Spring 2020 marked the first graduation for seven students in 草莓社区 (EMU) and Goshen College鈥檚 joint Doctor of Nursing Practice program. The grads are from three states and work in nursing education, hospital administration, family practice, and the public school setting.
The new program was accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education last year. Its aim is to prepare nursing professionals to lead within dynamic healthcare systems.
鈥淐reating this program was an amazing, challenging and energizing experience,鈥 said program co-director Melody Cash, who teaches nursing at EMU. 鈥淲hen we gathered our first cohort together for our in-person residency, there was such a sense of excitement and realization of a dream. The cohort of students bonded immediately and stood ready to tackle the program together.鈥
Co-director Ruth Stoltzfus, a professor at Goshen College, said that graduates of the program 鈥渁re well positioned to identify areas in their place of employment where innovations are needed,鈥 and leave 鈥減repared to be change agents.鈥
The program requires intense coordination between the institutions, but benefits from expertise across faculty.
鈥淭here are so many things that give me joy in this partnership. One of the biggest joys is the people at EMU,鈥 Stoltzfus said. 鈥淚 think that Melody and I complement each other in our gifts that we bring as program co-directors.鈥
鈥淲e are often thinking the same thing at the same time,鈥 Cash agreed. 鈥淲e are of one mind. When we occasionally have different viewpoints, we talk it out and come to compromise without difficulty.鈥
Meet the graduates below.
Mary K. Bowser
Mary K. Bowser hails from Harrisonburg, but has been working in and studying from Greenville, South Carolina, where she works in clinical nurse education at Prisma Health. She will relocate soon to Roanoke to work on the clinical decision unit at Carilion Clinic.
鈥淢ary K. brings a lot of energy to the program,鈥 Cash said. 鈥淗er recent experience as a bedside nurse drives her to create change that drives improved patient outcomes for mothers and babies!鈥
鈥淒espite all of her transitions, Mary K has kept a positive spirit,鈥 Stoltzfus said. 鈥淪he has a passion for enhancing the safety of women during delivery and immediately after-delivery.鈥
Bowser鈥檚 DNP project, 鈥淎pplication of a Nurse-driven, Evidence-based Change Project to Quantify Blood Loss at Delivery,鈥 was partially implemented at Prisma before the pandemic. The project changes the way healthcare providers estimate new mothers鈥 blood loss from giving birth, better quantifying it so they more quickly diagnose serious postpartum hemorrhage.
鈥淚 think that鈥檚 really important about the DNP program 鈥 to really do something that affects patient care,鈥 Bowser said. She especially appreciated the organizational leadership class taught by Professor Don Tyson, which 鈥渃losed the loop鈥 in her understanding of 鈥渉ow to be a more effective leader.鈥
Joan Deal
Joan Deal of Lynchburg, Virginia, is the vice president of acute care nursing at Lynchburg General Hospital. Deal was drawn to that line of work because she loves 鈥渨orking to positively influence the work environment of our nursing caregivers and our patient outcomes.鈥
Cash noted that Deal鈥檚 management role in such a large healthcare system comes with long hours and a multitude of responsibilities. 鈥淛oanie鈥檚 position as a nurse leader is very demanding, yet she somehow manages to balance her role with a challenging academic program,鈥 she said.
鈥淛oanie is a leader and a manager and a nurse. Even though she no longer works as a point of care (bedside) nurse, she has not lost sight of patient needs and safety measures,鈥 Stoltzfus added. 鈥淭hat is a driving force behind her project.鈥
Deal鈥檚 DNP project, 鈥淯se of a Needs Assessment to Design a Mobility Program,鈥 also morphed due to COVID-19. In response, she鈥檚 been working on a needs assessment and gap analysis around patient movement, 鈥渨ith the planned project deliverable to be a plan for a comprehensive patient mobility plan. The ultimate goal for later implementation of this plan is to reduce hospital-associated injuries such as pressure injuries and fall, and to reduce length of stay for patients.鈥
She said the program has helped her connect 鈥渂est practices from literature, clinical experiences, and patient values into everyday practice,鈥 and taught her how to implement change.
鈥淎s leaders we are always embracing and encouraging others to embrace organizational changes,鈥 Deal said. 鈥淭his program has helped me to better understand the differences between 鈥榗hange鈥 and 鈥榯ransition.鈥 From my studies I hope and believe I am becoming a more compassionate leader.鈥
Pam Dressler
Pam Dressler teaches in the Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences, School of Nursing at Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, Virginia.
鈥淧am has a passion for evidence-based practice. She was able to connect this passion with the needs of an organization allowing her to slip seamlessly into her DNP project,鈥 said Cash. 鈥淧am is level-headed, thinks critically and has high expectations.鈥
She added that Dressler has participated in the program鈥檚 management oversight board meetings and provided valuable feedback as faculty and staff fine-tune the program.
Stoltzfus said Dressler is 鈥渁 systems-thinker and an educator. She always seems so serious but beneath that seriousness is a layer of humor that bubbles up at the right time.鈥
鈥淭hroughout my long career in nursing, I have enjoyed teaching others as they entered or advanced in the nursing profession, which is a unique appointed position to serve others,鈥 Dressler said. She feels the DNP program has advanced her 鈥減ractice of nursing as a nurse educator.鈥
Her project, 鈥淩eadiness and Resistance, Building a Culture of Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing: A Community Hospital Approach,鈥 is a 鈥渄irect approach to improving patient outcomes through making clinical decisions from the best possible evidence,鈥 she said.
Dianne Hannak
Dianne Hannak is a certified school nurse in the York Suburban School District near her home in New Freedom, Pennsylvania.
鈥淪he cares deeply for her students and for the staff that help her care for them,鈥 said Cash. 鈥淒ianne sees the effects of trauma on kids on a daily basis which led to her DNP project. It is so encouraging to see a school nurse pursue a DNP. We need school nurses practicing at this level and with the skillset that the DNP prepared nurse brings to the role.鈥
鈥淚 love being a school nurse because I know that a healthy learning is a better learner and we are in the ideal position to help support students and families and fill gaps in health care that often go unnoticed,鈥 Hannak said.
Her DNP project, titled 鈥淭rauma Informed Care in School Health,鈥 addresses one of those very important gaps. Through it, she鈥檚 introducing mental health training and a trauma-informed care toolkit to school nurses in her district so they can 鈥渉elp support the social and emotional needs of students who visit the health room.鈥
Hannak fondly remembers her statistics course with Professor Daniel Showalter, which was a subject she used to avoid. Now, though, 鈥淚 want to work more with data collection and analysis to help support the very important role that school nurses have in caring for the physical and emotional well being of students. The skills that I learned in this course will benefit me in so many ways,鈥 she said.
Deena Elizalde
Deena Elizalde of Goshen, Indiana, is a family nurse practitioner at Goshen Family Physicians. For 13 years, Elizalde has cared for a variety of patients, with clinical expertise in primary care.
鈥淒eena has successfully balanced her professional world of practicing as a FNP in private practice, her private world of being a single parent of two teenage children, and her academic world of being a doctoral student as well as preparing to teach a course that she developed,鈥 said Ruth Stoltzfus, co-director of the program.
Elizalde鈥檚 DNP project focused on the development of a mental health course for Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioners. The course has been implemented at Goshen College, where a 鈥淢ental Healthcare for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses鈥 course is currently being taught.
鈥淎s a preceptor for GC family nurse practitioner students for many years, I was familiar with faculty and the program, and was delighted to be considered to help with the new course,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 am hopeful that as we improve education for FNP students, we will ultimately improve mental healthcare.鈥
Patti Gasper
Patti Gasper of Elkhart, Indiana, has been a nurse for over 26 years, with a specialty in cardiology. She is currently employed by Beacon Advanced Cardiovascular Specialists in South Bend.
鈥淚 am passionate about working with patients with cardiac arrhythmias, in particular atrial fibrillation,鈥 Gasper said. 鈥淚 believe that women need better access to all cardiovascular care across the lifespan as evidence is emerging regarding the effects of childbearing and other female-specific issues on heart health.鈥
Gasper鈥檚 passion and understanding of important classroom concepts have been apparent during her time in the DNP program.
鈥淧atti can be very quiet in class, but when she speaks, she speaks wise words that hit the heart of the matter,鈥 Stoltzfus said. 鈥淧atti seems to be able to effortlessly write in a scholarly manner as well as engage in clinical and academic conversations in a professional manner.鈥
鈥淚 feel blessed to have learned a great deal through the course of this program, particularly the skills to serve at the forefront of efforts to implement new models of care delivery to improve patient care,鈥 Gasper said.
Gasper鈥檚 DNP project, 鈥淎 Competency-Based Checklist to Facilitate Transition for Novice Nurse Practitioners in Cardiology,鈥 provides a cardiology-specific checklist during orientation, working to improve patient access to timely cardiovascular care.
鈥淭he first year of nurse practitioner practice is a particularly vulnerable period for new graduates,鈥 Gasper said. 鈥淓vidence in the nursing literature suggests that if this transition from expert nurse to nurse practitioner is not well supported, new practitioners may not only feel frustrated and isolated, but may also choose to leave their positions. This is not only costly to a healthcare system, but may leave patients without access to a provider.鈥
Later this month, Gasper will present her project to the American College of Cardiology section for advanced practice nurses.
Jewel Yoder
Jewel Yoder teaches at Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana, where she anticipates starting her new role as chair of the nursing department this July. She also serves as the director for the BSN and RN-to-BSN programs.
鈥淲ithout this program I certainly would not have had the qualifications to be promoted to department chair,鈥 Yoder said. 鈥淪o, it is a launching point for me to continue to expand my nursing leadership skills in the academic arena.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 eagerly looking forward to working with Jewel in her new role,鈥 said Cash. 鈥淪he brings a passion for nursing education that will make her a great colleague.鈥
Yoder鈥檚 project, 鈥淪eamless Academic Progression in Nursing an ADN to MSN leadership Program Development,鈥 is working to build a new nursing leadership program using existing resources at Goshen College. This project also focuses on seamless matriculation from the associate degree to the master鈥檚 degree.
Yoder says if all comes together as planned, the program will be considered for launch in the 2022-23 academic year.
鈥淭here is such joy in the pursuit of knowledge,鈥 Yoder said. 鈥淭hat following your passion and being empowered to create change is meaningful and yet hard work.鈥