Beverly Hart loves to care for those in need. This passion is what drew her to her current position as a Nursing Assistant instructor at Blackhawk.

Growing up in Clinton and having lived in Beloit her entire adult life, Beverly took the Nursing Assistant class and continued in the Nursing program here at Blackhawk. She then completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing through Chamberlain College and is working on completing her master’s degree in Nursing Education, also through Chamberlain College. 

Working as a CNA for eight years, she understands the challenges of being a nursing assistant, which she can pass on to her students. This includes characteristics of the job that may be overlooked by some.

“They don’t see how emotionally difficult it is on the nursing assistant and the nurse to care for the ill on a daily basis,” she said. “You have to make sure you take care of yourself too.”

The Nursing Assistant program has changed over the years to accommodate students through different class sizes and different class times, but it’s the face-to-face portion that changed the most during the pandemic. While some portions of the class continued to be held with many precautions in place, others were simply not possible to continue normally.

“The clinical portion of the class had to be performed in the lab setting, so our students never got to work with real residents while in the clinical setting,” she said.

Whether facing the challenges of the last 2+ years or moving forward as things get back to normal, Beverly hopes that she teaches her students to be compassionate and caring to all patients.

When not teaching, Beverly likes to spend time with her daughter and three grandchildren. She’s also an animal lover who volunteers at the Rock County Humane Society, fostering animals in need, and she has a 5-month-old Golden Retriever puppy.

National Career Nurse Assistants’ Day is observed on June 16. Since 1977, it’s started off National Nursing Assistants Week, which encourages communities to show support and appreciation to the professionals who provide quality care.