Minnesota Nursing Magazine Spring/Summer 2012 - School of ...

alumni news
casey wangen
School of Nursing alumnus dreams
of serving rural Minnesota
by carleigh knowles
At his commencement ceremony last December, Casey Wangen, MN ‘11, RN, PHN, was
“100 percent sure” he would return to the University of Minnesota School of Nursing to
earn a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree in nurse anesthesia. When Minnesota
Nursing recently checked in with the new alumnus, his focus was still set on a DNP in
anesthesia from the School of Nursing. “I enjoy the face-to-face time with patients,” says
Wangen. “That’s my favorite part of being a nurse, the time I spend with a patient and their
family. As a nurse, you are the primary person the patient is interacting with. You’re doing
everything from explaining procedures, updating the family, even explaining the machinery
in the room and what it is used for.”
1
2
1) Casey Wangen (far right) and health sciences
students during a demonstration with U of M
President Eric Kaler in the Academic Health
Center IERC and Simulation Center.
2) Casey Wangen with his father, mother,
and sister after the School of Nursing Fall
Commencement ceremony held December 16,
2011 at Ted Mann Concert Hall.
a small town feel
Wangen comes from a family deeply rooted in the nursing profession. His mother and
sister-in-law are both RNs at Villa St. Vincent Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center, in
Crookston, Minnesota, and his younger sister is currently enrolled in the nursing program
at Northland Community and Technical College. Wangen has always known he wanted to
attend nursing school in the Twin Cities to “get out of my shell, out of my bubble,” he says.
“I thought this was a great opportunity to come to the city and hopefully get into one of
the best programs in the nation.” After earning an undergrad degree in exercise science
from Minnesota State University, Moorhead, Wangen fast-tracked his nursing education
by enrolling in the School of Nursing’s Master of Nursing (MN) degree program, a full-time,
16-month program that educates students with a non-nursing baccalaureate degree who
have a desire to enter the nursing profession.
Wangen, a Crookston native, currently works in the ICU at Sanford Health in Fargo, North
Dakota. “I wanted to work at a hospital that valued education but also had a ‘rural feel’,”
says Wangen. “I have a rural background, that’s how I grew up. I can relate to rural people,
that’s who I am and who I want to care for.”
prepared for practice
Wangen credits feeling fully comfortable starting a new position at Sanford to the School
of Nursing’s strong focus on evidence-based practice as well as some more unique skills.
“The School of Nursing really taught me to always be sensitive to peoples’ backgrounds and
other mental and cultural diversities. I grew up in an area without much diversity so it was
an important skill for me to gain.”
Wangen insists that after his DNP training he’ll return to the countryside of the
Midwest. “I need to be at home with horses in the yard. Besides, rural hospitals need nurses
and physicians with expanded education. They [hospitals] don’t always have the time and
resources to provide further education, but with a DNP degree I’ll be able to bring that skill
to the table. My primary job could be an anesthetist or something but I’ll also be working
with the families.” When asked what the future holds, “Whew, that’s a big step, I don’t
know. But I do know that I’ll be here, helping in the country, where I’m most needed.”
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