UNIVERSITY OF MARY SENIOR NURSING STUDENTS SPRING INTO ACTION TO HELP ELDERLY PERSON ON AIRPLANE

Senior nursing students Gracie Zottnick and Josh Sipes were over 30,000 feet in the air and about midway into their three-and-a-half-hour Allegiant flight back to Bismarck from Orlando. The two were invited over Christmas break to join his family for a week of fun at Disneyworld, Universal Studios, and some R&R on the beach to reset before their final semester of nursing school started at the University of Mary. Not experiencing enough wizardry in Florida at Harry Potter World, the two were sitting next to each other near the front of the cabin with the magical sounds of “Harry Potter” coming through their noise-cancelling headphones, as they watched contently on their iPhone. At this point, it would take quite the disturbance to interrupt them from one of their favorite movies — no matter how many times they had seen it.

“An announcement sounded overhead,” recalled Sipes. “I couldn’t really hear it over my movie, so I did not think much of it right away. My mom looked over at the both of us and said, ‘they are asking for medical personnel down the aisle.’ After this, we both noticed there was a few flight attendants carrying oxygen tanks down the aisle toward an older woman. So, we took out our headphones, looked at each other, and asked, ‘you ready?’ and then headed down in that direction. I would say she was about 10-12 aisles away from us. Once we got to the woman, we noticed she was unconscious, so our first reaction was one of concern. There was a respiratory therapist there when we responded who was providing oxygen to the patient. Another registered nurse (RN) responded as well shortly after we got there.”

According to Zottnick an Sipes, the pilot was in constant contact with the flight attendants and assessing how the 70-year-old woman was doing, what led to the situation, and any underlying conditions she may have had. The flight attendants were recording the vitals from Zottnick and Sipes and getting them supplies, like blood pressure cuff, stethoscope, oxygen tanks and mask and other equipment as needed. During that time, the passengers were calm and respectful of the situation. Their education and training from University of Mary quickly kicked into high gear.

Sipes, Zottnick, and the other medical volunteers stayed with the woman until the plane landed in Bismarck where EMS came on board to lift her into a wheelchair and roll her into the airport.

After graduating in April and getting more experience, Zottnick wouldn’t mind being a traveling nurse so she can see other places, and Sipes could see himself working in the intensive care unit (ICU). But before they can get further into their nursing careers, they need to pass the NCLEX — National Council Licensure Examination — immediately after graduating. One hundred percent of Mary nursing graduates who took the NCLEX exam for the first time passed between April 2020 and May 2021, ranking it the No. 1 program in the country for the second time in three years by Mountain Measurement in 2021. Given the exceptional healthcare services they provided to this elderly woman on their flight, Zottnick and Sipes should feel confident passing the NCLEX with flying colors.

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Q: WHAT DOES SURVIVORSHIP MEAN AND WHAT IS THE ROLE OF A SURVIVORSHIP NURSE AT THE BISMARCK

CANCER CENTER?

A: Cancer Survivorship focuses on the health and well-being of a person with cancer from the time of diagnosis until the end of life. This includes the physical, mental, emotional, social, and financial effects of cancer that begin at diagnosis and continue through treatment and beyond. Our survivorship nurses provide tools to help with communication and care coordination after treatment ends. Upon completion of treatment, individuals meet with a survivorship nurse who provides a comprehensive care plan individualized for each patient. They discuss what to expect in the months and years after treatment has been completed. The role of the survivorship nurse is to focus on healthy living and a healthy lifestyle after cancer treatment is completed and to identify and address the patient’s unmet needs so they can be as successful as possible after treatment is completed.