{"id":1431,"date":"2017-06-29T17:36:28","date_gmt":"2017-06-29T17:36:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/?p=1431"},"modified":"2025-03-31T12:58:15","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T16:58:15","slug":"dr-raymond-nwaneri-making-lives-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/2017\/06\/29\/dr-raymond-nwaneri-making-lives-better\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Raymond Nwaneri: Making Lives Better"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kadence-column1431_48747d-88 > .kt-inside-inner-col{padding-right:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-bottom:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-left:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);}.kadence-column1431_48747d-88 > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column1431_48747d-88 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column1431_48747d-88 > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column1431_48747d-88 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column1431_48747d-88 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column1431_48747d-88 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column1431_48747d-88{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column1431_48747d-88 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kadence-column1431_48747d-88 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column1431_48747d-88 dynamic-main-col\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\"><style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading1431_0ad9d1-79, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading1431_0ad9d1-79[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading1431_0ad9d1-79\"]{font-size:1.5rem;line-height:30px;font-weight:500;font-style:italic;font-family:proxima-nova;color:#808080;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading1431_0ad9d1-79 mark.kt-highlight, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading1431_0ad9d1-79[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading1431_0ad9d1-79\"] mark.kt-highlight{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading1431_0ad9d1-79 img.kb-inline-image, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading1431_0ad9d1-79[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading1431_0ad9d1-79\"] img.kb-inline-image{width:150px;vertical-align:baseline;}<\/style>\n<p class=\"kt-adv-heading1431_0ad9d1-79 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\" data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading1431_0ad9d1-79\">A career change is no easy feat, but this alumnus believes determination makes all the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image1431_08a522-88.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .kb-image1431_08a522-88 .kb-image-is-ratio-size{max-width:350px;width:100%;}.wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image1431_08a522-88.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image1431_08a522-88 .kb-image-is-ratio-size{align-self:unset;}.kb-image1431_08a522-88 figure{max-width:350px;}.kb-image1431_08a522-88 .image-is-svg, .kb-image1431_08a522-88 .image-is-svg img{width:100%;}.kb-image1431_08a522-88 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image1431_08a522-88\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.test.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Raymond-Nwaneri-822x1024-1-768x957.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"kb-img\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The day was January 29, 2017. That\u2019s when Dr. Raymond Nwaneri fulfilled one of his lifelong goals of completing a doctoral program \u2014 more specifically, WilmU\u2019s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program. His dream of rising in the health care field came after years of financial setbacks, nine college experiences and an alternative business career. But on this day, he walked the Chase Center at the Riverfront stage for winter commencement, sharing the moment with several VIP audience members: his wife, two children, three siblings, and most poignant, his parents, who had traveled from Nigeria to celebrate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Nwaneri\u2019s story began in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, some 5,610 miles away from Wilmington\u2019s Chase Center stage in Wilmington, where his parents instilled in him the importance of education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey gave my siblings and I daily reminders about how we were to study hard to become professional,\u201d says Dr. Nwaneri, adding that they insisted their children become engineers or doctors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He researched medical schools in Nigeria, but money was tight <a href=\"https:\/\/cosmincret.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">laz555<\/a>. The cost of local medical schools exceeded the cost of other degrees, so Dr. Nwaneri chose to study business over medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He was determined to be the best at it and went on to earn a bachelor\u2019s in Accounting from the University of Uyo, a master\u2019s in Economics from the University of Lagos, and an MBA from Ekiti State University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Nwaneri began a promising banking career in Nigeria\u2019s capital city of Lagos, a global financial center and one of the fastest growing cities in the world. There Dr. Nwaneri excelled, becoming the bank\u2019s youngest branch manager at 28. The average age for the position was 35. Despite his successes, he still wanted to work in health care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to add value to the lives of others,\u201d says Dr. Nwaneri. \u201cWhen I was in banking, I added monetary value by managing portfolios and helping others make money. But I wanted to give value in a more personal way that touched lives forever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He moved to the United States to begin a career in health care, which he admits was challenging, especially when one is so successful already. \u201cI had to start over completely,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He earned an associate degree in Science from Camden County College and a diploma in nursing from Our lady of Lourdes School of Nursing. He then attended the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey for his MSN before completing his degree at Rutgers University. He also earned a post-graduate Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner certificate at Wilkes University, then passed two Nurse Practitioner board exams that focused on psychiatric mental health and adult gerontology primary care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As if that weren&#8217;t enough, Dr. Nwaneri landed at Wilmington University in 2014 to enroll in its DNP program. \u201cI attended an open house and was so impressed by how the faculty described the program,\u201d he says. \u201cTheir knowledge and care was evident. I knew I could attend WilmU and get the quality education I needed to move to the next level in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He wanted to combine his business background with his newly acquired education in direct care, and to position himself for a career in health care leadership. The DNP program fit the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe program is focused on integrating skills our practitioners can apply immediately in the changing world of health care,\u201d says Dr. Aaron Sebach, chair of WilmU\u2019s DNP, which offers an innovative curriculum emphasizing health care engineering and interdisciplinary collaboration among expert clinicians, health care leaders and policy makers.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image1431_3213a3-9b.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .kb-image1431_3213a3-9b .kb-image-is-ratio-size{max-width:300px;width:100%;}.wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image1431_3213a3-9b.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image1431_3213a3-9b .kb-image-is-ratio-size{align-self:unset;}.kb-image1431_3213a3-9b figure{max-width:300px;}.kb-image1431_3213a3-9b .image-is-svg, .kb-image1431_3213a3-9b .image-is-svg img{width:100%;}.kb-image1431_3213a3-9b .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image1431_3213a3-9b\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.test.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Raymond-Nwaneri-2-e1498763750903-1024x872-1-564x480.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"kb-img\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Nwaneri earned a 3.88 GPA. Dr. Stacey Graves, who chaired his doctoral project, says his dedication to the program was unparalleled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI would say that the thing that stood out the most was Raymond\u2019s determination to complete the program despite all of the challenges he had to face managing family, work and school,\u201d says Dr. Graves. \u201cThere was a point in the process when he had to change both the focus and the site of his project, at which time I suggested he take an extension, but he was determined to push through and finish with his cohort.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That determination energized Dr. Nwaneri, through all the naps in the library, car and anywhere else he could fit in a quick snooze between work and class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI had to completely step away from life at some points,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Nwaneri is grateful to the WilmU staff for helping make his transition into health care administration a fruitful one. He currently works at five Philadelphia-area nursing homes through Med Options, an assisted-living facility behavioral services provider, as well as a contractor for Haven Behavioral Hospital of Philadelphia. He plans to work his way up the ladder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He has also returned to the classroom \u2014 as an instructor. \u201cI want to be able to give back like the faculty members at WilmU gave back to me,\u201d he says. \u201cI want to help the next generation of practitioners prepare for the health care field of the future.\u201d WU<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A career change is no easy feat, but this alumnus believes determination makes all the difference. The day was January 29, 2017. That\u2019s when Dr&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[145,135],"tags":[8,912,653,913],"class_list":["post-1431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alumni-news","category-magazine","tag-college-of-nursing-and-health-sciences","tag-laz555","tag-magazine-summer-2017","tag-pgsoft-official"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":145,"label":"ALUMNI NEWS"},{"value":135,"label":"MAGAZINE"}],"post_tag":[{"value":8,"label":"College of Nursing and Health Sciences"},{"value":912,"label":"laz555"},{"value":653,"label":"Magazine Summer 2017"},{"value":913,"label":"pgsoft official"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"Rachel Marchione","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/author\/rachel\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":145,"name":"ALUMNI NEWS","slug":"alumni-news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":702,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":113,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":145,"category_count":113,"category_description":"","cat_name":"ALUMNI NEWS","category_nicename":"alumni-news","category_parent":0},{"term_id":135,"name":"MAGAZINE","slug":"magazine","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":692,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":431,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":135,"category_count":431,"category_description":"","cat_name":"MAGAZINE","category_nicename":"magazine","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":8,"name":"College of Nursing and Health Sciences","slug":"college-of-nursing-and-health-sciences","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":565,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":110,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":912,"name":"laz555","slug":"laz555","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1469,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":653,"name":"Magazine Summer 2017","slug":"magazine-summer-2017","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1210,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":18,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":913,"name":"pgsoft official","slug":"pgsoft-official","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1470,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1431"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17895,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1431\/revisions\/17895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}