Faculty members Janelle Harding, Michelle Van Der Wege, Jenny Manry and Tanya Smith talk about what the grant money will be used for.
By RAEGAN NEUFELD
Tiger Media Network
With help from two federal grants, the Fort Hays State University Department of Nursing will continue to impact rural communities where healthcare is needed.
The grants were awarded by the Health Resources and Services Administration through two programs: Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention (NEPQR) and Advanced Nursing Education Workforce (ANEW). U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran visited campus on Wednesday to help announce the grants at a press conference in the Memorial Union.
While the grants will help the future of FHSU students, Moran said they will also help the future of western Kansas communities where students will eventually work.
“When you look at the factors that determine whether or not a community has a future, one of the highest priorities that a community has to have is access to healthcare,” Moran said.
Department of Nursing Chair Jenny Manry told attendees of the faculty’s passion for providing nurses to western Kansas who have been prepared at the highest level possible. This passion will guide what the grant money is used for.
Tanya Smith, assistant chair of the department, wrote the proposal for the NEPQR grant. According to her, it will be used to create an advisory board made up of western Kansas hospital leaders.
“The advisory board will help us to identify critical gaps in nursing seen in new graduates,” Smith said. “We will then develop simulations to address these gaps. Each student who participates in this simulation education training program and returns to western Kansas will receive $10,000.”
The grants will also help provide skill workshops for future nurse practitioners.
“Often in small communities across our state there is not a physician in the clinic or E.R. every day,” said assistant professor Janelle Harding. “In many communities, it’s a nurse practitioner who is managing that clinic or that E.R.”
According to Harding, topics such as advanced suturing, joint injections and EKG interpretations are addressed in the workshops.
“By preparing our students well, we are going to be able to better care for the citizens of rural western Kansas,” she said.
The ANEW grant will give students the opportunity to apply for a $20,000 stipend during their second, third and fourth years.
“We know it takes an extreme amount of rigor, dedication and time to be successful and to take the very best care of people, so that helps offset some of the loss of income through their educational experience,” said Michelle Van Der Wege, assistant professor and doctor of nursing program coordinator.
The grants come at a time when the Department of Nursing has been very successful. Based on test scores, the university was able to increase the number of students in the program.
“Our fantastic department chair, Dr. Jenny Manry, took all of this great news this summer to Topeka and met with the Kansas Board of Nursing,” University President Tisa Mason said. “After hearing all of this great news, they increased our quota from 65 students to 90 students.”
Last year, FHSU students passed the NCLEX exam at a 93% rate, compared to 80% nationally. In addition, the FHSU doctor of nursing program has a 100% pass rate compared to the 75% national average.
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