By: Erik Pedersen, Content Strategy Director
BALTIMORE – James Keaton has spent his entire adult life serving as a Hospital Corpsman in the United States Navy, first as an active-duty member and presently in the Navy Reserve. As he prepares to retire from that role next year, Keaton will soon begin his new career as a psychiatric nurse after graduating from Notre Dame of Maryland University’s Hybrid Accelerated 2nd Degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing (HABSN) program this month.
Keaton was drawn to the nursing profession after working with his colleagues in the Navy on a mental health initiative supporting active duty sailors during the height of the pandemic in 2021. Shortly after making his decision to pursue nursing school, Keaton discovered that his wife was pregnant with the couple’s fourth child.
That led him to NDMU’s accelerated 15-month program, which allowed him to balance his work and family responsibilities while quickly gaining the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to enter the nursing profession. Keaton and his fellow ABSN and HABSN graduates will be recognized at a pinning ceremony in LeClerc Theatre on August 16.
Learn more about Keaton’s time in the Navy, his path to NDMU, and his future career plans:
How long have you been a part of the U.S. Navy, both as an active duty member and in the Navy Reserve?
I’ve been with the Navy for nearly 20 years working primarily as a surgical technician. I enlisted right out of high school and spent eight years in active duty. The last three of those years were in Naples, Italy, which felt like a three-year honeymoon for my wife and me. We decided from there that we wanted to focus on our family and start having kids. I moved on from active duty and switched to the reserves right away. I’ll retire from the reserves next year.
How did your role as a Hospital Corpsman ultimately lead you to nursing school?
My whole career has been in healthcare. Working as a corpsman is a medical assistant-type role, but in the Navy it’s always more than that. The scope of practice is so much bigger whether you’re in combat, or working at a hospital, wherever you might be as a corpsman. It’s a natural progression for corpsman to go to nursing school, but it hadn’t seemed like a great fit for me until a few years ago.
I had an opportunity in 2021 to work with the Navy on a mental health initiative. In that initiative, I was training active-duty sailors all across the world on coping skills and mental health practices, trying to reduce suicides. I worked with psychiatric nurse practitioners, psychologists, and other corpsman to deliver this material, and that experience is what made me want to become a nurse. Specifically a psychiatric nurse, where I can support patients who are struggling with their mental health.
How did you first hear about NDMU, and what inspired you to enroll in the School of Nursing’s HABSN program?
Two weeks after I had decided to pursue nursing school, my wife and I found out that we were going to have our fourth child. That immediately made getting my degree quickly priority number one. I searched for accelerated programs, and that led me to NDMU. The hybrid campus was close to home, and when I went and toured the facility, I immediately knew that was the place for me. I started working with the admissions team, and they were amazing. They helped me get my prerequisites in order, and they allowed me to get started right away.
How did the accelerated, hybrid nature of the program benefit you as you progressed through the program?
The hybrid environment was very beneficial. It allowed me to continue to be a present husband and father of four, while also progressing in my Navy career. I made rank during the program – I was promoted from an E-7 to my current E-8 rank as a Senior Chief Petty Officer. I was able to continue working PRN, meaning on an as-needed basis, as a surgical technician at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring throughout my time as a student. The hybrid nature allowed me the flexibility that I needed to succeed in all areas of my life, not just in my role as a nursing student.
Did you enjoy your experience at Notre Dame? Do you feel like it’s given you the skills and knowledge needed to succeed after graduation?
100 percent. At each of my clinical sites, they were always excited when I told them that I was an NDMU student. While the hybrid program has only been around for a few years, it’s clear that its credibility has been firmly established in the area. I can be confident that having Notre Dame on my resume is going to be well-received by all of the hospitals around here.
I feel very equipped to excel in the profession. Even though the program was accelerated, there were never any corners cut. The standards were high, and the faculty members made sure that we would be able rise to those standards as we progressed through the program. I’m proud to be an NDMU student.
What made you want to specialize in psychiatric nursing, and what are your future professional goals?
Ultimately, I am hoping to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner. The part of mental health work that I enjoy the most is talk therapy – being present with patients. Working as a psychiatric nurse involves a lot of education on coping skills, therapeutic communication, and empowering patients on where they are in the moment.
You’re helping patients navigate their challenges, just like you would as a traditional floor nurse. It’s the same practice and principle – the work just isn’t as visible because the challenges are mental. There is a lot more communication involved and maybe a little less physical treatment. I like that. I’ve done a lot of physical work during my time in the Navy, and I’m excited to transfer those skills into a new setting.
Established in 1895, Notre Dame of Maryland University (NDMU) is a private, Catholic institution in Baltimore, Maryland, with the mission to educate leaders to transform the world. Notre Dame has been named one of the best "Regional Universities North" by U.S. News & World Report.
