College of Nursing News & Features

College Schedules Spring Open House for Prospective Students

On Saturday, April 21, 10 a.m. to noon, the Crouse Hospital College of Nursing will welcome prospective students who want to learn more about pursuing a degree and eventual career in nursing. The open house will be held in the Marley Education Center, 765 Irving Ave. Faculty will be on hand to provide information and answer questions, and attendees will be able to tour the school, labs and dorms, and speak with current and former students. Refreshments will be provided, and free parking is available in the Marley Education Center garage. For more information, call 470-7481.

Moving Up Ceremony Held in January

First year students "moved up" to their new roles as second year students during a ceremony in Jnauary.

School of Nursing Now a College of Nursing

On Thursday, June 9, the Crouse Hospital School of Nursing announced that it has become of College of Nursing. Major renovations to the Crouse Library were unveiled, and a new Simulation, Technology and Learning center opened.

Commencement is Thursday, May 26

Congratulations to the graduates of the Crouse Hospital School of Nursing! Graduation was Thursday, May 26 at 6 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel, with guest speaker Chief Nursing Officer Mary Agnew, RN, MS, CNS, CNAA-BC.

Technology Award Improves Crouse Library's Training Center

 

Through a Technology Award from the Mid-Atlantic Region of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM), Crouse Hospital Library’s Training Center was recently equipped with an interactive whiteboard, the 3M™ Super Close projection system using Digital Annotation software.

The whiteboard facilitates collaboration in the classroom by allowing instructors to incorporate active instructional techniques tailored to a variety of learning styles. The library provides classes in searching the medical and nursing literature to groups including students, staff and, through a MAR Outreach Award, also through NNLM, to staff from the Visiting Nurses Association of Central New York.

 
Students enrolled in an oncology nursing rotation found that their post-clinical conferences were enhanced by the use of the new technology, allowing them to present, discuss and interact with ease. Crouse Hospital School of Nursing Student Samantha Janik (above), now a Graduate Nurse in our ICU, used the interactive whiteboard during a presentation for her Nursing 280 Clinical Group, under the direction of faculty member Sally Manahan. For more information about the interactive whiteboard in the Crouse Library, contact Kris Delaney at 315/470-7380.

School of Nursing Offering One-on-One Counseling to Students

The American College Counseling Association (ACCA) reports that the number of college students seeking mental health counseling is increasing. While there’s active debate about a range of potential reasons for the increase, it’s understood that a student’s ability to succeed academically is related to his or her mental health.

In a 2009 study conducted by the Center for the Study of Collegiate Mental Health, it was found that depression and generalized anxiety to be the most prevalent mental health issues. Further, students who struggled with symptoms of depression and anxiety also tended to report struggling with academics.

With this in mind, the Crouse Hospital School of Nursing is taking a proactive approach to help students succeed. The school recently announced a partnership with HelpPeople, an employee assistance program managed by Crouse Hospital that serves more than 100 organizations in Onondaga, Oneida, Oswego, Cayuga and Madison counties.

Karol Cerimeli, MA, CASAC, employee assistant program counselor at HelpPeople (shown here with School of Nursing Student Life Coordinator Debby Farnsworth, left), will be on site at the school every other Wednesday to assist students during one-on-one appointments with personal problems that may influence their work performance and well-being.

“Nursing students are extremely busy, and may not have time to come and see someone at our regular office,” Cerimeli said. “By providing services on site, we’re trying to make help more accessible and decrease the stigma associated with counseling.”

The new service will be provided to students free of charge, and ensures complete confidentiality. Both the Crouse Hospital School of Nursing and HelpPeople are excited about the benefits this initiative will provide, including a decrease in student anxiety, improvement in student self-esteem, a forum to discuss concerns and, ultimately, helping students graduate on time.

“I volunteered for this role because, for me, education was a means to be someone and something I thought I couldn’t be,” Cerimeli said. “It was a positive force in my life and I want to offer that to students.”

Ann Sedore, director of the Crouse Hospital School of Nursing, hopes students will take advantage of the new service. “We’re providing this counseling opportunity to all our students with their best interests in mind,” she said, “and we hope they’ll see the benefit of talking through their problems with someone who’s trained and has assisted others with similar issues they may be going through.”

Moving Up Ceremony Held Jan. 19

Forty nursing students in the Crouse Hospital School of Nursing were honored by faculty and staff in a Moving Up Ceremony on Jan. 19, 2011, to mark their progression from the first year of nursing school to the second. Ann Sedore, director of the school, delivered an inspirational talk encouraging students to strive to be the best, take pride in accomplishments and never stop learning.

Students were presented with a flower, a scroll containing the words of the Florence Nightingale pledge and their new identification indicating their standing as second year students. Students, faculty and alumni recited the pledge affirming their responsibilities as nurses and dedicating themselves to this honorable profession.

Student speaker Carol Nuzzo, whose son, Richard, graduated from Crouse in 2009, addressed the class, reminiscing about the shared experiences and encouraging all to look to the future. Also in attendance were Joan Greene and Julie Johnson, both alumni of Crouse and strong supporters of the school.

Front row: Katherine Race, Colleen Dailey, Katie Bickford, Tricia Dupre, Catherine Alexander, Jessica Putzer, Danielle Cupernall, Raisa Zhovklaya, Maria Herold,

Alexandra Blanding

2nd row: Sara Watkins, Katelyn Zacholl, Erin Morrissey, Susan Shick, Tara Wing, Emily Young, Kristin Sagneri, Carol Nuzzo, Kelsey Miller, Andrea Claps, Kylie McKee,

Deborah Copes, Alena Presley, Kelly Connolly, Kathleen Holzapfel, Kathleen Smith, Danielle Phelps, Marguerite Valenti

3rd row: Jillian Losty, Laura Merrill, Patricia Smith, Elizabeth Heenan, Peter Keirn, Jessica Hunneyman, Valerie Fields, Cassandra Haight, Jamie Kavanaugh, Margaret Titus

Back row: Aaron Kosinski and Kane Licari