U Kentucky to Train More Rural Nurses

U Kentucky to Train More Rural Nurses

The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is partnering with the UK College of Nursing to help meet the need for more nurses in rural Kentucky. 

According to the 2019 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s State Rankings for Health Outcomes, Kentucky has some of the highest obesity, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease rates in the United States. Many of the state’s rural counties are among the worst for health outcomes. At the same time, much of the state faces a shortage of registered nurses, with rural areas having the greatest need. 

Beginning this fall, the Ag Nursing Scholars Program for Kentucky Health and Wellness will provide a way for students in majors in CAFE’s Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition to seamlessly earn a second degree in nursing. Students will earn a Bachelor of Science degree in either dietetics or human nutrition from CAFE and then pursue an accelerated Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from the College of Nursing. 

“This partnership is exciting, and we hope to succeed in supporting well-rounded student programs to create healthier communities,” said Nancy Cox, UK vice president of land-grant engagement and dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. 

“The College of Nursing is thrilled to announce this new partnership with the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, giving students an opportunity to train and develop a broad set and depth of skills that will make them uniquely qualified to excel in their future careers,” said Janie Heath, dean and Warwick Professor of Nursing in the College of Nursing. “This type of dual-degree opportunity is what gives our University of Kentucky students a competitive advantage over other graduates in the fields of health care, nutrition and education.”  

During the program, students will complete a variety of experiential learning activities and undergraduate research. As part of the nursing program, they will also receive Certified Nursing Assistant training and more than 700 clinical hours of guided learning from faculty and clinicians specializing in six specialties.

You May Get Your Covid Jab From a Nursing Student

You May Get Your Covid Jab From a Nursing Student

In Texas, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and many other states, nursing students are saying, “Would you please roll up your sleeve?”

U Tennessee nursing students prepare Covid-19 vaccine doses.

Being a nursing student during a pandemic may be lacking in some respects, but at schools of nursing around the United States, students are helping to save lives and play an historic role. Some are keenly aware of their position. In Philadelphia, PA, Alondra Torregrossa, a nursing junior at Temple University’s College of Public Health , helped vaccinate 250 health workers at the Temple U Hospital as members of the media looked on. She said, “To be there as a student nurse felt like being a part of history,” but added, with a nurse’s passion for accuracy, that “I wasn’t too nervous, because I had a recently done flu shot clinic on the Health Sciences Campus.”

At Temple’s nursing program—like many others—students leapt at the chance to take part and gain more in-person experience with patients. Undergrad program director Joelle Hargraves remarked, “The opportunity for nursing students to participate was priceless. They eagerly volunteered to be part of an interprofessional team and witnessed how nurse leaders formulated and implemented a seamless plan for immunizing essential health care providers.”

“Despite the hospital being inundated with COVID-19 cases, the vaccination clinic is a glimmer of hope.”

University of Connecticut Nursing Student

The University of Connecticut School of Nursing called upon their students as well, and during the first two weeks of January they administered jabs to UConn Health staff and monitored them for adverse reactions. 20 students pitched in, but Dean Deborah Chyun said, “We initially had 85 undergraduate and graduate students express interest in volunteering, as well as a handful of faculty. Due to scheduling, not all were able to participate, but that level of caring speaks volumes about our students.”

In normal conditions, students rarely provide vaccinations even during clinicals, but Covid jab duty is now offers a precious opportunity to practice nursing. For example, “There was one occasion where an individual felt dizzy post-vaccination and required further evaluation,” says Amanda Moreau, a clinical coordinator and instructor with the U Conn School of Nursing. “The student played a crucial role in identifying that the individual did not feel well and initiated the proper protocol to call for additional medical assistance…”

After helping give shots to 200 U Connecticut Health workers, needle-wielding student Rebekah Gerber reflected, “It was easy to get lost in the procedure in the moment, but as I reflect back, I realize that these vaccines will save so many lives. It is an honor to have played a very small role in distributing the vaccines.”

Nursing students at University of Tennessee administered 400 shots in a single day. “They had the chance to talk with patients, answer questions they might have about the vaccine itself or side-effects, and even deal with some folks who might be nervous about getting the injection,” according to Victoria Niederhauser, the UT College of Nursing Dean.

A U Conn nursing student remarked on the experience, “I was often asked to take pictures of individuals receiving their vaccines so they could document their participation in this historic experience and encourage others to receive their vaccines as well. Overall, the environment was positive and uplifting. Despite the hospital being inundated with COVID-19 cases, the vaccination clinic is a glimmer of hope.”

Dancing in the Streets: US Nurses Welcome Covid Shots

Dancing in the Streets: US Nurses Welcome Covid Shots

American nurses are becoming iconic images of hope as they receive the first SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations approved for emergency use.  A gathering of reporters, officials, and healthcare providers applauded when they witnessed the first vaccination in Oklahoma , as Erica Arrocha, RN administered the state’s first Covid-19 vaccination to a colleague, RN Hanna White, at Integris Baptist Medical Center. White told reporters, “Hopefully this is the start of something better.”

California nurse Helen Cordova was the first in the state to get a Covid shot.
ICU nurse and NP Helen Cordova was the first Californian to get a Covid shot.

New York ICU nurse Sandra Lindsay, the first US healthcare worker to receive a shot, told journalists, “I trust the science,” as her vaccination was recorded and livestreamed to millions of viewers.

The first in line for vaccination in Minnesota was Minneapolis frontline VA nurse Thera Witte, who declared, “I’m feeling hopeful that this is the beginning of the end” of the deadly pandemic that has so far taken over 377,000 lives in the US and 1.65 million lives worldwide.

There were even impromptu parties. When the first shipment of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine arrived in Boston, there was dancing in the streets (or the hospital parking lot)—on a chilly Massachusetts day in December-—that immediately went viral.

The first Californian to be vaccinated had initially been dubious. ICU nurse and NP Helen Cordova at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center changed her mind, but she still understands the mistrust. Her training, though, prompted her to research the science behind the new vaccines: “That’s probably the best thing to do, educate ourselves, get the information ourselves,” she told ABC7 in LA. “As I started to dig in a little more, I felt more at ease. I started changing my stance on it. I went from ‘absolutely not’ to ‘sure, here’s my arm, let’s do it!’”

“It’s important not just for me, but for all of those that I love.” In New Jersey, the first to roll up her sleeve was Maritza Beniquez, an emergency department nurse at University Hospital in Newark. As state governor Phil Murphy looked on with journalists and healthcare workers, Beniquez was exuberant after receiving the state’s first SARS-2 shot on her birthday: “I couldn’t wait for this moment to hit New Jersey. I couldn’t wait for it to hit the U.S!”

And as humans cannot resist an opportunity to thrill one another with foreboding rumors of sinister events, false social media posts started to appear almost as soon as states began to vaccinate healthcare workers. So, if patients, friends, or family cite the nonexistent “42-y/o nurse in Alabama found dead 8-10 hours” later from anaphylactic shock, well, what did you expect? Share a real social media event like the Boston MC flash mob, and tell them you’re keeping your mask on even after your second vaccination, as epidemiologists say we will probably have to wait until mid-late 2021 to gauge the efficacy of the vaccines.

Boston Medical Center workers went all out to celebrate the arrival of the vaccine.
COVID Insouciance Frustrates Frontline Nurses: “People Aren’t Listening to Us”

COVID Insouciance Frustrates Frontline Nurses: “People Aren’t Listening to Us”

As hospitalizations and deaths mount, nurses are losing patience with COVID-19 conspiracy theories and distorted libertarian mores that depict masking mandates as an infringement of personal liberty.

As Covid surges, nurses are becoming frustrated by anti-maskers and conspiracy theorists.

For frontline nurses tending to Covid patients who shunned masks or insisted on attending crowded gatherings, the situation is fraught with tragedy. South Dakota ED nurse Jodi Doering recently told CNN , “I think the hardest thing to watch is that people are still looking for something else and a magic answer and they do not want to believe Covid is real. Their last dying words are, ‘This can’t be happening. It’s not real.’” In North Dakota, Governor Doug Burgum pleaded, “You don’t have to believe in Covid, you don’t have to believe in a certain political party or not, you don’t have to believe whether masks work or not. You can just do it because you know that one thing is very real. And that’s that 100 percent of our capacity is now being used.”

“I want you to listen to health care providers and [what] your officials are telling you. I don’t want praise and I certainly don’t want to be your martyr.”

Tiffany M. Montgomery, PA Frontline Nurse

Nebraska ICU nurse Laci Gooch spoke out in a Twitter video: “We’re tired. We’re understaffed. We’re taking care of very, very sick patients and our patient load just keeps going up. We’re exhausted and frustrated that people aren’t listening to us.” Driving home after one night shift, Gooch passed a car festival packed with attendees blithely ignoring masking and social distancing, and “I was just shocked and it was infuriating. It just kind of feels like a slap in the face to all the hard work that we’re doing.”

Kentucky nurses, too, are “tired and frustrated” by the neglect of social distancing rules. Delanor Manson, of the Kentucky Nurses Association, told WLKY, “Some of the things that make it especially hard for [frontline nurses] is that they can’t get the vision of people dying out of their heads when they’re sleeping at night and when they’re at home with their families.”

There is irony as well. Despite being acclaimed as “healthcare heroes” around the globe, nurses feel doubly vulnerable when they go home to communities that frown on masking. “Wearing a mask won’t hurt you, but there’s the potential if you don’t wear a mask you may hurt someone else,” said Dr. Ruth Carrico, an infectious disease nurse and researcher with University of Louisville Health in Kentucky. In Pennsylvania, Tiffany M. Montgomery, a Drexel University postdoctoral research fellow who also works as a labor and delivery nurse, told the Morning Call, “I had no idea we would be doing it for this long and I’m just tired. I don’t want to be your superhero. I want to be safe. I don’t want to have to deal with this anymore. I want you to listen to health care providers and [what] your officials are telling you. I don’t want praise and I certainly don’t want to be your martyr.”

Frontier Nursing University Wins Second Consecutive HEED Award for Excellence in Diversity

Frontier Nursing University Wins Second Consecutive HEED Award for Excellence in Diversity

INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine has just recognized Frontier Nursing University’s commitment and accomplishments for the second consecutive year. FNU has now added the 2019 Health Professions HEED (Higher Education Excellence in Diversity) award to their shelf alongside their award from 2018.

INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine's 2019 HEED Awards
About the Health Professions HEED Award

“The Health Professions HEED Award process consists of a comprehensive and rigorous application that includes questions relating to the recruitment and retention of students and employees and best practices for both; continued leadership support for diversity; and other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion,” said Lenore Pearlstein, co-publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. The magazine is the oldest and largest publication on this topic in higher education and is well-known for its annual Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Awards.

Pearlstein adds, “As we continue to see a record number of Health Professions HEED Award applicants each year, nearly every school tells us they use the application itself as a tool to create new programs and to benchmark their accomplishments across campus. The process allows them to reflect on their successes and also determine where more work needs to be done. We also continue to raise the standards in selecting HEED institutions.”

Diversity Impact at Frontier Nursing University

FNU’s history of emphasizing and valuing inclusion was formally instituted nine years ago, when it instituted the Diversity Impact Program in 2010. Each summer, FNU holds the Diversity Impact Conference for nurse practitioner and nurse-midwifery students plus faculty and staff to foster collaborative discussions, address health disparities, and find proactive solutions to improve minority health among underrepresented and marginalized groups.

FNU’s diversity initiatives span all facets of the university, but one of the most telling and important data points is the percentage of students of color enrolled at FNU. In 2009, that number was 9 percent. In 2019, it has grown to 23 percent.

“We are incredibly proud to receive the prestigious HEED Award again this year,” said FNU President Dr. Susan Stone. “To receive this award two years in a row is a wonderful honor. Our graduates serve people of all races and cultures and are increasingly coming from diverse backgrounds. It is imperative that our students, faculty, and staff have cultural awareness and competency in order to effectively advance our mission. The HEED Award confirms the value of our efforts and validates our continued emphasis on diversity and inclusion within the culture of FNU.”

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INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine

INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine is the oldest and largest diversity publication in higher education today and is well-known for its annual Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award. In addition to its online job board, INSIGHT Into Diversity presents timely, thought-provoking news and feature stories on matters of diversity and inclusion across higher education. Articles include interviews with innovators and experts, as well as profiles of best practices and exemplary programs. Current, archived, and digital issues of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine are available online at insightintodiversity.com .

For further information on Frontier Nursing University and the Health Professions HEED Award, visit the FNU site.

Frontier Nursing University Makes its Impact on Diversity

Frontier Nursing University Makes its Impact on Diversity

Under the aegis of the Diversity Impact (DI) Program at Frontier Nursing University, faculty and students are the vanguard of the movement to diversify the ranks of nurse practitioners and nurse-midwives and improve health care conditions among the underserved and marginalized.

Frontier’s current Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Dr. Maria Valentin-Welch, takes great pride in the students’ achievements during and after their participation in the DI program, and says: “they are applying what is taught here in regard to diversity, inclusion, and equity, not only within their new areas of employment as graduates but across their communities. Some have established underserved programs, birth centers, and international programs. These students are passionate advocates for the underserved and disenfranchised people. They are the future catalyst of change.”

In addition to distributing some $300,000 in scholarship funds received through their Health Resources and Services Administration’s Nursing Workforce Diversity Grant, the program has implemented diversity training sessions for all faculty and staff and added diversity discussions to student orientation sessions. DI participants are also encouraged to attend annual conferences dedicated to fostering a more diverse, culturally aware health care workforce—where, under the guidance of a faculty mentor, students explore the benefits of active participation in professional nursing organizations.

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The thriving program at Frontier received a 2018 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, and was cited as a “Top College for Diversity.” In addition, the magazine added Dr. Valentin-Welch herself to their Top 25 Women in Higher Education roster of standout diversity advocates at US colleges and universities.

For an experienced professional proponent of diversity and inclusion, the most daunting challenge, according to Valentin-Welch, is maintaining belief in the goal of “uniting folks while our nation is receiving messages of division and promoting actions of division and lack of compassion… However, I feel midwifery and nursing have always held an important role in not only listening to people, but also advocating for what is right.”

For further details on the Diversity Impact Program at Frontier Nursing University, visit here.