10 minute read
A doctor in the house
BY | SARA MOHS
This fall, when a cohort of 15 students began their graduate courses at Saint Ben’s, it launched a new era in the college’s history.
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In three years, these students will be the first to walk across the graduation stage in full doctoral regalia. It’s a milestone that marks the culmination of a lot of hard work and visionary thinking. The cohort of students enrolled this fall will follow two tracks (a doctor of nursing practice – family nurse practitioner track and a doctor of nursing practice – leadership track) presented by the College of Saint Benedict, in partnership with Saint John’s University. Next fall we will add a master of science in nursing with a focus in leadership, education and practice. Nate Dehne, CSB/SJU Vice President for Enrollment Management, says adding graduate-level courses to the nursing program complements our mission and is part of the colleges’ long game. “There are programs that pop up in the marketplace that come and go all the time. We’re not trying to just capitalize on the next hot majors. We leaned into our mission, the roots of our Benedictine tradition, our experience in the health care field and the relationships that we’ve built over time. It goes all the way back to the sisters at Saint Ben’s founding the St. Cloud Hospital. There’s an ethos of caring for others that’s built into our nursing profession here. It’s something that we’ve had in our DNA for a long time,” Dehne says. Before refining the details of the doctorate programs, CSB/SJU did three separate market analyses that looked at the interest level and preferences of prospective students and the needs of the community. The team studied job postings for different areas of nursing from January through May 2020 and found 300 daily job postings for family nurse practitioners in Minnesota alone. It also met with clinical partners such as CentraCare Health System and other health systems in the area to get a better understanding of their needs. “There was a clear need within the community for this type of a program. Our community partners see a substantial gap that they’re trying to fill with strong, high-quality candidates. We anticipate that trend will continue over the next decade,” says Peterson.
L to R: Taylor Schreiner ’19, Karina Lopez Barabash ’16 and Denise Christie ’00 are all members of the DNP class of 2024. Taylor and Karina are on the Family Nurse Practitioner track while Denise is pursuing the DNP-Leadership track.
A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE “We see approximately a quarter of our (nursing) graduates go on to graduate school. We’ve been wanting to provide them with an opportunity to transition into a graduate-level program here within our own college.”
- Graduate Nursing Chair Dr. Jennifer Peterson ’98
When surveying prospective students, the team wanted to know what type of program would best meet their needs. A higher percentage of students indicated that they preferred to complete their doctorate degrees in three years versus four. And because most students are working professionals, they preferred a hybrid learning format. As a result, much of the coursework in the three-year tracks will be completed online. Students will be on campus one-tothree times per semester for each course. Peterson says having the graduate students on campus at certain points throughout the program was important to build community and ensure a superior education. “One thing we’ve done very effectively in our undergraduate program is creating an experience where the faculty get to know their students really well. There’s a strong sense of community within our undergraduate program and we wanted to make sure that we continue that in our graduate program. We do that by having smaller cohorts of students and incorporating these residential pieces,” she says. Another reason for smaller cohorts is the program’s guarantee of clinical placement. Most family nurse practitioner programs place the responsibility of finding clinical placement on the graduate students. Our doctorate program takes on that responsibility. “I know in my personal experience as a family nurse practitioner student, I had to find my own clinical placements through networking,” says Peterson. “And that can be a challenge. I think that’s become increasingly more difficult over the
last decade as these types of programs have become more popular. So this is a significant part of the program and something we can offer our students that sets us apart from other programs.” The colleges are able to guarantee clinical placements, in part, because of their strong partnerships with area clinical agencies. Dehne says the schools’ reputation for producing quality undergraduates forged those connections.
“My daughter Emma is a living, breathing example of this right now. She’s going into her junior year here and even at the undergraduate level she’s getting feedback from alums and other clinical agencies that she picked a fantastic program because of how prepared the graduates are. When you have health care providers and organizations looking to your programs for their leaders and supporting these programs, it makes acquiring clinical placements possible,” Dehne says. Another unique offering of the program is the elective for specialty care areas. Graduate nursing students have the ability to develop specialized skills beyond the traditional family nurse practitioner track through a specialty clinical course and clinical rotation.
“If a registered nurse comes in wanting to get his or her graduate degree as a family nurse practitioner, and they currently work in a specialty area, this program accommodates that. We’ve created a course that allows them to get those additional hours in their specialty area of interest. It’s something our clinical partners are very excited about,” says Peterson. When developing the courses for the leadership track, CSB and SJU were intentional about incorporating input from the Global Business Department. Peterson says it’s important that nurse leaders have knowledge regarding all realms of working in a leadership role, including team building, organizational structure, behavior, finances, budgets and strategic initiatives. “When our leadership students complete the program, they’ll be eligible to sit for the AONL Executive Leadership Certificate and the NLN Nurse Education Certificate for nurse educators, so they could potentially gain two different certifications by completing one track,” she explains.
An accredited, forwardfocused curriculum
When developing the curriculum for the programs, faculty members spent time looking at a number of other programs to get an idea of what was successful and what was typical regarding credit loads. They also met with clinical partners on a monthly basis to get feedback on what they’re seeing from graduates of other programs, if any gaps exist in the marketplace and if there were certain trends about which we needed to be intentional. Finally, faculty looked to the standards set by the Minnesota Board of Nursing and the accrediting bodies.
A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE
The curriculum was created in a way that if trends shift away from family nurse practitioner toward a different type of advanced-practice nursing position, it can easily be modified to accommodate those changes. The faculty members also needed to consider how the coursework would be presented to and consumed by students. Because at least half of the coursework will be online, we worked with the CSB/SJU IT Department to develop a user-friendly platform that’s easy for students to navigate and is consistent across all courses.
The programs received formal approval from the Board of Trustees and the colleges’ faculty senate in fall 2020. The approval process began in May 2020 for the family nurse practitioner track. In April of this year representatives from the Minnesota Board of Nursing completed a site visit and approved the program. The program also needed approval from the Minnesota Office of Higher Education and from the Higher Learning Commission, which conducted a site visit this May and granted approval in July. In addition, approval from the colleges’ nursing accrediting agencies began this fall, after students were enrolled in the program. A formal visit will take place next fall to finalize that approval.
Building on a strong froundation
Dehne says adding a graduate track to an already reputable undergraduate program spills over to undergraduate enrollment. “Having a graduate program solidifies our enrollment numbers and the quality of those applicants. It gives us an opportunity to communicate pathways from the undergraduate program to the master’s and then the doctoral program as well. Demonstrating those pathways to high school juniors and seniors will be a very attractive selling point,” he says. The undergraduate nursing program was recently expanded to accommodate 72 incoming students each year. Beginning next fall, the graduate programs will accommodate up to 18 students per track. The master’s program will include more. Enrollment for the next cohort of graduate students began Oct. 1. Peterson believes so many alums are drawn to the program because of the strong sense of community they’ve taken away from their undergraduate experience and the high-quality professional preparation they received in the program. “One of the things that stood out to us in our market analysis was the strong affiliation our graduates had with the CSB and SJU community. Those strong connections make our graduate courses that much more appealing. Several of the faculty who teach in the nursing programs graduated from Saint Ben’s* – I am one of them. That really speaks to the strong sense of community we have and why so many former students have the passion to return for their graduate program,” she says.
* In fact, a remarkable seven members of the current Nursing Department faculty were Bennie undergrads.
Taylor Schreiner ’19 is part of the first cohort of graduate students enrolled this fall. She echoes those feelings. “Saint Ben’s was my second home as an undergrad. I walked away with so many friends that I still keep in contact with. When I heard that they were offering a graduate program, I thought what better way to continue my education? I know I’m going to be supported along this journey and I know this opportunity will be the best,” she says. Schreiner currently works in the float pool at the Mayo Clinic. Once she completes her doctorate degree, she hopes to work in a clinic and possibly specialize in pediatrics. She also hasn’t ruled out teaching or mentoring other students. “One thing I love about nursing is that there’s the possibly to constantly grow and learn. The opportunities are endless. You can really go anywhere with it,” she says. Besides choosing the CSB doctorate program for the strong sense of community she experienced as an undergraduate, she credits CSB and SJU professors for preparing her for a career in nursing. “As a nurse, we have to think outside the box. All my professors challenged me to ask questions, think critically and go above and beyond what was expected. They really set me up for success,” she says.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
• Guaranteed clinical placements • Electives for specialty practice areas • Discounted tuition available for CentraCare employees • One-to-one mentorship for DNP project • Graduate assistant teaching scholarships available • Eligibility to become certified as a family nurse practitioner or a nurse educator and/or nurse executive
BODY MIND SPIRIT&
CSB/SJU INTRODUCE THREE NEW HEALTH-FOCUSED MINORS THAT ALIGN OUR CURRICULUM WITH THE LIBERAL ARTS
BY | ELLEN HUNTER GANS ’05
Art history as a health class? YOU BETCHA.
That’s one of the many rich, mind-expanding interdisciplinary options that arise when you embed traditionally science-based curricula in a liberal arts environment. Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s have developed three new health-focused minors, along with a doctor of nursing practice program, a master of science in nursing degree and additional structured course loads to support a dozen or so pre-health programs.
