Brandy Brogdon uses a special stethoscope to listen to her patients' heartbeats. The equipment, which amplifies the heart sounds and reduces ambient noise, is designed for health practitioners such as herself who have a hearing disability.

Adaptive equipment like the stethoscope helped Brogdon, who graduated from Pellissippi State's Nursing program in May, achieve her dream of becoming a nurse.

"I remember listening to my youngest child's tummy and hearing bowel sounds for the first time," she said. "They actually sounded like a baby dragon. Those stethoscopes served me well in terms of identifying heart and lung sounds, and I use them on the job now."

Adaptive equipment certainly aided Brogdon, but she still had plenty of challenges to work through in pursuing her degree.

In 2013, the single mother had her hands full raising three daughters when she became a displaced worker. It was then that the first-generation college student decided to apply to, and was accepted in, Pellissippi State's Nursing program.

"Juggling time for school and family was always a challenge," she said. "I improvised. I made time for both by taking a book with me when I took my children to the park or the pool. I stayed up late to study for tests, and most mornings I was up early."

Her oldest daughter, now 12, helped her around the house, as did Brogdon's father.

 "In addition to lab requirements, simulation experiences, and clinical and lecture time," she said, "I had to put a great deal of effort into studying the material so I could maintain a passing grade. I'm sure there were others who didn't struggle, but I did."

Her efforts certainly paid off: She graduated as a member of Pellissippi State's honor society, Phi Theta Kappa, having served as co-president of the Nursing class for a semester. Today, she's employed at Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center.

Brogdon was assisted along the way by student scholarships and the support services offered by Pellissippi State and the Tennessee Career Center. It was through the Career Center that she first tried the electronic stethoscope that allows her to hear the body's internal sounds.

Brogdon speaks highly of the support she received in school, from both faculty at Pellissippi State and staff of the Tennessee Career Center. But Connie Harrison of the Tennessee Career Center, which is funded through the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, is clear about just who is responsible for Brandy Brogdon's success.

"That young lady is just unbelievable," Harrison said. "I'm so proud of her. I watched her walk through our doors a displaced worker, and I watched her walk out a registered nurse."

Brogdon is happy to be back at work, and happier to have found a way to help other people.

"I worked for eight years as a paralegal, and I spent most of my legal career reviewing medical records," she said. In her job, she had to learn a lot of medical terminology and even about the anatomy and physiology of the human body.

"When I first decided to pursue nursing, it was to take my legal career a step further. But after beginning the clinical portion of the program, my ideas quickly changed. I found myself caring for patients one on one, which proved to be more rewarding than just reading about their care. I knew I had the potential to change the quality of care rendered to patients."

As a recent graduate of Pellissippi State's Nursing program, she's doing just that.

For more information about Pellissippi State's Nursing program, visit www.pstcc.edu/nursing.