You can always tell the difference between EMU nursing graduates and other nurses without asking them, says Kate Clark, associate professor of nursing at EMU. 

“It’s what we hear all the time from hospitals and other employers, that there’s something special about EMU nurses in their approach to patients and their professionalism,” she said. “One major element is our family nursing class, which helps shape both their self-confidence and their cultural humility.”

That class, the semester-long Nursing & Family in Community course (NURS 426), partners undergraduate nursing students in pairs with refugee and immigrant families in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. Students in the course, who are juniors and seniors midway through their clinicals, visit the families at their homes weekly to promote health education, help them navigate the U.S.’s complicated health system, and teach them basic essential skills to help them adjust to life in a new country.

These skills might include: navigating a phone tree to schedule a medical appointment, setting up taxi rides to appointments, using the bus system, enrolling in an employer-sponsored health insurance plan, and understanding the difference between primary care and the emergency room. Students have been known to ride Harrisonburg city buses with families, walk with them to a local food pantry, help read their mail, attend medical appointments with them, and connect them to community resources such as clothing closets and bicycles through the program (led by alum Ben Wyse ’99). 

Students might tell families they can expect to see people in costumes walking around the neighborhood and knocking on their door for Halloween. They also might help families from warmer climates prepare for cold weather with appropriate winter clothing. 

Students communicate with their assigned families using either their own foreign language skills or a provided interpreter. This semester, there are eight different languages spoken by families in the course’s Family Partnership Project.

Through the course, EMU nursing students build long-term therapeutic relationships with families, learn to provide care for a family unit, and experience the barriers that marginalized groups in the community face when trying to access health care.

“Because they get to experience those things from the family’s perspective, it gives them a good understanding of how the health system is not always designed for certain types of patients and the challenges they experience,” Clark said. “Whether or not they pursue home visiting long-term, it makes them better, more compassionate nurses across the board.”

She said the course sets EMU’s nursing program apart from others. “I’ve rarely heard of another school that has a standalone family nursing class that involves home visiting,” she said, “especially not one that focuses on refugee and immigrant families.”

A ‘win win’

Many of the families participating in the Family Partnership Project have a tenuous grasp of English, are lower income, and need additional information to be able to navigate this new country. EMU’s nursing program partners with , a local office of Church World Service that serves and advocates for refugees, asylum seekers, unaccompanied children, and immigrants in the Shenandoah Valley. The agency identifies local families in need who can benefit from the project’s tailored support, resource referral, and health teaching. The students’ help is invaluable, especially at a time when policies enacted by the current presidential administration have led to funding and staffing constraints for the organization. 

“We’re grateful for EMU’s nursing program,” said Susannah Lepley, Virginia director of Church World Service. “I like programs that are a win win for both the university and the families and this is definitely one of those. The students get a lot out of it, the families get a lot out of it, and I think it’s a strong selling point for EMU.”

In the past, students have worked with families who have been in the U.S. for only one to two months. This semester, due to fewer refugees entering the country, nursing students are working with families who have been in the U.S. for a year or more. This has allowed them to focus on longer-term concerns such as nutrition, stress management, and mental health.

“You can’t overstate the friendship aspect,” Lepley said. “People often leave a pretty intense network of support back home and they come here and they don’t have that anymore. They have to recreate it from scratch and I think the nursing students are a big part of that.”

The epitome of EMU nursing

Clark, who has taught the family nursing class for the past 13 years, graduated from EMU with a BSN in 2007. She took the course as a student under longtime professor and mentor Ann Graber Hershberger ’76. During her semester in the course, Clark was paired with a Spanish-speaking single mom in Timberville. 

Up until that course, Clark had questioned whether she actually wanted to become a nurse. She felt like there was never enough time during her clinicals at the hospital and that she was just checking boxes. 

“I knew I wanted to do something with a bigger impact, and when I took that class, I felt like I could finally let out the breath I had been holding since I started the nursing program,” she said. “I don’t know if I would’ve stayed in nursing had it not been for my experiences in that class.”

Another alumna from that year, Rebekah Good Charles ’07, said the class prepared her well for the work she now does as a community health nurse serving families around Lancaster, Pennsylvania. During her semester in the course, she visited with an immigrant family from Mexico and helped them sort through medical bills, contact financial aid, and fill out paperwork. 

“It was interesting to see the health care system from that side,” Charles said. “You can do all these things for your patients when they’re at the hospital, but when they get home, they’re left with all these loose ends to tie up. It was eye-opening to see that and help someone work through that, and it made me realize just how complicated the health system can be.”

Lydia Tissue Harnish ’17, MSN ’23, uses the same skills she acquired from the family nursing class in her job as a maternity educator for the Lancaster Nurse-Family Partnership. During her senior year at EMU, she was paired with a refugee family in Bridgewater expecting a second child. Harnish spent the semester preparing the family for what the birthing experience in the U.S. would be like.

“It’s really the epitome of EMU nursing,” she said. “We’re in the patients’ home setting, assessing the whole person, their environment, and their family as a whole.”

‘Begin to thrive’

When senior nursing major Joshua Stucky and another EMU nursing student met with a Syrian refugee family for the first time in January, only a month after they had arrived in the U.S., he felt overwhelmed at the prospect of helping with their cultural transition.

“They didn’t know how to use their phones or get their kids to school and didn’t have a way to get around,” he said. “And so I walked out of that first meeting thinking, How are we ever going to help this family? … You eventually have to set an expectation that you’re not going to solve all their problems.”

Over the course of the semester together, the pair of students was able to solve some of them. Through a connection he had with Bikes for Neighbors, they were able to provide the family with bicycles. They were also able to ensure the children received the vaccines they needed and that the family had access to a neighbor’s car.

During one of their final home visits with the family, while talking to the parents, he remembers seeing the two younger children bound into the home with their backpacks. “They had been going to school and, even though we didn’t play a huge role in that, it was just the most rewarding thing to watch them begin to thrive,” Stucky said.

Learn more about EMU’s nursing program at .

In traditional undergraduate population, there was a 2 percent increase, from 912 to 929 students, based on head counts in early September 2012 and 2013.

“I am especially proud of the fact that we attracted a high number of ethnic and racially diverse students,” said Luke Hartman, PhD, vice-president for enrollment. “I believe EMU may be heading toward being one of the most diverse liberal arts institutions in the state. Greater diversity will, of course, enhance the university experience for all of our students, developing their critical-thinking abilities and emotional intelligence.”

Older students seeking graduate degrees or returning to school to finish their undergraduate degrees were the most significant area of enrollment growth for EMU.

The older-adult group was heavily concentrated in graduate education outside of the seminary, with the total number of students in six master’s programs increasing by 27 percent, from 271 to 343 students.

Two new master’s degree programs – in and in – contributed heavily to the increase, with the former accounting for 61 students, 74 percent more than the previous year, and the latter accounting for 22 students, three times more than were enrolled the previous year, its first year of operation.

Close behind the graduate programs in growth were those serving adults who wish to complete their bachelor’s degrees. There’s a caveat in reporting the adult-program enrollment statistics: these adults study within cohorts that start at irregular intervals throughout the year, rather than being synchronized to the typical two-semester academic calendar. This makes it problematical to compare enrollment at the same point in time for successive years.

Being mindful of the caveat, EMU officials are cautiously optimistic that the fall 2013 enrollment statistics may prove to be a harbinger of a jump in total adult enrollment for the coming academic year.

As of Sept. 10, 2013, was 121; last September, it was 79. The Lancaster students are all upgrading their RN degrees to degrees. On the main Harrisonburg campus, enrollment was 102 this fall, compared to 98 last fall. Harrisonburg offers the , as well as a . With 223 students enrolled altogether, these two sites are showing a 26 percent increase in enrollment.

For coursework that is not counted as college credit, has seen a dramatic increase in enrollment, necessitating a move to larger quarters on the Harrisonburg campus in 2012. Since the fall of 2012, IEP enrollment has jumped from 61 to 85, a 39 percent increase.

enrollment has been flat for a number of years, a trend that likely reflects the shrinkage in the membership of traditional churches in wider society.

Jeff Eavey remained on his job as a nurse-manager at the University of Virginia while completing his MSN in by taking the quickest possible path of 24 months. “I chose EMU because of its faith-based approach,” he said, noting that the institution where he works offers a number of routes for nurses to earn master’s degrees.

“I like EMU’s servant-leadership perspective, the way it applies Micah 6:8 [to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God].”

EMU’s MSN program offers two concentrations: (1) leadership and management and (2) leadership and school nursing. Launched in 2010, this program combines personal relationships among the students and professors, with an underlying philosophy that nursing should be based on a “sacred covenant.”

“Our covenant encompasses agape love, grace, justice, presence, reconciliation, empowerment, partnership, service and advocacy,” said Arlene Wiens, the now-retired chair of EMU’s nursing department, who nurtured this MSN from concept to launch.

Servant Leadership with Love

“I had worked in nursing leadership for a number of years before coming to EMU in 1996,” she added. “And I gradually came to realize that EMU’s mission to develop ‘servant leadership,’ imbued with grace and agape love, is quite different from most nursing programs and is really needed.”

Wiens and her departmental colleagues found ways for this Internet-facilitated form of graduate study to be intimate, mutually supportive, and relevant to each person’s work situation, said several members of the first MSN class.

MSN graduate Lois Olney, who spent nine years as director of nursing in two long-term care facilities in southeastern Pennsylvania before embarking on full-time graduate studies, checked into several widely advertised online master’s degree programs for nurses, backed by nationally recognized names, before settling upon EMU’s. “I liked EMU’s global perspective, and I thought it was respected [in her home region]. It was also more cost-effective than the others.”

Olney’s sister chose one of the big-name online institutions for her graduate degree, and they got to compare their experiences. “My sister missed the human-touch component that I got at EMU. She did not feel her professors cared about her. EMU started us off with an ethics course; hers came at the end. This speaks volumes to me.

Wholistic Perspective

“I have a more wholistic perspective. I grew as a person as well as a professional. Arlene, , , , , , [referring by first name to some of her professors] – all were inspiring to me. They had a high level of maturity, of emotional intelligence. They cared, seeing me through some rough times.

“Every single class I took helped me. It made me wonder, ‘How did I do it [lead others] before?’ The readings and books were so good, I haven’t let go of any of them yet.” Unique aspects of EMU’s approach, said Olney, was a focus on “who you are and self-awareness,” along with lessons in how to transform workplace conflict and to foster the growth of each team member.

“To bring the dignity of each of our patients back and to deliver better care, we need to first take care of each other as humans, nurses and healthcare workers,” said Olney, who began the program at age 46. “EMU gave me the tools and inspiration I needed to be that kind of leader.”

Before settling on EMU, Roxanne Harris also weighed other master’s degree programs, focusing on several that were state-supported, namely UVa’s, Old Dominion University’s and James Madison University’s. As a Virginia resident, the state-supported programs would have cost her about 25 percent less, but she felt “EMU’s values were very, very important to me.”

Nursing as Ministry

“As soon as I met [EMU nursing professor] , I felt peace. If this is where God wanted his money to go, that’s where it would go. Nursing is my ministry. I could speak and write openly of this at EMU.” Harris is the maternal child health program educator at , serving a semi-rural area between Harrisonburg and Charlottesville.

The graduate who studied from the farthest distance was Cheeri Barnhart of Rickreall, Ore., who earned her bachelor’s degree from EMU in 1977 and whose two daughters, Eliza and Ellie, graduated from EMU in 2009 and 2011, respectively. When professor Gloria Rhodes invited the class to have a get-together on campus in the spring of 2011, Barnhart flew in to join the people she had come to regard as friends from months of online discussions.

Though the program is set up as a two-year track, EMU gives students the option of pursuing the degree as a part-time student for 48 months, depending on individual needs. Prospective students, who are encouraged to submit their applications online at , must have a minimum of one year of full time work as an RN, a license to practice, a bachelor’s degree in nursing or another major from an accredited university, and a GPA of 3.0.

Contributing to Home Institutions

The MSN semester begins with a one-day orientation on campus, during which MSN students meet their professors and fellow students, become familiar with the online system, and begin their first class. From there, the MSN students can complete their work entirely via the Internet with some synchronous web-based class meetings. Some courses include practicum work hours. Most students complete the practicum as projects in their work settings, thus contributing to their home institutions. Nurses in the school track, for example, would focus on high school, elementary school, or children with special needs.

During a graduation celebration held Oct. 7, 2012, the graduates spoke briefly on their individual capstone projects. MSN co-directors Hershberger and gave the welcome and opening prayer, followed by a hymn and reflection by Wiens. Department chair , along with faculty members and , presented the students’ diplomas.

Graduation concluded with a commissioning by graduate dean and a benediction from . “Graduation was wonderful,” said Cynthia Hudson, clinical manager of cardiac rehab at in Pennsylvania. “My family was so impressed with the dean and president being there to acknowledge us. It was also great to see my peers in the cohort.”

Student numbers in MSN have risen sharply over the program’s two-year existence, with 33 students now enrolled, including one studying from Guatemala.

Building on its well-known and respected undergraduate BSN programs, EMU’s nursing department is launching a masters program in nursing leadership and management. The program is designed to prepare graduates to lead and collaborate in complex health care systems. The master’s level program offers a 24-month, 37-credit hour cohort model in which no more than 16 students work together and move through the program as a cohesive unit.

Dr. Ann Hershberger, coordinator of EMU’s new MS degree in nursing leadership program, reviews clinical experiences in local health organizations with nursing students. Photo by Jon Styer

“The EMU teaching framework includes approaches that are vital for nurse leaders and managers to bring about change within the systems in which they work,” noted Ann G. Hershberger, professor of nursing and program coordinator. “Approaches in the EMU philosophy include empowerment, reconciliation, partnership, presence, justice, service and advocacy.

“The overall goal is the creation of just systems through cultural competence, evidence based practice, conflict transformation, and enhanced communication,” Dr. Hershberger said. “Just systems are recognized by enhanced quality and patient safety.”

A ‘click and brick’ approach

The program will run fall, spring and summer semesters, with a teaching-learning approach known as “click and brick,” a combination of distance learning courses (“click”) and at least one face-to-face meeting (“brick”) each semester.

According to Hershberger, the program is designed for working nurses who need to maintain family commitments, stay in the same area and remain on the job while developing leadership and management skills and deepening scholarship.

“Professors will draw on EMU’s extensive experience in cross-cultural learning and the nursing department’s established reputation for educating nurses with high moral values, a broader view towards others, in depth communication skills and cultural competence,” she said.

“Students will gain from the expertise of entrepreneurial faculty in EMU’s other graduate programs in business and conflict transformation as they cultivate leadership skills and an effective voice; remaining mindful of what is just, respectful and sacred,” Hershberger added.

The MS in nursing leadership and management degree program began accepting applications Mar. 15. The first cohort begins Aug. 28, 2010. For more information, contact Joan Henry, 540-432-4983, email: msnursing@emu.edu or visit the website, www.emu.edu/msn-leadership

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