Caring Notes - UIW School of Nursing Magazine - Fall 2014

Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Professions

Caring Notes Vol. 2 Issue 2 • Fall 2014

Inside This Issue 2

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Holiday Spirit at Heaven

Dear Friends,

for Hope

Since last I wrote, the word that most aptly describes the time is “challenges.”

As I think of the word, the next thought coming to mind is “opportunities.”

Students across the Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing & Health Professions (IFM SN & HP) are challenged by faculty, their peers, and national standards to achieve to their highest potential. Meeting and exceeding these challenges open a vast array of opportunities for students and graduates. Opportunities to move forward in their education, whether it is in new professional endeavors or ongoing academic education are evident. Many of our Rehabilitation Science graduates continue their education to become doctoral prepared physical therapist. Kinesiology majors in the certification track move on to becoming excellent teachers. In addition to becoming outstanding professional nurses, our BSN graduates continue to become advanced practice nurses and clinical nurse leaders. Nuclear medicine graduates provide essential services for nuclear imaging across the city and region. Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) graduates move on to their basic courses and first military assignment.

School Mourns Dr. Henrich’s Passing Dr. Cook Moves to Her Next Adventure After 25 Years at UIW UIW Nuclear Medicine Students Learn New Emerging Technologies Athletic Training and Rehab Science Students Assist Refugees

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Letter From the Dean

Announcements

Faculty and staff are challenged to continually incorporate the latest evidence into their interactions with students and each other alike. With these challenges has come the opportunity for new student support systems, welcoming of new faculty members, and ongoing program accreditations. To facilitate pre-licensure BSN student success, the Assessment Technologies Incorporated® (ATI) system was selected as the new technology-based student support system.

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2014. The Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) Track will admit its second cohort of 23 students in January 2015. Through an Advanced Nursing Traineeship Grant received from the Division of Nursing, Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources Services (HRSA), many of the members of the first and second FNP cohorts will receive significant tuition assistance for two years. The Centralized Application System (CAS) was implemented for pre-licensure nursing students and will be used for all graduate programs in January 2015.

Nursing faculty members eagerly greeted our new faculty members (profiled in this issue). The Doctor of Nursing Practice Program received its initial full five year Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) accreditation in November

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he Ila Faye Miller School of

Nursing along with Nursing Sigma Theta Tau International Delta Alpha at Large Chapter and the Student Nurse Associations from three BSN schools plan the fourth annual Haven for Hope Child Care Christmas party for nearly 250 Haven for Hope children and their parents.

"The ability to help our vulnerable populations celebrate Christmas is very gratifying spiritually. It is also a central part of our mission.” Dr. Michael Moon, associate professor at Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Professions, said.

Last year, more than 180 families participated in the Activity Booths.

Over 240 children engaged in various interactive activities manned by the Student Nurse Associations, and also received gifts donated by students, faculty and friends. In addition to the gifts and activities, $ 500 worth of diapers was collected to create with the boxes of diapers a tree for the Child Care Center.

"Although the Christmas

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The entire IFM SN & HP students, faculty, and staff have supported one another as family and friends have undergone significant illnesses and losses since May 2014.

One of these was the unexpected

Celebration at Haven for Hope includes some of the traditional aspects of the season like crafts, singing carols, and distributing gifts, our students have the opportunity to share their talents at interacting with children of all ages and their families. Through this activity, the students and the children gain an appreciation for the unique gifts we all have to offer,” said Dr. Laura Munoz, associate professor of nursing and director of the DNP Program at the Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Professions.

death of Dr. Timothy Henrich, professor in the Human Performance Division. Tim taught primarily in Kinesiology and Sport Management. His death followed the equally unexpected passing of Sr. Dorothy Ettling. Sr. Dot was the Director of the CCVI and a special friend to our school.

As the Christmas Season approaches, remember as President Agnes says “Time is our most precious gift,” Strive for your goals, keep your family and friends close, trust in God, and following Dr. Henrich’s and Sr. Dot’s example- GO MAKE A DIFERENCE!

Dean, PhD, PHCNS- BC, RN-BC,ANEF

Holiday Spirit at Heaven For Hope

By Ivonne A. Davila Nursing Instructor /Clinical Coordinator

This year’s UIW Student Nurse Association stations include decorating a graham cracker ginger bread house and making bracelets. “Even though our students have just completed a rigorous and stressful semester, they find the time and enthusiasm to share with others. We are very proud of their generosity of spirit," said Munoz.

“If you can make a small difference in the life of one person you have made a significant contribution to humankind. It takes one step at a time," Moon said.

Nursing students and faculty preparing the Christmas donations to take to Heaven for Hope.

Left to right, Cynthia Richardson, Senior instructor, Kayla Young, Daniela Torres-Vazquez, Yvonne Davila, Nursing Instructor, Dominique Hunter, Kayla Abell and Josie Maldonado.

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New Program Implemented for Nursing Student Success

By Dr. Danielle Gunter, Nursing Instructor

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his fall the Ila Faye Miller School

of Nursing implemented a new program called ATI to help students reach their nursing academic goals. ATI stands for Assessment Technologies Institute ™ and is a program designed to support students through active learning strategies. It provides online modules in a variety of topics, for example: pharmacology review, test practice, therapeutic and inter-professional communication, and video case studies. All modules are interactive and help students get away from the traditional classroom lecture to prepare for clinical practice, and instead study in different ways that facilitate their understanding of the material and ability to think analytically in order to solve clinical problems. “The ATI real life clinical reasoning scenarios help students apply theoretical information to the care of patients,” Dr. Julie Nadeau, assistant professor and BSN program chair, said.

The program was integrated across the entire curriculum this fall after all undergraduate nursing faculty completed a two-day orientation in May and worked through the summer to review all the materials offered.

We know from our own experience and from the evidence that preparing for the N-CLEX exam throughout a nursing program is

more efficient than waiting for the last semester. We want our students to be ready and to have less anxiety about taking their licensure exam.

We spent a lot of time over the period of two semesters searching for a program that would be the best fit. We ultimately decided on ATI. The program also includes a series of exams that help students prepare for the national licensure exam. Although not every course will offer one of these, each semester students will take at least one Content Mastery Series Exam and will spend time reviewing their results as another tactic for successful completion of both their course requirements and the N-CLEX-RN exam.

Also, included is a summative review course at the end of the program called Capstone. This course is a step-by-step guided review of all the content in the program and it is provided prior to

the ATI comprehensive exit exams.

These give the students an idea about their chances of passing the N-CLEX if they took it that day.

Similar to the previous exit exams, students are required to achieve a 95% probability of passing. By doing everything we can to help make sure each student has every opportunity to prepare for life as a professional nurse in our community. We want to guide them and give them all the resources available to help them succeed in this program.

Dr. Nadeau believes that ATI’s integration of evidenced-based practice, patient-centered care, safety, teamwork, and collaboration prepares students to meet the differentiated essential competencies of the professional nurse in Texas.

“We spent a lot of time over the period of two semesters searching for a program that would be the best fit. We ultimately decided on ATI.” Dr. Danielle Gunter said.

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School Mourns Dr. Henrich’s Passing

By Dr. Greg Soukup, Human Performance Associate Professor

Dr. Henrich grew up in Southern California and during grade school he became involved in competitive swimming programs. He swam and played water polo in high school and in college at California State University Fullerton. He also was a lifeguard at Newport Beach California for 8 years.

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r. Timothy Henrich, human

performance and kinesiology professor, passed away on Oct. 4, 2014 while attending his 50th high school reunion in Santa Ana, California. He had over 45 years of experience in research, teaching, coaching, and he devoted the last 22 years of his career to the University of the Incarnate Word.

He was a great embodiment of the Mission of UIW and he very selflessly and generously gave of his time and served the university every day in many different important ways.

Dr. Henrich was a very devoted educator and spent countless hours providing personal instruction and tutoring to students. He was also a great friend and colleague and noted scholar, educator and coach.

Dr. Henrich received his degrees from 3 very prestigious universities.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from California State University – Fullerton in 1970, his master’s degree in human performance from Indiana University in 1979, and his Ph.D. in kinesiology from Texas A & M University in 1988.

After graduating from California State University – Fullerton in 1970, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was a competitive member of the United States Modern Pentathlon Team for 4 years. He later worked as a coach for the United States Modern Pentathlon Olympic team for another 4 years.

He had a life-long involvement with aquatics and competitive swimming and he participated as a head coach, team captain or swimming coach in 8 different world championship swimming events. His expertise in swimming was sought out by many different high schools, universities, and

international swimming programs. While earning his master’s degree at Indiana University he worked as a graduate assistant for and was mentored by the legendary collegiate swimming coach James “Doc” Counsilman.

He worked with swimmers in the Indiana University swimming program and operated youth swimming camps for “Doc” during the summer. Tim received his Texas teaching certificate in 1980 and was a physical education teacher and head swimming coach at Alamo Heights High School from 1980–1984. He also worked as a swimming and aquatic consultant for the Northeast Independent School District in San Antonio. Dr. Henrich was a certified coach with the World Swimming Coaches Association and he coached elite international swimmers and supervised Olympic swimming programs in Denmark from 1989 1992 and in Egypt from 1992-1993.

At UIW, he founded the swimming program in 1999 and served as the Head Coach for the team from its inception until 2002 and continued to be an avid supporter and booster of the swimming, diving, and synchronized swimming programs at UIW until his passing.

He was a member of several different national and international swimming organizations that included the American Swimming Coaches Association and the College Swimming Coaches Association.

Dr. Henrich was a recognized expert in research related to

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conferences.

He also served on the editorial review boards of several prestigious journals related to kinesiology and coaching like the Journal of Swimming Research, Perceptual and Motor Skills, and the Research Journal for the International Council for Health Physical Education RecreationSport and Dance. Dr. Henrich had a very long history of generous and selfless professional service and he held 19 different leadership positions in local, state, national and international organizations related to swimming, coaching, and kinesiology and had just finished a term as vicepresident for North America for the International Council for Health Physical Education Recreation-Sport and Dance in 2013.

swimming coaching and exercise physiology. He had a consistent line of state, national, and international scholarly presentations and publications that stretched from 1987 until 2014. His publications included studies related to sport psychology, coaching, exercise physiology, physical education pedagogy, motor control and learning and sport management. During his career he published 22 cited peer reviewed publications, 17 international conference manuscripts, five research presentations with UIW students, and 74 peer reviewed scholarly presentations at research

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Dr. Henrich began his tenure at UIW in 1993 and he devoted the last 22 years of his career and his life to the university. He served the university in many different ways and during his tenure at UIW he was a faculty senator for 7 years and also served on several different committees at UIW that included Faculty Affairs, Rank and Tenure, Curriculum, Grievance, Faculty Nominating, Optometry Ad-Hoc, Service Learning Advisory, Community Wellness, and Interdisciplinary Studies committees. He also taught for one year at the UIW campus in China.

Dr. Henrich loved working with students and he worked tirelessly to improve and expand the educational opportunities available to students at the university. He has served on 15 doctoral dissertation committees at UIW and chaired 6 of them. He was an integral part of initiating and

obtaining approval for the MS in kinesiology, the BBA, MS, MAA, and MBA degrees in sport management. He served as the director of the Sport Management program from its inception in 1993 until 2011. He also helped develop and implement a unique MS program with the UIW Online University in International Sport Coaching for graduate students that began in the fall of 2014.

He had a very profound impact on the physical make-up of the UIW campus. He helped write the proposal that provided financing for the Ann Barshop Natatorium and then worked with architects to select a location on campus and to design the structure that exists on campus today. In 2011, he developed a proposal for an international sport and fencing center at UIW. Working with others, he helped secure a $ 2 million grant from Bexar County and once again played an integral part in the planning, design, and construction of the facility that opened in 2013 at St. Anthony High School. The center is a state-of-theart facility that serves a diverse mix of individuals from the UIW system, San Antonio, and Bexar County area and sponsors regional and international fencing competitions.

After his passing, the UIW executive committee voted unanimously to rename the facility the Henrich Center for Fencing and International Sports.

Dr. Henrich was a very unique person, educator and scholar and he was greatly beloved by his friends and colleagues at UIW and around the world. He was very humble regarding his 22 years of service to the university and did not actively seek recognition for many of his career accomplishments. He will not soon be forgotten and his legacy will always be felt at UIW because of his tireless efforts to constantly improve the quality of the educational experience for all of the students and faculty at the university.

Caring Notes :: Fall 2014

UIW Team for Kids: A Mission Driven Community Health Program

By Dr. Monica Ramirez Nursing Assisstant Professor

UIW nursing student Jeniffer Banse –left – and Marcus Lewis – right– during a workshop explaining how to reduce allergens at home by reducing Asthma triggers in the household.

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ddressing the concerns and health needs of the community has

been a principal of the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) since the ministry of the first Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word back in 1869. A commitment to the University’s mission of faith, service, innovation, truth and education are a foundation to the UIW Team for Kids program. The purpose of this community initiative is to implement the evidence-based programs, Allergy and Asthma Foundation Wee Breathers and reinforce the Bienestar obesity prevention program to families of children with asthma attending Head Start at the Tynan Early Childhood Center.

The project was developed in response to the Promise and Choice Together (PaCT) request for service programs to improve the health and wellness of residents living within the designated Eastside Promise and Choice neighborhood of San Antonio. UIW Team for Kids is an interprofessional and interinstitutional endeavor where teams of nursing and pharmacy students from UIW and respiratory therapy students from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) work as a team of health coaches with the 18 enrolled families.

The student teams visit with the families in their homes and work alongside them to identify and reduce potential asthma triggers during a pre-workshop home visit. Each family is provided with the opportunity to attend one workshop each week with a four week time period where they receive small group information on asthma wellness and childhood obesity prevention. “It is not so much what I learned, but what I’ve seen.

I’ve seen parents try their hardest to come to the workshops when they don’t even have transportation. I’ve seen parents dedicated to their children as much as we are dedicated to teaching and helping them learn,” said Carmina Cardona, UIW nursing student.

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Stephanie Cavazos and her daughter Jayla Davis leaving the workshop with supplies to reinforce the prevention of asthma in their home.

During the workshops, a chef worked closely with the faculty team to develop the dinner menu to serve the families as a way to introduce them to healthier conscious options. After each workshop, the families received various items (cleaning supplies, mattress / pillow covers, and kitchen measuring utensils) to use towards improving the health of their families. Once the families have completed the workshops, the health coach teams return to provide the families with a post assessment to evaluate improvements and connect them with outside services that may assist them with further needs. “Now we feel like we can do more to make our home a healthier place for our great granddaughter,” said the Oliva great grandparents of 4 yearold Ayva.

The response to the program has been one of gratitude and appreciation for providing the families with an opportunity to increase their knowledge and

empower them to care for their children. Jose Cornejo, father of 4 year-old Damian, expressed the fact that since the team had served them well, they will be able to better serve as caregivers to their family.

Programs like UIW Team for Kids are critical in preparing tomorrow’s healthcare workforce to intentionally work interprofessionally and become more capable to successfully meet the complexities surrounding the social and economic determinants of health.

UIW Team for Kids was led by Linda Hook, DrPh(c), MSN, RN (program manager), Monica N. Ramirez, PhD, RN (primary investigator) and faculty facilitators - Cynthia N. Nguyen, PharmD, Leticia M. Ybarra MSN, RN, FNP-BC, Delia Meyer, MSN, RN from the University of Incarnate Word and Donna Gardner, MSHP, RRT, FAARC from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

“I’ve seen parents try their hardest to come to the workshops when they don’t even have transportation.”

Carmina Cardona, UIW nursing student.

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Kevin Zhao, UIW pharmacy student (left), coaches Chris Russell (right) in healthy eating habits during one of the workshops.

Caring Notes :: Fall 2014

Nursing: Ecuadorian Adventure

The blue-footed booby, native of Ecuador, walked fearless among the eager students interested in learning about this exotic bird.

By Dr. Irene Gilliland , Nursing Assisstant Professor

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ur adventure began almost before we left the

ground in San Antonio. A rare case of May flooding was delaying flights to Houston. After being assured there would be no problem making our connection in Houston we boarded the plane. There were 24 of us. Five faculty –two from nursing and three from pharmacy along with 19 students from both programs completed the group. A few detours and unanticipated stops on the way to Houston resulted in a missed connection and an overnight stay in Houston. After many hours of frantically trying to get us all on another flight, we were finally on our way to Ecuador a day later.

Our first stop was Quito – a beautiful old city. We had a guided tour of Quito and saw some gorgeous churches and learned how Roman Catholicism was spread throughout the country. We visited some hospitals, learned about health care in Ecuador, and also about the education of nurses and pharmacists. We visited the Equator and learned about longitude and latitude. We also learned more about the indigenous tribes of Ecuador. We all tried the local delicacy cuy, guinea pig. Although the stop at the Otavalo market was a short one, we did get to see local crafts from textiles, to wood carvings, to leather and saw some beautiful countryside in the Andes along the way. We stopped for lunch at a local establishment and were entertained by local dancers where a local band played Andean music. Students and faculty participated in the dancing.

Next, we travelled to the Ecuadorian rain forest. We got off our bus after an eight-hour ride and boarded canoes for an additional one-hour ride down the Napo River, a tributary of

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the Amazon River. There were no roads to the portion of the rain forest we were in. The lodge was quite nice but remote. We were able to enjoy the night sky full of stars and our guide gave us astronomy lessons. The sounds of the jungle entertained our nights.

The lodge was built on the side of a mountain and everyone had rooms with a balcony completed with hammock overlooking the river.

We climbed our way through the rain forest with mosquitoes, slick rocks, knee high rapidly moving water, and a variety of wildlife – monkeys, tropical birds, large cats, poisonous frogs, snakes, and spiders.

We visited a Quichua village not far from where we stayed and learned how they make a living, what they eat, and a bit about their culture. Several students tried their skills at using a blow-gun with poisonous darts. We learned we would all go hungry if we depended on blow-guns for our food source! We watched chicha –a fermented beverage made of cereals and roots or fruitsbeing made and all sampled it. We ate local Indian food from ladies cooking on street corners as we walked through the village; we watched native crafts being made and of course had to buy some. We also went to a butterfly farm and a wildlife preservation station manned by young volunteers from all over the world. The students took the time to tube down the Napo River. A student volunteered to have a local shaman drive evil spirits from him. We all enjoyed watching that healing ritual.

home for the next five days. Each boat held only 16 passengers. The boats offered rustic accommodations with bunk beds in all cabins. There was no ladder to the top bunk and no rail for security, which made sleeping while the boat was moving an adventure in itself. Dramamine became our new best friend. The students snorkeled and swam encountering sea lions wanting to play, and sharks who were eyeing them up for a meal.

This is the mating season for many of the birds so we watched some of their courtship rituals. We visited the Darwin research station and learned the importance of preservation and the need to protect our environment. We went to five different islands each with its own unique flora and fauna. We saw frigate birds, albatrosses, mocking birds, a variety of finches, flamingos, crabs, terrestrial and aquatic lizards, huge turtles, penguins and, of course, the famous blue footed booby.

Friendships were made across several levels of nursing students and between the nursing and pharmacy students. In addition to the cultural experience, students learned more about the other profession’s roles and education.

Since some students still meet regularly, I can’t help but think these friendships may improve how nursing and pharmacy will relate in future professional settings.

Finally, there was the adventure in the Galapagos Islands. Again we rode a plane, ferry and then rafted to the small boat that would be our

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Dr. Cook moves to her Next Adventure After 25 Years at UIW

By Dr. Sarah Williams, Professor, Director of RN-BSN-MSN Program

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r. Jennifer Cook retired this fall

from teaching at the University of the Incarnate Word School of Nursing and Health Professions (Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing). She will leave behind a legacy that will not be forgotten for a long time. Her nursing career spans over a 44 year journey.

It all started when she graduated from Old Dominican College in 1970 with her BSN degree. With degree in hand, she started her career off working as a staff nurse in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Houston. After one year, she progressed to assistant director in the ICU. At that time, nurses were just beginning to work with cardiac monitoring and interpretation of cardiac rhythms. Nurses managed the MA1 Ventilators and gave respiratory treatments with the Bird machines.

She later moved to Fort Worth where she worked in the ICU at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Fort Worth, TX. There she joined the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) and became a certified Critical Care Registered Nurse. As she developed and progressed from novice to expert in this career field, she was one of the first nurses to sit the CCRN certification exam. She maintained her currency as a certified critical care registered nurse until 1990.

An advocate for lifelong learning, she felt the need to advance her education and in 1979, she received her MSN from the University Texas at Arlington (UTA). She was again a “first”

in that she was one of the first graduates of the UTA’s MSN program. During this period her clinical practice included director of Critical Care and Critical Care Nurse Educator at St. Joseph’s Hospital.

Additionally, at St Joseph’s she served as director of the Critical Care Course, a community based educational program for ICU nurses in the Fort Worth – Arlington community.

In 1984, she relocated to San Antonio and became director of Nursing at Santa Rosa Medical Center and Children’s Hospital, participating in the opening of the first pediatric bone marrow transplant unit in San Antonio. Because of the administrative role she served in at Santa Rosa, she went back to school and completed her MBA at Incarnate Word College in 1991.

In Fall 1989 began a 26-year journey of teaching and learning at the UIW School of Nursing for Dr. Cook.

During this period, she taught across the undergraduate curriculum with the exception of Mental and Maternal Child Health. She also has served as adjunct faculty teaching Leadership/Management and Issues in Nursing in the RN-BSN program known as the Adult Degree Completion Program (ADCaP).

“She is not only kind and caring with faculty, but with students as well.”

Dr. Diana Tison, Nursing Assistant Professor.

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Dr. Cook reports her pride in witnessing over 50 graduations resulting over 1,000 UG graduating nursing students over this period.

“Jennifer actively seeks adventures and conquers challenges.”

Dr. Mary Hoke, dean and professor of SNHP

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Feeling the need to stay abreast in emerging trends in education and management, she returned to school and received a Doctor of Philosophy in Human Resource Management and Adult Education in 2006 from Texas A&M, of course making her an official Aggie. Dr. Cook’s UIW academic role has been driven by the passion for contributing to the number of nurses who are alumni of the rich history of the school of nursing. She was inspired by the passion of Sr. Charles Marie Frank for educating baccalaureate prepared nurses through a curriculum that promotes respect for the dignity of the person and holistic approach to nursing care of the individual, physically, psychologically and spiritually. Dr. Cook believes that the collegial spirit of the UIW nursing faculty over the years is evidenced in the supportive and caring concern shown to one another during the good times (birth of children, celebrations of academic degrees, community volunteerism, leadership and recognition for professional achievements) and the sad times (illness, personal crisis, and death). She believes that the UIW spirit is to “rally” for celebrations and for supporting one another in times of crisis.

Dr. Cook expresses her gratefulness for the opportunities that she has had to develop professionally and to have leadership roles as a professional nurse

at the state and local levels.

She is especially fortunate to have shared these years with her devoted husband, Sam, whom she appreciates his loving support and being her personal yell leader. “He truly has been the wind beneath my wings!”

Dr. Cook is looking forward to many new and continued opportunities for service, teaching, mentoring, and leisure as she transitions to another phase in her life. The following quote says it best about how she sees her future: “I am buoyed forward by the rich experiences to date and many treasured friendships. I won’t be surfing but I can still enjoy time on the beach!

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens!”

“Dr. Jennifer Cook embodies the tenets of our UIW Mission and continuously demonstrates her very positive attributes as a nurse, an educator, a community leader, a colleague and a friend. Her tireless efforts to improve conditions for individuals and groups make her a true servant leader. Her smile, hard work and good humor will be missed by many.”

Dr. Laura Muñoz, DNP director

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Students Meet Harvey and SimMan 3G

By CIRCLe staff

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hanks to recent funding by the

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the San Antonio Multiple Chronic Conditions grant, the Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Professions was able to purchase new equipment to further our mission for undergraduate and graduate programs with a major focus on the education of family nurse practitioners.

Use of emerging and evidence-based technologies in the education of health professionals facilitate quality of healthcare across the lifespan.

UIW students Dalton Jennings (center) and Bianca Velasquez (right) are learning auscultation of heart sounds during their Pathology of Body Systems course in the simulation lab.

depth, release, as well as generating palpable pulses and blood pressure wave forms.

Convulsions: able to simulate different degrees of seizures and convulsions ranging from minor to full convulsion.

Bleeding and Wounds: able to bleed both from arterial and venous vessels reacting according to treatment.

Drug and Event Recognition: Allows students to administer drugs simultaneously. It registers amount, speed, type of drug automatically, and applies the appropriate physiological responses.

Harvey realistically simulates nearly any cardiac disease at the touch of the button by varying blood pressure, pulses, heart sounds, and murmurs.

Thousands of students, residents, physicians, physician assistants, nurses and nurse practitioners train annually on Harvey Harvey provides a comprehensive curriculum by realistically simulation 30 conditions. It is structured to start with common, less complex conditions and progress to more rare and complex diseases.

Eye Signs: Includes pupillary responses to light, blinks at slow, normal and fast rates.

SimMan 3G: SimMan 3G is a computer-controlled and very life-like mannequin of an average size adult patient including weight distribution and joint articulation. SimMan 3G is the latest development from Laerdal in Human Simulation Technology. Some of the features included are: CPR feedback: measures the quality of CPR and provides feedback on rate,

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Harvey: For over 40 years, Harvey has been a proven simulation system to teach bedside cardiac assessment skills that transfer to real patients. Harvey, The Cardiopulmonary Patient Simulator, is the longest continuous universitybased simulation project in medical education.

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UIW Nuclear Medicine Students Learn New Emerging Technologies Nuclear medicine students at a group dinner with their instructor during the annual conference in St. Louis. (Front left to right) Linda Phung, Mariah Santa cruz, Christina Jackson, Meagan Lumbra, Alfred Walubengo. (Back left to right) Melanie Gonzalez, Justin Volkman, David Toler, Robert Green and Norma Green.

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ight students in the nuclear

medicine (NMED) class attended this year’s annual Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) meeting held in St. Louis, Mo. As the world’s largest event, focusing on meeting the educational and networking needs of the nuclear medicine and molecular imaging community, the SNMMI meeting provided physicians, technologist, pharmacist, laboratory professionals, and scientist an indepth review of emerging molecular imaging, clinical applications and advanced research topics.

“The first day of the conference was a new experience for us and our group was in a state of excitement and nervousness all rolled into one. We were surrounded by other nuclear medicine students in programs from around our nation as well as Canada,” David Toler, NMED student at UIW, said.

Students took part in a series of lectures designed to examine and evaluate future directions in nuclear medicine, molecular imaging and therapy from a research and clinical perspective

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By Norma Green Director of the Nuclear Medicine Program/Instructor

as well as a full day of intense review in preparation to take the mock registry exam and a second day to take a mock registry exam.

“I thoroughly enjoyed how interactive they made the review course,” Meagan Lumbra, NMED student at UIW, said. Taking the exam aids students in identifying their weak subject areas and competencies as well as meet students in other programs and network within the Society of Nuclear Medicine, its officers, vendors and attendees. “While playing all of the review games, I slowly realized I knew more than I thought I did, which made me even more eager to raise my hand and participate,” Lumbra said. It is a chance to introduce the student to the leadership of our profession and spur them on to actively take part in leadership roles within our profession.

showcased all the new devices and technology yet to hit the market,” Alfred Walubengo, NMED student at UIW, said.

“The largest and most technically advanced was the Siemens booth; with larger and more efficient cameras to provide more efficient protocols and more accurate measuring instruments,” Toler said.

The SNMMI annual meeting exhibitor’s hall was crowded with more than 160 companies representing the latest innovations in products and services.

“For a class that began as individuals and strangers in the fall of 2013, the national SNMMI conference in St. Louis, Mo. was the first real bonding experience for our class.” Toler said. “The trip for the Nuclear Medicine Technology class graduating in 2015 from the University of the Incarnate Word was a success not only in education, but in solidifying the group as a family; as a community.”

Christina Jackson, one of the NMED students at UIW, commented that one of her favorite things while at the conference was to look at all the new innovations throughout the exposition. “We attended a nuclear medicine exposition that

After the educational obligations were met, the team of students and faculty visited the most iconic landmarks. Among them were the St. Louis Arch where the students reached the top to look over the entire city, and the St. Louis City Museum where Walubengo said he personally had the most fun because there was a 10 story slide the entire group slid down one by one and an interesting maze they traveled through to find their way out of the museum.

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Citywide Disaster Drill Impacts UIW Students

By Joyce Howard, Clinical Simulation Coordinator

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our faculty members and

almost 40 students from the University of the Incarnate Word Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Professions participated in the citywide disaster exercise on Oct. 22, 2014 to ensure that the city is capable of responding to mass casualty incidents related to accidents or terrorism. The activity was coordinated by the Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council (STRAC).

“The disaster drill experience was very informative to participate in as a nursing student. I was able to observe the many different roles of the staff nurses and how important communication is between the healthcare members during a disaster,” Elizabeth Soukup said.

The exercise involved a simulated airplane crash at the San Antonio International Airport and received support from the Federal Aviation Administration, American Red Cross, San Antonio Fire Department Emergency Management Division,

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Students laid on the ground while the rescue teams checked their status during the disaster drill conducted in San Antonio.

San Antonio Metro Health District, Texas Department of Emergency Management, Amateur Radio Service, 32 hospitals in Bexar County, and over ten hospitals outside of Bexar County. In addition, the exercise included a simulated tanker explosion carrying Naphtha (a highly volatile compound obtained in the petroleum refineries as one of the immediate products from the distillation of crude oil).

Multiple schools of nursing in San Antonio participated, and the total number of participants included approximately 500 victims (nursing, athletic training, and nuclear medicine students). Victims received moulage in such a way that the injuries looked real. After moulage, they were transported to various hospitals. Each facility exercised the internal disaster plan to ensure that it could appropriately triage a large volume of victims in a real world disaster. “I was able to experience what it feels like to be a patient in a crisis and in the hospital setting,” Kathryn Mayhan, UIW student said.

Hospitals are required by The Joint Commission (an independent, notfor-profit organization that accredits and certifies health care organizations and programs in the U.S.) to hold an annual citywide disaster exercise for their accreditation.

The exercise demonstrated the ability of the city and hospital services to respond appropriately and to improve where needed.

UIW students expressed that they were impressed with how the entire city played a role in the exercise.

Students reported that the exercise gave them a greater understanding of disaster related issues. “It was a great experience to understand how the city of San Antonio can gather together and formulate a drill for a mass causality event. Being able to observe and participate in care is an eye opening experience,” Michelle Reyes, UIW student, said.

Caring Notes :: Fall 2014

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Cub Scouts Trained for Medical Emergency

By Dr. Cyndy Purcell, Nursing Assistant Professor Cub scout is testing the toughness of providing chest compressions on the mannequin in the simulation lab in the IFM building in UIW.

O

n the evening of

Wednesday, Oct. 8, the Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing (IFMSN) and the Center for Innovative Research and Clinical Learning (CIRCLe) hosted the WEBELOS II den from Cub Scout Pack 362 to provide training on what to do in the event of a medical emergency.

WEBLOS II is the final rank in cub scouts before the boys cross over to Boy Scouts. One requirement of the WEBELOS II rank is the achievement of the ReadyMan Badge. To earn this badge, the cub scouts have to learn about being strong, clear, brave, and, focused in urgent situations, how to properly administer first aid, and, how to act in the event of an emergency such as a sudden cardiac arrest.

The training for the evening was the American Heart Association’s (AHA) “Hands-Only CPR” which is intended for people who are not health care professionals. We started the evening in one of the IFMSN conference rooms and watched the AHA CPR videos and information on the large screen.

During the training, the Cub Scouts were tested on their knowledge and received yellow, smiley face foam balls for correct answers

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(prizes were donated by the Dean of the IFMSN, Dr. Hoke). My favorite part of the evening was getting the boys up and dancing to the AHA music videos demonstrating the “hundred-beats-per-minute” rate for chest compressions. The overall message for Hands-Only CPR is to “push hard and fast in the center of the chest,” which makes the music an important part of remembering the rate of compressions.

After the training, we moved upstairs to the big simulation lab in the CIRCLe where several mannequins are set up for practicing the Hands-Only CPR. The Cub Scouts and their parents practiced doing real-life HandsOnly CPR while the audio-visual equipment in the room was used to play the music with the 100beats per minute. The boys were quite surprised to discover how difficult and tiring it can be to actually perform CPR. Having them practice on the mannequins allowed me the opportunity to work with each boy to find proper placement of their hands and overall technique for doing chest compressions. After training and practice, they come away from the evening with the knowledge that there is something they can do an emergency and the confidence to do it.

A Cub Scout den leader approached me several years ago for help with the ReadyMan badge when my own son was a WEBELOS II. Although my boys have long since crossed over to Boy Scouts, the WEBELOS den leaders from Pack 362 continue to ask me to provide this training year after year.

I believe one reason they value this is because of the facilities provided by the IFMSN and the CIRCLe. This small event is one example of how UIW lives the mission of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. Not only is a community service provided to a Cub Scout den, but a public service is also provided on a larger scale, by facilitating the training of people on how to act in the event of a medical emergency.

Caring Notes :: Fall 2014

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Athletic Training and Rehab Science Students Assist Refugees

By Dr. Shandra Esparza, Athletic Training and Rehabilitative Science Program Director / Faculty

S

tudents visited the Catholic

Charities Refugee Education Classes on Nov. 14 during for their Patient Care Course in UIW.

States in their home countries and since they have been in San Antonio.

Twenty-eight students integrated with clients from countries such as Iran, Nepal, and India as the refugees learned and improved their English.

Next week, the students will return with individual plans for clients to increase their health and wellness activities. The Athletic Training and Rehab Science majors might be providing this knowledge, but they are gaining a respect for others that are different than them.

This activity was a service-learning portion of the ATHP course, which focused on cultural sensitivity.

After the English courses, the students interviewed clients about their health and wellness practices both prior to coming to the United

It is the hope that these students will carry a bit of this experience with them as they become practicing professionals and will approach each person as unique and respect individual differences, cultures, and treatment ideas.

Announcements

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DNP Obtained CCNE Accreditation

Grants

The University of the Incarnate Word Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program that was initiated in 2011, receives its five year accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) for accreditation. This designation indicates quality and integrity of programs in nursing. The DNP program along with the UIW undergraduate bachelor’s program and the graduate master’s program are all accredited by CCNE.

The Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing received the Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship Grant from Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The two-year grant in the amount of $640,320 supports the BSN to DNP students family nurse practitioner.

Caring Notes :: Fall 2014

Faculty: Accomplishments Cynthia Purcell was awarded the degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice in Executive Leadership from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is an Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist and holds national certification as an oncology certified nurse. Dr. Purcell has been a faculty member in the Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing since August 2012.

UIW instructor, Danielle Gunter, successfully defended her dissertation on Nov. 17, 2014. Her research study is titled: Social Support to Reduce Uncertainty in Childhood Cancer in South Texas: A Case Study. She is a member of the faculty in the Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Professions and graduated with her PhD in nursing from the University of Texas at Tyler on Dec 12, 2014.

SN & HP New Faculty

Kelly Gerardi, Nursing Instructor

Dr. Jean Dols, Nursing Associate Professor

Dr. Christina Hernandez, Nursing Assistant Professor

Kelly Gerardi, Nursing Instructor

Students Accomplishments

2nd Lt. Betzany Rogny graduated in December 2014 with a BSN. She received the Best Cadet for the Fall Award for having the highest GPA in ROTC and demonstrated potential to serve at the highest levels of their chosen field

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Leticia Ramirez, DNP graduate, MSN, FNP, DNP, with Eula Pines, PhD, DNP, PMHCNS, APRN. BC, Scholarly Project Chair attended the Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing Pinning and Recognition Ceremony Dec. 5, 2014.

Caring Notes :: Spring 2014

Hosted Presentations The Charles Marie Frank Lecture entitled Influencing Diversity in Nursing Education, Practice, Research and Leadership, presented

by Dr. Deidre Walton, the president and chief executive officer at the National Black Nurses Association, Inc., took place at the end of September 2014.

The presentation offered the participants the opportunity to reflect on their beliefs, and envision methods to integrate the content into their professional nursing, nurse educator or student nurse practice. Undergraduate nursing student reflection included the importance of culture when caring for both patients and communities.

University of the Incarnate Word 速 4301 Broadway, CPO 300, San Antonio, Texas 78209-3174 (210) 829-6029

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Caring Notes :: Fall 2014