I want to share with you why I'm proud of my education at The College of The Bahamas. After graduating from COB, I gained initial work experience at Princess Margaret Hospital, Doctors Hospital and The Walk-In Medical Clinic with Dr. James Konstantakis. Five years later, with plans to complete a masters degree, I enrolled in Adelphi University, New York. I was successful in passing the American Nursing boards (NCLEX) on my first attempt. At Adelphi, I was offered the opportunity to opt out of some of the core nursing courses by completing challenge exams. This allowed me to earn credits in addition to the ones already transferred from COB.

In 2000, I graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. In 2003, I graduated with a Master of Science in Nursing from Columbia University, New York. When our terminal theses were presented, I was one of only two students to receive a perfect A grade. More recently, I received the honor of being asked by my former program director at Columbia University to become an official preceptor for graduate students completing their Master of Nursing and specializing as family nurse practitioners. Upon leaving graduate school, I began my role as an adjunct nurse educator, both didactic and clinical, for undergraduate students.

When I compared and contrasted my early nursing education at COB with my New York experience, both as a student and an instructor, what stood out clearly as strengths of the program design at COB was its approach to both theory and clinical instruction. At COB, to assess our command of theory, we were examined primarily through long and short essays, which meant either you knew the material or you didn't. This is in contrast to the multiple choice format used primarily here in my New York experience. In a multiple choice exam a student can guess the correct answer, or increase the odds of a correct answer by eliminating the least likely ones.

As an educator, I embrace multiple choice questions as an efficient method of grading a large state or national student population. I acknowledge that multiple choice questions can be worded in varying degrees of difficulty. In the same vein I think of how easy it is for a group of students to cheat by communicating a designated letter during an exam, whereas in an essay format, such students would require prior access to the essay questions (provided a photo ID is confirmed and photographic gadgets are restricted).

As a COB graduate, I found that because I had already been rigorously grilled with essay writing, I did not have to invest time in eliminating answer choices on multiple-choice tests here in New York. I simply knew the answer. Essays were not worded so that the student merely regurgitated memorized pages from a textbook, or lecture notes, but rather to pinpoint gaps in our knowledge. Along with essay writing, we were frequently tested in subjects such as anatomy and physiology by being asked not only to label a diagram, but first to draw and then label a given body structure or map out a system, describing how it worked.

Here again, the high standard of testing required a COB nursing student to unequivocally know the material. In contrast to my American peers, we were tested in hands-on skills stations and introduced to real patients much earlier in our clinical component. We first shadowed experienced registered nurses and later trained under their direct supervision. Yes, videos and practice labs are essential learning tools. The novice RN, however, will tell you that the theory and the reality do not quite mesh until there is a living, breathing patient in front of you. There is a marked transformation when a student stands at the bedside of a very ill patient for the first time to provide care. It is unlike visiting a relative in one's personal life.

There is a sobering reality as the gravity of the undertaking sets in. Competent nursing demands a mastery of the science behind the spectrum of states of health and the unique skill set to be able to accurately and properly assess a patient's responses during periods of decline and restoration. That earlier introduction of the student to providing care to real patients I experienced at COB was key to preparing a new nurse to function after graduation. I want to highlight the prevailing culture I experienced at COB, for which I have remained grateful. During the application process, I recall a panel of nursing faculty interviewing us to assess our career plans and motivations, to determine whether we were potentially good fits for nursing.

Throughout the years, there existed a consistent climate of faculty setting high standards for us as students. Our evaluations were not limited to our scholastic achievements. It was impressed upon us as future nurses that we had inherited the responsibility of representing both the profession and The College of The Bahamas to our communities at large. I have so much respect for the faculty who clearly cared for us as individuals and were so invested in our success. I have remained in nursing because I love what I do. It is a part of what nurtures my soul on a spiritual level. For me, it remains rewarding and exciting.

I credit my education at COB in part for the trajectory of my academic success which has allowed me to remain relevant, marketable and competitive in what has become a very dynamic career environment. Given the quality of education afforded me at The College of The Bahamas, I have great expectations that The University of The Bahamas will come to be dubbed 'the Harvard of the Caribbean.' The UOB will offer every major program found in respected universities around the world. It can be done. Bahamians have what it takes.

We are not afraid of hard work, and excellence is what we strive for. I envision Bahamians who have educated themselves abroad returning to become UOB faculty. The day will come when there are waiting lists from international professors and students vying for a faculty position and seat at our university. Bahamians wanting all levels of training and certifications right up to masters and PhD levels will have the option of being at home with their families while attending UOB classes by day, night or on the weekends, part-time and full-time. It's going to be great! o Charity Francis is a former COB student and a nurse.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian