Teaching through lived experiences

SOMER HANSON

Simone Ralls describes the long list of professional certification acronyms following her name as alphabet soup.

ER RN, BA, BSN, CEN, TNCC, MICN.

With more acronyms to come. Let’s break it down: Emergency Room Registered Nurse, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Certified Emergency Nurse, Trauma Nursing Core Course and Mobile Intensive Care Nurse. Pending is a Master of Science in Nursing as she works toward completion.

While not listed as an acronym, Ralls is also a Yuba College instructor in the Psychiatric Technology program, a title she has held since 2017.

“Seven years later, I have really enjoyed my time helping to produce good psychiatric nurses for the community we live in,” she said. Teaching was never on Ralls’ radar, but aspirations to work in the medical field took root as a 10 year old after assisting her mother with a traumatic pre-term stillbirth.

“It shaped my desire to never be powerless again,” she said. The plan was med school but after feeling like a tiny fish in a very big ocean of sharks, Ralls left UC Davis after one year and medical aspirations were on pause for about 25 years. When her mother was diagnosed with cancer, Ralls stepped in as caregiver and discovered it was the nurses, not the doctors, who engaged in patient care. The experience shifted her focus and inspired her to go back to school to become a nurse at age 45.

Ralls completed her pre-requisites at Sierra College and then transferred to Sacramento State. After what she describes as a comedy of errors, Ralls earned a bachelor’s degree in
psychology rather than nursing. It ended up being the best choice for her.

“That last year at Sacramento State was so transformational of who I was to become as a nurse,” she said. “As a psychology major, I was better prepared for being a well-rounded nurse.”

Once she became a registered nurse, Ralls went to work as a psych nurse and then settled into the emergency room.

“The ER has a buzz and vibration about it that resonates with my personality,” Ralls said. “We’re adrenaline junkies. You’re helping people in real time.”

While working as an ER nurse, the opportunity to teach part-time at Yuba presented itself when a fellow nurse recommended her. Ralls visited the Yuba campus for the first time to interview. With no teaching experience but a wealth of professional experience, Ralls started teaching the following week.

“I found out immediately that I had a natural talent for speaking to students in a psychiatric nursing program because I knew and loved it,” she said. “Because I had lived experiences, it made the students more engaged when I told different patient stories.”

Steven O’Connell was enrolled at Yuba 2016-2022, where he earned a Psychiatric Technology certification on his way into the Nursing program. Once a student in her class, O’Connell now works with Ralls as an ER nurse.

“She taught me to slow down under stress and to critically think through things and then act upon those decisions,” O’Connell said. “I honestly would not be where I am today without her stepping into my life.”

In addition to being an ER nurse, a Yuba College instructor and in the process of earning a master’s degree, Ralls is also a business owner.

With an interest in esthetic nursing, the cosmetic side of medicine, Ralls had an opportunity to be part of a nurse-doctor team for a mini-med spa offering Botox and fillers. Nearly two years after
opening, the clientele list is almost 200 people.

“I feel like I’m a well-rounded nurse,” Ralls said. “The ER gives me the adrenaline rush, teaching gives back to my community and Botox is girly and fun.”

Ralls took a sabbatical last year to focus on the first year of her master’s program, which she’ll complete in August 2025. She will move on from the ER and into a new role—with a new
acronym—as a psychiatric nurse practitioner.

“I’m looking forward to slowing down a little bit, enjoying the fruits of my labor and really focus in on doing good work for the cause to end the mental health stigma and help people get well,” she said.