News about Nursing & Health Sciences

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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The first of this month’s three Spring Visit Days was held Saturday, giving prospective students a comprehensive peek at Penn College while adhering to pandemic-imposed limitations on attendance. (The Admissions Office will host additional visitation events on Saturday and Sunday, April 24-25.) Attendees began their day with check-in and a presentation in the Klump Academic Center, followed by lab tours in selected academic areas. Optional activities added to participants’ feel for the breadth of life on the vibrant and verdant campus: housing, financial aid, tutoring and other academic support, athletics, placement testing, advisement and scheduling, student organizations, disability services, veterans benefits and dining options. More information about visiting campus is available by contacting Admissions.

Future health care professionals have access to a learning tool that simulates respiratory symptoms likely to be encountered in the field, thanks to a $2,500 sustaining grant from PPL Foundation to Pennsylvania College of Technology.

The 2020 contribution enabled purchase of a lung sounds simulator, which mimics real-life scenarios essential to educating health care providers.

“PPL is pleased to partner with Penn College to help enhance training for current and aspiring health care professionals,” said Tracie L. Witter, regional affairs director.  “We appreciate the efforts of Penn College Workforce Development to help improve the skills of our community’s front-line workers.”

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Pennsylvania College of Technology’s 2020 class of occupational therapy assistant graduates achieved a 100% pass rate on the Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant exam.

The exam is administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy. Fifty states, Guam, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., require NBCOT certification in order to be licensed to practice as an occupational therapy assistant.

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Jeanne M. Kerschner, director of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s occupational therapy assistant program, was appointed to the Roster of Accreditation Evaluators of the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education.

Accreditation evaluators evaluate the compliance of more than 500 occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant educational programs with ACOTE accreditation standards through on-site evaluations and online reviews. Their work provides ACOTE with the necessary information to make accreditation decisions, and helps to ensure the competency of future occupational therapy practitioners.

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Four virtual workshops in April, continuing Penn College’s series of free community presentations, will provide expert advice on topics as richly varied as the institution’s curriculum portfolio.

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Robert L. Norton – an alumnus, retired faculty member and father of a program director in the School of Nursing & Health Sciences – died Friday, March 19, 2021, at the age of 90. He received a certificate from the former Williamsport Technical Institute and an associate degree from Williamsport Area Community College, and was an aviation instructor at WACC and Penn College for 24 years.

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Consistent with previous years, Pennsylvania College of Technology nursing graduates exceeded state and national pass rates on national board examinations – including a 100% pass rate on the exam for registered nurses by associate degree graduates.

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

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing recently released the pass rates for the NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Exam for Registered Nurses) and the NCLEX-PN, for practical nurses. Results are for those who took the exams between Oct. 1, 2019, and Sept. 30, 2020.

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Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Class of 2020 radiography graduates have achieved a 100% pass rate on the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists Radiography Examination.

The pass rate is calculated as the number of students who pass the exam on the first attempt within six months of graduation. All 26 of the Penn College students who took the exam passed. Nationally, the pass rate is 88% for 2020.

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The capstone project of a Fall 2020 Pennsylvania College of Technology graduate – on COVID-19 and dental care – has been accepted for publication by the Journal of Dental Hygiene and is being offered as a continuing education opportunity by the American Dental Hygienists’ Association.

Breanna J. Connell, of Easton, received her bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene in December. Her paper – and the related continuing education offering – is titled “COVID-19 and Oral Maintenance.”

“My motivation for this research was to create a one-of-a-kind literature review that discussed a topic that was fresh and new. At the beginning of the pandemic, I found that my coworkers and I did not know proper COVID-19 related protocols,” said Connell, who has been a registered dental hygienist since 2015. “As the protocols were constantly changing, I found the topic to be extremely interesting and knew that researching this topic could improve my career as a dental hygienist.”

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The 2020 graduating class of physician assistant students from Pennsylvania College of Technology achieved a 95% first-attempt pass rate on the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam, matching the 2020 national average.

The exam is conducted by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants and assesses medical and surgical knowledge required to become a certified physician assistant. Twenty-one of Penn College’s 22 Class of 2020 physician assistant graduates passed the exam on their first attempt; all 22 ultimately passed.

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A new Pennsylvania College of Technology facility dedicated to helping students, alumni and industry partners transform tomorrow is earning high marks today from its first group of visitors.

The Center for Career Design introduced its variety of free resources and offered one-on-one assistance to students majoring in physician assistant studies. The recent experience complemented classroom workshops presented by Career Services staff for the students’ Professionalism and Ethics course.

An “accommodating environment” is how Bryan M. Bilbao, of Old Forge, described the center. “One day we will be in the real world having to do interviews, having to make final edits to our resumes, talking to people in a professional manner in a professional setting. It was very cool to come over here and try to encompass those things into one,” he said.

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The Center for Career Design at Pennsylvania College of Technology is earning high marks from visitors. Physician assistant students were among the first to use the center’s free resources for all things career-related. Located as part of College Relations on the third floor of the Madigan Library, the facility brings together students, alumni and industry partners to benefit tomorrow’s workforce. The center’s offerings include resume/cover letter development, free business cards and professional clothing options, as well as space for interviews and networking. “One day, we will be in the real world, having to do interviews, having to make final edits to our resumes, as well as talking to people in a professional manner, as well as in a professional setting,” Bryan M. Bilbao, a physician assistant studies major from Old Forge, says in a video about the center. “So it was very cool to come over here and try to encompass all of those things into one.”