Traditional BSN Spotlight: Katie Ann Hites
Posted on March 24, 2024 by College of Nursing
Born and raised in Mobile, Katie Ann Hites always had her heart set on attending the University of South Alabama to study nursing and be close to her family. With her mother, father and grandmother all having attended the College of Nursing, Hites made the decision to continue in their footsteps. Now, she is a second year nursing student on track to graduate in spring 2026.
From a young age, Hites was always told by her family that she had all of the great qualities it takes to become a nurse. Her ability to be empathetic and want to help others was a key factor in choosing her career path.
“I remember sitting in the mudroom of my parents’ house on my computer looking up other stuff I could do, and I realized that everything I wanted out of a job and out of my life actually matched up with nursing. I just wanted to make sure it was the right choice for me, not do it because it’s what everyone thought fit me,” Hites said.
While studying at South, Hites has not only improved inside of the classroom but also socially, creating bonds and connections with friends and peers that make her day-to-day schedule easier. She has learned that being able to trust and rely on your peers is not only an essential part of being a nurse but a crucial part of getting through school.
With nursing taking so much time mentally and physically, Hites would advise anyone interested in the profession to be comfortable taking risks and opportunities when they are presented to you, even when you least expect it.
Hites is thankful for the many opportunities that nursing has already provided for her, especially when it comes to conversations with her family. Where she used to only be able to listen, she can contribute with her own knowledge and have more in depth discussions.
“It’s fun now because my parents and I can talk and have a knowledgeable conversation. It’s all very different now. I know the terminology that I need to know to talk to them, and I feel like I’m learning when I get to talk to them too because it’s like the realization of ‘Wow, I have actually retained some of this stuff!’” Hites said.
While her family always believed that she could be a nurse, Hites did not always believe that to be true until she got to clinicals. When she first started at South, her grandmother gifted her a nursing handbook that she used when she was in nursing school and two pairs of trauma shears. Initially, Hites had no clue when she would ever need to use her pair of shears, but she decided to carry them around in her scrubs anyways and became thankful that she did.
“My grandmother worked in the emergency room for 30 years, so she gave me trauma shears and told me that she wasn’t sure when I was going to use them but to bring them with me so I could one day. Looking back now, I actually have used them in clinicals when people have needed them. It’s like she always knew that I wasn’t going to fail out before clinicals. It was kind of encouraging, like she had no doubt she was going to give me those and that I was going to use them one day,” Hites shared.
Outside of school, Hites strives to maintain a healthy balance between work and play and enjoys a variety of hobbies. She ran her first 10K marathon alongside her mom and dad, besting her own personal record. When she isn’t studying, training for marathons or perfecting her next baking recipe, Hites enjoys spending time with her best friends, boyfriend and family. Being at South is something that Hites appreciates and enjoys because she always knows her family is close.
During clinicals this semester, Hites was able to experience an opportunity to work in the burn intensive care unit. After seeing all of the hands-on treatment that patients receive and watching how the nurses handled the emergency situations, Hites felt inspired.
Much like her love for baking, Hites is passionate about hands-on care with her patients and making sure they feel safe and taken care of. With Hites’ empathy playing an essential role in her caretaking skills, she aspires to help as many people be as comfortable as they can while in the hospital.
During her clinical rotation in the intensive care unit, Hites was inspired by one particular nurse who knew exactly how to command the room to make sure the patient had the best care. From that moment, Hites decided that she wanted to become as inspiring as that nurse was to her.
“I like to do things in a very structured way. The fact that you have an order of things that you need to do in the ICU, and there’s things there you can’t do anywhere else in the hospital, I think that’s really cool. I’m a hands-on learner, and I always have been and in the ICU I saw nurses went in the room more and had less patients. They remembered the little details about patients that we didn’t talk about on the floor.”
This experience has inspired Hites to pursue a job as an intensive care unit nurse after graduation. Although she is unsure of where she will end up, she plans to find somewhere to settle down with her boyfriend so they can both work closer together.
What mantra/motto gets you through the day?
“I feel like my mantra would probably be ‘just make it through the week.’ I try not to think about things daily because I’ll forget about them for the next week, but if I think about things weekly it makes me calm down and not get so stressed about it,” Hites said.
What is a fun fact about yourself?
“I used to play softball, and I’m really good at baking! My favorite thing to bake is macaroons. They take a long time so I haven’t made them in a while, but I’m really good at baking them,” Hites said.
What is a hidden talent/skill that you have?
“I think most people (in college) don’t know that I can sing. I got started because I had a friend I carpooled with that was in Mobile Singing Children, and my mom talked to her mom and that’s how I got in. We enjoyed it and did it together and would sing at concerts. I went to Carnegie Hall and sang there, it was really cool! We’d go on tours in the summer too,” Hites shared.
What is your best advice for incoming freshmen?
“From where I’m at now, I would say understand that if you’re doing really well, accept it. If you start struggling, don’t beat yourself up about it,” Hites advised.