In October, Dr. Dorothy Nulty and two RN-BSN students visited the Universidad El Bosque in Bogota, Colombia for the College of Nursing’s first international community practicum experience. Following an interview process, Cailey Walsh, a full-time online student, and Christine Danaher, a full-time face to face student, were selected.

The students worked with a high school affiliated with the university during their visit and learned about issues faced by the youth. After conferring with high school administrators, it was determined that a program on safe sex measures and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases would be meet a growing concern among the youth.

During this visit, Cailey and Christine met daily with the students to build a rapport and to address any other educational needs they may have on this subject. The week culminated with the SPC students providing 4 educational sessions for a total of 80 high school students. The sessions were very well received by the students and they actively participated in the games and exercises.

Additional learning experience were provided in which the students interacted with community members and other UEB nursing students. Cailey and Christine commented that this experience gave them many new things to consider which they plan to incorporate into their personal and clinical practice. Our colleges of nursing are looking forward to continuing a wonderful collegial relationship between our teaching institutions.

On April 22, 2016, The Disney Leadership Conference College Edition was held at Walt Disney World. This year, several SGA representatives attended including two of our own RN-BSN students, Christine Lussier and Dorothy Bruce. This conference gives students the unique opportunity to learn about Walt Disney World’s strategy for leadership and teamwork. During their day at the park, students were broken into groups of 15 and were assigned various team activities to facilitate working in groups cohesively and cooperatively. These activities were designed to incorporate aspects of Walt Disney World’s strategy for leadership and teamwork:

• Share your vision and build consensus around it
• Define the process and delegate responsibilities
• Create a culture of innovation

One activity required students to work in pairs to create an imaginary gown for Cinderella. The gown was to be designed for Cinderella’s special night at the Ball. This daunting task was to be completed without any communication between members. This required teams to work creatively not only in designing a Ball gown but also in finding a means to communicate with each other beyond voice, handwritten, or sign language. This conference gave BSN students Christine and Dorothy a magical Disney experience as well as insight into ways to build their roles as future nurses in leadership and teamwork.

The St. Petersburg College, College of Nursing RN to BSN Program is being renamed to honor the generous donation to the college by Dr. Walter Schafer and his wife, Vivian Schafer, R.N. The Shafers have long been supporters of nurses in general, and especially the RN to BSN program at SPC.

A lovely ceremony was held at the College of Nursing on March 24 to thank this family for their ongoing support. Members of the Schafer family were present for the unveiling of a new plaque in the main hall of the CON honoring Dr. and Mrs. Schafer. SPC President Dr. Bill Law, College of Nursing Dean Susan Baker, SPC Foundation members, and many family members were present at the unveiling and reception.

Rebecca Thieme, a May 2016 BSN graduate, thanked the Schafers for their contribution to the College of Nursing. Rebecca was able to complete her advanced degree with financial assistance which would not have been possible without our donors. SPC and the College of Nursing thank this wonderful family for their generous donation dedicated to the support of our students.

On January 6, 2015, over 80 new students admitted to the RN-BSN Nursing Program attended orientation. Each fall and spring semester, the BSN nursing faculty plan an orientation day for all of their new admissions, online and blended learners. On this day, students are introduced to the faculty and given an opportunity to learn about their classes, program guidelines, and how to be successful in completing their academic goal of achieving a baccalaureate in Nursing.

On this day, students learn about student resources such as disability services to the learning resource centers at each campus to the student assistance program. Students are also given an overview of what to expect with their upcoming courses in the first 8 week session – Professional Roles & Dimensions of Nursing Practice and Informatics & Clinical Reasoning. An additional session is provided by the HEC librarian that reviews the guidelines of scholarly writing and resources available to help them with their writing assignments. The orientation session ends with students meeting their assigned faculty advisor to review their program plan and to answer any questions they may have. This faculty member will work with the student through the entire program to follow their program plan. SPC and the BSN Nursing faculty are committed to the growth and success of their students in achieving their academic goals.

Lucina has arrived – SPC College of Nursing has received the latest birthing simulator !!

The CAE Fidelis Lucina Maternal Fetal Simulator was developed for clinicians and interprofessional teams who manage normal deliveries as well as childbirth complications and obstetrical emergencies. The birthing simulator provides our students with reliable, realistic training for childbirth maneuvers as well as pre-gestational and post-partum nursing care.

On Tuesday, June 23, 2015, the simulation coordinator, resource lab staff, academic chairs and our Dean Susan Baker had the chance  to experience a short training session to run the simulator. A representative from the medical simulation company, CAE Healthcare, demonstrated a normal birthing scenario. It was a very educational and exciting training for everyone present.  SPC’s College of Nursing resource lab staff and the simulation coordinator are ready to give our students a wonderful maternity teaching experience through the use of such amazing technology !!

Now what should we name Lucina’s baby?

Heather Johnson and Adam Carroll practicing their cardiovascular exam

Students in our RN to BSN program are diligently continuing their studies over the summer here at SPC College of Nursing. Our Fall 2014 cohort class are currently in the Health Assessment class where they are learning to build on their physical assessment skills and ability to analyze and synthesize these findings to determine the health risks and health promotion needs of their patients. Each week, a new body system is reviewed.

This past week, the students focused on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems and got the chance to practice their new skills on each other.  Egophony, bronchophony, and whispered pectoriloquy are words that initially invoke concern – not only with what they mean – but also how to pronounce them!

 They are special assessment skills that we, as nurses, can perform at the bedside to determine if the patient has a consolidation in their lungs, such as pneumonia.

Next week the students move on to the gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal systems……