SIBBLINGS EARN HONORS IN SEMO NURSING PROGRAM

Sibling rivalry has much to do with Cheryl Wormington and Daniel Record graduating with honors Saturday from Southeast Missouri State University's nursing program.

But their mutual drive to nurture the sick and heal the wounded is the real reason they are closer now than ever.

"I wanted to be a nurse so much that I was willing to talk to anybody to get them to look past the papers," said Wormington, 32, who is 10 years older than her brother.

"And she did," Record said.

The Scott City natives are the first brother-sister tandem to graduate from Southeast's nursing program.

Wormington said: "I was out of school for 12 years, so I guess on paper I didn't look very good. But I knew nursing was something I really wanted to do. It was just a matter of when."

When one of her best friends from Scott City was killed a few years ago, she decided there was no point in delaying the inevitable. "I always said to my friend and others that when I spent enough time with my three children I would be ready to get into nursing," she said.

That was the path her mother, Connie, took after working as a nurse for several years.

"But then somehow my friend's death -- and our sister Rachel talking about getting into nursing -- helped me make up my mind."

The only factor in doubt was which discipline Daniel would choose when he put his governor's scholarship to use. "I had an idea I wanted to work with people, and there was always an interest in rehabilitating injuries, so I decided to get into nursing," Daniel said.

"Actually Rachel and I put the hook into him and helped steer him in the right direction," Wormington said. With Record, getting accepted into nursing school was virtually automatic. But Wormington had to put together a compelling argument to pry open doors that only admit 40-50 students.

"He was on a four-year scholarship, but I was going to have to get admitted and then pay my own way," she said. "I managed to get a Hazel Harrison-Strickler scholarship awarded by Southeast Hospital one year and then the LeMone scholarship another year," she said.

All that was left was the business of attending classes by day and studying at night. "It turned out that we had most of our classes together, so we decided to study together," Cheryl said. "I would call him and say, `Did you get what they dished out today?'" Record's counter would be, "I was going to ask you the same thing."

So, who ended up with the best grades? "I think she ended with the best average," Record said. "Oh, I don't think there was much difference," Wormington said. "The important thing is that we're now about to take state boards and go on to a career we really wanted."

Wormington will work at the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston Dec. 20. Record will apply to the University of Missouri for graduate school. "Cheryl will be working in the maternity ward, but I want to go on and work in physical therapy," Record said.

When they are apart, they just may recall those trips to Anna and Carbondale, Ill., when they were taking their clinical rotation to get hands-on experience.

"I think those trips brought us closer together than anything," Wormington said. "We realized how much we really had in common. There's not much that's different about us."

Except the answer to which one ended up with the best grades.