SAHC Partners with LCCC for Nursing Excellence

Many tasks in life are perfected by performing them, not just reading about them. Such is the philosophy of nursing clinical  arrangements between Saint Anthony's Health Center and some area nursing schools.

Registered nurses, Kevin Wellhausen, Rodney White and Rita Haynes, are three of the nursing faculty for area nursing students who come to the Health Center for clinicalas part of their training while enrolled at Lewis & Clark Community College (LCCC). Patty Kelly, RN, works with nursing students from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.

In their seven weeks “on the floor,” students may work on a medical unit, emergency unit or other department under close supervision. Students learn various tasks such as how to: complete full head-to-toe physical assessment, along with the accompanying documentation required by nurses; administer medication; insert intravenous tubes; suction; draw blood; or change dressings.

“We have them review their skills book before beginning a task, but the more they do it, the better they get,” Wellhausen said.

Students, too, seem to understand that their coursework in the classroom is just the beginning of the great responsibility that nursing entails.

“The program is great because we learn to be a nurse and then have an opportunity to actually apply what we’ve learned,” said Nicole Brunaugh, a third semester nursing student.

Megan McGuire, another nursing student from LCCC, recently worked in Saint Anthony's Emergency Room on a hectic night.

“It was very busy and there was lots of activity because there had been injuries from an accident. I was able to perform various skills – inserting a catheter was one of them -- and the charge nurse, Tony, was very helpful,” she said.

Jeffrey Lucht, also a nursing student at LCCC, recently worked in Saint Anthony’s Women’s Pavilion and learned about the care nurses provide during labor, delivery, and postpartum.

“The nurses provided guidance and support and the experience was very informative,” he said.

Wellhausen said nursing clinicals are especially important because some students have not worked while going to school and learning about the health care environment can be pivotal in their profession. Each session of students is limited to six students so that they receive the individualized attention and supervision they need. By the end of their third semester clinicals, most students are able to care for two patients on their clinical days.

 The last eight weeks of their clinical training (during their fourth semester), students are expected to function in their roles more independently but with a preceptor. Preceptors are experienced nurses who work individually with a student.

“Students are able to work more independently at this stage, but still have access to the preceptor as a resource,” according to Wellhausen.

Assistant Vice President of Acute Services, Deny Boettger, said that as colleges open up their enrollment in nursing schools, hospitals must work hand-in-hand with them to provide clinical opportunities.

Seven nurse preceptors are committed to guiding nursing students from SIU-E and LCCC. Those preceptor nurses specialize in Hospice, Surgery, Emergency, Intensive Care and Medical.

“Students pick areas of nursing that they are interested in.  This experience helps to build confidence. They get the feel of the whole shift and the opportunities to challenge their knowledge and enhance what they have learned through books and class. They also get to see things they have never seen and learn what its like to work a full shift. Students get the one on one attention they need and the advantage of the preceptor’s expertise,” Boettger said.

Saint Anthony’s and LCCC also offer the Nursing Excellence Scholarship to select students who aspire to become nurses. The scholarship awards select students with financial support for the cost of tuition, books and fees related to completion of a nursing degree at LCCC. Repayment of college costs is waived in exchange for a commitment to employment with Saint Anthony's Health Center upon graduation and licensure.