Wendy Shannon was working at Chick-fil-A as she earned a business degree and had hopes of someday becoming a franchisee. But Shannon realized she wanted to pursue a different career – she wanted to be a nurse.
“I started looking for a job that would help me get my foot in the door with a hospital,” said Shannon, R.N. M.S.N., CMS-RN, now a nurse in Intermediate Care Neuro at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth. “And I interviewed for a position as an administrative assistant for Rick McWhorter.”
McWhorter, now executive vice president and chief financial officer, saw her aspirations to be a nurse listed on her resume and pointed out during the interview that Texas Health offered a Tuition Reimbursement program. Almost before she knew it, she found herself working in Finance.
“He knew from the beginning what I wanted,” Shannon said. “He and the whole department were super supportive.”
After settling into her job, Shannon discovered that her business major wouldn’t help with obtaining a nursing degree so, in 2008, she decided she needed a plan and set out to learn how Tuition Reimbursement worked.
“Tuition Reimbursement paid for my pre-requisites, then my associate’s, my bachelor’s and my master’s degrees,” she said. “I hardly had to pay for anything out of pocket.”
Shannon decided to spread her education out over several years to balance work, family and schooling. She finished her master’s in nursing administration in 2020 and hopes to move into a nursing management position when her children are older and the right opportunity comes along.
Shannon said she would not have been able to achieve her dream to be a nurse without the program. “Because of tuition reimbursement and support from the Finance department, I don’t want to leave Texas Health,” she said. “I want to stay here throughout my entire career because I want to invest with them as they have invested with me.”
What is Tuition Reimbursement?
Texas Health’s Tuition Reimbursement program provides funding for educational opportunities that benefit both employees and the organization. On average, Texas Health reimburses $6 million to $7 million per year to nearly 2,300 employees.
The top three majors funded for the last three years are nursing, nurse practitioner and business administration and management, but a wide range of majors are eligible for reimbursement.
(Pictured above right: Wendy Shannon discusses patient medication with nurse Kellye Wheeler.)
By Jan Taylor • Posted June 29, 2021
