For one native New Yorker and military veteran, an area university is affording him the opportunity to continue making a difference in people’s lives.
Originally from North Bellmore, Long Island, Jason Kokoszka followed in his father’s footsteps (he’d been a mechanic in the Air Force) and joined the Army in 2001.
“My younger brother was in the Marines when 9/11 happened. I didn’t want to be home worrying about it, so I joined the Army the next day,” says Kokoszka.
He was immediately immersed in a mandatory urgent care training course on how to give IVs and morphine packs, and prepare common chest wounds and tourniquettes.
“I was deployed three times. You could be in the middle of nowhere without any doctors around. There are a lot of injuries and perhaps one or two medics per platoon of 130 guys. I started to grow interested in nursing,” says Kokoszka.
While in combat, Kokoszka developed another key skill — the ability to perform his job while under intense pressure.
“In a combat situation, there are things going on all around you. You put it out of your head and do what you’re trained to do,” he says.
Similarly, “In emergency rooms, there are often family members screaming and yelling,” he says.
While assigned to the Army Rangers Special Forces group in Iraq, Kokoszka was wounded as he jumped from a plane that was being shot at.
“I busted my knee, was on crutches for three and a half months, and had seizures for a while. Ultimately, this got me out of the military,” says Kokoszka, who was awarded the Purple Heart for his bravery.
Upon his return home in 2005, “My father got brain cancer, which was devastating. The nurses taking care of him made it easier. After that, I was set on [pursuing] nursing,” says Kokoszka.
Though he’d achieved a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice at St. John’s University, “I started going to Nassau Community College part-time to take nursing pre-requisite courses and achieved a 3.85 grade point average,” he says.
Kokoszka then had a chance encounter with a Stony Brook University representative. He learned that, thanks to a four-year, $1.3 million federal grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the school has launched a new Veterans’ Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, designed for vets or reservists with medical experience who want to become nurses.
Awarded to nine higher education institutions nationwide, the program starts in June 2014, but a total of eight veterans will be accepted into the program as of January, according to Dr. Lee Anne Xippolitos, dean of the Stony Brook University School of Nursing.
“This grant provides an opportunity to vets who have done wonderful things for us as Americans. The desire here is to help these people transition to nursing and use the skills they developed in the military. They love this country and love helping people,” says Xippolitos.
At the age of 36, Kokoszka was recently accepted as the first recruit into the B.S. program.
“Both the military and nursing fields are rewarding,” says Kokoszka. “The best part is helping people. I’m looking forward to that.”
For Ashley Dunscomb, a veteran of the United States Air Force and originally from Stony Brook, N.Y., the nurses and doctors she encountered while deployed inspired her to go in to the nursing field.
Born into a military family (her grandfather was in the Army/Air Corps, and her dad and brothers were in the U.S. Navy), Dunscomb enlisted as a reservist in 2009.
“Something inside of me was the driving force. I wanted to help be a part of something much bigger than I could do on my own. Something that helps a lot of people and the country as well,” she says.
Dunscomb volunteered for deployment to Afghanistan in April 2011 for a four-month tour on the very same day Osama Bin Laden was killed, she says.
“It’s difficult to learn your job if you’re only doing it one weekend a month as a reservist. For me, the best way to learn is to hit the ground running. I wanted to deploy as soon as possible,” she says.
Working in a combat zone was challenging.
“A war zone is a stressful situation to be in. It was nerve-wracking, but the best way to learn,” she says.
Working long hours was another aspect of her role, but through them, she gained exposure to the medical field and the personal rewards of such work.
“We worked 12-hour shifts each day. During downtime, we were requested to assist the medical wing with medical carries and evacuations. This propelled me to want to go in to nursing. I saw the unimaginable injuries and how much help we were able to provide — getting those who were injured onto an aircraft for transport to medical facilities that could save their lives. It was gratifying to be able to help,” says Dunscomb.
When Dunscomb returned home, “I looked into nursing programs, but didn’t know if I could start another four-year program financially and time-wise,” says Dunscomb, who already holds a degree in psychology from St. John’s University. “The Stony Brook program was ideal for me.”
Through Stony Brook’s accelerated BS program, vets can complete their degree in one year.
“If they need more time, we have a 2-year program,” says Lori Escallier, Principal Investigator of the Veterans’ Bachelor of Science in Nursing program (VBSN) and associate dean for evaluation and outcomes.
“It’s tailored to meet their needs. Students meet with an advisor and develop a pathway that works. If a student has extensive experience where they’ve performed certain medic responsibilities, for example, they wouldn’t necessarily have to take our nursing fundamentals class. We test their competencies in those areas to make sure they’ve achieved them and move on. There’s no redundancy in terms of courses, which has been seen as a barrier to the field in the past for vets,” says Escallier.
Having recently learned that she was a fit for the program, Dunscomb is looking forward to her new career path.
“The idea that I’m able to help other people in need is very rewarding,” she says.