Alumni Spotlight: Patrick McMurray
Patrick McMurray’s personal theme for the 2020 year of the nurse and midwife is “Nursing Outside the Box!”, and his passion is to aid in creating nursing champions. Patrick hails from a nursing legacy that began with his mother who is a 2000 Nursing Graduate from Robeson Community College. Patrick is from Robeson County and graduated Magna Cum Laude at 17 years old from Lumberton Senior High School in 2010. Patrick was dually enrolled at Robeson Community College during this time. Patrick’s choice to attend Robeson Community College was made after a time of reflection. Patrick shared that he weighed the pros and cons of attending a 4-year university versus a community college and determined that his overarching goals and plans for the future would be better served attending a community college. He spoke candidly about weighing out the debt associated with 4-year university tuition and fees versus a community college’s tuition and fees and decided to become an RCC student. Patrick stated, “I realized I would graduate with no debt or minimal debt if I attend a community college.”
When asked why he chose nursing over other health services fields, Patrick shared nursing aligned with his personal goals and he knew he would be able to focus on healing through the lens of the natural and social sciences. Patrick shared many wonderful memories during his time at Robeson Community College including being National Technical Honor Society President, being active in Phi Theta Kappa, receiving the Nursing Leadership Award and completing a preceptorship at the Heart Center with Southeastern Regional Medical Center where he worked for 2 years after he graduated from RCC.
Patrick moved to Raleigh after working 2 years in the Heart Center and attended Western Governors University receiving his Bachelor of Science in nursing. He worked at UNC REX Healthcare and Wake Med Health and Hospitals. He has served as an Adult Float Pool Nurse at UNC Medical center in Chapel Hill for the last 3 years and is now attending Western Governor’s School obtaining his Master of Science in Nursing Education, with plans to pursue a doctorate in nursing in the future.
Patrick describes Robeson Community College as an institution that successfully prepared him for the Bachelor’s Degree experience, that he was immersed in evidence based-practicum, developed the necessary leadership skills to excel at the higher education level, and totally prepared for the next steps in terms of educational advancement due to his experience at Robeson Community College.
Patrick has a social media following which enlisted the interest of the Academic Journal of Teaching and Learning in Nursing. Patrick has been asked to join the journal’s editorial board and has also co-authored a peer-reviewed article for the journal discussing cultivating diversity in schools of nursing.
Patrick truly believes in investing in the affordability of the community college system, supporting minorities, and diversity and strengthening mentorship for students to assist in early exposure higher education pipeline from the community college institution to the 4-year university.
Patrick truly believes in the value of mentorship and has formed a strong bond with Dr. Eva Meekins, Director of Nursing at RCC. Dr. Meekins speaks highly of Patrick and his dedication to the nursing field in terms of mentorship and educational leadership. Patrick has truly traveled down the educational pipeline now serving as an adjunct faculty in the Nursing Department teaching Pharmacology and shared that the first students he taught were graduating this year. In his spare time, Patrick manages a blog talking about various topics surrounding nursing at PatMacRN.com
Patrick is an invaluable asset to the Robeson Community College family and is certainly a NURSE CHAMPION.
