Q & A with Director of Nursing Education Lucas Gonzales

Director of Nursing Education Lucas Gonzales has come a long way from his childhood in Abiquiú and his days attending high school. He is grateful to his family and all who supported his journey to become a nurse. He is passionate about supporting others, too, including his daughter who is now a nursing student. Here are some highlights from a recent interview.

Q: How did you get into nursing and what was your path to becoming a nurse educator?
A: I’ve been a nurse for 23 years. I went to UNM (University of New Mexico) to play on the football team. After about a year I ended up changing my major from Athletic Training to Nursing. I got my bachelor’s degree in 2000 and became a nurse in 2001. I worked in emergency rooms in Albuquerque at Kaseman Presbyterian, and in the emergency rooms at UNM Hospital Emergency Room and Española Presbyterian Hospital. I also did some operating room nursing.

I began my specialty of nursing education in 2008. I worked at Northern New Mexico College and then when I went back to UNM to earn my Master of Science in Nursing Education in 2011. I became a tenured nursing professor at Northern in 2015, then moved to work a few years at Doña Ana Community College in Las Cruces. I came to SFCC in 2017, as an assistant professor. I became the Interim Director of Nursing in 2021 when Terri Tewart became the Dean of the School of Science, Health, Engineering, and Math. I’m now the Director of Nursing at SFCC.

Q: What are the strengths of SFCC’s Nursing Program?
A: One of our strengths is our strong pass rate for NCLEX test (National Council Licensure to officially practice as a registered nurse). It’s important not only to prepare our students to get an associate degree in Nursing, but also to prepare them to pass the NCLEX on their first attempt.

Another strength is SFCC’s hard-working nursing faculty and staff. They are the backbone of the program. They do everything – teach, advise, handle administrative details, interact with technology, and so much more. I’m proud and honored to work with such reliable and accountable professors. We all pride ourselves in delivering a high-quality education that produces nurses who are extremely safe practitioners who passionately care about their patients.

Our health care partners also make our program strong. We have students in clinical practicums in hospitals, clinics, and other settings throughout the region.

Q: Is it difficult to get into SFCC’s Nursing Program?
A: We’ve never lowered our standards, which require class prerequisites and an admission exam. Recently we have had fewer applicants, so current applicants have a better chance to get one of those coveted spots.I tell everyone that if they ever wanted to become a nurse, now is a great time to apply. It’s hard to say exactly why the number of applicants declined. Certainly, the pandemic was a factor, but there was a shift not only in New Mexico but also across the country. At the same time, with many nurses retiring, demand is high for nurses in a variety of roles, and it is a career that pays well.  

Q: What suggestions do you make when people say they’d like to be a nurse?
A: I usually ask, “What makes you want to become a nurse?” I think that’s important because it’s such a rigorous curriculum and a challenging job. We all have those extrinsic motivations such as wanting to have a career to support ourselves and our family. But intrinsic motivators also need to be strong. I listen when someone says, “I want to help people, I want a job that’s meaningful to me, or nursing is a calling for me.” Your motivation must come from within.

I also ask, “Do you like science?” Those students who have a curiosity about science and how the human body works usually will do well. That certainly was true for me.

I then direct them to the Nursing Program web page and our awesome advisors who can help them map out pre-requisites.  

Q: Describe the types of people who are studying nursing at SFCC.
A: We have nursing students across the spectrum of demographics – from traditional college students to nontraditional students who are seeking a second career. Some have already been in other areas of health care. Sometimes we get engineers who want to shift gears. We get teachers and people from all walks of life. We have students in their 20s as well as students in their 60s.

It’s a very diverse group and their patients will be diverse, too. They are mostly female, but we have a high proportion of males compared to many other institutions in the state.

For more information about entering a health science program, explore Health-Science pathways.  For a nursing program application, FAQs, and information about nursing admissions visit the Nursing Program.