Kiran McGuirk ’26 has always had her heart set on a healthcare career. Working as an EMT while completing her Bryant Biology degree, McGuirk developed an affinity for nursing as she worked alongside these advanced practice providers and learned more about their profession and method of patient care.
“I loved the thought of being a nurse practitioner, but I didn't go to nursing school, so I didn't think I could do it,” says McGuirk.
It was through a campus-based info session during her senior year that McGuirk learned of the advanced degree pathways partnership between Bryant and Mass General Brigham University of Health Professions. The collaborative initiative established direct admission pathways to a range of high-demand health and clinical graduate programs for Bryant students.
“I had no idea that you could do a direct entry nursing program until they came and told me about it,” says McGuirk, who applied and is now enrolled in the Boston-based university’s Master of Science in Nursing program.
Finding her undergraduate home
Beginning her higher education journey at another university, McGuirk quickly realized that the school wasn’t the right academic fit as she didn’t feel a connection to faculty. At the suggestion of a high school friend who was attending Bryant, McGuirk looked into the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences’ (CHBS) offerings. It was a conversation with CHBS Dean Kirsten Hokeness, Ph.D., that cemented her decision to transfer.
“I liked how excited they were for all the growth that was happening,” McGuirk says, explaining that, at the time, the Exercise and Movement Science Lab was in formation, and new majors were launching.
An emphasis on faculty mentorship also drew McGuirk to the university and was something she found in Senior Lecturer of Biological and Biomedical Sciences Stephanie Mott.
“Professor Mott would always be there to give advice, and I utilized her a lot as a resource,” notes McGuirk.
It was through Mott that McGuirk learned about an internship at University Gastroenterology, a Providence-based medical center. McGuirk was accepted and spent part of her summer shadowing physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and doctors. She also learned how to be a medical assistant and how different roles interact with one another to make an outpatient clinic setting run.
Mott also introduced her to Bryant’s “Global Health Challenges” course, where students spend a semester studying international health systems followed by three immersive weeks in South Africa exploring the country’s health complexities. Always having an itch to study abroad, McGuirk jumped at the chance to learn about medicine in an international setting.
“It was amazing,” says McGuirk, who later spent a semester abroad in Seville, Spain. “We got to go to the South African Medical Research Council in Cape Town, visit hospitals, and learn about their social history, apartheid, and Nelson Mandela’s influence.”
Immersed in new adventures
Having started the Direct-Entry Master of Science in Nursing program, McGuirk’s past six weeks have been filled with practicing new skills on high-tech mannequins, interacting with patient actors, and learning how to think and act like a nurse.
“Bryant’s courses laid a great foundation for me,” says McGuirk, who’s on the adult/gerontology primary care track. “A lot of what I'm learning right now would be really hard if I didn't have the background that I do.”
In several weeks, McGuirk will start clinicals on an inpatient medical-surgical floor at Massachusetts General Hospital and complete a psychology rotation at McLean Hospital as well. McGuirk notes that following her third semester, she will sit for her NCLEX and continue the program to complete her master’s in nursing courses — ultimately graduating in May 2029.
“Bryant taught me how to be a better student, and it was a more conducive environment for the way I want to learn,” McGuirk says. “I became the student who is capable of doing what I'm doing because of Bryant.”