News about Nursing

Nursing Students Practice Community Education

Penn College nursing student Rachel E. Farber, of Altoona, measures the blood pressure of librarian Helen L. Yoas at the close of a class offered by nursing students on “Reducing Risks: Understanding Metabolic Syndrome.”

During a pair of one-hour workshops, Pennsylvania College of Technology nursing students provided a wealth of information to help their audiences – Penn College employees – stay healthy and prevent illness.

The students are enrolled in a Community Health Nursing class, which prepares them for the real-world work of nurses beyond treating already ill patients: They learn to educate communities to help them prevent disease.

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Online RN-to-BSN Degree Designed for Working Nurses

There is a nationwide push for 80 percent of registered nurses to have their bachelor’s degree by 2020. Pennsylvania College of Technology is helping to meet that challenge with its online BSN degree, designed for the working nurse. Thanks to an eight-week class schedule, full-time BSN students can complete the program in a year. Penn College nursing alumni receive a 38-percent tuition discount when they enroll in the program, and out-of-state students pay the in-state tuition rate. The Penn College BSN degree is explored in a new YouTube video with the help of Valerie Myers, assistant dean of nursing at the college; Amanda Raymond, a nurse educator at UPMC Susquehanna and current BSN student; Lori Beucler, vice president and chief nursing officer at UPMC Susquehanna; and Terri Bickert, vice president of nursing education at Geisinger Health System. “Research has shown that patient outcomes are improved when they’re cared for by a bachelor’s-prepared nurse,” Myers says. “The bachelor’s program courses are more holistic, so they are looking at nursing from a wider view.”

Students Raise Nearly $1,500 for American Cancer Society

The Student Nurses' Association's inaugural "Glow Walk" travels northward from the Breuder Advanced Technology and Health Sciences Center, home to Penn College's Nursing Education Center.

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Student Nurses’ Association raised nearly $1,500 for the American Cancer Society on March 29 when it hosted its first “Glow Walk.”

The group surpassed its goal of $1,000 for the first-year effort. Despite damp weather, walkers looped the campus mall as the sun set, wearing glow necklaces and glasses provided by the American Cancer Society.

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Health Sciences Team Owns ‘Breakout’ Session

Conquering the interactive challenge of Williamsport Escapes are (clockwise, from bottom left) Zeel Patel, a pre-nursing student from Bensalem; Long; Traister; Cera N. Blunk, a physician assistant major from Schuylkill Haven; Emily K. Conklin, a pre-dental hygiene student from Port Allegany; and Constance J. Plankenhorn, of Williamsport, enrolled in physician assistant studies.

The Health Sciences Living-Learning Community participated in an activity Friday at Williamsport Escapes, which offers a team-building series of brain games at 201 Basin Street. Tanae A. Traister, clinical director of nursing, and Taren A. (Adams) Long, a 2011 radiography graduate, joined four students as they solved clues that allowed them to break out of the facility’s locker-room area. The group was given 60 minutes to escape and managed to get out with two minutes and 57 seconds to spare! Penn College’s Living-Learning Communities provide themed housing arrangements for first-year residents in a variety of academic majors.
Photo provided

Join or Donate to SNA ‘Glow Walk’ to Benefit Cancer Society

On March 29, Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Student Nurses’ Association will host a “Glow Walk” to benefit the American Cancer Society.

The walk is scheduled from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on the college’s main campus in Williamsport. Walkers will make laps along the pedestrian mall from the Veterans Fountain in front of the Breuder Advanced Technology and Health Sciences Center to West Third Street.

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Penn College’s School of Health Sciences Reorganizes

School of Health Sciences reorganizes

One of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s largest academic schools, the School of Health Sciences, has a new dean, assistant dean and assistant dean of nursing.

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Nursing Students Pass Milestone on Road to Graduation

“Praise God the four years are over,” says student speaker Nicole M. Mestach, of Watsontown.

Maggie K. Calkins, of Bloomsburg, receives her pin.

Haylea D. Estright, of Brisbin, accepts a hug from Samantha M. Weaver, learning laboratory coordinator for nursing.

Francesca B. Monse, of Selinsgrove, looks back toward her family while her husband attaches her pin.

Soon-to-be grads recite the Nightingale Pledge, promising to “devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care.”

The 24 December graduates of the nursing, traditional bachelor’s degree were “pinned” during a ceremony on Friday. During an event filled with tradition, the students entered with candles, heard from a faculty member and classmate of their choosing, passed the light to representatives of a future graduating class, and recited the Nightingale Pledge. During her remarks, faculty speaker Terri A. Stone, assistant professor of nursing, told the graduates that, if she had to pinpoint a common quality among those who successfully completed the program, it wouldn’t be that they are the smartest or most able – although many of them are – but that they have developed the quality of perseverance. “This quality … is your crowning achievement today,” she said. The students are set to graduate on Saturday.

Grateful Patients, Enduring Patience Top Students’ Guatemala Memories

The Penn College group (from front): Glendalis Guadarrama, nursing instructor Christine B. Kavanagh, Maggie K. Calkins, Sarah J. Schick, Mikaila E. Lugo-Schlegel, and Rene Ramirez

When five Pennsylvania College of Technology nursing students provided a briefing on their study abroad course at a weeklong, volunteer-led medical clinic in rural Guatemala, chief among the lessons they learned were gratitude and patience.

The students joined a group of more than 40 volunteers from the Glens Falls Medical Mission Foundation, a small, New York-based nonprofit that runs a twice-annual medical mission in the small town of Nueva Santa Rosa, Guatemala.

While there, the students saw between 200 and 300 patients each day in the areas of oral health, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, and general medicine.

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Nursing Grads Exceed State, National Board Exam Pass Rates

Penn College nursing students attend to SimMan, a patient simulator that can be programmed with a variety of symptoms to help the students practice a variety of health scenarios. In 2016-17, graduates of the nursing program passed national board exams at a rate that exceeded state and national pass rates.

Graduates of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s nursing majors exceeded state and national performances in passing the national board examinations required for licensure.

Penn College offers degrees for those preparing to enter the field as a registered nurse and for those pursuing a practical nursing license.

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Thirteen Students Selected for Penn College NOW Scholarships

Penn College presented scholarships to 13 first-year students who took Penn College NOW courses. From left are Tavor T. Wadsworth, of Williamsport; Vincent R. Keene, of Downingtown; Kayley E. Johnson, of Bloomsburg; Monica A. McCarty, Penn College’s dual enrollment specialist; Michael L. Gardner, of Williamsport; Warren E. Knipe, of Liberty; and Tanya Berfield, the college’s manager of college transitions. Additional recipients not in the photo are: Cheyenne N. Greene, of Jersey Shore; Deontae Z. Johnson, of Selinsgrove; Kylee E. Kelley, of Lock Haven; Tyler W. Miller, of Montgomery; Luke B. Walter, of Millmont; Brittany M. Weiskopff, of Blossburg; Clayton T. Welch, of Benton; and Jeremy M. Wolfgang, of Allenwood.

Pennsylvania College of Technology recently recognized 13 first-year students who received Penn College NOW scholarships.

The recipients completed Penn College courses during high school as part of the college’s Penn College NOW dual-enrollment program. The group was honored during an Oct. 27 reception.

To be eligible, students must have successfully completed at least one Penn College NOW course, have a minimum GPA of 3.0 in Penn College NOW classes, enroll in Penn College as a full-time freshman student for the fall semester after high school graduation, and maintain a 2.5 GPA at Penn College as an enrolled student.

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Veterans’ Holiday Tribute Written in Stars

Regina M. Peluzzo (left), of Philadelphia, a civil engineering technology major, and Jennifer L. Nicholson, an applied health studies: radiography concentration major from Lock Haven, find just the right spot for a special ornament.

Beaver strung hundreds of stars onto wire for easier decoration this year ...

... and Efrem K. Foster, a nursing student from Williamsport, makes a few adjustments to ensure complete coverage.

Peluzzo, Nicholson and Foster pause ever so briefly during Thursday's assignment.

With Old Glory providing an apt backdrop for his ascent to the treetop, Haefner adeptly places the final strand of stars.

A red, white and blue homage to Penn College’s military family took shape this week outside Madigan Library, where three of the campus’s Veterans Affairs work-study students – along with Chet Beaver, coordinator of veterans/military affairs, and General Services horticulturist Aaron S. Haefner – adorned the Veterans Holiday Tree. This year’s tree is a spruce along the northeast side of the library, a site chosen when a nearby pine that was decorated in each of the past three years was removed due to disease. In addition to colored lights, the tree contains 391 stars (fashioned in the School of Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies) representing the institution’s veterans and active-duty servicemen and women. In addition, the tree showcases three glass balls containing commemorative ribbons purchased during an annual Giving Tree fundraiser for the Fisher House Foundation.

Penn College Nursing Students Learn While Helping Peers

Students in a Community Health Nursing course at Pennsylvania College of Technology provide hygiene education to their peers while conducting a collection of personal items for The Cupboard, an on-campus food pantry for students in need. (Photo by James J. "J.J." Boettcher, student photographer)

Hundreds of soaps, deodorants, shampoos, toothbrushes and other hygiene items were made available to students who need a hand at The Cupboard at Pennsylvania College of Technology, thanks to one of two recent projects by nursing students.

The bachelor’s degree students, enrolled in a Community Health Nursing class, endeavored to serve their community while meeting course requirements.

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Student Receives Scholarship to Attend Nursing Conference

Penn College nursing student Janessa L. Kosmer (center), of Coal Township, received a scholarship to attend the Pennsylvania Association of PeriAnesthesia Nurses annual conference near Pittsburgh. She is joined at the event by Penn College’s Donnamarie Lovestrand (left), instructor of nursing, and Kaitlin M. Pressler, of New Bloomfield, nursing student.

A Pennsylvania College of Technology nursing student was granted a scholarship to attend the annual conference of the Pennsylvania Association of PeriAnesthesia Nurses.

Janessa L. Kosmer, of Coal Township, was awarded the association’s Student Nurse Scholarship to PeriAnesthesia PRIDE, an event held near Pittsburgh in early October. Kosmer is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in nursing and, having completed a clinical rotation in post-operative care, hopes to specialize in perianesthesia after graduation.

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Nursing Students Start Weeklong Mission to Guatemala

The students are taking a variety of items to donate, including Penn College hand sanitizer and backpacks, toothbrushes, children’s books, hair ties and sunglasses.

The adventurous group (from left): Rene Ramirez, Maggie K. Calkins, Glendalis Guadarrama, Christine B. Kavanagh, Mikaila E. Lugo-Schlegel and Sarah J. Schick.

The group will take an assortment of educational items.

Nursing students in Explorations in Global Health Care, a study abroad course, held a packing party in the Breuder Advanced Technology & Health Sciences Center on Thursday. By noon Friday, the group is expected to land in Guatemala, where they’ll be transported two hours by bus to their hotel near Santa Rosa, Guatemala. There, they will spend seven days working at a medical clinic with volunteers from Glens Falls Medical Mission. Making the trip to rural Guatemala are Penn College students Maggie K. Calkins, of Bloomsburg; Glendalis Guadarrama, of Avondale; Mikaila E. Lugo-Schlegel, of Lebanon; Rene Ramirez, of Venezuela; and Sarah J. Schick, of Williamsport, with Christine B. Kavanagh, instructor of nursing.

County’s School Nurses Hold Development Day on Campus

School nurses visit SimMom, a high-fidelity mannequin that has a pulse, breathes, talks and has contractions as she delivers a mannequin baby. Several served as delivery nurses in a simulation coordinated by Jessica L. Bower (center), simulation laboratory coordinator.

Penn College’s Nursing Education Center was the site on Monday for Lycoming County School Nurses Professional Development Day. During a morning “skills update,” the school nurses toured the college’s nursing laboratories with Jessica L. Bower, simulation laboratory coordinator. During the remainder of the daylong campus visit, the 40 participants attended meetings and educational sessions by physical therapist Amy Vandermark of UPMC Susquehanna and Tracy Haas-Ungard, programs and services director for North Central Sight Services, and discussed issues in school nursing as submitted by the group.

Pennsylvania College of Technology is a special mission affiliate of The Pennsylvania State University