In 2002, Ngumo was certified as an LPN and began working at The Mennonite Home, a retirement community in Lancaster. By 2008, he’d completed his RN degree and began working in intensive care at Lancaster Regional Medical Center. Like Anne Parson ’09, one of his colleagues and friends at Lancaster Regional, Ngumo had long been interested in a career as a nurse anesthetist – an advanced nursing degree requiring years of further study. First, he’d need a bachelor’s degree; the program at EMU’s Lancaster campus was attractive and convenient.

“EMU had a good reputation, so I went there,” said Ngumo. “[ADCP] was a very good preparation both for work and continuing education.”

This year, Ngumo entered the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist program at Drexel University, a program that has very high admissions requirements, as indeed all CRNA programs do. One of his early research projects in that program, on the subject of ventilator-associated pneumonia, felt like a cinch after all the research and writing he’d had to do at EMU. After he completed the project, he wrote Priscilla Simmons, PhD, a professor and mentor of his at EMU, to thank her for the preparation.

If all goes according to plan, Ngumo will graduate as a nurse anesthetist in 2014. Further into the future, Ngumo – who married Leigh, a dietician at Lancaster General Hospital, in the spring of 2011 – has plans to return to Kenya to do health care.

* This translates as: Licensed practical nurse earns certification as a registered nurse from harrisburg area community college, then bachelor of science in nursing from eastern mennonite university’s adult degree completion program. next up is earning a degree as a certified registered nurse anesthetist.

http://www.emu.edu/lancaster/rn-bsn

A faculty member from was among six nursing professionals from across the Keystone State honored recently for their outstanding contributions and accomplishments in their field.

The Pennsylvania State Nurses Association presented Priscilla R. Simmons with its “2006 nursing education award” for her “commitment as a role model in the nursing comunity – inspiring her peers to improve their quality of practice.” She is the director and professor in the for EMU at Lancaster.

The recognition ceremony was held on the campus of Harrisburg Area Community College and was co-hosted by the Nursing Foundation of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Simmons was co-nominated for the award by members of the ADCP class in the Lancaster program.

‘Nurses as Adult Learners’

In her EMU role, Simmons oversees implementation of the curriculum and teaches “Nurses as Adult Learners,” “Professional Nursing: Knowledge, Attitudes and Skills,” “Health Assessment, Issues and Values” and “Nursing Research.”

“Students lovingly express appreciation for the profound impact Simmons has had on their professional and personal life, noting that they are better nurses for having known and studied under her,” a colleague writes.

An active member of the PA State Nurses Association, Simmons currently serves as vice-president for District 16. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau.

She received her diploma from Harrisburg (PA) Hospital and her BSN degree from Messiah College, Grantham, Pa. She obtained her MsED from Temple University, her MSN from Columbia University and her EdD from Columbia University, Teachers College.

“We applaud these outstanding nurses who help to advance the profession in ways that matter, through their contributions in clinical practice, education, research and legislative advocacy,” said Susan J. Simmons, president of the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association, at the awards ceremony.

The association is a non-profit organization representing more than 200,000 practicing nurses in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is a constituent member of the American Nurses Association and is the official voice for nursing in the Keystone State ().