The University of Arkansas (U of A) Eleanor Mann School of Nursing held its eighth white coat ceremony last week to celebrate its newest class of nursing students. The tradition was started thanks to a grant from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, and U of A is one of a select group of nursing schools in the US that receives funding for pins that students place on the lapels of their coats.
Susan Patton, direct of the U of A nursing school, tells News.UArk.edu, “This is a rite of passage. Beginning today, instead of learning only in lecture halls and labs, you will transition to the clinical setting where the patient will be your ultimate teacher. The Gold Foundation calls this white coat the cloak of compassion.”
Susan Kristiniak, assistant chief nursing office for Northwest Medical Center-Springdale, welcomed students into the nursing profession at the ceremony. She gave a speech about how nurses impact patient’s lives by giving an example of how she helped establish a “no one dies alone” rule at a community hospital where she worked previously.
More than 100 first-semester students received their white coats at the ceremony, which faculty members helped them put on as they crossed the stage. To learn more about the University of Arkansas’s white coat ceremony to welcome new nursing students, visit here.
According to AACNNursing.org, the four-day program is taught by faculty from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania who present relevant and timely content designed to advance chief academic administrators to a higher level of leadership. The program is open to deans and directors from AACN member schools who currently serve as the chief or associate chief nursing academic officer.
Patton holds a doctorate in community health promotion from U of A and is a licensed advanced practice registered nurse, a certified clinical nurse specialist, and a certified nurse educator. She was one of 30 nursing leaders selected to participate in the leadership program.
The program addressed issues relevant to nursing leaders including leading change, influencing a diverse set of stakeholders, and building relationships in volatile environments. Patton tells News.UArk.edu that the program equipped her on negotiation, leadership, and influencing skills, as well as introduced her to colleagues from 20 states and 30 nursing programs.
To learn more about the AACN’s Wharton Executive Leadership Program, visit here.
The Arkansas Center for Nursing, Inc. is intended to promote a culture of health for the citizens of Arkansas by advancing nursing education, practice, leadership, and workforce development. The 40 Nurse Leaders Under 40 program is designed to recognize nurses who have shown exemplar dedication to the nursing profession. The recognized nurse leaders are acknowledged as community outreach servants for their continued promise to grow in leadership and advance the nursing profession.
Hopkins earned his Bachelor of Science in Nursing from U of A in 2014 and is pursuing a Master of Science in Nursing from U of A for Medical Sciences to become a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner. Johnson earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from U of A in 2013 and her master’s degree in nursing education from Western Governors University in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2017.
Now, Hopkins teaches mental health nursing at U of A and mentors student nurses working toward earning their bachelor’s degrees. Johnson is a clinical instructor who teaches first-semester nursing students at U of A and mentors nurses on how to pursue their career goals.
To learn more about Hopkins and Johnson’s accomplishments as nursing professionals and recognition on the 40 Nurse Leaders Under 40 list by the Arkansas Center for Nursing, visit here.
University of Arkansas (U of A) students and faculty recently presented research at the 27th Annual Nursing Excellence in Research and Practice conference on April 2 where one research team received incentive to continue their project studying generations.
Peggy Lee, U of A clinical assistant professor, is leading the team investigating “The Changing Face in the Workplace: The Arrivals of the Millennials.” The team received $750 to assist with their project which will survey students at four higher-education institutions and compare responses from traditional college-age students in bachelor’s degree programs to responses from older, more experienced students in bachelor’s degree completion programs for registered nurses.
The team has created three surveys that will measure job satisfaction, organizational commitment like values and priorities, and personality traits. The three sections are combined into a 60-item questionnaire that students will complete online. They believe the data will help educators better prepare nurses for a diverse workforce made up of nurses from several generations.
Lee tells News.UArk.edu, “Research has shown that, by 2020, 75 percent of the workforce will be millennials. That’s very different from what we’ve had before in the workforce when the largest generation was baby boomers…The baby boomers, who are older nurses and administrators, have a lot of wisdom, but they have different ways of learning and communicating than the younger generations. Millennials say work-life balance is very important to them.”
The survey is being distributed to find out how the two groups are alike and how they are different, and whether they fit into the stereotypes typically assigned to generations. The information will help nursing schools and educators emphasize strengths from each generation to help generations understand each other and create a healthier work environment.
U of A’s research team will present the survey results at Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing’s meeting in Indianapolis this September. To learn more about U of A Nursing’s study on generations, visit here.
The Schmieding Foundation of Springdale, Arkansas has made a $40,000 commitment to support students in the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing in the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas (U of A). Their gift will be matched with $40,000 from the Robert M. and Bonnie J. Jones Family Trust for a total endowment of $80,000.
Gilda Underwood, president of the Schmieding Foundation, felt the scholarship would be a great honor to Lawrence Schmieding, the foundation’s namesake, who understood the importance of quality caregivers for aging and ill family members. In honor of his passing away in 2009, the scholarship has been named in his memory as the Lawrence H. Schmieding Advance Arkansas Endowed Scholarship in Nursing.
Underwood tells News.UArk.edu, “Our hope is that this scholarship helps a nursing student not have to worry about holding a part-time job. We want to help them reduce their loan debt and focus on being the best in their field…A nursing student has a giving heart and will be serving the community for a long time. We indicated a preference for local students so they will hopefully remain in Northwest Arkansas and give back to their community.”
The scholarship will specifically benefit nursing students from Washington and Benton Counties who have completed their freshman and sophomore years as full-time students at U of A. Students who exhibit financial need, have records of academic success, and demonstrate a strong desire to complete their degree at the university will be eligible for the scholarship.
To learn more about the Lawrence H. Schmieding Advance Arkansas Endowed Scholarship in Nursing available to University of Arkansas nursing students, visit here.
Eight senior nursing students from the University of Arkansas (UA) Eleanor Mann School of Nursing have been getting to know the homeless people of Fayetteville through a 7-week clinical rotation with 7hills Homeless Center. Working with the homeless has taught them empathy and how to think beyond immediate treatment, an immensely valuable skill that they will carry with them into their graduation this Spring.
During their rotations, the students have learned that homeless people aren’t as unfriendly and scary as many people think. Homeless people come from all backgrounds and most aren’t homeless because of something they’ve done, but due to unforeseen bumps along the way. Gaining trust with their patients has taught them not to judge by first looks or impressions and educated them on many of the challenges that homeless people face. Dorian Nelson, a senior nursing student, tells News.UArk.edu:
“After you go to the emergency room, if your home is the wet, cold woods, it doesn’t matter that you had treatment. A lot of nursing is advocacy. Here, we work with case managers whose job it is to help the homeless in all aspects of their lives. They will leave here no better than when they came in if we can’t help them with resources.”
Registered nurse Janet Gardner established the clinical rotation program at the 7hills homeless enter in January 2016 and now places different groups of 8 students there two times per semester. Their clinical duties include taking blood pressure, checking blood sugar, treating wounds, and making calls on behalf of their patients who need further medical treatment. This has taught these senior nursing students how to be advocates for their patients who need help, especially those who need management of their chronic conditions.
Taking a broader mindset with them into their upcoming graduation ceremony, many of these students now plan to work in hospital emergency departments or critical care units where they can best serve some of the most vulnerable patients and populations.
To learn more about the University of Arkansas nursing program and 7hills Homeless Center, visit here.
