Ask almost any nurse how they discovered their call to care, and they will probably tell you that the path is rarely a straight line. For Aryn Young, a 2021 graduate from Arizona College of Nursing’s Tucson campus, her career path began with a complete pivot. Today, Aryn is on the frontlines of healthcare as a labor and delivery nurse at Tucson Medical Center, a reality that is very different from the career in medicine she originally planned for.
Like many students in high school who thrived in their science courses, Aryn initially set her sights on a traditional pre-med track. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology, fully intending to become a physician. However, real-world exposure to what nurses do throughout a shift reframed her perspective on what healthcare can look like.
“I had full plans to go to medical school and then I followed a doctor around for a day and decided that’s absolutely not what I wanted to do anytime soon,” Aryn explained. “Seeing what all the nurses were doing, all the skills that they were practicing, and all the ways that they were interacting with their patients was wonderful.”
While she loved what she saw from the nurses that day, Aryn did not jump into a new career path right away. She took a deliberate step to test the waters.
“I got my CNA license, started working in home health [and] in the hospital, and realized nursing is really what I want to do with my life. [It’s] amazing the things that [nurses] can do and the connections that they make with their patients. So that’s how I ended up in nursing school,” she shared.
Life as a Labor and Delivery Nurse
Aryn now works at Tucson Medical Center, where her work is filled with compassionate care and human connection. As a labor and delivery nurse, Aryn works directly with one of life’s most transformative moments as she assists with childbirth and postpartum care.
“Getting to deliver babies pretty much every single day and helping save lives dealing with emergencies after those deliveries as well…is amazing,” said Aryn.
While managing medical emergencies requires a mix of smart clinical decision-making, quick thinking, and empathy, Aryn explains that the most emotional and rewarding part of her job is getting to support families who have faced long and difficult roads to parenthood.
“Whenever somebody’s been trying to get pregnant for years…and they finally get this miracle baby after so many losses are my favorite moments because everybody in that room is so excited for that family.”
Reflecting on AZCN
Aryn’s transition from student to working in a hospital setting was shaped by her many experiences during her time at AZCN’s Tucson campus. Coming into the program with prior experience in healthcare, she found that AZCN’s hands-on approach gave her exactly what she needed to feel confident in complex clinical situations. Specifically, Aryn loves the hands-on work she practiced while at AZCN.
“Clinicals were my favorite thing. I was working as a tech, so I was pretty used to being in the hospital. But I feel like being there and being able to help out the nurses, and the nurses actually utilizing us, and getting to see that like real world experience, that was by far my favorite part of being in nursing school,” Aryn shared.
Beyond the clinical shifts, Aryn recalled the lasting impression the academic leaders, faculty and staff, and her cohort at the College left on her.
“I loved all the instructors that we had, [and] we had an amazing cohort with the six of us as well,” she said.
Recently visiting AZCN’s Tucson campus brought back strong memories for Aryn. She recalled how exciting it is to see her own personal growth as well as the rapid evolution of the Tucson campus itself.
“It feels a little bit weird to be back here, but it’s really exciting. It’s nice to have all these memories come back,” she said. “We saw this place kind of grow from just a couple of classrooms into this really big campus now, so it’s been exciting to see everything new that they have around here.”
Aryn still keeps in touch with each of the individuals who were a part of her cohort at AZCN as well. She loves getting to see their different paths in the nursing field and what they are doing with their degrees.
“I am so glad that all of us are successful in our nursing careers now,” Aryn added.
Tackling the NCLEX and Transitioning into Practice
For current students at AZCN navigating test or National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) exam prep, Aryn offered advice on how to cross the finish line with confidence. When it came to passing the licensure exam, she credits focused and deliberate studying rather than endless textbook reading.
“I did so many Assessment Technologies Institute [ATI] questions…I think we probably almost ran out of ATI questions, and we started redoing the ones that we had already done before,” she explained. “You don’t need to read the book at this point. You should know all of the things you [need to] know. If you have questions on the ATI, it gives you a little description afterwards and tells you what you got wrong and like where you can find it in the book.”
She adds that if you’re still questioning what you are studying after going through the many ATI questions, you can always go back to the book and reread that section. Having all of the questions in her own database is what she credits as the key to passing the NCLEX.
Aryn also emphasized that while school provides you with the fundamentals you need to know as a nurse, it was during her clinical rotations that she really gained confidence in her abilities. “Clinicals were always a big thing for me,” Aryn explained. “Actually, feeling confident on the floor and not walking onto the floor and being nervous around my patients by any means, and just all the skills that we learned in skills lab as well [was important].”
When it comes to moving to the hospital floor, Aryn advised new graduates to trust their training, ask for help, and stay slightly ahead of schedule to thrive. “You’ll still have your preceptor right behind you if you have any questions but make sure you understand that you can do it on your own.”
Leadership and Lifelong Learning
Aryn is not stopping with bedside care. With several years of labor and delivery experience under her belt, she is now setting her sights on unit leadership, nursing education, and advanced degrees. “My future goals are hopefully to become a charge nurse sometime next year. I definitely want to get more involved with the education that’s on the unit as well,” she said. “I’m already part of the education committee there, and we’re working on getting all of our newer nurses up to par and reteaching a lot of the things that the older nurses do.”
Looking forward to the future, she envisions bringing her nursing journey full circle through mentoring the next generation of nurses herself. Aryn’s nursing journey shows that with the right mindset, a career in nursing offers limitless opportunities to make a difference.
Start Your Future in Nursing Today
If you’re considering a career as a registered nurse (RN), Arizona College of Nursing is here to help you pursue your dream. Our BSN program enables you to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in just 3 years or less with qualifying transfer credits. We’ve helped hundreds of students to earn a BSN degree and enter the nursing profession – and we’re ready to support you on your path to becoming an RN.
Why Choose Arizona College of Nursing?
- Earn a BSN degree in 3 years or less with eligible transfer credits
- Campus locations throughout the US
- Night classes for general education courses
- Hybrid Online/In-Person format for general education classes
- Nursing education is all we do
- CCNE-Accredited Program*
- NCLEX-RN success coaches and exam preparation class
- Financial aid available to those who qualify
Discover Your Path to a Career in Nursing
Information in this post is accurate as of October 26, 2026.
*The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree program at Arizona College of Nursing is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (https://www.aacnnursing.org/). All Arizona College of Nursing and Arizona College campuses are institutionally accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (https://www.abhes.org/), a U.S. Department of Education-recognized accrediting agency.