How Calvin’s nursing program opened doors for Ben Ernstes
When Ben Ernstes ’28 was a senior in high school, he made a lot of campus visits. But one visit stood out to him.
“The people were all super accommodating,” said Ernstes of his visit to Calvin. “My mom and I went on some previous visits, and it was like the people didn’t pay any attention to us. It was like ‘oh, it’s another day.’ But, at Calvin, I had multiple people come up and talk to me.”
Ernstes felt seen and heard on his visit, and it wasn’t a façade. In fact, he has found his experience with professors exceeding his expectations.
“The professors are fantastic,” said Ernstes. “Even if the class is hard, I haven’t ever had an issue with coming to them and saying, ‘hey, I’m struggling here.’ And they have offered some help.”
Drawn in by strength of nursing program
While the support he’s felt is real, one of the key factors in his college decision related to the strength of the academic program he was looking at and its reputation in the community.
“I always knew I wanted to go into public service,” said Ernstes, whose grandma was a psych nurse, mom a teacher, and dad a police officer. “And near the end of my college search I decided on doing something in the health field. And Calvin honestly is one of the most accredited and best nursing programs in Michigan.”
His experience at Calvin has proven him right.
Gaining valuable experience right away
In his first two years, he gained a lot of hands-on experience in the classroom and lab, learning things like how to take a manual blood pressure, listen to the heart and lungs, and how to do a number of other assessments on patients. He also participated in a two-week winter intensive, which he describes as a “CNA training class,” where he worked with a certified nurse aide, gaining a lot of necessary patient care experience. As part of that, he spent three full days doing clinicals at Holland Home.
While he said his first day there was a bit shocking, he soon settled in, learned a lot, and was given more and more responsibility each day.
Opportunities continuing to open up
His experience, combined with his connection to Calvin, led to an opportunity this summer working full-time as a CNA in Kalamazoo, near his hometown of Otsego.
Now, while he studies at Calvin as a junior, Ernstes has landed another job working as a CNA in Grand Rapids.
“I feel companies seeing “Calvin” on your resume, that’s a big deal,” said Ernstes. “I feel like that’s what landed me a couple of my jobs already as I’m in the nursing program.”
Learning more than just technical skills
While Ernstes has seen the great value and well prepared by the technical training he’s received at Calvin, it’s the soft skills he’s learned and the patient-centered approach that’s been modeled that helps Calvin grads stand out in the nursing field.
“In nursing, they talk about being Christ’s agents of renewal and therapeutic communication. I feel like those two kind of go hand-in-hand because under God we are beautifully and wonderfully made,” said Ernstes. “And you are called to treat everybody with the same dignity and respect that you would expect people to treat you. I feel like that’s especially prevalent when you’re caring for someone who maybe can’t care for themselves.”
It really goes back to what Ernstes first experienced on his visit to Calvin—personalized care.
“The CNA work itself, the stuff you are doing, that’s going to be the same every place you go,” said Ernstes. “But the people are always different, and so you need get to know the people first and their routines.”
Prepared to launch his career
When Ernstes graduates in 2028, he’s hoping to return to his hometown and work at Bronson Hospital. He’s hoping to go back to school to get his CRNA (nurse anesthesiology degree), which requires three more years of school and at least two years of working experience as an ICU or emergency room nurse.
If his experience so far has taught him anything, it’s that Calvin has been the perfect place for him to launch his career in the field he loves.
“At the job I’m at right now, knowing I’m going to Calvin and I’m going to graduate from the nursing program in a couple of years, they’re like, ‘we’ll gladly take you on,’” said Ernstes. “I just feel like for Calvin students, there’s so much more opportunity than at other schools. Just Calvin’s name, that they are known for their academics, opens doors.”
