Alumni in Action: Shining a Light

by Kristin Peters

Alumnus Jordan Singh teaches and continues to learn through precepting

Jordan Singh, MS, FNP, (’18 MS) a nurse practitioner at the Lower Lights Christian Health Center, embraces the College of Nursing’s core value of lifelong learning. As he put it, “I’m always learning and always trying to evolve.” 

Singh chose to pursue nursing as a second career through the Graduate Entry program, specializing in Family Nurse Practitioner. “I came into this field because I really enjoy helping people,” he said. Also, “I absolutely enjoy the science, and this job is ever-changing and always evolving. It challenges you as well as allowing you to give something back to society.” 

He credits a large part of his learning to his own experience through the precepting program as a student. “I had a lot of great experiences at the College of Nursing ... one of the best things was setting me up with the preceptorship experience – going from family nursing all the way to specialty care. I worked in infectious disease as well as orthopedics. All of those help me with this current job because we see a lot of people who don’t have a lot of resources.” His patients at Lower Lights Christian Health Center in the Linden neighborhood of Columbus present with a wide variety of healthcare needs, and many have not been able to see the specialists who could help them. Singh feels well-prepared to direct their care.

“Always be open minded to anyone and everyone, even if you think you know more than they do. A lot of times, people have a different experience or a wealth of knowledge that you may not have learned.”

– Jordan Singh, MS, FNP

Now Singh enjoys being a preceptor himself. “The great thing about having students is they are always trying to help you learn. They’re learning new things in college, and things you learned five years ago may be outdated by the time the next round of preceptees comes through. It’s one of the awesome things about being a preceptor. It becomes almost like a symbiotic relationship.” 

One of the most gratifying parts of this process, he says, is seeing his preceptees become more confident in their own abilities. He hopes that when they leave his mentorship, they feel as though they are comfortable in their decision-making skills and can also embrace that this is a career carried and led by learning.

He has been able to learn a great deal from his preceptees, Singh says, including an important lesson: “Always be open minded to anyone and everyone, even if you think you know more than they do. A lot of times, people have a different experience or a wealth of knowledge that you may not have learned.” 

Singh encourages others to serve as a preceptor. There’s a practical side to precepting – “Having people who are willing to help out and work with people is great,” he candidly admitted –  and another side that speaks to his sense of purpose. “I chose to become a preceptor because I think it’s one of the most integral and most important parts of this job, to give back to the other generations, people coming behind you. We always need more preceptors and more healthcare workers.”