. Take the time to talk to people who can give you guidance, to consult with you, to coach you, help you think through where do you wanna go in your career. There's nothing more disheartening than to pursue a graduate degree and achieve it and then not use it or not want to use it.

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:21:50]:
It's not what you wanted to do, and that does happen. And so I would want to avoid that. Like I said, it's not just the letters behind your name. It's not just the credential. It's really feeling like you've achieved the competencies that you need to do what you wanna do or that you can at least scaffold for how you'll continue to be a lifelong learner.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:22:09]:
All great points. I really appreciate you sharing that and for sharing your journey today. Now, I guess as you think about any student, whether it be a student going into nursing or any field, if as they're thinking about graduate school and they're thinking this might be the right time, this might be the opportunity that I've been waiting for, what are some tips that you might offer to those individuals that are considering graduate education that would help them find success sooner?

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:22:36]:
Well, I don't wanna seem like a broken record, but talking to your colleagues, your friends that you work with, those who have thought, I don't wanna get a graduate degree. I have no need to. You know, find out what's behind it. What's behind that? Why do they think they don't want to? Those who have pursued it, those who pursued it successfully and felt like it made a difference for them, as well as those who pursued it and thought it was a waste of time, if that would be the case. I guess what I'm trying to say is learn from others who've had experience. Of course, you hope that if it's something you really want to do, you want to get yourself around those who can show you the positive side of pursuing the education and can show you the positive outcome of having advanced education. I think anyone who's unhappy with advancing their education in any area, whether nursing or otherwise, it's because they didn't put the right thought or research or preparation prior to going into the choice and then making sure that you can have a disciplined commitment to be successful.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:23:38]:
Well, Cynthia, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for sharing your journey today, for sharing all of this advice, and I wish you all the best.

Dr. Cynthia McCurren [00:23:46]:
Thank you. What a great opportunity. Hope I made a difference for someone.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:23:49]:
The University of Michigan Flint has a full array of master's and doctorate programs. If you are interested in continuing your education. Whether you're looking for in person or online learning options, the University of Michigan Flint has programs that will meet your needs. For more information on any of our graduate programs, visit umflint.edu/graduateprograms to find out more. Thanks again for spending time with me as you prepare to be a victor in grad school. I look forward to speaking with you again soon as we embark together on your graduate school journey. If you have any questions or want to reach out, email me at [email protected].