Cherishing the Student Experience - School of Nursing - University ...
Cherishing the Student Experience - School of Nursing - University ...
Cherishing the Student Experience - School of Nursing - University ...
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WORTH NOTING<br />
Worth<br />
NOTING<br />
CCNE Accreditation<br />
Visit Successfully<br />
Completed<br />
Site visitors representing <strong>the</strong><br />
Commission on Collegiate <strong>Nursing</strong><br />
Education (CCNE) visited <strong>the</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Nursing</strong> October 1 through 3, 2003.<br />
The commission is an autonomous<br />
accrediting agency <strong>of</strong>ficially recognized<br />
by <strong>the</strong> U.S. Secretary <strong>of</strong> Education as a<br />
national accreditation agency. The<br />
CCNE’s focus on ensuring <strong>the</strong> quality<br />
and integrity <strong>of</strong> baccalaureate and<br />
graduate education nursing programs<br />
contributed to <strong>the</strong> school’s decision to<br />
select CCNE accreditation, ra<strong>the</strong>r than<br />
continuing <strong>the</strong> accreditation we have<br />
had with <strong>the</strong> NLNAC.<br />
The CCNE Board <strong>of</strong> Commissioners<br />
will make final accreditation decisions<br />
in April 2004. We anticipate receiving<br />
accreditation approval, to last 10 years.<br />
Concurrent with <strong>the</strong> CCNE site visit,<br />
two representatives <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Virginia<br />
Board <strong>of</strong> <strong>Nursing</strong> reviewed our undergraduate<br />
program. The <strong>School</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Nursing</strong> has been granted full approval<br />
from <strong>the</strong> Virginia Board <strong>of</strong> <strong>Nursing</strong> for<br />
eight years.<br />
All visitors shared <strong>the</strong>ir praise in<br />
many areas, including <strong>the</strong> school’s<br />
committed and enthusiastic faculty,<br />
excellent students and graduates who<br />
speak clearly <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir positive experience,<br />
our history <strong>of</strong> listening to student<br />
concerns and making changes, our<br />
strong and positive relationship with<br />
<strong>the</strong> Medical Center, and our faculty’s<br />
involvement in <strong>the</strong> <strong>University</strong>.<br />
He’s No Dummy<br />
Reba Moyer Childress finally got<br />
her man … -nequin.<br />
Childress, director <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Nursing</strong>’s Laboratories for Clinical<br />
Learning, first came across <strong>the</strong><br />
SimMan patient simulator more than<br />
two years ago at a clinical simulation<br />
conference in San Antonio, Texas, and<br />
it was love at first sight. “I’ve been<br />
coveting him ever since,” she said.<br />
For two years, she scraped toge<strong>the</strong>r<br />
nickels and dimes. Finally, word came<br />
last fall that she would receive grant<br />
money from <strong>the</strong> <strong>University</strong>’s<br />
Equipment Trust Fund to make <strong>the</strong><br />
$44,450 purchase. SimMan—and a<br />
few suitcases worth <strong>of</strong> high-tech baggage—arrived<br />
over <strong>the</strong> winter break<br />
and moved into <strong>the</strong> Theresa A.<br />
Thomas Intensive Care Simulation<br />
Laboratory in McLeod Hall. Though<br />
<strong>the</strong>re are more than 750 SimMan simulators<br />
in use worldwide, U.Va.’s<br />
model is <strong>the</strong> first purchased by a<br />
Virginia public institution for use by<br />
both undergraduate and graduate<br />
nursing students.<br />
The mannequin—which actually<br />
can be adapted to be ei<strong>the</strong>r male or<br />
female—certainly stands out in <strong>the</strong><br />
crowd <strong>of</strong> simulators (including three<br />
full-length models and several o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
“parts”) in <strong>the</strong> beds around it, most <strong>of</strong><br />
which date back to <strong>the</strong> lab’s opening<br />
in 1995.<br />
SimMan may be a mannequin, but<br />
he’s no dummy. He’s sophisticated,<br />
powered by a Dell laptop computer<br />
and an air compressor that provides<br />
remarkably lifelike breathing. He’s a<br />
great communicator, with an array <strong>of</strong><br />
8 The Virginia Legacy SPRING 2004