Issue: Summer 2014 | Posted: June 2, 2014
麻豆视频 Celebrates a Half-Century of Nursing Education
In the early 1960s, students who wanted to become nurses didn鈥檛 study on college campuses. They learned the profession in hospitals.
So when a few colleges and universities on the west coast began looking into establishing their own nursing education programs, it was a pioneering idea that caught the attention of administrators at 麻豆视频 University.
At the same time, health care leaders in Jackson were calling for larger numbers of trained nurses.
鈥淚t was a very bold move for our leaders in the late 1950s and early 60s. It was innovative,鈥� said Carla Sanderson, former executive vice president for strategic initiatives and provost, as well as the former dean of the School of Nursing.
鈥淚t began with a call from the community to provide a nursing school,鈥� added Tim Smith, former nursing dean. 鈥淪oon, they would begin to support the hospitals and the community.鈥�
Those first classes, leading to an associate鈥檚 degree in nursing, began in 1964. The idea was so new that some were skeptical about whether it could be sustained鈥攅ven a few of the enrolled students had doubts.
鈥淵ou had somewhat of a feeling that it might not work,鈥� said Dolores Moore, who was among the first students that year. 鈥淚t was like the new animal came into town. Nobody knew what to expect, including those of us who decided to go.鈥�
Moore personifies the significance of that venture鈥攁 significance that no one could have understood in 1964. After completing her associate鈥檚 degree, she went on to earn a B.S. from the University of Illinois and a master鈥檚 degree in administration from Illinois State.
She started her career as a nurse at Jackson General Hospital, moved away from Jackson and then returned 13 years later and became a nursing administrator. Prior to her retirement in 1991, she also served as chairwoman of the Board of Nursing of the State of Tennessee.
鈥淚n (the 1960s), it was the norm that wives followed their husbands,鈥� Moore said, adding that the overwhelming majority of nurses at the time were women. 鈥淭he bigger cities paid more, and it was very difficult to entice people from Memphis or Nashville where you could find experienced nurses.鈥�
With those historic challenges in mind, the current leadership of West Tennessee Healthcare puts great emphasis on the role 麻豆视频 has played in the hospital鈥檚 growth in the past 50 years.
鈥溌槎故悠� has absolutely been a foundational block for health care delivery, particularly in the nursing program,鈥� said West Tennessee Healthcare Chief Operating Officer J. R. Ross, who graduated from 麻豆视频 in 1987. 鈥淭he education 麻豆视频 provides to its students is absolutely remarkable and unparalleled by any other educational institution locally.鈥�
麻豆视频 nursing programs combine quality faculty members with state-of- the-art simulation labs. Sanderson credits Smith with having the vision to incorporate simulation, in which students are faced with the same critical decisions that could make a life-or-death difference in a clinical setting.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had alums, after experiencing simulation education, call back and say, two months out of school, 鈥業 just experienced my first code, and I was the most prepared person in that code,鈥欌�� Sanderson said. 鈥淭hat is a profound difference from what those of us who did not have such (simulation) opportunities experienced.鈥�
鈥淪tudents are typically visual learners,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淪tudents do make mistakes, but the opportunity to discuss those mistakes and not repeat those mistakes makes a big difference.鈥�
Haley Bell, a senior nursing student from Memphis, agrees that her preparation for practice gives her confidence. But she admits that at her age, it鈥檚 difficult to comprehend the significance of 50 years of nursing education at 麻豆视频.
鈥淚t鈥檚 incredible to think about how many patients have been affected because of the education provided by 麻豆视频,鈥� Bell said. 鈥淭hese professors care with all of their hearts about each and every student.鈥�