The Carmel Rapper

February 1, 2022

Kathleen Williamson

Message from the President

Happy February!

I trust that your semester is getting off to a great start and that you are learning and growing every day. Incremental progress (especially in the dregs of winter) can seem slow and tedious at times. But keeping your focus on the big picture, with goals and objectives established, can help ensure that you reach your ultimate destination having accomplished more than you ever thought you could!

One of the tools I use to achieve what I dream is the SMART goals system. SMART stands for:

  • Specific – target a specific area for improvement.
  • Measurable – quantify or at least suggest an indicator of progress.
  • Assignable – specify who will do it.
  • Realistic – state what results can realistically be achieved, given available resources.
  • Time-related – specify when the result(s) can be achieved.

This tool is useful for achieving any type of goal – personal, academic, or professional. I recently applied this system to my goal of completing a 10K race at Walt Disney World. My plan was:

  • Specific – Run a 10k at Disney World
  • Measurable – 7 weeks of total training
  • Assignable – Assigned to me!
  • Realistic – Each week I laid out the distance I would walk/run with it increasing every week.
  • Time-related – Goal to be reached at week 7

It’s easy to use and really helps to make sure you stay on track to achieve what you want to accomplish. If you’d like to learn more about the SMART goals program, there are lots of good articles and presentations online, including this one from Mind Tools.

I hope your February is happy, healthy, and that you achieve all of your goals for this month and beyond.

Sincerely,

kathleen-williamson

Kathleen Williamson, PhD, MSN, RN
President & Academic Dean, Mount Carmel College of Nursing

Submit Your Abstract for the Interprofessional Research and Evidence-Based Practice Day

Mount Carmel Health System is holding its annual Interprofessional Research and Evidence-Based Practice Day on May 4, 2022. You may submit for an eight-minute podium presentation, poster, or both. The abstract word count must be 300 words or less and are due for submission no later than 11:59 p.m. on Monday, February 21, 2022. The Abstract Review Committee will then review the submissions and determine the final list of presenters. Please contact Melissa Contino at mcontino@mccn.edu or Lynn Schaffer at lynn.shaffer@mchs.com with questions.

Digi-Know: Notes from you Instructional Designer

Digi-Know that “Good” Pedagogy could also be defined as “Critical Pedagogy”? We want to challenge students to critically think and break old, outdated, and false assumptions and relearn them reflecting on the process that they have just undergone. Ira Shor says Critical Pedagogy is, “habits of thought, reading, writing, and speaking which go beneath surface meaning.” We cannot continue to deliver content to students by dumping knowledge into their heads. We must engage them in problem-solving how current understandings and new understandings interact, which will help cement the content in Long-term Memory and improve retrieval. With access to technology at all times, our students can use it to understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create using the content. In the 21st century classroom, this is dependent on how we as instructors choose to leverage technology. For more ideas on how to use technology to achieve Critical Pedagogy, please email me at helpline@mccn.edu or the facultyfellow@mccn.edu

Faculty Fellows Help Fellow Faculty

Professor Kathryn Ross jumped at the opportunity to integrate new technologies into her NURS 405 course. YuJa is new software offered at MCCN for faculty to use in their courses, allowing them to record and edit presentations and post them for students. But when working with two scenes on campus, she hit a wall. How do you direct the recording device to capture the right screen at the right time?

So, she decided to recruit the expertise of the Faculty Fellows. She made a quick phone call to Professor Miriam Abbott, and as luck would have it, she was available to help. It’s more fun to work with friends!

After some good conversation and exploration, they were unable to solve the problem, so they called Dr. Joy Voorhees, who happened to be available, to join the puzzle party in Professor Ross’s office.

After lots more good conversation and collaboration and team building; still no resolution.

So, Professor Abbott called in the big guru: Tech Wizard Thomas Liwosz. And he talked the trio through the recording process for two screens on campus PCs.

What’s the moral of the story? There are several lessons:

  1. We’re all learning new things, and we all hit barriers
  2. It’s more fun to problem-solve with friends.
  3. If you’re patient with yourself and willing to play with the software, YuJa is pretty cool . . . and so is learning new applications to integrate into the classroom.

Faculty are continuous learners also! Be patient and don’t hesitate to reach out to your Faculty Fellow at fellows@mccn.edu for peer support!

MCCN-Lancaster Celebrates Sophomore Pinning

On Friday, January 7, 2022, pins were distributed to the MCCN-Lancaster sophomore students. After a blessing by FMC Chaplain Sue Johnson, each student was awarded their pin by Dr. Cora Arledge and then received an individual "blessing of the hands." Afterwards, all faculty and students enjoyed a catered lunch from Bob's Backyard BBQ and then the students toured the clinical floor.

Mother Angela

MCCN-Lancaster Holds Canned/Boxed Food Drive

The Mother Angela Club is a community-service oriented student organization at the MCCN-Lancaster campus. Junior Brittany Ledford and senior Cassie Brewer have been busy this semester getting the group active again after the pause in 2020. During Fall Semester 2021, they organized a canned/boxed food drive to benefit a local Lancaster food pantry and presented it as a contest between the different nursing cohorts and the faculty. The final donation count was: freshmen, 15 items; sophomores, 84 items; seniors, 54 items; and faculty, 67 items for a total of 220 canned/boxed food items donated.

Notice: Opportunity for Public Comments

Mount Carmel College of Nursing is preparing to host an accreditation site visit from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) for the Baccalaureate of Nursing degree program, the Master of Science degree program, the Advanced Practice Certificate programs, and the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program. The visit is scheduled for April 6-8, 2022. CCNE is an autonomous agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a national accrediting body to accredit baccalaureate and graduate degree programs in nursing. As part of the voluntary, self-regulatory process, CCNE supports and encourages continuing self-assessment by nursing education programs and the continuing growth and improvement of collegiate professional education. As part of this process, written and signed third-party comments are sought from interested individuals (students, alumni, faculty, and practice community) and will be accepted by CCNE until 21 days before the scheduled evaluation site visit. Third-party comments must be received by CCNE by March 16, 2022. The comments will be shared with the CCNE evaluation team; however, comments will not be shared with Mount Carmel College of Nursing faculty or staff.

Those desiring to do so, may submit written and signed comments to:

Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education at thirdpartycomments@ccneaccreditation.org.

kathleen-williamson

Achievements: Congratulations Faculty and Staff

Christina Padrutt, DNP, APRN, AGPCNP-C, CNE, Assistant Professor, passed her Certified Nurse Educator exam in December 2021.

The following faculty members obtained their Evidence-Based Practice certificate:

  • Deanna Hunt, DNP, APRN, WHNP-BC, Assistant Professor
  • Roxanne Oliver, APRN, FNP-BC, Director of Graduate Programs
  • Christina Padrutt, DNP, APRN, AGPCNP-C, CNE, Assistant Professor
  • Ann Smith, PhD, APRN, ANP-BC, CRRN, Associate Professor

Library Update

Your Library, Mount Carmel Health Sciences Library (MCHSL), has launched the new library website. You can access the same URL (https://library.mchs.com/) as the previous library website. Please watch a short VIDEO introduction to the new Library website.

You will be able to find the information you need, faster and easier than ever. If you need any help navigating the new website, please Contact Us and we will be glad to guide and help you.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions how to improve access to MCHSL website feel free to Contact Us and share it with us. We will continue working on improving online access and updating existing Library platforms. This is our commitment to serve you best that we can, and together engage in this continuous collaborative project.

Library Details

Remember, Your Library is here to help. You can connect with the Library from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday by:

Why Choose Us

91.02%

2023 NCLEX-RN pass rate

10:1

student-to-faculty ratio

100%

of graduates employed within 12 months (2021 grads)