Thursday, January 30, 2014 ■ Vol. 44 Issue 20
THE
New sorority strives to create status on campus Pg. 5
Cheer team places 3rd in National competition Pg. 8
SHIELD www.usishield.com
THE
NURSING experience
USI nursing students have leg up By DEVYN CURRY Special to The Shield Before graduating in May 2013, USI nursing program graduate Krista Coccaro had already accepted a job offer in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at Deaconess Hospital’s Main Campus. Coccaro completed an internship in the unit, and in March 2013, Deaconess offered her a full-time position. “I never would have thought I would want to work in the ICU,” Coccaro said. “But after my critical care rotations, that changed.” USI has more ICU and critical care clinical hours than any other university in the state of Indiana. “About one fifth of my graduating class is either working in the ICU, critical care setting or emergency room,” she said. “As a new grad, it is hard to get those positions because most of the time, they want experienced nurses.” The amount of clinical hours nursing students complete and the experience at local hospitals is what sets USI’s nursing program apart from other university level programs. Students begin clinical rotations in the fall of their junior year. USI requires more than double the amount of clinical hours than the state minimum requirement for all nursing programs, giving USI students an advantage when they begin applying for jobs in the area. “Everyone in my graduating class had at least one job offer in Evansville before or right after graduation,” Coccaro said. “The program is well-known, so the hospitals in Evansville know the amount of experience USI grads have received through clinicals.” Coccaro said she didn’t fill out one application or interview for her nursing position. After her critical care rotation with
the Cardiovascular ICU, she had an internship there, which led to the job offer. She said Deaconess and St. Mary’s hospitals both offer internships in the spring, so a
Coccaro said it is similar to an unpaid internship for extra clinical hours. Each student will work a nurse’s full-time schedule the last month and a half before
trauma services at St. Mary’s Medical Center, said when she receives applications for different nursing positions, she chooses to interview USI students first.
Photos by BLAKE STAYROOK/The Shield USI Nursing graduate, Krista Coccaro, says that everyone in her graduating class had at least one job offer in Evansville before or right after graduation.
lot of students take internships in units they potentially want to work in after graduation. “If the unit likes you after the internship, they will offer you a job – most likely before graduation,” Coccaro said. To prepare students for a career in the nursing field, USI requires practicum.
graduation. Since Coccaro accepted the job offer with the Cardiovascular ICU, she was able to use her practicum hours as orientation for the new job. She said many students who receive early job offers do the same. Melanie Kincaid, executive director for critical care and
Kincaid held the position of Nursing Director at St. Mary’s for about seven years. At that time, she was in charge of hiring nurses throughout the hospital. She has been the executive director for critical care and trauma services for two years, but sometimes still assists in the hiring process.
A Day in the ICU By DEVYN CURRY Special to The Shield Kelsey Strahla wakes up at 4:45 a.m. for her critical care clinical, which begins at 6:30 at Deaconess Gateway Hospital. The senior nursing major is assigned to a nurse and looks over a patient’s medical records before she goes to visit them. “We do morning assessment of the patient and any morning medications that they need, along with looking over lab work if necessary,” Strahla said. After the first patient assessment is complete, Strahla said they move on to the second patient. The hospital requires hourly checks on patients in the Intensive Care Unit. “Every hour you need to lay eyes on the patient,” Strahla said. “We will ask them if they are in any pain, need to use the restroom and reposition them every two hours if they are sedated and can’t do it themselves.” Strahla said she basically moves back and forth between two patients for the entire shift. On a regular floor, nurses would see five to six patients because they are less critical and nurses are able to check on them more often. “There are days when I won’t get to sit down at all during a 12-hour shift, and I am just exhausted,” Strahla said. Between Oct. 21, and Dec. 2, Strahla completed 180 critical care clinical hours for just one class, and that is not including classroom hours at USI.
NURSING on Pg. 3
University receives grants College of Business secures nearly $1 million from global investment firm
Governor aids in Pott College’s STEM development
By JAMES VAUGHN News editor
By SHANNON HALL Staff writer
SS&C Technologies announced it will contribute nearly $1 million to USI’s Romain College of Business in cash and in-kind donations, which will benefit the university’s accounting program. “This is a great opportunity to sort of celebrate that gift and what’s going to be an ongoing partnership,” President Linda Bennett said during a press conference Friday. The college unveiled an investment accounting track in the fall, in which 11 students are enrolled. Dean Mohammed Khayum said his goal is to have 20 students enrolled by the end of the semester. The university will receive $200,000 in cash donations, which will directly benefit the investment accounting program. The in-kind donations include the installment, maintenance and training of advanced specialized software and technologies via the SS&C Investment Accounting Accelerator – access no other undergraduate program in the nation has, Khayum said. “Our group here in Evansville is already using the technology that we are gifting to the university,” said Bill Stone, SS&C chairman and chief executive officer. “This will give us the opportunity to grow faster and hire more people, and enhance both MILLION on Pg. 3
Indiana Governor Mike Pence awarded USI $835,138 through the Indiana STEM Teacher Recruitment Fund to create a program that will recruit Indiana STEM teachers. USI has more than 2,400 students majoring in either STEM disciplines or teacher education programs. “This is a first time we received a grant to promote the math and science teaching,” said Scott Gordon, Pott College of Science, Engineering and Education dean. “We have a long history working with STEM educators in professional development.” The program - Teaching Eagles Scholarship Program - will take two years to complete, and will assist students with tuition. The scholarship will pay for up to 27 credit hours for elementary teaching students and 30 credit hours for secondary teaching students. While USI was one of 10 Indiana organizations to receive the grant, it was one of the only colleges to receive it. “We already have very strong STEM programs and very strong education programs,” Gordon said. “This brings two strong programs together to really make an impact in the state for the quality and number of science and math teachers.” STEM on Pg. 3
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