News about Nursing & Health Sciences

Farm Show offers ‘inspiring’ look at college’s varied majors

School of Business & Hospitality majors from Penn College take part in a Student Cooking Challenge at the 2018 Pennsylvania Farm Show. All six of the college’s academic schools will again be represented at the Jan. 5-12 event, the nation’s largest indoor agricultural expo. (Photo by Davey Rudy)

Throngs of visitors will soon converge on Harrisburg to celebrate the commonwealth’s agricultural prominence, and Pennsylvania College of Technology students and employees will be there to help honor the event’s 2019 theme of “Inspiring Pennsylvania’s Story.”

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Penn College nursing faculty member earns credential

Ann E. Morrison

A Pennsylvania College of Technology nursing faculty member recently received the Certified Academic Clinical Nurse Educator credential, newly available through the National League for Nursing.

Ann E. Morrison, instructor of nursing, was awarded the credential after successfully passing the Academic Clinical Nurse Educator Certification Exam. The exam was created for academic clinical nurse educators to demonstrate expertise in this role.

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Penn College nursing grads top national licensure pass rates

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Tushanna M. Habalar, instructor of nursing, guides student Lindsay C. Dunkelberger (left), of Centre Hall, in placing an IV in SimMan, a wirelessly controlled patient simulator.

Pennsylvania College of Technology nursing graduates again exceeded state and national performances in passing national board examinations.

Penn College offers degrees for those pursuing registered nurse and practical nurse licenses.

One hundred percent of Penn College students who earned bachelor’s degrees in nursing and took the National Council Licensure Exam for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) for the first time between Oct. 1, 2017, and Sept. 30, 2018, passed the exam on that first attempt. During the same period, 97.14 percent of Penn College associate-degree nursing graduates passed the exam on their first try.

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OTA majors broaden understanding through service, hands-on learning

Students join Matt Emmerling, of Sizewise Durable Medical Equipment Co., who brought bariatric equipment to campus for students to try.

Occupational therapy assistant students have had a variety of opportunities for hands-on learning and service this month. Matt Emmerling, of Sizewise Durable Medical Equipment Co. in Altoona, visited the OT Practice Skills course for a session on “The Overweight and Obesity Epidemic 2018: Bariatric Medicine.” He demonstrated a number of pieces of bariatric equipment. Students were given the opportunity to try the equipment as well as an obesity suit to gain a better understanding of what the bariatric population experiences on a daily basis.

Members of the college’s Occupational Therapy Assistant Club, with club adviser and program director Jeanne M. Kerschner, gather at the Ronald McDonald House Danville. The group prepared a meal for guests of the facility on Nov. 17.

On Nov. 17, students in the Occupational Therapy Assistant Club made and delivered an Italian dinner for about 30 guests at the Ronald McDonald House of Danville. Located near the Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital, the facility provides families with sick children a warm, safe and comfortable place to eat and sleep, keeping them close to the care they need when they need it.
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Paramedic students join Penn State EMS at home football games

Pennsylvania College of Technology emergency medical services student Devon E. Smith, of Montoursville, is among Penn College paramedic students paired with Penn State EMS supervisors during 2018 home games in Penn State’s Beaver Stadium to provide standby medical coverage.

Students in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s paramedic program have joined Penn State Emergency Medical Services to provide coverage at the university’s seven 2018 home football games in Beaver Stadium.

“Penn State EMS is charged with providing standby coverage at every home football game,” explained Christopher T. Boyer, director of paramedic technology programs at Penn College. “EMS providers are strategically placed throughout the stadium and respond to any medical or traumatic emergency that may occur both within and around Beaver Stadium. Considering Beaver Stadium is the second-largest football stadium in the country, seating 106,572 people, this is no small task.”

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Routine learning experience leads to remarkable history lesson

Jennifer Nicholson, of Lock Haven, a Pennsylvania College of Technology radiography student and Navy veteran, arranged a visit to the aircraft carrier Intrepid, now a museum in New York, for World War II veteran Robert Grieb after learning about his story during a clinical education experience. Grieb served on the carrier.

A Pennsylvania College of Technology radiography student, finding common ground with a patient she met during a clinical experience at a local hospital, made a trip to New York City that she’ll likely never forget. Nor will the World War II veteran she accompanied.

Jennifer Nicholson, of Lock Haven, learned of the veteran while she was helping with a physician-ordered radiography exam for his son. Penn College radiography students receive their training on campus and in the radiology departments of affiliate hospitals.

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Physician assistant students complete clinical rotations in Peru

Pennsylvania College of Technology physician assistant students, from left, Valerie L. Kubalak, of Spring Mills; Bailey T. Bachman, of Lewistown; and Megan N. Heckman, of Spring Mills, gained experience in hospitals, language courses and public health fairs during a monthlong clinical rotation in Trujillo, Peru.

Three students in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s physician assistant major returned recently from monthlong clinical rotations in the coastal city of Trujillo, Peru, where they were immersed in medical Spanish and worked in a variety of health care settings.

Bailey T. Bachman, of Lewistown; Megan N. Heckman, of Spring Mills; and Valerie L. Kubalak, also of Spring Mills, were the first Penn College physician assistant students to complete clinical rotations outside of the United States.

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State Senate Appropriations Committee chair tours campus

Always engaged and advocating for the college, Yaw (right) converses with Browne in the atrium of the Breuder Advanced Technology & Health Sciences Center.

State Sen. Patrick M. Browne, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, visited Pennsylvania College of Technology on Thursday.

Browne, who represents the 16th District – which includes Allentown and other municipalities within Lehigh County – came to campus after presenting an election and legislative update at a breakfast sponsored by the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce.

He was invited by fellow Appropriations Committee member Sen. Gene Yaw, who also serves as chairman of the Penn College Board of Directors. Yaw also hosted the Chamber legislative update event, held at the Genetti Hotel in Williamsport.

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Penn College celebrates work of radiologic technologists

Qiang Cao (right), instructor of radiography at Pennsylvania College of Technology, leads students in capturing images in the college’s digitally equipped radiography lab. The college’s radiography program is celebrating National Radiologic Technology Week.

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s radiography program celebrates the work of radiologic technologists during National Radiologic Technology Week, Nov. 4-10.

Providing patients with safe medical imaging examinations and radiation therapy treatments is the prime goal for the nation’s radiologic technologists.

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Silenced voices echo through survivor’s search for ‘normal’

The emergency management technology student fields a question from the audience.

An emergency management technology major who is a survivor of last year’s Las Vegas shooting shared her story with fellow Pennsylvania College of Technology students and faculty Monday night in the Student & Administrative Services Center’s Presentation Room.

Emergency management, human services, nursing and emergency medical services/paramedic students were among those who listened intently and respectfully to Robyn N. Wolfe’s harrowing story. Her husband, William “Bill” Wolfe Jr., was the sole Pennsylvania fatality in the horrific mass shooting that claimed 58 lives and injured more than 800 people.

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Future-seekers meet their match at Fall Open House

Savoring an autumn outing and academic exploration

Fall Open House visitors had unfettered access to Penn College’s vibrant campuses Sunday, as today’s faculty/staff, alumni and students provided them with a tantalizing view of a very real and credible tomorrow. All six academic schools put out the welcome mat through information sessions, tours and laboratory demonstrations, and guests were encouraged to explore the institution’s myriad complementary services and activities.

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Alexis I. Ashby chosen as October’s ‘Student of the Month’

Alexis I. Ashby

Alexis I. Ashby, enrolled in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s School of Nursing & Health Sciences, has been selected as the October “Student of the Month.”

A resident of Williamsport, Ashby earned an associate degree in surgical technology in August.

She is employed full time by UPMC Susquehanna as a certified surgical technologist and is working toward a bachelor’s degree in applied health studies: surgical technology concentration. She is taking additional classes in hopes of pursuing a master’s in physician assistant studies after graduation.

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Morgan Foundation grant pushes scholarship fund past $1 million

A second gift of $500,000 from the Tamaqua-based John E. Morgan Foundation has boosted an endowed scholarship fund at Pennsylvania College of Technology to more than $1 million.

The John E. Morgan Scholarship gives first preference to graduates of Tamaqua Area High School who are pursuing “a degree that is not readily available from other institutions, at a comparable price, within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

Examples of such programs offered at Penn College include, but are not limited to, culinary arts and systems, web and interactive media, building science and sustainable design, health information management, industrial design, plastics and polymer engineering technology, emergency management technology, and aviation maintenance technology.

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Young nursing professionals network at ‘Sip and Snap’ event

Nursing's Oct. 8 "Sip and Snap" event provides an inviting venue for networking in Le Jeune Chef.Penn College’s Bachelor of Science Nursing Honor Society, in collaboration with UPMC Susquehanna and the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association, recently hosted a “Sip and Snap” event for young nursing professionals at Le Jeune Chef Restaurant. Participants had the opportunity to network, have their resumes reviewed by UPMC Susquehanna, gather interview tips and obtain a quality photograph for use on social media sites. Thirty-one nurses and students attended the event, which included a signature beverage and a Classical Cuisine buffet. The digital headshots were taken in the Thompson Professional Development Center by Mark W. Wilson, graphic design instructor, and graphic design students Luke A. Bierly, of Centre Hall, and Kennedy L. Englert, of Williamsport.
Photo by Duncan Rodriguez, a 2017 nursing alumnus

Radiography students support Breast Cancer Awareness Month with ‘Pink Out’

Radiography students sport pink to help support breast cancer awareness and the importance of early detection.

On Oct. 10, in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, students in Karen L. Plankenhorn’s Pediatric and Trauma Radiography course sported the cause’s emblematic color. According to the American Cancer Society, women have a 1 in 8 chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetimes. Plankenhorn, clinical supervisor for radiography, began the October “Pink Out” tradition several years ago with students in her Introduction to Mammography course. “The class has since been switched to the Spring semester, but I still like to incorporate it into my Fall semester class because I feel strongly about bringing awareness to breast cancer and early detection,” Plankenhorn said.

Penn College is a special mission affiliate of Penn State