The Experience

“I feel like nursing is a quiet science. Nursing is not one of those things people think of when you say ‘science.’ They think of biology, chemistry, physics and disciplines like that. Nursing is a science with an added focus on the holistic, or the entirety of the human experience,” said Linville, the daughter of Raymond Linville, former dean of the Waldron College of Health and Human Services, chair of the communication sciences and disorders department, and a founding faculty member of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program.

Kaur considers her two years as a biological researcher a key investment in career success as a health care provider.

“We mostly got into it to strengthen our scientific research base,” said Kaur. “I wanted to look into research protocols and to analyze and apply them to what I am doing,” Kaur said. “I wanted to get comfortable with evidence-based practice. These are opportunities peripheral to daily nursing work that I know will be valuable.”

Kaur, a double major in nursing and Spanish, also considered the research opportunity a way to engage her curiosity and diverse interests.

“I just wanted to do what I found interesting. I like biology, I like Spanish and my goal is to be a nurse,” she said. “I like pushing myself to see what I can do and what I can achieve. Radford was a place to do them all.”

Kaur and Linville wrapped up the nursing student stages of their careers with practicums that entail 168 hours of 12-hour-a-day shifts at Roanoke Memorial Hospital — Kaur on the progressive care unit and Linville on the med/surg unit.

Both will also complete independent study projects — Kaur in Spanish, Linville in biology — to wind up their undergraduate careers at Radford.