Department of Nursing Achievements
November 2008:
The Department of Nursing received a $750,000.00 grant from the Southern Oklahoma Memorial Foundation (SOMF) and Mercy Memorial Health Center (MMHC) to fund a branch campus in Ardmore, OK. The money is to be used over a two year period to remodel a building down town into two classrooms, two skills labs, three offices and a computer lab. All equipment as well as the Program Coordinator, one full time faculty and a full time secretary will be funded from the grant.
The program was successfully implemented in January 2008 with Dr. Peggy Hart as program coordinator, Pat Musser as secretary and the admission of 10 nursing students to the program for sophomore level classes. In addition, a section of Introduction of Professional Nursing was also taught. Because the remodeling of the building was not completed, the classes were held at the Ardmore Higher Education Center and the skills labs at the Southern Oklahoma Technology Center were used for Nursing Process and Physical Assessment. A full time nursing faculty, Ardon Bryant, was hired for the Fall 2008 semester. There will be 16 new students admitted to the Ardmore program in January of 2009.
Spring 2008:
The Department of Nursing received $180,000.00 grant from the Chickasaw nation to fund the hiring of two additional full time faculty on the Ada campus to accommodate the increased numbers of students and additional sections of nursing classes. At this time, only one faculty, Tomi Tice, has been hired. There is an on going search for an additional faculty.
The Department of Nursing also received permission from the University Academic Committee and the Oklahoma State Regents to revise its curriculum by adding a Pharmacology II course in the Spring semesters. Therapeutic Modalities taught in the Fall semester, will now be called Pharmacology I. This change was made in response to the NCLEX increased emphasis on medication questions as well as the national recognition of the numbers of medication errors that cause injury and death to patients. The new course will be taught for the first time in the Spring 2009 semester by Luann Evert.
Dr. Catalano was the Key Note Speaker at the Southern Regional Research Seminar in Baton Rouge, LA in April of 2008. His address, "The Publishing Game, Play to Win," discussed the key elements in successful publication that he has learned through his publishing experiences. It provided the attendees with many practical ideas for journal publications and information on possible topics for publication. Dr. Catalano was also inducted into the Baton Rouge chapter of Sigma Theta Tau and gave the key note address at the induction.
Summer 2008:
A three year Health Recourses and Services Administration (HRSA) grant for $800,000.00 was secured by the Department of Nursing to continue the ECU@Ardmore program after the SOMF/MMHC grant is depleted. In addition, the HRSA grant has funding for two new additional faculty positions. One position for the first year of the grant (2008-2009) has money for a full time faculty/RN to BSN Coordinator position. This faculty will receive six faculty load hours of reassigned time per semester to over see all aspects of the RN to BSN option including its implementation as a yearly offering. The next cycle of classes will begin in January 2009. There is an ongoing search at this time to fill this position.
The second position to be implemented for the 2009-2010 academic year is for a full time faculty/Clinical Coordinator position. This person will be responsible for coordinating clinical rotations with the various facilities and overseeing the orientation of part time clinical faculty. The position will also have six hours of reassigned time per semester for the clinical coordinator duties.
Fall 2008:
Ms. Jennifer Heck was hired to replace Ms. Linda Newcomer who resigned for health and personal reasons. Ms. Heck comes to us from Tulsa where she taught at Bacon college.
The fifth edition of Dr. Catalano's wildly popular text "Nursing Now: Today's Issues, Tomorrow's Trends" was released for 2009 publication. The book features updated material on all chapters as well as a new chapter (23) "Client Education: A Moral Imperative." The new chapter addresses the growing need for client education and techniques that will help nurses develop skills in teaching clients. The text retains its interactive format and has a number of new cartoons to increase its visual appeal. It has electronic interactive exercises for each chapter that can be accessed by students who purchase the book on the FA Davis web page.
Others:
Gina Underwood, ECU Nursing student, appointed to National Advisory Council on Nursing Education and Practice.
ECU Department of Nursing awarded Department of Human Services Basic Nurse Education Grant.
ECU Department of Nursing maintains both National and State Accreditation.