News about Nursing & Health Sciences

Expanding a 50-plus year tradition in providing hands-on education that prepares students for a variety of careers in direct patient care, Pennsylvania College of Technology has added several options for those who wish to work in other high-demand health care-related roles.

A bachelor’s degree in health science (introduced in Fall 2020) and an associate degree in allied health (launching in Fall 2021) deliver a science-rich education, while a new business administration: health care management specialization is available beginning Fall 2021 and provides a strong business core. All prepare students for essential careers in nondirect patient care.

Such roles are vital to the health care industry. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projections for 2019-29 indicate that health care support occupations are among those expected to grow markedly faster than average.

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Retired faculty member Darla B. Logue has established a scholarship for first-generation college students at Pennsylvania College of Technology in honor of retiring President Davie Jane Gilmour.

The James E. and Darla B. Logue Scholarship also honors Darla Logue’s late husband, who taught for 49 years – 39 of them at Penn College – and was the recipient of the institution’s highest teaching honor: the Veronica M. Muzic Master Teacher Award.

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A new video on Penn College’s YouTube channel acquaints viewers with Pamela W. Baker, who balances an ongoing nursing career with educating the next generation of health care heroes. “It’s important to have teachers like Mrs. Baker,” said Kathryn M. “Katie” Faust, who graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. “Because when I actually do go out into the clinical field and I’m practicing as a nurse, I feel like she really prepares you for real life.” Baker works as a R.N. in the cardiac recovery wing at Geisinger Medical Center over semester breaks, and being an educator offers a whole new level of flexibility – one that gives her more time with family and her border collie. “I went to school to be a nurse and I can still be a nurse,” said Baker, who will begin the Fall 2021 semester as an associate professor of nursing programs. “And although I was making a career change when I switched to a faculty role, I didn’t have to give up either of my careers.”

A sunset gathering in West Virginia will be scheduled in memory of Pamela L. Starcher, Penn College’s former director of nursing, who died Saturday, June 26. Hired as a full-time faculty member in August 1998, she assumed the director’s position in June 1999 and retired 10 years later.

An obituary in the Parkersburg (W.Va.) News and Sentinel directs that, “In lieu of flowers, Pam would enjoy knowing that one animal was saved at your local shelter, a student nurse can afford to complete a program of study, a dying patient has something soft and pretty to keep them warm, or your most precious gift is shared now and not later – time.”

Arrangements are being handled by Anders-Rice Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Asheville, North Carolina.

Penn College’s “My Tomorrow” program (June 21-24 and June 28-July 1) opened middle-schoolers’ minds to a variety of vocational possibilities through hands-on activities and faculty-led sessions. The initiative, sponsored by the Soars Family, exposed students to a number of prospective careers – such as engineering, business and hospitality, the arts, and health sciences – as well as giving them a jump on charting their paths to success and satisfaction.

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The Accreditation Review Council on Education in Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting recently selected Pennsylvania College of Technology student Maddie Newell as one of its 2021 scholarship recipients.

Newell, of Selinsgrove, plans to complete an associate degree in surgical technology in August and continue her Penn College education toward a bachelor’s degree in applied health studies.

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More than a half-dozen Pre-College Programs attracted a knowledge-hungry host of teenagers to Penn College’s campuses in recent days, the season opener for high schoolers’ exposure to next-level academics. Campers were engaged and enlightened among the week’s bountiful offerings: Architecture Odyssey, Automotive, Aviation, Engineering, Future Restaurateurs, Health Careers and Information Technology. A second week – inviting more students to test the waters of collegiate opportunity through hands-on learning – will begin July 18.

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Passionate professionals looking to share their time-tested proficiency in a fresh and rewarding venue need travel no farther than Penn College, where a new video encourages potential faculty members to help develop the very future of their respective fields.

The seven-minute video, the handiwork of writer/producer Tom Speicher, reflects a series of five-year institutional initiatives. It features footage of the college’s inviting environment, as well as interviews with some of the faculty and administrators who enhance their campus surroundings through fervent daily contributions.

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Following the footsteps of their predecessors, members of the physical therapist assistant Class of 2022 recently visited Trailing Pines Tree Farm in Muncy, where they planted 150 seedlings as part of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership. The certified tree farm is owned by Paul Huffman, a 1987 graduate of Williamsport Area Community College, a forerunner of Penn College. The farm is dedicated to wildlife management and conservation. The college’s physical therapist assistant program’s Class of 2021 (set to graduate in August) has been to the farm twice, and this was the first visit for the Class of 2022. Service learning is part of the physical therapist assistant program’s curriculum, with the goal of fostering altruism – putting patients and others above self – and community involvement.
Photos courtesy of Victoria Hurwitz, director of physical therapist assistant

Pennsylvania College of Technology bestowed two Distinguished Teaching Awards on faculty during an event held on main campus.

Mark E. Sones, instructor of diesel equipment technology, was presented with the Veronica M. Muzic Master Teacher Award, the highest honor accorded to a faculty member at the college.

Bridget E. Motel, instructor of dental hygiene, received an Excellence in Teaching Award.

Both presentations were made during an Employee Recognition Week event held in Bardo Gymnasium and livestreamed across campus.

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Pennsylvania College of Technology’s paramedic program is accepting applications for a new Bachelor of Science degree in health science: prehospital medicine concentration for the Fall 2021 semester.

The new degree is being offered in addition to the paramedic program’s current certificate and associate degree options. It provides a strong foundation in the natural sciences while preparing graduates to function as competent entry-level paramedics.

Coursework prepares students for administrative and teaching positions within the paramedic profession, as well as providing the necessary foundational knowledge for entry into many graduate-level programs, including medical school and physician assistant degree programs.

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Physician assistant students took part in a unique pre-finals class “exercise” last week, testing their physiological reactions to relaxation activities: exercise, fresh air, music and meditation.

Prior to a “dance-off” that included such classics as “The Electric Slide,” the chicken dance and the “Macarena,” the students discussed how they were feeling about their impending finals and measured their pulse and heart rate.

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Nursing alumna Stephanie Suzadail, whose airborne delivery of emergency care is featured in the spring issue of Penn College Magazine, recently established two aptly named funds in support of Pennsylvania College of Technology students.

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From the Spring 2021 Penn College Magazine: Having weathered many challenges herself, Geisinger Life Flight’s Stephanie Suzadail, ’14, loves to provide calm in the center of the storm. Read “A flight nurse’s calling.”

Elizabeth S. Gizenski, clinical director of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s surgical technology program, recently earned a Doctor of Healthcare Administration degree from Walden University.

Gizenski’s dissertation, titled “Newly Licensed Registered Nurse Generation Cohorts and Retention in First Registered Nurse Positions,” evaluated the association between newly licensed registered nurses by generational cohorts and newly licensed RNs who plan to leave or have left their first nursing position.

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