Spotlight: Brandee King's nursing journey

Brandee King, a nurse at Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center, says she didn’t always believe she was cut out for the profession. The idea of becoming a nurse sparked when she calmly helped a friend who suffered a concussion while playing sports.

“That thought got planted inside of me,” Brandee reflects. “But then I put it off because I was terrified and thought I wasn’t good enough or smart enough or qualified enough to even take on the nursing school journey.”

Eight years later, she began her prerequisites and enrolled in nursing school. Even then, self-doubt followed her into the workforce.

Why it matters

Starting a career in nursing is intimidating. The Arizona Transition to Practice Program is designed to support newly licensed registered nurses during their first year of clinical practice. It provides mentorship, peer support and continuing education.

For Brandee, the program helped turn uncertainty into confidence.

What she says

About three or four months into the program, Brandee says she began to feel overwhelmed. She juggled long shifts as a new nurse while also keeping up with the online Arizona Transition to Practice learning modules. The workload started to feel like too much — and for a moment, she questioned whether she could keep going.

“It was hard, time-consuming,” she shares. “I was learning so much in person and doing this schooling on the side.”

But that changed.

“I decided to dive into the program and actually absorb the knowledge, not just click through it. That was a turning point. It helped me feel more confident as a nurse,” she says.

Brandee says the mentorship she received was one of the most valuable parts of the program. Each nurse in the program is paired with a mentor.

“My assigned mentor was amazing — she checked in with me by text, stopped by to see how I was doing. It was so nice having that go-to person,” Brandee shares. “Every nurse was willing to help. That mentorship made a huge difference for me.”

What’s next

Brandee is currently working toward her bachelor’s degree and plans to become a nurse practitioner. She hopes to work in urgent care or pediatrics.

She now encourages new graduates to lean into the program. “At first, it feels like a lot—learning hands-on while doing the program—but my advice is to really lean into it,” she shares. “Absorb the info. Don’t treat it like just another thing you have to do.”

Brandee says the Zoom sessions with experienced nurses were one of the highlights.

“Nurses with a lifetime of experience come on and share stories, mistakes and lessons,” she says. “That was one of my favorite parts.”