Pulse Magazine Spring 2019

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COLLEGE OF

SPRING 2019

ALLIED HEALTH & NURSING

Hygienists for Humanity Dental Hygiene professor, Alyssa Delgado found a creative way to help an underserved population, all while inspiring her students to do the same.

Read more on page 4.

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COLLEGE OF

ALLIED HEALTH & NURSING

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Dean’s

Welcome

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HAPPY CAMPERS Over the past few years, Minnesota State Mankato has hosted an interactive and activities based camp for local kids with special needs.

SPEAKING UP Mary Kramer’s Community Health Advocacy class provides students with meaningful realworld experiences.

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HYGIENISTS FOR HUMANITY Minnesota State Mankato dental hygiene professor Alyssa Delgado never imagined that a work trip would change her life.

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BUILDING LEADERSHIP WITH CARE 2011 Minnesota State Mankato nursing graduate Brett Anderson has found success by following his passion for geriatric healthcare.

Greetings,

It’s been a year of celebrations in the College of Allied Health and Nursing! In addition to wrapping up our 18 months of the sesquicentennial celebrations, three of the units in the college celebrated significant anniversaries. In September, the School of Nursing marked its 65th anniversary with a slide show of significant milestones through the years in the Centennial Student Union Ballroom. In March, the Athletic Training program marked 50 years by hosting a gathering of emeriti faculty and alumni in the Clinical Sciences Building. The event commemorated past years with a series of speakers, tours of the revamped athletic training lab and a historical slideshow. In May, the Recreation, Parks and Leisure Services department also marked 50 years with a grand celebration at the Verizon Wireless Center.

Phase two of the bonding bill to remodel Wiecking Center and Wissink Hall is well underway. The repairs will improve spaces for the Family Consumer Science department as well as space for our Nursing program. Both areas are scheduled for completion in August, and we invite you to come to see our new digs!

During the 2017-2018 academic year, we completed the Strategic Budget Planning process with the implementation of results this academic year. Outcomes were very successful with two programs identified for investment– Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD), Proud MSU graduate along with the School of Nursing (SON). Both areas have experienced significant growth, with Kris Retherford five graduate students enrolled in the CSD program and 18 additional students in the first-year Class of ‘73 cohort of the pre-licensure Nursing program. To meet the demands of our enrollment growth we will be hiring two new faculty in CSD and awaiting approval for two more SON faculty members.

Student success and retention has always has been paramount in our college. This past academic year, we continued to explore strategies to employ well-documented student-engagement activities to support timely student degree completion. It is our goal for the 2019-2020 academic year to provide additional sections of First-Year Seminars and utilize instructional interns to assist students in break-out sessions and in-class activities. I know we will be celebrating our students’ successes in the upcoming year!

Lastly, I encourage you to join our new college support campaign, “Give an Hour.” Thanks to nursing faculty member Diane Witt’s creativity, “Give an Hour” offers a new way to think about how you can make a difference in the program from which you graduated. To clarify; calculate what an hour of the salary that you are earning because of the education you received at Minnesota State Mankato and make that amount as a donation. Every year!

And each time you earn a raise, celebrate by recalculating and increasing your annual gift. Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Gabe Grunewald (left) served Warm regards, as a guest speaker at the Kris Retherford 2019 Health Summit.

Dean

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A REASON TO CELEBRATE The areas of Athletic Training, Recreation, Parks and Leisure Services, and Nursing celebrate anniversaries and reflect on years past.

INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS When Communication Sciences and Disorders professor, Dr. Sheen Chiou decided to visit her native country during her sabbatical in spring 2018, she never dreamed that it would result in a longlasting international partnership.

14 PATHWAYS FOR SUCCESS Minnesota State Mankato has offered a Doctor of Nursing Practice program since 2012 but has recently worked to revise the program to better serve nursing students and the communities where they practice after graduating.

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HOME COURT ADVANTAGE Mankato area K-12 homeschool students benefit from Physical Education classes offered by students in the Human Performance department.

College of Allied Health & Nursing Dr. Kristine Retherford Dean Departments Dental Hygiene Family Consumer Science Health Science Human Performance Recreation, Parks & Leisure Services Speech, Hearing & Rehabilitation Services School of Nursing Minnesota State University, Mankato’s College Allied Health & Nursing is dedicated to promoting wellness and improving quality of life through education, scholarship and service to the state, region and global community.

The purpose of pulse is to inform stakeholders of the ongoing work of the College of Allied Health & Nursing and its impact on the allied health and nursing fields. Pulse is published annually by the College of Allied Health & Nursing and distributed to faculty, staff, students, alumni, and stakeholders in the allied health and nursing industries. The College of Allied Health & Nursing welcomes ideas for feature stories and other content consistent with the mission of the magazine. Please email story ideas to col-allied-hlth-nursing@mnsu.edu.

pulse

Spring 2019 Volume Six

College of Allied Health & Nursing Minnesota State University, Mankato 124 Myers Field House Mankato, MN 56001 Phone: 507-389-6315 Managing Editor/Writer Emily Frederick Designer Linda Clavel Contributing Writers Grace Brandt Joe Tougas Photographer Pat Christman Print Coordinator Doug Fenske An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity University.

This document is available in alternative format to individuals with disabilities by calling the College of Allied Health and Nursing at 507-389-6315 (V), 800-627-3529 or 711 (MRS/TTY).

AHNU149NE

Speaking Up

Students learn health advocacy outside the classroom

By Grace Brandt

When Minnesota State Mankato Professor Mary Kramer was a girl, her parents owned a bowling alley in Springfield, where Kramer spent many of her non-school hours. Some of her earliest memories are of the bowling tournaments and parties that took place there—but also of the cigarette smoke that went with them.

“I remember helping my parents clean out ashtrays and scrub the walls from the smoke,” she said.

Kramer said the environment was nothing new to her parents, who were both heavy smokers already. Her mother visited the smoking lounge for new mothers at the local hospital after Kramer was born, while her father was given cigarettes by the military as a “morale booster” in World

2 COL LEGE O F A LLI ED HEA LT H & N UR S I N G

War II. Both parents eventually passed away from tobaccorelated diseases, even though her mother tried for years to break her addiction.

“I saw the addiction firsthand,” Kramer said. “As a result, my two children were never able to meet their grandparents. They’re just relatives in photos. So maybe that’s why I feel passionate about reducing the burden of tobacco and especially with secondhand smoke.”

Kramer explores this topic in depth during her Community Health and Advocacy class, where students have a chance to take what they’ve learned in the classroom out into the real world.

“You can only learn so much from the classroom when you’re talking about advocacy,” she said.

According to Kramer, her students are required to participate in eight hours’ worth of advocacy experience.

These experiences can be anything from attending a rally to writing to a local congressperson to listening in on a city council meeting, and students can choose an area of advocacy that interests them. Recent topics have included vaccinations, gun control and binge drinking.

Kramer said lately, many of her students have been interested in the Tobacco 21 campaign, which aims to raise the legal age for tobacco purchases from 18 to 21.

This campaign has gained traction across the state, mostly on the city level. Both St. Peter and North Mankato have adopted ordinances including the change, but Mankato voted in opposition last year.

Kramer said students attended city council meetings with her to share their perspectives and have written letters to the editor and to different representatives.

Going beyond the classroom is what Kramer wants to stress the most to her students.

“The textbook is important, but it can’t be the only thing we use to teach, not in community health,” she said.

“It becomes dated by the time it gets into print. There’s always something new in public health. We need to take it out of the textbook into the real world.”

Kramer models this attitude herself, recently applying for the Tobacco-Free Campus grant funds from the American Cancer Society to organize a task force to make improvements in providing a healthier environment across campus. She explained that they’re working to collect data and organizing events to bring awareness, as well as helping people find resources to quit.

“So many people think we’ve won the war on tobacco, but we’ve got a lot of work to do yet, especially here on campus,” she said.

Minnesota State Mankato student Cecilia Schaefer took Kramer’s class in spring 2019 and said she appreciated how it gave her a chance to use the theories and information she learned in her other health classes. Among other things, Schaefer attended a “Day at the Capitol” event organized by the American Lung Association and wrote a letter to the editor that was published in Mankato’s newspaper, The Free Press.

“It’s nice to have a class that’s a little more like seeing what’s done in reality,” she said. “We can see it applied in a real way.”

h Community Health students pose with Minnesota State House Representative Clark Johnson in his office in St. Paul.

Health Sciences professor Mary Kramer and student Shreya Koirala at the 2018 Public Health Education Advocacy Summit in Washington, D.C. P U L S E | S P RI NG 2019 3

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Hygienists for Humanity

By Emily Frederick

Minnesota State Mankato Dental Hygiene Professor Alyssa Delgado never imagined that a work trip would change her life. In 2016, Delgado attended a national conference for dental hygienists in Washington, D.C. At the time, she was finishing up her graduate degree from the University of New Mexico and was eager to network with other professionals across the country.

The conference was aimed at learning new advancements in dental care and tips for health educators, as well as highlighting new products on the market. As the event went on, Delgado observed something unrelated that she just couldn’t shake. In between sessions, she watched as hundreds of boxed meals sat unopened and later thrown away. She felt helpless, knowing there was a desperate need for food in the D.C. area, and started to think about other items discarded at the conference, namely vendor samples like toothbrushes, floss, and general hygiene products.

Delgado shared her concerns with three other hygienists in attendance, Alicia Murria, Kayla Gallegos, and Amber Auger; the four collectively decided to take action and brainstormed ideas on how they could approach conference planners and vendors to donate items for area homeless shelters to use.

Only a year later, that idea has resulted in thousands of donated products delivered to several shelters across the country, and the founding of the nonprofit organization, Hygienists for Humanity.

Serving as co-founder and president of the organization has been

highly rewarding for Delgado, who is continually grateful for the positive response Hygienists for Humanity has received since it began. “We have been so blessed to have large dental companies not only donate quality oral hygiene products but also financially contribute to our organization to help make these missions a reality.

Crest-Oral B and Sunstar have been instrumental in donations, and it is so great to know that we are providing individuals with very high-quality products they normally would not have access to,” she said.

The creation of the nonprofit from the ground up hasn’t been easy, but given Delgado’s ambitious nature, it isn’t surprising that she has continued to excel alongside her colleagues. In addition to being an assistant professor in the Department of Dental Hygiene at just 26 years old, she has served as a new professional advisory board member with the American Dental Association and most recently serves as the President-Elect of the Minnesota State Dental Hygienists’ Association.

Her positivity and background in leadership helped her navigate through growing pains, but she admits it’s not without the help and encouragement from her peers. “Honestly, I think the biggest challenge has been not

to doubt yourself or give up when things get hard. Founding a nonprofit organization is a lot like running a business, just without getting paid. I’ve learned the best thing you can do is reach out for help because we can only do so much by ourselves.”

The mission of Hygienists for Humanity not only is to provide health critical items, but it is also to combat the stigma surrounding vulnerable populations. “Individuals that are experiencing homelessness, facing financial hardship or have limited access to care are all around us. The underserved population is often misunderstood as being ‘bad’ or delinquents when in reality it may be a family that lost their sole income provider and now is experiencing a homeless crisis.”

Hygienists for Humanity has become a great example in the classroom and has inspired an increase in service-based learning in Minnesota State Mankato’s Dental Hygiene program. This year, students connected with local homeless shelters and domestic violence shelters to deliver oral hygiene products and support to residents. “Seeing these students give back to our community makes me so proud and inspires all future dental hygienists to do the same,” Delgado said. “Everyone has a story to share, and if you are in a position to listen, it just may change your life.”

To learn more about Hygienists for Humanity, visit their website at: hygienistsforhumanity.org and follow them on Facebook and Twitter: @hygienistsforhumanity.

h Hygienists for Humanity members table at a conference. Left to right: Chiana Cooper, Kayla Galleogos (Treasurer), Alyssa Delgado (President) and Alicia Murria (Executive Director).

P U L S E | S P RI NG 2019 5

HAPPY CAMPERS

By Grace Brandt

There’s something special about summer camp—running around outside, finding new friends, playing games and learning new things. But for children with physical or developmental disabilities, it can be challenging to find camps that are equipped to offer them safe and fun experiences. Luckily, Sue Tarr, a professor in Minnesota State Mankato’s Human Performance department, has developed a camp to achieve just that.

For the past two years, Tarr has led Minnesota State Mankato’s Developmental and Adaptive Physical Education (DAPE) Camp as a way for students and professionals to earn their certificate in adaptive physical education. After completing four other courses in this field, students can enroll in an online summer course that ends with two weeks on campus, where they learn how to interact with special needs campers, plan camp activities and then run the one-week camp.

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“They’re planning and learning content, [and then] they come to campus the week before the camp to learn more handson things,” Tarr said. “At the end of that week, we hopefully have a week’s worth of activities [so] the following week, when the children show up, we have fun and they have fun.”

The camp runs from 9 a.m.-noon for four days in July and includes motor skills, playing games and sports, problemsolving activities and swimming in the Highland Center pool. All of Tarr’s Minnesota State Mankato students participate, usually taking turns in groups to organize and lead different activities.

“We have a lot of kind of, ‘What ifs?’ in the activity plans,” Tarr said. “If this doesn’t work, what will we do? [Everyone] is helping, and so they can always modify and adapt. You might design a game, and then your team goes and plays it, but [other

students] who are helping notice that it doesn’t work and can change it. That’s our main goal… we want the children to have fun, we want them to learn, and however we can do that, in terms of adapting and modifying, we’re going to be doing that.”

According to Tarr, there have been about eight to 10 campers every year, though they could potentially include more as long as there are enough Minnesota State Mankato students to help. Campers range from 7-16 years of age, and there have been some repeat students.

St. Peter resident Shanon Nowell sent her son Lewis, who is in fourth grade, to camp last year and plans to send him again this year.

“He had a terrific time,” Nowell said. “The students who were working with the kids were so friendly and professional. I was just excited that he got to participate in such a high-quality program, [and] we’re very excited to participate again this summer.”

As for Lewis, he said his favorite thing about the camp was the chance to swim every day—the same thing he said he’s most looking forward to this summer.

“I want to go to the pool again,” he said.

According to Tarr, the summer camp fills a real need for these campers, who often aren’t able to participate in their school’s physical education classes or do something as simple as going swimming by themselves. She said it’s an especially good opportunity for campers to be able to interact with other kids their age and experience something new.

“This camp provides them the opportunity to be in a different setting, with different people and children that they don’t know,” she said. “This really

forces them to be out of their comfort zone and go, ‘Wow, this is different.’ It’s good for them because life is not routine. It helps them to adapt and adjust, a skill that they’ll have to use in their lives.”

Most of all, Tarr said she appreciates the opportunity for both her students and her campers to grow and learn together.

“It’s so fun to watch my students interact with the children and to see my students grow,” Tarr said. “For four hours on a given day, you could make such a difference in a kid’s life. That, to me, makes it all worthwhile.”

Minnesota State Mankato students Jordyn Jarr (left) and Lauren Kahle (back right) assist a camper in learning to balance on “river rocks.”

P U L S E | S P RI NG 2019 7

Building Leadership

By Joe Tougas

BRETT ANDERSON Like many nursing students, Brett Anderson entered his schooling at Minnesota State Mankato with visions of a dramatic career in emergency, intensive care or operating rooms.

What he found, a few years later, is a dream job leading a national caregiving group in an area close to his heart – and his history.

Anderson today is Vice President of Nursing Services at Ecumen, the Minnesota-based senior housing and care services company with 40 centers in eight states. Anderson leads more than 400 nurses and 1,500 direct-care providers and leadership staff who operate Ecumen’s care services that range from independent living to hospice care.

He graduated from Minnesota State Mankato in 2011 at a time when those ER and OR jobs were hard to find, so he signed on with a small home care provider in St. Paul, a job that put him in contact with a lot of older adults.

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Growing up in Windom, Minnesota, Anderson frequently visited the nursing home where his mom worked as director of nursing and his dad volunteered playing hymns on the slightly out-of-tune upright piano.

Anderson would pass out cookies, listen to stories and enjoy the company.

So when he took that job in home health care, something clicked.

“This is a great group of people to work with,” he said.

“To listen to their stories, from serving in the war and going through the Great Depression … and it was fun to develop those long-term relationships.”

Following his internship, Anderson worked with Ecumen in several roles that led to his current position as Vice President of Nursing Services.

Jennifer Pfeffer, Ecumen’s Senior Regional Director of Operations for Southern Minnesota, frequently works with Anderson on projects.

“I appreciate his direct and caring approach with everyone he encounters,” Pfeffer said. “Residents and staff alike are drawn to his positivity and willingness to lend a hand.”

A VP since July 2017, Anderson said he enjoys the leadership responsibilities but misses the kind of interaction of his nursing days.

“The biggest void is there’s no residents to say good morning to and there’s no residents to say goodnight to,” he said. “I don’t think anything can be as rewarding as that work.

But what I do enjoy and find personally rewarding is that we’ve got great nurses and we’ve got great caregivers, so if I can use my time and abilities to give them more time with those people and make the impact, then I’ve done my job.”

His family-oriented nursing education in Mankato was an ideal fit for Ecumen, which strives toward innovation throughout its range of care, he said.

“This is particularly the case with some of our business lines, like hospice,” he said. “I work with our hospice teams, and family is critical in those discussions. And I sometimes take it for granted. I forget that not everybody had that family education, so how do I work to bring that to the forefront of whatever conversation we’re having with our nursing teams?”

With Care Acknowledging that it’s somewhat rare – if not a bit surreal – to have achieved his level of executive leadership prior to hitting 30, Anderson also said it’s nonetheless in line with Ecumen’s work to recognize the talents and gifts of its employees and customers, of all ages.

“Our goal is to empower the people we serve to live in the ways that matter most to them,” he said. “And in this office… we have a good number of younger people in some pretty high leadership positions across the company. That brings good balance.”

Pfeffer said she saw Anderson’s ascension as a no-brainer. “Brett is wicked smart,” she said. “He’s a quick

study and has solid knowledge of our business lines. He truly wants others to be successful and willingly shares his knowledge and expertise.”

The University and Ecumen occasionally combine forces, as it did with a three-day workshop for nursing faculty statewide who wanted refresher courses on working in elder care facilities. The workshop utilized the University’s simulation lab to great effect, Anderson said. He anticipates more collaborative ventures with his alma mater.

“The University has been a great partner.”

Brett Anderson visits with residents at one of Ecumen’s Senior Living locations.

P U L S E | S P RI NG 2019 9

A Reason to

Celebrate ATHLETIC TRAINING

Through all the technical, medical and educational advances over the past 50 years, one area of athletic training remains the same, said Athletic Training Program Director Pat Sexton.

“The body’s the body.”

And in areas of study such as concussions, new research and information about the body continue to improve conditions and illuminate the importance of athletic trainers and the work they do.

“There’s not more concussions now, we just know what they are and the

10 C O LLEGE O F A LLI ED HEA LT H & N UR S I N G

By Joe Tougas

better we can care for them,” Sexton said.

“And the more things we prevent from happening–the better off someone’s going to be for the rest of their life.”

The world may still perceive the athletic trainer as someone responding to injuries, but Minnesota State Mankato students have long been learning the broad picture.

“The proactive side is what we spend a lot of time on,” Sexton said. “Everything from assisting with proper conditioning to things like what’s the environment doing–is it too hot, humid, do we have to modify practice? … If people have a history of injuries, we’ll do exams and put them on ‘pre-habilitation programs.’”

The University’s AT program is the nation’s oldest continually accredited athletic training education program. It was founded by Gordon Graham, the University’s head athletic trainer from 1964 through 1993. What began as a minor is now a master’s program, and its graduates have made their mark in pro sports, the Olympics, the arts and the military. Sexton said that the greatest good can be achieved by bringing more ATs into the arena where most athletics take place–schools.

“That’s where we can have the greatest impact,” he said. “High schools usually emulate college and professionals in terms of athletics, but they haven’t in [athletic training]. We have all the stats: how many injuries occur with ATs present and without ATs present. It decreases schools’ insurance, it decreases unnecessary referrals … it’s a cost savings, but to get people to understand that is difficult.”

RECREATION, PARKS AND LEISURE SERVICES

It’s referred to as a discovery major for a reason–it’s a major that’s discovered maybe a little late in the game.

It’s what happened with Kristi Montandon, who in 1990 was four years into her elementary education major at Minnesota State Mankato when she took a course on camp counseling, an activity in which she had some experience in her hometown of Minnetonka. The class’s final project brought senior citizens on a camping trip, and that’s when she discovered she could major in something she loved doing.

“We were sitting around the campfire,” Montandon said, “I said: ‘So I can get a

Minnesota State Mankato’s Athletic Training, Recreation, Parks and Leisure Services, and Nursing programs celebrate anniversaries and reflect on years past.

degree in this? I can get paid to do this kind of stuff?’ So…I switched.”

For years, the major has had three distinct track areas: therapeutic recreation, resource management, and leisure planning and management.

But today, said Department Chair Rachelle Fuller, those areas of study are going to be less exclusive and more intertwined.

The goal is to have the curriculum modified by 2020.

“We’re trying to say ‘here’s the skills, the knowledge, the background to do a wide range of things. And giving them a little more diversity in terms of what they can do going forward.”

Montandon has been teaching in the department since 2006. She agrees with opening up the curriculum.

“We’re going to be developing a much more well-rounded student,” she said. “I think with making these broader, we’re going to attract some different students that might not have seen that they had a path before. And they’re going to be able to decide what that looks like.”

SCHOOL OF NURSING

With its focus on the individual, family and society, the nursing program at Minnesota State Mankato is recognized worldwide as a model of its kind, and its programs and partnerships operate globally.

All of which is something to show off when you turn 65.

Accordingly, the nursing program’s 65th anniversary this year is less about sheet cake and balloons and more about strengthening connections with emeriti faculty and alumni and showcasing

incredible progress in the program. And to let them know how vital they are to the future.

“We want to show them what their work has led to,” said Sandra Eggenberger, nursing professor and director of the Glen Taylor Nursing Institute for Family and Society. In the fall, when the University observed its 150th anniversary, the nursing program hosted a two-day event that featured a visiting scholar, panel discussions and included, Eggenberger said, an opportunity to talk about legacy.

This spring, talk of legacy turned into a tour, one that brought former nursing faculty to three locations of the program– the Clinical Sciences Building’s Maverick Family Simulation Center; the nursemanaged Health Commons at Pond in Bloomington; and 7700 France in Edina, which houses the graduate program.

“We were showing our emeriti faculty the new initiatives in the School of Nursing and how it is they contributed,” Eggenberger said. “From that, many things are being planned.

Several key faculty are working hard on ways to reconnect our alumni on a regular basis and do some things with them this fall.”

There are many ways alumni and former faculty can stay engaged with the nursing program, Eggenberger said.

The constant, she said, is the desire to remain involved.

“We’re focusing on alumni and emeriti faculty because it’s clear to us they have a great deal of commitment,” she said. “It’s very clear that they want to stay engaged.”

P U L S E | S P RI NG 2019 11

INTERNATIONAL

By Grace Brandt

Partnerships

When Minnesota State Mankato’s Dr. Sheen Chiou touring campus, meeting with Minnesota State Mankato decided to visit her native Taiwan during her sabbatical in faculty and students, observing clinicals at the Center spring 2018, she never dreamed that it would result in a of Communication Sciences and Disorders in Mankato long-lasting international partnership. and at the Edina location, touring Mayo Clinic Health

Chiou, who teaches in Minnesota State Mankato’s Services in Mankato, Oak Terrace in North Mankato Communication Science and Disorders program, traveled and a Regions Rehabilitation—Neuroscience Center in to Taiwan to teach a St. Paul. one-credit course to In addition, Chiou first-year graduate created a one-credit students at National summer course for Kaohsiung Normal Minnesota State Mankato University, as well as graduate students so that continue in her research they can participate in on the communication the global experiences disorder of aphasia. program with the While she was there, international visitors. she formed a real “Our students and connection with some the international visitors of her Taiwanese will work together to students, who voiced improve the multian interest in visiting cultural aspects and learn Minnesota State from each other,” she Mankato in the future. said. “This program will Dr. Sheen Chiou (far right, top row) poses with graduate students

“Several students help with the diversity from National Kaohsiung Normal University in Taiwan. were asking me, ‘Is there training on campus and any way we could come over here from Taiwan to visit to will broaden our University’s global perspectives, [as well learn about what [you] do in the U.S.?’” she said. “So [their as] maybe increase international student recruitment. university faculty and I] talked about how we could make The more students who come here to learn about what we this happen.” do, the more they may want to come here and study.”

Chiou was eventually able to develop a Global

Chiou said the hope is to continue this program for Experiences Program for both Minnesota State Mankato years to come, by both bringing in more international students majoring in the Communication Science and visitors from around the world and sending Minnesota Disorders program and Taiwanese visitors studying the State Mankato students to other global campuses. same topic at their university, as well as some students from

“We’d like our students to be able to go over there to National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan. see what other speech-language pathologists do in the

Chiou is hosting her first nine visitors this summer. world,” she said.

These undergraduate and graduate guests from Taiwan will

According to Chiou, programs like these are critical stay in Minnesota from mid-June to mid-July and be able to for Minnesota State Mankato students so that they can earn a customized training certificate as they learn about all better serve their clients once they finish their studies— levels of American healthcare. Proposed activities include especially when clients often speak multiple languages.

12 C O LLEGE O F A LLI ED HEA LT H & N UR S I N G

“We’re preparing students to become speech language pathologists, and most of our students only speak English,” she said. “They usually don’t have a lot of interactions with people from diverse backgrounds. We’re training our students to become culturally and linguistically competent speech language pathologists. It’s very helpful to have someone new come in here and give them a new perspective.”

In addition to the global experiences program, Chiou is also working on a separate partnership with National Kaohsiung Normal School and the Department of Special Education at National Tsing Hua University. This would be Minnesota State Mankato’s first international partnership with Taiwan and could potentially offer more opportunities for students to attend education abroad programs in Taiwanese universities.

“International partnerships are crucial for promoting global perspectives of Minnesota State Mankato and enhancing the University’s global impact,” Chiou said.

Dai-Ming Kuo (left), President of Chung Hwa Rotary Educational Foundation, presents Dr.Chiou with a certificate of appreciation for her work.

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Pathways for

SUCCESS Minnesota State Mankato revamps the nursing doctoral program to better serve students.

By Grace Brandt

14 C O LLEGE O F A LLI ED HEA LT H & N UR S I N G

program to eliminate this ability to “step

when the master’s degree option

a Doctor of Nursing Practice program

out” before earning a DNP.

was eliminated.

since 2012 but has recently worked

to revise the program to better serve

degrees and didn’t go on,” Young said.

drastically, and that we’d be lucky to get 12

nursing students and the communities

“We decided that if we kept offering the

students,” she said. “But I was pleasantly

where they practice after graduating.

master’s degree, we weren’t doing all we

surprised. We received about 32-35

could to prepare [students].”

applicants and were able to admit 18, which

which was a hybrid of online courses

is just great.”

with classes held at 7700 France,

better prepares APRNs to serve their

offered students the choice to either

patients because it offers them more

was surprisingly varied, with more ethnic

finish their studies at a master’s level or

than just one-on-one patient care and

diversity and field experience than previous

continue on to earn their DNP. However,

teaches them how to look at health

years. Two of the accepted students come

following recent studies by the National

concerns broadly. Students are better

from the Iron Range, which has a special

Academy of Medicine, colleges and

equipped to understand health from

partnership with Minnesota State Mankato.

universities around the country have

an organizational and systems level,

begun working to encourage registered

utilizing resources such as data and

high caliber pool of people who are applying

nurses to pursue higher degrees—

research to understand health research,

to a doctorate program because they want a

specifically going through Doctorate of

notice trends and effectively address

doctorate,” she said.

Nursing Practice programs. In fact, the

health care policy.

American Association of Colleges of

graduate students, there are also eight post-

Nursing now recommends a practice-

table with physicians when they’re

masters students who were selected to join

focused doctoral degree as a minimum

talking about policy decision making,”

this May’s cohort.

education requirement for advance

Young said.

practice registered nurses (APRN). As a

rare for someone to complete the entire DNP

result, most APRN industry groups are

will take three years to complete at a

program. Instead, mostly APRNs joined the

working to reach that goal by 2025.

full-time level. According to Young, the

program to earn their DNP—and there were

School of Nursing accepted 18 nursing

only a handful of those. However, thanks

and graduate program coordinator

students into the first cohort, which will

to the program’s recent revision, that is no

for the School of Nursing, almost all

begin this May, along with eight students

longer the case.

of Minnesota State Mankato’s post-

who are already at a master’s level.

graduate nursing students elected to stop

three years from now, we’ll have 18 [doctoral

at the master’s level. To encourage nurses

Nursing has usually received about 70

graduates],” Young said. “So that’s going to be

to pursue this higher level of education,

applicants for the program’s 12 spots, but

very, very exciting.”

the College of Nursing revised its DNP

she was concerned interest would wane

Minnesota State Mankato has offered

The University’s previous program,

According to Patricia Young, chair

“Most [students] got master’s

Young explained that a DNP degree

“It gives [students] a seat at the

The new program is 80 credits and

Young said in the past, the School of

“I was afraid that enrollment would drop

Young added that the applicant pool

“It was interesting to think that there’s a

In addition to the 18 incoming post-

Young said in the past, it was extremely

“It’s been hard to get off the ground, but

P U L S E | S P RI NG 2019 15

Home Court

ADVANTAGE

By Emily Frederick

Mankato area K-12 homeschool students benefit from Physical Education classes taught by Minnesota State Mankato students.

As noon approaches on a typical weekday in Schellberg Gym at Minnesota State Mankato, local homeschooled elementary and secondary students can be found eagerly awaiting gym class to start. What they might not know is how equally enthusiastic Minnesota State Mankato physical education students are to teach them!

In the fall of 2015, a unique partnership was formed between area homeschool students and the Physical Education program at Minnesota State Mankato. Matthew Buns, a professor in the department at the time, saw the connection as an

16 C OL LEGE O F A LLI ED HEA LT H & N UR S I N G

opportunity to create a methods course with direct teaching experience for his upper division students.

In 2017 Dr. Schwamberger, a physical education professor took over the program and has enjoyed watching its growth. He explained in his experience, he has seen the most success when students can put their learning into practice. “The best learning as a future teacher is being engaged in a classroom environment and working with students, and this has been a key reason why I was very passionate to get the homeschool physical education program started.�

The program serves both elementary students and secondary students with ages ranging from 4 to 17.

Sarah Seiwert, a Mankato mother of five, first found out about the opportunity from another homeschool mom. She decided to enroll her oldest girls in the secondary program and had a great experience. “The Minnesota State Mankato PE class was always one of the highlights of their week. It was a great excuse to get out of their normal school routine to learn the importance of health and exercise with their peers,” Seiwert said. “I would certainly recommend this opportunity to other Mankato-area homeschool families.”

Teaching candidates also have found the course to be helpful. Taryn Adams, an aspiring elementary physical education teacher and junior at Minnesota State Mankato, is grateful to have enrolled in the methods course. “Being able

to have this experience early on in my career is extremely beneficial not only to be able to determine if this is the right career for me, but to develop tools and strategies so that I can use them in the future,” said Adams.

In order to maximize the experience, the student teaching lessons are all videotaped for later reflection.

Schwamberger explained that process of evaluating oneself is really key to learning how to become an effective and successful educator, a lesson he hopes that his students take away from his course. “It is when we watch ourselves teach that we can really see everything that was occurring around us, which we may not have realized. It is hopefully at this time that students begin to understand what it means to be a reflective teacher as well.”

h Ben Schwamberger provides feedback to students, following their lesson.

(Left to right) Taryn Adams, Mary Fixsen, Dr. Schwamberger and Mike Balder P U L S E | S P RI NG 2019 17

pulse

COLLEGE OF

ALLIED HEALTH & NURSING

College of Allied Health & Nursing Minnesota State University, Mankato 124 Myers Field House Mankato, MN 56001

Lead, Partner, Achieve.

A Reason to Give

For alum, donor and Foundation Board emeritus Marcia Copeland, Minnesota State Mankato provided her with so much more than she thought was possible, which is why she decided to give back.

“I attended my first live ballet performance, heard a live symphony orchestra for the first time and met students and faculty from around the world. My exposure to all these helped me grow and prepare for the career I eventually enjoyed, and my world was enhanced and stretched beyond belief. The professors were dedicated to encouraging us to be better students and citizens. I was challenged to become more than I ever dreamed I could be,” she said.

Copeland came to Minnesota State Mankato as a freshman in 1959 and pursued a degree in Home Economics. Following graduation in 1963, she began her career at General Mills, eventually working her way up to become the director of Betty Crocker Kitchens in 1983 until her retirement in 1999.

Copeland’s commitment to the Minnesota State Mankato community through scholarship support and leadership has made a profound difference in the lives of many students and the University. To learn more about giving back and how your donation can impact student success, contact: Chris Hvinden at christopher.hvinden@mnsu.edu or 507-389-5621.