Noozhawk is proud to celebrate National Nurses Month with our annual Salute to Nurses. Throughout May, we honor the invaluable contributions of our local nurses, recognizing their vital role not only in healthcare but also in the wellbeing of our entire community.
Nurses are the backbone of patient care, health promotion, and disease prevention. From compassionate bedside caregivers to pioneers in healthcare innovation, nurses exemplify resilience, empathy, and expertise.
National Nurses Month offers an opportunity to express our deep gratitude for their tireless dedication and unwavering commitment to healing and comfort.
As part of this special series, Noozhawk spoke with Rosette Strandberg, Director of the Vocational Nursing Program at Santa Barbara City College (SBCC), to learn more about the nursing profession and her inspiring personal journey.
Santa Barbara City College
Question: What does National Nursing Month mean to you?
Answer: Each year during Nurses Week, we celebrate the skill, compassion, and resilience of nurses who serve on the frontlines of healthcare.
But behind every nurse is a story that begins long before the first job. It begins in a classroom. In a skills lab. At a patient’s bedside—often with a trembling hand and a determined heart.
At Santa Barbara City College, the journey to becoming a nurse is one of transformation. Within the Vocational Nursing (VN) and Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) programs, students are not simply trained in skills, they are guided in becoming professionals entrusted with the care of human lives.
Q: What is the reality of becoming a nurse?
A: The public often sees nurses as composed, capable, and steady. What is less visible is the path it takes to get there. Nursing students balance rigorous coursework, clinical hours, family responsibilities, and often employment. They study late into the night, wake before sunrise for clinical rotations, and carry the emotional impact of patient care experiences long after the day ends.
They learn not only how to care for others—but how to process grief, navigate uncertainty, and persevere through self-doubt. These are the moments that shape not just competent nurses, but compassionate ones.
Q: How are nursing students supported at SBCC?
A: At SBCC, nursing education extends far beyond lectures and exams. Learning comes to life in skills labs, simulation environments, and real-world clinical settings where students begin to translate knowledge into practice.
They spend long hours refining essential skills in the lab and arrive early for demanding clinical shifts—experiences that require discipline, resilience, and a deep commitment to patient care.
Throughout this journey, faculty serve as mentors, role models, and guides. They do more than teach—they challenge students to think critically, act ethically, and care deeply. Through consistent support and high expectations, faculty help shape not only competent nurses, but compassionate professionals prepared to carry the responsibility of caring for others.
Q: How are students transformed by the nursing program at SBCC?
A: Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of nursing education is witnessing the transformation that occurs over time. Students who once hesitated begin to lead.
Voices that once waver become steady and assured. Tasks evolve into critical thinking, and knowledge becomes clinical judgment. By the end of the program, students are no longer simply learning nursing—they are embodying it.
Q: Lastly, what message would you like to convey to the public during National Nursing Month?
A: This Nurses Week, we celebrate not only the nurses who care for our communities today, but the students who are preparing to carry that responsibility forward. The students in SBCC’s Vocational Nursing and ADN programs represent the future of healthcare. They are tomorrow’s caregivers, advocates, and leaders. Their journey is demanding. Their commitment is extraordinary. And their impact will be immeasurable.
For more information about SBCC School of Nursing click here.