21 minute read
Renovation COMPLETED
by CoxCollege
Renovation
H E L P I N G M E E T T H E G R O W I N G N E E D I N N U R S I N G A N D H E A L T H C A R E
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COMPLETED
he decision to launch a fundraising campaign for Cox College to renovate its 1956 facility was made to help create a new, fresh environment for future health care workers. The College’s facility had served well for many years, but it was time to bring it into the twentyfirst century.
The CoxHealth Foundation, under president Lisa Alexander, kicked off the Campaign in 2017 and a year and a half later the goal was met. Thanks to lead donors Art and Ruth Ann White, the Mabee Foundation, the U. S. Department of Commerce and countless alumni, friends and community partners, a total of $6.9 million funded the renovated campus.
Above: Student Resource Center Above: Large classroom on the fourth floor Below: New open stairwell
COMPLETED
By: Lisa Alexander
Never Been More Proud
The renovation finally gives
Cox College a facility that matches the quality of education that is provided. It is exciting to see the changes and know that my alma mater is moving into a new era of fostering innovation and change.
- Beth Richards, BSN 2020
Photo credits this page: Frank & Maven, Eric Baker, and Lisa Alexander
What's Next?
In November of 2020, Cox College was awarded another U. S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration grant. The $1.8 million awarded will renovate and expand the College’s Simulation Laboratory (see story on page 8). Construction will begin in summer of 2021. The project includes adding 5 additional Simulation rooms, another control room and additional debriefing rooms, plus the equipment to support the new space. This will allow for nine simulations to be running at the same time and assist in meeting the growth of our nursing student population. Donor Wall on the second floor
Ruth Ann White
e were only able to tour donors to the project when COVID-19 cancelled our Open House. I was very proud to be the one to share the new campus with Ruth Ann White. She and her late husband Art made the lead gift to the Renovation Campaign. Sadly, he passed on Easter Sunday and was not able to see the new Cox College complete. At the end of the tour, I asked Mrs. White how she felt about the impact of her gift. She replied, “I have never been more proud!”
Always gracious in her giving, she stated that she is honored to be a part of educating nurses and health science students for generations to come. I am so grateful for donors like the Whites who were willing to invest in our students through this incredible new campus renovation.
EDUCATION CORONA in the time of
Masked And Ready To Learn
Diagnostic Medical Sonography (DMS) students Tonnica Tummons and Kendall Bounous (foreground) practice scanning the thyroid gland in the neck using the GE P9 ultrasound machine in the DMS simulation lab.
The year 2020 started out with great promise. A completely renovated campus and excitement to finally have all our students back.
And then COVID-19.
Out of this intense time, what you find at the end of the day is THERE IS HOPE. If you look, you will see students rising to meet challenges in a way that makes us all so proud of them...
- Dr. Amy Vaughan
Faculty
Perspectives
Professors share their experiences from 2020 and what they and their colleagues had to do to ensure the students education needs were being met.
Better
Because Of It
obody wanted a global pandemic, but we’re becoming better educators because of it. Here are three areas where faculty had to change, and I don’t think we’ll ever go back.
Teaching Methods
There were certainly growing pains and outright failures. When COVID-19 initially arrived in the early spring, I tried to use available technology to replicate the classroom environment. I kept the lectures the same, the assignments the same, and expected to get the same results. This approach failed. Technology can’t replicate my old classroom experience, but it can make it better.
With less learning in the classroom, we had to maximize the value of classroom time and add creative online learning experiences. For me, this meant pre-recording all lecture videos and using class time for handson activities. Video lecture cannot be the same as in-class lectures. They need to be exceptionally organized, visually appealing, and very engaging—even more so than a traditional in-class lecture. As a result, my lecture material has much improved, and in-class time is spent entirely on the tough subjects (physics equations) and hands-on activities (exposure labs). Some Thaddeus Morris students miss the MS, RT(R)(CT) traditional in-class Diagnostic setting, but I think Imaging they will learn Assistant to love a hybrid Professor model. It’s hard to imagine teaching the way I did before COVID forced me to grow.
Assessment Tools
Does anyone test on paper anymore? Not me. In fact, my entire department has been doing computer-based testing in class for a few years already. I’m not sure I could survive now without the automatic-grading options in our learning management system (Canvas). Even so, the pandemic still prompted some changes to assessment. With precious little classroom time available, I’ve opted to convert all testing to at-home assignments.
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Now, all tests in my courses are completed at home and not in the classroom. Doesn’t that mean students can cheat more easily? Not really. Cox College uses technology that locks down the student’s computer while testing and records the student during the entire exam. Now that I’ve gained this extra time in the classroom, it’s hard to imagine ever going back.
Virtual Meetings
I had no idea what I was missing before I started using Zoom! With rare exception, virtual meetings are significantly more efficient than in-person meetings. Sure, there are no handshakes and less small talk, but there’s also no commute, no projector problems, no paperwork, and if you’re having a bad hair day, you can join the meeting by audio only. Why weren’t we doing this before?
Student meetings are a mixed bag. Some student meetings are better in-person, but the vast majority of issues can be easily addressed in virtual meetings. Plus, with the current masking requirements, online meetings without masks can feel more personal than an in-person meeting with masks.
I’m a slow adopter—I don’t like change and it takes me a while to accept new realities. Now that I’ve adapted to the new normal, I actually like it. It’s made me a better professor, and future students will benefit because of it.
Weathering
The Storm
WWhen COVID first hit in the
Spring of 2020, I believe we all thought we would weather the storm and find solutions to “get back to normal” within a few months. However, we quickly realized that we would need to re-design whole curriculums to preserve the essential hands-on application
Amy Vaughan while developing a method of approach that
OTD, OTR/L, BCP utilized technology to connect with students.
Department Chair All of this while working to protect them
Master of from exposure to the virus.
Occupational
Therapy Our department worked to reduce faceto-face seated learning time by over 50% to protect students from exposure. We implemented masking, and often gloving, gowning, and face shields. We spread desks apart, trying to ensure at least 6 feet between students during in-person teaching. This meant that we often taught the same lesson two or more times. In my pediatrics course, I canceled all the children and guest speakers who were normally invited into simulation experiences and re-grouped to provide video examples and meet with students through Zoom to teach specific skills. It meant collaborating with my co-professors to adapt every activity in our hands-on learning lab for that course. At first, faculty and students shared a love-hate relationship with Zoom and other platforms that promote interaction, but lack vital interpersonal connection. The difficulty of this transition is hard to articulate because, while it works, it does not “feel normal.” Faculty constantly worried whether students were grasping concepts, because they could not look into their eyes and read their gestures to confirm understanding. Many faculty like myself had to learn new ways of drawing information and discussion out of students, because the environment online felt more formal and “distant” than seated classroom experiences. Faculty and students both faced heartache when family members got sick, even if it wasn’t COVID related. Furthermore, faculty was aware of students wrestling with “putting their lives on the frontlines.” The students had been excited about the idea in theory, but began to fully realize what that actually means in this new reality. Healthcare is more dangerous, and yet more vital, than it has ever been in history.
Faculty drifted into being accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days per week initially because they were so aware of how stressed students, and people in general, were about the pandemic.
Cohort 5 practicing transfers in Assessment, Evaluation, and Intervention (AEI) 2 lab
What you find at the end of the day during this intense time is that THERE IS HOPE. If you look, you see students rising to meet challenges in ways that make us so proud we could burst. You see students and faculty embracing creative solutions; determined to help others in the community while still adhering to the new reality of pandemic policies and processes. You see students and faculty reaching out to each other and advocating for mental health support and resources. You see students beginning to understand how important self-care is to every healthcare provider, and how vital health routines are to success.
Then you also realize how much you, personally, have grown during this time. You see how you were forced to learn new skills and embrace new technology that improved teaching practices even beyond the pandemic. You realize that in the intensity, you naturally re-evaluated your time and priorities, then purposefully re-arranged things for better rhythm and efficiency.
This was a year we will never forget. We have learned how grateful we are for our “normal” hands-on learning processes in health care.
We have also learned it is essential to embrace innovation in teaching. For me, this has been a time to recognize just how proud I am to work in a health care system like CoxHealth. This is a place where we can problem-solve solutions for the betterment of the entire community. I am thankful for positive teaming at Cox College, where we create pathways for learning and empower students to launch their careers in health care—even during a pandemic. It truly is all about the PEOPLE you get to serve, and those you get to serve alongside. We leave 2020 with lessons learned and a much deeper appreciation for normal, everyday life. Never again will we take these simple things for granted.
Maintaining Sanity
The COVID-19 transition was sudden, unprecedented, and definitely caught our program off guard. Going from businessas-usual to fully Lindsey Kelsay online in a just a few MS, RD, LD weeks’ time was no Nutritional small task. The Diagnostics Nutrition Diagnostics Instructor programs require quite a bit of supervised practice (clinical/fieldwork) which means most of our year one students are in rotations with preceptors 32 hours a week. So, the move to online schooling meant not only transitioning our didactic courses, Implementing but creating 32 hours the first week of virtual, supervised did not go practice activities without each week we were hiccups; like out. This was a large task, as we wanted many students both the didactic during this content and the time, ours virtual supervised were dealing practice to be of with a lot of good quality, but stress and needed to maintain were feeling our sanity in creating and grading it. Luckily, overwhelmed. we have a great team that works together very well. When creating the supervised practice, we delegated tasks and were able to create our first “week” of virtual supervised practice. Despite the delegation, I was pretty mentally taxed during this time. Our communication was not as good
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as it could have been, and the students found the content confusing and lengthy. After adjusting a little each week and communicating more effectively, we eventually came up with really good content that will be kept for future use. The students who completed our online supervised practice are now generating some of the strongest work we’ve seen. We feel this is due, at least in part, to the weeks of virtual supervised practice.
During the summer semester, our students completed a four-week program culminating supervised practice rotation. This course involved students working more independently—acting as the inpatient staff dietitian under the observation of their preceptor. Initially, I assumed this course would not happen during the summer. I was happily surprised upon receiving approval for our students to be admitted in mid-June, as long as we made some adjustments to our plan. By utilizing a few rotation sites outside of CoxHealth, we were able to provide all of our students with a three-week face-to-face rotation during the summer. This would not have been possible without the collaboration of our president, Dr. DeMelo, my program director and colleagues, the system clinical nutrition manager, the leaders at CoxHealth, and some flexible students. Talk about teamwork!
Many of the things we do face-to-face are still possible with virtual learning. The virtual environment has forced me to really look at what is most important, rethink what content/assignments are most relevant, and focus on creative, innovative solutions that benefit students and their future patients.
Being
Creative
The Houston campus struggled with rural internet issues when classes went online in April. Despite that, our students acclimated well and communicated their concerns and issues. Flexibility and understanding was essential in
Misty Walton helping them succeed in
MSN, RN the program.
Houston Site
Coordinator Classes resumed in August with
Assistant Professor few modifications to clinicals, such as being resourceful with clients and PPE. Overall, students were grateful to be back in the patient environment interacting with actual patients. Hands-on clinical experiences helped reinforce what students learned in class, so they
Determined.
The professors have been nothing but amazing in terms of accommodating to our needs. They have been understanding, helpful, and available.
- Meagan Whitehead MSOT student
Hands on were prepared to continue active learning clinical experiences work with actual patients. Human interaction is an important concept— from learning to talk to patients, to in the classroom. Several of our methods had to be altered, others help reinforce assessing and treating their needs. eliminated. Images or what students clips are a valuable way are learning In the classroom environment, for students to retain in class and we encountered many obstacles. new information, which helps them Students were not fond of social made the discussion feel more prepared as distancing and masking, however this is an important factor in health care. As providers and educators of health board in Canvas of paramount importance. Students were able to post links and memes, which were then projected to the front of the class. a student nurse care, we need to comply and educate when working others on the importance This pandemic has forced educators to step out of with people. of stopping the spread of our comfort zone and be creative. I, for one, disease. At the Houston have enjoyed learning new ways to teach by campus, our class sizes are smaller and implementing virtual clinical assignments and fun primarily rely on active learning. active learning activities. We tend to stick with what we know and what is familiar. However, in
Normally, students work in groups, so many these trying times, our knowledge has increased as modifications had to be made. Aided by we learn new ways to present information that can research and student input, we were able to be retained.
OUR STUDENTS...
Adaptive.
Ready to Learn.
Professor
Made A Difference
By: Leah Lewin
BSN Class of 2020
As we began the last half of Spring semester 2020 online, I struggled to separate my home life and school life. I had little motivation and wasn’t sure how the semester would unfold. When studying for exams before COVID-19, I would make my way to a local coffee shop, get some coffee and a snack, put my headphones in, and study the day away. Without that option, I felt lost.
I failed my first exam in pediatrics and felt defeated. It was the first exam I’d failed in nursing school. Professor Lower contacted me shortly after and offered her support. We had a long Zoom call where she helped me figure out ways to study and better cope with learning-from-home during this crazy time. After this conversation, I passed my following tests with flying colors.
I picked the best college to belong to during a pandemic. I felt supported and received the guidance that helped me succeed in a time that was uncertain for everyone involved.
Although it's easy to be upset by the changes, it has also taught us how to be even more flexible. As future OTs, this is very valuable. We've been reminded of the significance of active hands-on learning, but has caused us to adapt to virtual learning which I think will guide future coursework.
- Abigail Cline, MSOT student
Grateful To Help Give Comfort
By: Lauren Sanders
MSN-FNP Class of 2022
The pandemic has tested us in so many ways—from acclimating to different working environments to facing the realities of a deadly, highly contagious disease head-on. As trying as these times have been, some aspects have left me forever grateful for the challenges presented.
When this pandemic started, I was pregnant working two extra jobs stationed in COVID-saturated ICUs in Kansas City, Missouri, and Bentonville, Arkansas. I had no choice but to bring my growing baby into the environment with me. In the beginning, I was terrified. I contemplated quitting the health care field all together, scared that I would introduce this precious baby to a virus that would hurt her, even potentially end her little life before it began. During this upsetting time, I began to pray, asking God for guidance, and came to the revelation my patients were also terrified of dying and being alone. These patients, I realized, were the real heroes—brave souls fighting for each breath. Once I realized this, everything changed. I was proud for the opportunity to care for each solo fighter. At nine months pregnant, I would waddle up to an anxious patient, hold their hand, and explain the disease processes. I did my best to ease their fears and cheer on those fortunate enough to be discharged. I was humbled to hold up iPads and connect FaceTime calls to families who needed to say goodbye, and I was honored to hold my patients’ hands as they took their final breath. For too many brave and tired people, I was their only comfort.
Yes, COVID-19 has been a struggle. As a COVID nurse, COVID survivor, and mother of an eight-week-old COVID survivor, I can say it has ultimately been very humbling. I've been a nurse since 2009, and I am still so grateful for the opportunities I have been given to help care for others who need it, pandemic or no pandemic.
Adaptability
And Patience
By: Elizabeth Bungard
BSN Class of 2022
At the beginning of 2020, I was overjoyed. I’d been accepted into Cox College and looked forward to a year of growth, learning and excitement. These hopes did come into fruition, though in a way least expected. My first semester at Cox College provided me with the opportunity to learn more about nursing than I could have imagined, and in the most unorthodox ways.
When the pandemic hit, I was asked to go back to my home state of Michigan. While I love and missed my family, uprooting mid-semester was a challenge. Rather than the classroom setting I had envisioned, I started hunting out quiet corners at home. The unique experience of balancing a full house under quarantine with my coursework was an exercise in adaptability and patience.
As I underwent my transition back home, my professors worked
We're In This Together
By: Christy Probst ASR Class of 2021
Spring semester of 2020 couldn't come soon enough. As a first-year student in the Cox College Radiography program, I was looking forward to starting clinical rotations and practicing my skills on real patients.
Everything was going great during the first two months as I gained experience. Then bam. On comes the pandemic, and everything changed on a dime.
When I first learned seated classes were cancelled, I wasn’t too concerned. Finishing the semester online, while not ideal, was feasible. Clinicals being suspended, on the other hand, was devastating. I worried that the experience and confidence I had gained during those first couple of months would be forgotten. It was easy to feel overwhelmed and depressed.
In the midst of this, my professors—Kacie Craig, Daniel Edwards and Thaddeus Morris—kept me motivated and tirelessly to create an online learning environment. They recorded lectures, utilized virtual meetings, gave out resources, and facilitated online simulations to help their students learn—all while maintaining the level of academic quality for which Cox College has become known. They did so much to engage their students, whether it was through class Jeopardy or Kahoot’s. Even still, I was disappointed that I would not be able to participate in a clinical rotation. Fall 2020 was the first time I stepped foot on the floor, and while I was nervous, I soon realized I was prepared. The knowledge I accumulated during simulations and skills assessments aided me with assessments and critical thinking.While I do not wish to repeat the challenges of last year, I am thankful for all that I learned through the experience.
really demonstrated their commitment to my success by coming up with creative ways to implement their teaching. They spent countless hours creating online content for lectures about each unit. Since we could no longer practice in labs, Professor Craig had the class record videos practicing radiography patient skills on family members. Professor Edwards revamped the entire course—rewriting PowerPoints, quizzes and exams, and relying on humor and wit to explain and simplify challenging concepts. He also recorded numerous educational videos, including one staged in his backyard to explain the concept of AEC cells via a water hose and buckets. I greatly appreciated all three of my professors holding weekly Zoom meetings to keep our class connected.
Even though the pandemic still hasn’t gone away, it has made me realize now more than ever the importance of treating people with kindness and staying positive, just as my professors have shown me. Most importantly, we must remember we are not alone—we are in this together. Difficulties like these only make us stronger than we were before.
Photo provided by Christy Probst
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