All posts by Marla Sutton

“Show Me Your Stethoscope”

Miss Colorado Kelly Johnson Miss America 2016
Health Programs - All, Nursing

It all started at the Miss America pageant. Miss Colorado, Kelley Johnson, is a nurse. She showcased her talent dressed in scrubs, telling a story about an Alzheimer’s patient for whom she was caring. The next day on The View, one of the hosts, Michelle Collins, stated she thought she was “basically reading her emails out loud.” Joy Behar added “Why does she have the doctor’s stethoscope around her neck?” Outrage by the nurses of the world ensued.
Nurses from everywhere went crazy over the reference to the “doctor’s stethoscope” comment. It is apparent that Ms. Behar has limited knowledge about what a nurse does. Okay. The great thing that occurred is the passionate outpouring by nurses regarding the significance of our job. Facebook is now inundated with posts from “Show Me Your Stethoscope,” a Facebook group started by Janie Harvey Garner, a nurse from Missouri. This group, with 800,000 members now, posts nurses’ personal experiences with patients, ethical dilemmas, professional practice questions, jokes, and other stories from nurses. Today there is a post about the new research on uterus transplants. There are now “Show me your Stethoscope” T-shirts, earrings, and necklaces! Johnson & Johnson pulled their advertisements from “The View”. There is a hashtag: “#NursesUnite”!
What does this all mean? Nurses have a lot of power. What a ruckus. I’m glad to hear all of the noise.

Nursing Pinning Spring 2015

Nursing Pinning ceremony
Health Programs - All, Nursing

May 7, 2015: Students, their families and friends gathered at Indian Rocks Baptist Church for St. Petersburg College’s Spring 2015 Pinning ceremony, the capstone event for a nursing student. In this time -honored tradition, a graduate nurse receives the pin from their nursing school and recites the Nightingale Pledge, which reflects the vision and values of the nursing profession.

DJenksClinical
Mrs. Jenks Clinical Group

Eileen Hicks, MSN, RN, retired nursing instructor, was the guest speaker. Ms. Hicks, a nurse and nurse-midwife for over 45 years, shared strong, inspiring messages for the graduates. Explaining how the art and science of nursing will call for “pure grit … as you share, at times, profound pain and, at others, great happiness.”

Ms. Hicks’ journey led her to live and work in East Africa for many years. There, she experienced many aspects of being a nurse. She discussed the importance of the nurse as an advocate, care-giver, learner and teacher. Important advice: “know the whole story. It is not always easy, but it is worth the journey……may you all know great joy in your JOURNEY.”

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Mrs. Sutton’s Clinical Group

The Pinning Ceremony’s success is dependent on our dedicated Pinning Committee Instructors: Mrs. Joanne Goot, Mr. Jacob Schwalb and Mrs. Jackie Murdock. Thank you for making this event so memorable!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THE GRADUATE NURSES!!!!

 

Engaging Nursing Students from Multiple Levels in Simulation

Students participating in the simulation
Health Programs - All, Nursing

April 1, 2015: An ambulance is bringing in four victims of a two-car motor vehicle accident into your Emergency Department. The patients include an elderly female, a middle-aged female, a young, pregnant female, and a 2-year-old child. As the nurse, how will you implement care? What are your priorities?baysim2015

This collaborative scenario was designed by nursing instructors to be dramatized by associate degree nursing students from various clinical semesters. Concepts from Levels 1, 3, and 4 were chosen so students could  illustrate their talents. Both high-fidelity simulators (Human Animated Lifeforms or “HAL’s”) and basic mannequins were employed to simulate communication with patients and health care providers, heart, lung, and bowel sounds, respiratory patterns, pupillary changes, pulses, injuries and wounds.

Debriefing

A vital component of simulation, debriefing allowed students to reflect on individual and  team performance. It also helped to reinforce concepts and diffuse emotions after a stressful situation.

Students’ Evaluations

Evaluations, anonymously completed by students, were overwhelmingly positive:

  • “The learning method offers utilizing our skills, and knowledge on a level that meets ‘real life’ expectations.”
  • “I always learn in thees scenes more and more as to what, why and when.  It reinforces what I know and don’t know, which is a lot.”
  • “I love how the different levels interact with each other and help you where the information sticks with you.”
  • “The variety of patients in the trauma area was interesting, very neat to try to prioritze. Seeing different levels working together is also very neat to see who can do what.”

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The event occurred at the BayCare Systems Office in Clearwater. It was attended by the College of Nursing’s dean, Dr. Susan Baker, and the academic chairs. Based on the evaluations by students, more of these multilevel scenarios will be exercised.