Rebecca L. Malphus, RN, CIC

FIU was one of the colleges that accepted RNs to get their bachelor's degrees. I had my RN from Miami-Dade South, and I wanted to continue. I enrolled in FIU right away. I got all the way to my last course, and then I moved. I didn't finish my coursework until 1985, but I should have finished it way before that. I finally finished my bachelor's degree, and I had an agreement with Edison Community College and another college to finish my degree. It was an independent study, and I finished it in 1985. I got my bachelor's degree. I felt like I had a master's degree in infection control because I did everything that I could do. I managed to get a very good job with a consulting firm. They recognized my expertise and hired me over the phone. There were about ten or 12 of us at FIU, and it was a good learning experience. It was very difficult. Part of our curriculum was advanced clinical concepts. I don't regret the fact that it was difficult because I learned more. I also had the advantage of working under a Dr. Neuman in Naples. The man was very knowledgeable. He worked with us and advanced me in my career tremendously, which helped me to be able to travel as an expert. I worked with him for nine years at Naples Hospital. I was a fine arts major first at Miami-Dade South, but I liked science very much. My grades were very good, and I just needed a job in which I could make money. The final straw was when I had to sign up for math for my fine arts degree. We had to have punch cards signed by the instructors. He said, 'You don't want to take my course. I have a failure rate.' He assumed right away that I didn't have a brain because I was in fine art. That was the last straw. I was in fine art one day, and I signed up for nursing the next day. I did very well in nursing; I worked for 36 years.