Top UW Oshkosh alumni serve as leaders in evidence-based practice

Traditional nursing practices—think bed rest, sponge baths and hospital corners—often were developed by trial and error and passed on through generations of nurses in religious and military service.

Today, modern healthcare requires nurses to collaborate with interdisciplinary treatment teams to deliver scientific or evidence-based practices to their patients. They ask a multitude of questions and take into account a whole host of factors, including their patient’s age, medical history and cultural background, before determining the best course of action.

“Nursing is an evolving science and very individualized,” said Rosemary Smith, dean of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s College of Nursing. “For example, we used to turn patients confined to their hospital beds every two hours to prevent bedsores. Now we know from scientific research that more continuous body movement is necessary.”

Some of UW Oshkosh’s top nursing alumni are leaders in providing evidence-based practice throughout the lifespan in clinical and educational settings alike.

“When I provide care, using evidence-based information allows me to talk with the family about why it is important to do the recommended treatment, but I also can back up my information by discussing how it has been tested and proven to be the best option.” – Michele Polfuss BSN ’96, MSN, Ph.D.

Pediatric practice
A 2007 recipient of UW Oshkosh’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award, Michele Polfuss BSN ’96, MSN, Ph.D., of Appleton, is a certified pediatric nurse practitioner. She treats children who have diabetes and other endocrine problems at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, serves as a clinical instructor at Marquette University and studies childhood obesity.

At Children’s Hospital, Polfuss works with a team of physicians, nurse practitioners and nurses to care for children and their families who are dealing with a variety of concerns related to the endocrine system.

“Any time you work with children (or any other individual), you want to be sure that you are treating them according to guidelines or treatment protocols that are based on solid evidence,” she said. “It would be frightening and unsafe if healthcare providers performed their care based on hunches.”

Polfuss is responsible for obtaining the child’s history and physical, ordering laboratory or radiology tests, diagnosing and treating the child through ordering or adjusting medication or through lifestyle recommendations and educating the family on the child’s care and/or treatment.

“When I provide care, using evidence-based information allows me to talk with the family about why it is important to do the recommended treatment, but I also can back up my information by discussing how it has been tested and proven to be the best option,” Polfuss said.

One example of evidence-based care for overweight children is using a technique called “motivational interviewing” when discussing nutrition and exercise changes that could be hard for the child and family to make.

“Motivational interviewing is a way to talk to a patient to assess how ready they are to make a behavior change versus telling them what they need to do,” she explained. “This process allows individuals to guide their own treatment and lets the provider guide the process.”

Polfuss is excited that nurses are not only providing the care but also playing an integral role on the healthcare team to produce the evidence-based information.

“Working directly with patients allows nurses to observe how the care they provide impacts the individual. If we believe something else may work better or benefit the family, we are able to perform research and test our ideas,” she said.

Public health nurse Cindy Brylski BSN ’95, consults with a client.

Maternal matters
UW Oshkosh alumna Cindy Brylski BSN ’95, of Greenville, works as a public health nurse and lactation consultant for Outagamie County and as an on-call lactation consultant with ThedaCare hospitals. As a public health nurse, she provides information about community resources and helps address clients’ barriers to getting connected to those resources.

“We also provide education throughout the pregnancy regarding what to expect during the prenatal and postpartum periods, and when to call the doctor if there is a concern. I make home or office visits to anyone in our jurisdiction in need of lactation support services,” Brylski said.

She also co-chairs the Breastfeeding Alliance of Northeast Wisconsin and is involved with the Fox Valley Postpartum Depression Task Force, which is a community group dedicated to education regarding postpartum depression.

In her work, both communicable disease and immunization follow-up are determined by evidence-based practice.

“Continual training and updates are required in public health and in hospital settings to assure the care we deliver is based on the most current evidence,” she said.

For instance, during nursing school and Brylski’s first few years working in the field, it was a common practice to aspirate (pull back on the plunger after insertion but before injection) when giving vaccines. “However, in 2002 the General

Recommendations on Immunization no longer recommended aspiration before injection, since no data existed to document the necessity of this procedure,” she explained.

Another example involves medical advice about parents co-sleeping with their babies. “When I went back to school as a nontraditional student, co-sleeping was not discouraged and sometimes recommended so moms and dads could get more sleep. But since the mid-1990s, strong evidence has proven it is not safe for babies to sleep with their parents,” Brylski said.

Maria Brenny-Fitzpatrick MSN ’05 reviews a medical chart with a patient.

Geriatric care
When UWO alumna Maria Brenny-Fitzpatrick MSN ’05, was an undergraduate nursing student at the College of St. Teresa in Winona, Minn., there was little mention of evidence-based practice.

“Quite frankly, those involved with nursing research were sometimes considered a bit ‘out there,’ and those nurses who questioned the status quo were frequently thought of as irksome and troublemakers,” she said. “Nurses were educated to practice based on long-standing traditions, beliefs, intuition and clinical experience.”

Now, evidence-based practice is the order of the day for the co-founder and team leader of the University of Wisconsin Hospital’s Acute Care for Elders Interdisciplinary Consult Team.

Brenny-Fitzpatrick provides guidance on the care of geriatric patients and their families and serves as a mentor for nursing students. Recently promoted to transitional care program director for the UW-Health System, she works to define a shared vision for care transitions.

“I work side by side daily with doctors, pharmacists, physical therapists and social workers. The expectation in the group is that the recommendations we provide are evidence-based whenever possible,” she said. “As an example, our pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for delirious patients are based on the most current research and literature findings.”

Delirium, a sudden onset of confusion, is a common, life-threatening and potentially preventable clinical syndrome among hospitalized elderly patients.

“Whereas years ago, the agitated delirious patient may have been sedated, restrained or even secluded in a quiet darkened room, today nurses are encouraged to individualize interventions for each patient guided by the patient’s medical history, findings on physical and neurological examination and the clinical setting,” Brenny-Fitzpatrick explained.

The prevention and treatment of delirium involves dealing with the underlying cause and addressing sensory issues, pain, mobility and other factors.

“Nurses are required to be critical thinkers in choosing which evidence-based intervention they will use, and they also need to be true interdisciplinary team players since many interventions require a team assessment and approach,” she said.

To ensure that the best patient care continues to evolve, Brylski, Brenny-Fitzpatrick and Pohlfuss all stress how important it is for nursing students to learn strategies for delivering evidence-based practice.

Brenny-Fitzpatrick noted that students should be supported with the time, mentors and the necessary technology to allow access to databases and literature.

Brylski agrees. “I think it is imperative that today’s nursing students learn evidence-based practice skills. It is the process of research, observation and experience. Critical-thinking skills are necessary in searching for, assessing and applying the literature to current practice,” she said. “Practice needs to evolve with current evidence.”

More about the College of Nursing.

Peter Schindler, BSN '12

Knowledge of culture, international nursing practices and real-world experience are among the skills a group of University of Wisconsin Oshkosh College of Nursing students brought home with them following a study trip to Peru last spring.

“This partnership allows students to meet their community clinical course objectives while becoming immersed in a new and diverse culture,” said Patricia Vander Loop, assistant clinical professor.

The students traveled to the Alto Cayma area, which is a small, rural community near the major city of Arequipa. The group also traveled to Lima, Puno and Cusco.

“The 21 students volunteered in a kitchen that serves approximately 800 people living in poverty, they assisted in care of children in the daycare, did home visits and demographic surveys, and cared for individuals and families in the health clinic,” Vander Loop said.

Brittany Wall BSN ’12, of Mount Horeb, who was a senior nursing student at the time, said she was thankful for the opportunity to interact with the people of Peru and give them invaluable nursing advice.

“Being able to use our nursing expertise while providing nursing care and advice to people who would otherwise have none was truly a priceless experience,” Wall said.

Sarina Gitter, BSN '12

She also said the trip gave her a greater appreciation for technology’s role.

“Actively participating in the healthcare team at the clinics and hospitals taught me the importance of looking at the patient, not the machine, to determine the problem,” she said. “I really had to rely on my instincts and observational skills.”

The conditions in Peru also forced the students to learn about themselves. “They were exposed to extreme poverty and very sad stories,” Vander Loop said. “The final conclusions focused on the value of community members that work and care for each other. They commented frequently that this experience would help them to care for families in the U.S. with an eager and open-minded attitude.”

International study opportunities through the College of Nursing.

Contributed by Audralynn See ’12

Photos by Patricia Vander Loop

Clinical Nurse Leader instructor Diane Park, center, leads patient rounds to promote better communication among healthcare team members and improve outcomes.

University of Wisconsin Oshkosh alumna Diane Park, MSN, RN, CNL, CRRN, is making a difference in nursing care in Wisconsin and beyond. As a graduate of the MSN program with the Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) emphasis in 2009, Park has been busy spreading the word about the benefits of the CNL role locally, regionally and nationally.

Park is the CNL coordinator in the  graduate emphasis at UW Oshkosh. In the last few years, enrollment in the CNL emphasis has grown exponentially, in part due to Park’s promotion of the role among nursing leaders across the state. She emphasizes how CNLs can positively impact patient and staff outcomes.

Nationally, there is heightened attention to quality and safety related to patient care. Clinical nurse leaders have advanced education to enhance patient safety measures and to continually improve care that is delivered to patients in a multitude of settings. Nurses who complete the graduate CNL emphasis are eligible for national certification, attesting to their competence.

Park also works as the Primary Stroke Center coordinator at Agnesian HealthCare in Fond du Lac. She oversees the care coordination of patients who have had strokes and transient ischemic attacks. She evaluates and improves outcomes of patients who have suffered from these neurological deficits and puts evidence-based practice into action to ensure that patients benefit from the latest innovations in care delivery.

Recently, Park was recognized by national leaders at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, when she was asked to be on the Planning Committee for the 2012 CNL Summit, held in Tampa Fla. At the meeting, CNLs from across the nation meet to learn and share successes.

Park has worked closely with Sharon Chappy, Graduate Program director and assistant dean, to develop the CNL specialty curriculum and promote the CNL emphasis offered at UW Oshkosh. The program is 100 percent online, making it attractive to working nurses across the state and beyond.

If any nurse leaders or potential students are interested in hearing more, contact Chappy at chappy@uwosh.edu or call the Graduate Program Office at (920) 424-2106.

Seven of the 23 also were honored with the prestigious Nightingale Award for Excellence in Practice.

This 2012 award ceremony—the 20th anniversary of the Nightingale awards—is a special one, said Rebecca Cleveland, a UW Oshkosh nurse educator since 1979.

Cleveland said the Nightingale Awards are a very important part of recognizing how significant nurses can be in helping people.

“Dedicated nurses impact their patients’ and families’ lives each day with accomplishments that are all too often unrecognized,” Cleveland said. “They are the unsung heroes of healthcare; this award program gives these selfless, altruistic professionals a moment of recognition.”

In the past 20 years, more than 100 nurses have been recognized with a Nightingale award. Colleagues, patients and co-workers nominate the nurses for their many accomplishments in nursing excellence in clinical practice.

“At some time in our lives we have had intelligent, skilled nurses give compassionate care to our mothers, brothers, children or neighbors,” Cleveland said. “Patients, families and healthcare agencies appreciate the opportunity to show their gratitude to these dedicated professionals.”

Colleen Huseboe, CON advancement officer, said, historically, the winners of the Nightingale Awards excel in multiple areas of the nursing field, demonstrate a number of achievements and are committed to nursing education through attendance at conferences, pursuit of advanced degrees, certifications and journals and in the expression of compassion toward patients.

Winners of the Nightingale award received a piece of commemorative artwork engraved with their name and credentials and a $1,000 award. The annual event is hosted by the UW Oshkosh College of Nursing and the Board of Visitors, with support from regional healthcare organizations.

2012 Nightingale Award winners from the left: Audrey James, BSN ’04; Lynette Joy Bosin, BSN, RN; Dee (Delores) Fietzer, BSN, RN; Teresa Paulus, BSN, RN; Adeline I. Schroeder (Abby), ADN, RN; Mary Ann Berrens BSN ’02; and Jeanean Bauer, BSN, RN.

CON alumni nominated for the Nightingale Award included Claudette Amundson BSN ’88, Mary Ann Berrens BSN ’02, Dena Entringer BSN ’05, Audrey James BSN ’04, Mari A. Krueger BSN ’91, MSE‘02, Lisa LeBlanc BSN ’08, and Paula Shimulunas, BSN ’94.

Seven nurses were selected as recipients of the prestigious Nightingale Award:
Jeanean Bauer, BSN, RN, works as a wound care/ostomy nurse at St. Elizabeth Hospital;
Mary Ann Berrens, BSN, RN, is a staff nurse in the day surgical unit at the Appleton Medical Center and New London Family Medical Center;
Lynette Joy Bosin, BSN, RN, is a registered nurse at St. Agnes Hospital Home Care;
Dee (Delores) Fietzer, BSN, RN, works at the ambulatory care department at ThedaCare’s Riverside Medical Center;
Audrey James, BSN, RN, works as a staff nurse in the intensive care unit and the emergency department at Aurora Medical Center;
Teresa Paulus, BSN, RN, is a public health nurse for the Winnebago County Health Department; and
Adeline I. Schroeder (Abby), ADN, RN, is a clinical support nurse at Bridge Community Health Clinic.

2011 honorees

2011 Nightingale Award winners from the left: Susan Tischaefer, RN; Rhonda Handel, RN; Scott Rogalsky BSN ’07; Jan Andrews, RN; and Karen Balke, BSN, RN.

Nineteen nurses from across Wisconsin were recognized last year by patients, colleagues and supervisors for their nursing excellence. CON alumni nominated for Nightingale Awards included Brad Berger BSN ’09, Rosalyn Evans BSN ’87, Nancy Gimenez BSN ’96, Nancy Horn BSN ’09, Correen Marvin BSN ’95, Jamie Ray BSN ’07, Scott Rogalsky BSN ’07, Linda Schwister BSN ’01, and Mindy Wilderman BSN ’06.

Five nurses were selected as recipients of the Nightingale Award:
Jan Andrews, RN, is a surgical first assistant at St. Agnes Hospital;
Karen Balke, BSN, RN, is a disease management nurse at the Appleton Veterans Association Clinic;
Rhonda Handel, RN, is a pediatric nurse at Memorial Heath Center Clinics;
Susan Tischaefer, RN, is an operating room circulator staff nurse at the Fond du Lac Surgery Center; and
Scott Rogalsky, BSN, RN, is an emergency department staff nurse at Ripon Medical Center.

Read more about the Nightingale award.

Contributed by Brittany Farrell, IMC STEP student

As the newest cohort of nursing majors recited the Professional Nursing Pledge during their February Welcoming Ceremony and began to take their first classes in the core curriculum this spring, members of the College of Nursing faculty were gearing up for some major studying and learning of their own.

“Since 2000, the healthcare system has been under reform,” CON Dean Rosemary Smith said. “Tomorrow’s nurses won’t be delivering healthcare in the same way as they do today. Therefore, we need to transition how we teach.”

The transformation in the healthcare industry coupled with the current economic downturn has meant that the need for nursing care is shifting away from hospitals toward a greater diversity of settings, from outpatient and in-home care to public health and school environments.

Nurses are performing more of the necessary direct patient care, while juggling increasingly complicated diagnostic and treatment regimes. In addition, a shortage of nurses in America since 1998 has staff stretched thin, putting patients at risk.

A Call for Change

Smith points to a number of key forces driving higher education’s response to the healthcare transformation.

First, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) has called for more transparency in healthcare.

For instance, as soon as a problem arises with a patient, members of the healthcare team must immediately begin problem-solving a solution not spend time hiding the problem or covering for each other, Smith explained.

Junior I nursing student Ross Hietpas, of Appleton, assesses SimMan, a computerized patient, during a clinical simulation in the Simulation Laboratory.

The AACN also calls for a greater emphasis on informatics and electronic charting; more evidence-based nursing practice; and a better understanding of the impact of changing technology on nursing.

“Training for nursing students in informatics is crucial to building a coordinated standard of care across the profession,” said Tom Veeser, chief nursing officer for Affinity Health System and a member of the CON’s Board of Visitors.

Another key influencer for change in nursing education is the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s 2009 study, Educating Nurses: A Call for Radical Transformation.

“Educating Nurses challenges us to increase the rigor of science for nurses to the same level as doctors and to work to increase the number of nurses with associate degrees to pursue their BSNs,” Smith explained.

Finally, in October 2010, the Institute of Medicine released its report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, which offers a blueprint for transforming nursing education.

The report’s four key messages include:

• Nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training.
• Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression.
• Nurses should be full partners, with physicians and other healthcare professionals, in redesigning healthcare in the United States.
• Effective workforce planning and policy making require better data collection and information infrastructure.

“The Future of Nursing tells us that nurses need to be in leadership roles on the healthcare team and be equal partners in problem-solving. They need to be transformational leaders,” Smith said.

Veeser said in order for today’s nurses to act as change agents, they need to understand how to apply concepts from the business world, such as total quality management, to the nursing profession.

The College’s Response

At the top of the CON faculty’s plans for change is moving toward spending less time lecturing and more time applying knowledge.

“There’s no time to have our students attend lectures and just spit back the facts on a test,” Smith said. “Today, it’s about getting to the ’so, what?’ of a concept. We can’t just teach a concept, such as the body’s acid/base balance. We need to teach students how to apply the concept in their nursing practice and consider implications for a patient’s health.”

Senior I students Amanda Bodjanac, of Green Bay; and Crystal Kennedy, of Fall River, provide care during a simulation exercise in the Elmer Leach Laboratory.

With best practices changing so fast, CON faculty also will be spending more time teaching students where to look for the latest, up-to-date information and search out the most relevant treatment for their patients. Already, all students in the major are required to have a laptop and a PDA (personal digital assistant) for their coursework.

In addition, UWO’s nursing students will spend more time in small groups, learning how to solve problems as a team.

As for the coursework itself, CON faculty members have spent weeks researching and developing critical curriculum revisions that address the changing needs of the profession without adding additional credits to the program.

Undergraduate program director Suzanne Marnocha said the changes include:

• Making a current popular elective, Heathcare of Ethnic Groups, a core prerequisite for acceptance into the clinical major.
• Building a new seven-week informatics course for second-semester sophomores.
• Increasing the number of clinical hours spent learning about home care and caring for the elderly as part of the Long-Term Care Focus class.
• Adding an Advance Care Concepts theory course and clinical to the final semester of the senior year to act as a synthesizing capstone of the entire curriculum.

“The changes are really exciting, and they don’t increase credits required or time spent in the program,” Marnocha said. “We also want our students to know that we aren’t throwing out our current solid academic program, we’re making it stronger.”

Veeser agrees that UWO is providing a broad-based educational experience. “Students are getting the core knowledge that they need before heading into the industry where their skills are fine-tuned according to the specialty area that they pursue.”

Training the Trainers

With the curriculum revisions for next fall underway, the College faculty members continue to practice their own lifelong learning, as they sit in on webinars, learn the latest techniques at in-service sessions and attend national conventions.

Nursing students Gina Buzzanca, junior I, Mequon; Josie Petrie, junior I, Mount Calvary; David Vogt, junior I, Mount Horeb; Hannah Evans, junior II, Omro; and Jessy Glaser, junior I, Oshkosh, collaborate during a medical/surgical study group.

In March, CON’s assistant director of student academic affairs Becki Cleveland and assistant professor Shelly Lancaster attended the AACN’s landmark Quality and Safety Education in Nursing Consortium Institute in Chicago to learn the skills, knowledge and resources necessary to educate UWO’s nursing students.

The institute’s aim is to “train the trainer,” so participants can return to their campuses ready to lead other faculty in efforts to incorporate the latest innovative techniques into the classroom.

Indeed, Cleveland and Lancaster returned with “tons” of information and inspiration to implement the necessary changes. “The institute impressed on us that the focus on safety is beyond just being important, Cleveland said. “We heard over and over that people’s lives depend on this. I believe this mantra will resonate with students.”

From the left, Amanda Kane, Lynn Rinzel, Lisa Ebert BSN ’89, Rosemary Wittchow, Barbara Gruenwald and Matthew Mangan BSN ’06, each received the prestigious Nightingale Award in May 2010.

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s College of Nursing and its Board of Visitors celebrated the 18th-annual Nightingale Awards Dinner at Reeve Memorial Union in May 2010.

The Nightingale Award Program, established in 1993, recognizes registered nurses and licensed practical nurses involved in direct patient care who exemplify the highest standards of nursing practice. In 2010, 25 outstanding nurses from across Wisconsin were honored with Nightingale Nominations.

College of Nursing alumni nominated for Nightingale Awards included Kathryn Beier, BSN ’89, Melissa Borth MSN ’91, Lisa Ebert BSN ’89, Matthew Mangan BSN ’06, Kathryn Otte BSN ’80, Kathy Williams BSN ’88, and Heather Wright Evenson BSN ’08.

Six nurses were selected as recipients of the prestigious Nightingale Award:

Lisa Ebert, BSN, RN, is a trauma case coordinator at Aspirus Wausau Hospital;

Barbara Gruenwald, RN, is a staff nurse and night charge nurse at St. Joseph Residence;

Amanda Kane, BSN, RN, is an Emergency Department RN and charge nurse at St. Agnes Hospital;

Matthew Mangan, BSN, RN, is a nurse clinician II at Winnebago Mental Health Institute;

Lynn Rinzel, RN, works in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit at St. Agnes Hospital; and

Rosemary Wittchow, LPN, works in the Surgery Department at Ripon Medical Center.

College of Nursing staff member Jane Roloff helps Marie Umutsei ’10 BSN, register for the Graduate Program Open House.

The term “evolution” brings about images of change. However, evolution is change with purpose. Nursing has historically responded to the needs of society by evolving to meet those needs to impact the health and well-being of the population.

From the time of Florence Nightingale and the first hospital-based nursing schools, nursing education has increased in complexity to baccalaureate degree programs, nondegree certificate nurse practitioner programs and master’s prepared advanced nursing practice.

Societal trends are now driving forward a new level of nursing practice in response to the healthcare needs of the nation. Today’s healthcare systems are more complex than ever.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recognized this need and proposed changes in the preparation of healthcare professionals. The IOM identified core competencies that all healthcare providers should possess in order to improve quality and reduce medical errors, focusing on patient-centered care, interdisciplinary teams, evidence-based practice, continuous quality improvement, and informatics.

First UWO doctorate

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s College of Nursing (CON) has a long history of evolution and innovation. Building on its successful master’s primary care nurse practitioner program, the CON launched the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program in summer 2010, the first doctoral program on the UW Oshkosh campus.

The DNP program educates advanced practice nurses and advanced nurse administrators for the highest level of professional nursing practice and clinical scholarship to meet the educational requirements put forth by the IOM and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). The AACN has called for transition of all advanced practice nurse education to the practice doctorate by 2015.

Anna Christian, a DNP student from Appleton, returned to graduate school at UW Oshkosh to pursue an advanced degree in nursing practice. She has been a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) for 12 years.

“I could feel my practice start to stagnate. When I found out that Oshkosh was offering the DNP program, I jumped at the chance,” Christian said. “I want to be a role model by showing other advanced practice nurses that this is achievable and complimentary to their current roles.”

Christian hopes to expand her nursing role toward career development, corporate decision-making regarding nursing roles and practice, and to change policy relevant to nurse practice acts.

“I feel nursing as a discipline has not been well-represented at most corporate levels of healthcare, and this practice needs to be greatly improved,” she said.

“Role reversals are changing the landscape of healthcare. Nurses no longer merely nurture or educate but are becoming primary caregivers in an ever-changing and more complicated healthcare system. They are not only treating but guiding patients through
a variety of services.”

Graduate education provides the necessary tools for nurses to focus on measures to improve quality outcomes for individuals and society as a whole.

While the current DNP program is for students like Christian who already hold a master’s degree, the BSN to DNP program is slated to begin in fall 2012  for those who have a bachelor’s degree
in nursing.

Clinical nurse leaders

Shannon Hulett, a student in the Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) master’s emphasis, has a vision. She believes that CNLs see the big picture from very close range.

In becoming a CNL, Hulett will meet her professional goals: continue working in the hospital setting and improve patient outcomes and patient safety while increasing staff satisfaction by decreasing the chaos that exists in the complex healthcare environment.

As a CNL, Hulett will become a leader in the nursing profession to transform care given on the frontline.

“Nurses need to be able to work differently than in the past,” she said. “Graduate school will enhance my ability to help nurses and other healthcare professionals think outside the box, do more with less, and partner with patients and families to make evidence-based practice realistic at the bedside.”

The CNL works with others to fix inconsistencies in healthcare that will, in turn, improve patient and staff outcomes.

After solidifying her decision to go to graduate school, Hulett searched the AACN website and found that UW Oshkosh offered the CNL emphasis.

“I knew that UW Oshkosh had a great nursing program, but I was apprehensive because I lived and worked across the state in La Crosse. From the beginning, the staff at the College of Nursing has been creative and flexible with me and my healthcare organization to make my education a reality.”

Innovations in educational delivery have allowed Hulett to “attend class,” using a variety of distance learning strategies. She also completed all of her clinical hours where she works.

Heather Englund, of Oshkosh, knows that there is a critical shortage of nurse educators nationwide, which in turn, con-tributes to the ongoing nursing shortage.

Students like Englund who enroll in the Nurse Educator (NE) emphasis, are pursuing advanced education so that they can teach the next generation of nurses.

“I chose to attend graduate school to pursue my master’s degree as a nurse educator, because I truly cannot think of anything more rewarding than assisting students to realize their dreams of becoming nurses,” she said.

Currently, while still in school, Englund teaches some medical-surgical clinical courses in the College of Nursing. Her graduate course schedule is flexible, with most of her courses offered online.

“The College of Nursing has consistently shown its commitment to creating a learning environment that fosters both personal and professional growth. We are evolving to meet the educational needs for nurses moving into the increasingly complex healthcare system,” she said.

The CNL and NE programs are offered online, the DNP program and FNP master’s emphasis are hybrid (some online, some face-to-face). Distance learning has greatly opened the availability of educational programs to large numbers of nurses who could not necessarily attend conventional university classes.

Through the use of technology, innovation in the online environment and classroom and a cutting-edge curriculum consistent with the most recent Master’s and DNP Essentials and NP competencies, the CON continues its tradition of evolution in nursing education to produce the highest caliber nursing professionals ready to impact the health of a nation.

Related Links:

College of Nursing Graduate Program

College of Nursing students Mina Young BSN ’11, of Mazomanie; and Lindsey Walker BSN ’11, of Appleton, weigh a child during the June 2010 trip to Uganda. Photo by Patti VanderLoop

An expanded international clinical program means more University of Wisconsin Oshkosh College of Nursing students will have the opportunity to gain cultural understanding and even develop a better awareness of their own culture.

In spring 2010, Patti VanderLoop, clinical assistant professor; and Jill Collier, assistant professor, took a group of 13 students to Busoga University in Iganga, Uganda, for a three-credit course entailing 126 clinical hours.

“Clinicals are a time when students get actual, hands-on experience in different patient settings,” VanderLoop said. “The clinical for Uganda focused on community health — promoting health and wellness in different populations.”

While this was the College of Nursing’s first international clinical experience in Africa, nursing students have had the opportunity to gain clinical experience in India for the past three years.

“They learn the importance of communication and recognize the differences in values. Every single student walks away with a new perspective,” VanderLoop said.

Collier said that the African instructors shared knowledge about their role and their abilities to work within their funding sources. The students saw nurses working in expanded roles out of necessity, much like nurse practitioners do in the U.S.

“Our students learned much about the Ugandan culture through interactions with the Busugo students and tutors, including the limitations of providing healthcare in a developing nation,” Collier said. “We are grateful they were willing to share their knowledge with us, as well.”

Lindsey Walker, a senior nursing student, of Mazomanie, was inspired by professor VanderLoop’s recounts of visiting Uganda. “I’ve always wanted to go to Africa, so it was the perfect opportunity,” Walker said. “The biggest culture shock was the healthcare system. It’s not very advanced, so it was very hard to adapt to what they have and what they believe.”

Walker and her fellow nursing students worked in hospitals with Busoga University nursing students. They also participated in clinical outreach programs, focusing on prenatal care and went to urban and rural schools to teach hygiene and how to prevent and recognize the signs of river blindness.

Walker said she gained confidence in approaching people from other cultures. The most rewarding aspect for Walker was seeing how their work was making a difference in both the short-term and long-term.

“When we first got there, the nurses didn’t use any kind of comfort measures for women in labor, so we showed them how to rub patient’s backs and taught them breathing exercises and new positions to relieve the pressure in the back, Walker said.

“Before we left, we saw some of the nurses applying those techniques. We actually made an impact.”