Running on Empty
Nurses answer the call to serve others. They selflessly comfort the sick and provide healing. Along with a rewarding career in patient care comes the tough things: long shifts, little sleep, traumatic cases and patient deaths. Add life stress to a high-demand job, and the results can weigh heavily on the mind and soul.
125 years of Impact
In 2022, St. Elizabeth School of Nursing will hit a milestone to remember—marking 125 years of health care impact by educating nurses who for generations have lent their healing touch to others. A quasquicentennial celebration is made possible by students, alumni, a faithfully supportive community and the six Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration who arrived with a mission to heal the sick.
Covid-19: The Formidable Foe
COVID-19 fast and furiously arrived at America’s doorstep. It quickly secured a foothold in densely populated areas with cases multiplying at an uncontrollable pace. The country watched with bated breath as New York City was under siege, California sheltered in place and testing centers failed to keep up with demand. Institutions around the country took note of what may be heading their way. On the front lines, courageous nurses prepared themselves for what may come. They steadied for the worst while praying for calm and strength.
Artificial Patients. Authentic Experience.
Absorbing the second-floor visuals of St. Elizabeth School of Nursing’s Simulation Lab (SIM Lab), a typical assortment of equipment catches one’s eye: crash carts, blood pressure cuffs, oxygen tanks and tubing. Then there’s Maggie: a high-fidelity manikin that simulates the birthing process. Maggie may experience postpartum hemorrhage, demand comfort and reassurance as the life of her newborn hangs in the balance, or her delivery may conclude in the perfect picture of technological bliss. Just a small sampling of scenarios students encounter in the most life-like setting possible as they prepare to become nurses.
If These Walls Could Talk
It only takes a roof and four exterior walls to construct a building, but many structures are much more significant than the materials they are made from. For St. Elizabeth School of Nursing, what once was just a structure to call home became a historic building that aided in developing a lineage of extraordinary nurses. From its construction to its demolition, the beloved building served as a place of companionship, passion and a legacy of nurses who came before.
What New Nurses Need to Know
You remember it well, don’t you? Those fresh-faced days after graduating from nursing school. Butterflies were ever present as well as the optimism of beginning your nursing career of caring for others. It’s quite an adjustment to evolve from student to licensed nurse. We asked some faculty and alumni to share their personal words of wisdom to new nurses concerning what to expect in the workplace.