Laura Ayers, center, smiles during the School of Nursing’s commencement ceremony. (photo by Susan Urmy)
Graduation 2009: Challenges, opportunities await Nursing School class
Colleen Conway-Welch, Ph.D., dean of Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, told master's-prepared graduates during commencement ceremonies last week that they will be “constantly faced with great opportunities brilliantly disguised as unsolvable problems.”
Most of the School of Nursing students officially completed their advanced practice nursing education last August and are already working in health care in a variety of different areas. Even so, more than 100 returned for the graduation and investiture of the academic hood ceremonies.
Nancy Lancaster, left, receives the School of Nursing Founder’s Medal from Dean Colleen Conway-Welch, Ph.D. (photo by Susan Urmy)
Conway-Welch introduced Harry Jacobson, M.D., vice chancellor for Health Affairs, as an example of someone who “measures achievements not in terms of dollars, bricks or mortar, but in the number of lives touched.”
Anna Samuel and School of Nursing classmates listen to speakers at commencement. (photo by Susan Urmy)
In his remarks to the graduates, families and friends, Jacobson congratulated the students for choosing a demanding but rewarding career. Two graduates, in particular, were acknowledged for their recent service in the Air National Guard.
Adult Nurse Practitioner graduate Jim Sanders worked in nurse management at Vanderbilt Medical Center and the Veterans Administration before joining VUSN's blended distance learning program in 2005. He wanted to learn more of the science behind nursing and was attracted to VUSN for its reputation for taking risks.
Lauren Sims Carlson carries the VUSN banner. (photo by Susan Urmy)
His plans took a detour. A flight nurse in the Air National Guard, Sanders was deployed to Iraq in January 2008. He had completed his VUSN coursework, but had to delay participating in graduation. A commander in the Air Medical Unit, Sanders was responsible for leading a team that handled all the logistics for transporting wounded soldiers — up to 70 per day — to the Balad Field Hospital in Iraq, or to Germany for additional care.
“It was a constant challenge to appropriately manage complex care that included respirators, monitors and IVs so we could safely transport soldiers,” said Sanders.
Danielle Brewer receives her School of Nursing academic hood from Leslie Welch Hopkins, M.S.N., left, and Linda Norman, D.S.N., R.N. (photo by Susan Urmy)
He also participated in two humanitarian missions to help wounded Iraqi citizens, including children, which were emotionally difficult for the Rutherford County father of three.
All of his experience helped land him an advanced practice nurse position in the Emergency Department of the Nashville Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He believes his deployment and master's education combine to make him more empathetic to his patients and he believes pursuing his masters in the science of nursing was one of his best decisions.
VUSN’s Tory Woodard celebrates with his wife, Kimberly, and parents, Thomas and Dorris Woodard. (photo by Susan Urmy)
Elizabeth Cooper, an Air National Guard colleague of Sanders, also chose VUSN to pursue her advanced degree. She started her professional career in accounting and switched to nursing after 11 years. Most recently, she worked as a charge nurse in Texas and helped expand a diabetes education program for inpatients and outpatients in a rural community. Her goal was to get further education to serve as a nurse leader, and therefore focused in health systems management.
Like Sanders, Cooper was helping transport critically wounded soldiers from the front lines instead of attending last year's graduation.
Following the School of Nursing ceremony, Laurie Ford relaxes with her daughters, from left, Emma, Sadie, Bella and Madeline. (photo by Susan Urmy)
“Every patient touched me in some way or the other,” she said. “What really made me appreciate that I was a nurse is that every single patient who could communicate thanked us for taking care of them.”
Instead of working on an Air National Guard plane these days, Cooper works at Saint Thomas Hospital as a case manager. She has recently been accepted into VUSN's Doctor of Nursing Practice program and will start this fall.
In addition to the master's graduates, VUSN awarded four Doctor of Philosophy degrees to Dawn Garrett and Rachel Kinder, both from Bowling Green, Ky., Catherine Reisenberg from Nashville and Panarut Wisawatapnimit from Nonthaburi, Thailand.
Laurin Revere smiles after being hooded at the School of Nursing ceremony. (photo by Susan Urmy)
A total of 288 graduates from VUSN earned degrees in the master's program — each with their own story of commitment, persistence and focus that helped them reach their goals.
The school awarded diplomas to: 60 students in the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program; 39 in the Adult Nurse Practitioner Specialty; five in Clinical Management; 48 in the Family Nurse Practitioner Program; 16 in Health Systems Management; 23 in the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Program; seven in the Nurse-Midwifery/Family Nurse Practitioner Specialty; six in the Nurse-Midwifery Program; six in Nursing Informatics; 18 in the Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program; 45 in the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Specialty; 13 in the Women's Health Nurse Practitioner Program; and two in the Women's Health/Adult Nurse Practitioner Specialty.