By Pareasa Rahimi
For University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing Bachelor of Science in Nursing student Emily Ebbert, the decision to become a nurse was rooted in her childhood experiences. Ebbert, who will graduate May 3, was born prematurely at 26 weeks with her twin brother. She was diagnosed with hydrocephalus and cerebral palsy, leading to challenges and requiring a three-month stay in the neonatal intensive care unit. Ebbert underwent seven brain surgeries and one brain decompression, as well as physical therapy. These challenges shaped her path toward nursing and helping others.
“I’ve been around pediatric nurses and the pediatric population, and they made a huge impact on me. I thought, I could see myself doing something like this,” Ebbert said. “What solidified the choice for me was when my dad was diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease.”
Ebbert’s father received his diagnosis in 2009. Seeing his condition gradually worsen over the years moved Ebbert to want to be an advocate for patients in similar circumstances.
“Watching him deteriorate over the years, but remain himself, made me realize that nursing was my calling,” Ebbert said. “At my core, I just want to be able to advocate for the people who can’t advocate for themselves. I want to be the person that truly sees the patient for who they are underneath their diagnosis or struggle. The impact that my patients have on me is just as strong, if not stronger than the one I want to try to leave with them.”
Ebbert first became interested in the UAB School of Nursing during her parents’ visits to Birmingham from Foley, Ala., for her father’s treatment with Dr. Victor Sung, Director of the UAB Huntington’s Disease Clinic. Her mother encouraged her to look at UAB’s BSN program, and they toured the campus together during her senior year of high school.
“After we toured, I knew it was where I had to go. I could see myself here—it was just a feeling,” Ebbert said.
Ebbert was accepted to UAB in 2021 as a Dean’s Nursing Scholar, granting high school seniors with a minimum grade point average of 3.8 priority admission to the BSN program, providing they maintain a 3.2 or higher GPA in required pre-nursing foundation courses.
She began the program in fall 2023 and found her clinical experiences the most rewarding as they introduced her to what the field has to offer. Bringing her journey full circle, Ebbert completed her ambulatory clinical at The Kirklin Clinic of UAB Hospital Neurology Clinic, where she observed Dr. Sung work with neurology patients.
“The School of Nursing exceeded my expectations. As a first-semester student, you can be intimidated, but all the professors are so welcoming and encouraging with an open-door policy,” Ebbert said. “Coming into this profession is challenging, and not necessarily the coursework and the exams, but more so having to gain autonomy and knowing how to go in and talk to a patient and do assessment. It almost feels like you’re being thrown into the deep end a little bit, but the faculty is there to save you if you need it. And before you know it, you’re able to swim.”
Ebbert is eager to enter the field and has accepted a position on a progressive care unit at Baptist Health Care in Pensacola, Fla., with a long-term goal to work on the intensive care unit.
“I have a passion for working at the bedside,” Ebbert said. “Being a new nurse is going to be scary and a challenge, but I’m ready to take it on and see what the field has to offer.”