Hello friends!

I wanted to do something from the Sunshine Club to celebrate all of our hard work, so this is what I came up with. I will Blog about this before the end of the week to share with the world.

Many of us are still in acute care or practicing at the bedside, clinic or something and others are not. I want to celebrate that we all have purpose in nursing and have risen to the challenge and what we are doing in not only important, but imperative to make the best graduate nurses in order to care for our communities!

Communicate Clearly– We have had close to 30 hours of Zoom Meetings, we have emailed, instant messaged, face-timed and even used the phone to make plans for our students success.

Act Responsibly– many worked over Spring Break to start making preparations because we knew it was the thing to do. Many are working early mornings, late evenings and weekends.

Work Productively– so many are juggling your home/family life with working from home, home schooling children and still managing to get “the bacon fried up”

Think Critically and Creatively– OH BOY!!!

Adapt to Change- We have learned Zoom, STUDIO, i-Human and beyond!
Demonstrate Integrity- We have worked hard to keep MPTC’s Nursing Program rigorous while taking in consideration our students changing landscape.

Work Cooperatively– well, we always do.

Here is a semi-accurate accounting of all of things we have done inside of a 10 working day period, seriously, we all know it was more but who needs a medal? We are nurses, we do what we do, we dig in, we still cry, yell and wonder why but yet everyday we come back to whatever form of nursing we do. We are cut from a different cloth- not silk, more like burlap- resilient and lasting.
What an unfortunate way to look back at the “Year of the Nurse” but Florence would be so proud of our work. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do, “We got this”.

Associate Degree of Nursing Accomplishments

Unfolding Case Studies- 25

Rubrics- 49

Quiz Questions- 130

Presentations- 3

Patient Scenarios for CCM’s, DCT’s- 46

Discussions- 19

Small Papers- 8

Power Points- 6 weeks of Studio Power points X 5 Theory Classes X 3 sections= roughly 60 X 1,000,000​!

Sunshine Club Love to All!!!! Thank you for being our TEAM

To date, over 600 class sections have moved from a face to face format to online. This means that there has been a lot of adapting and change by students and instructors.

Danielle Cook, surgical technology instructor, is embracing this ‘new normal’ and has been looking for innovative ways to stay connected with her students. She shared with us how she is finding success during these challenging times.

“When COVID-19 hit the US, we had team meetings to discuss how we could move to the digital format if the virus spread to Wisconsin. Less than 2 weeks later, we had to put those plans into place. Here is a glimpse into how the Surgical Technology program is enabling learning from home.

Second-year students were fortunate enough to have met the clinical case requirements set by our Accreditation body, thanks to our strong community partners who work with our students in clinical. Due to this, we can do simulation for their last rotation. Here is where the free mobile app Touch Surgery comes in. Touch Surgery has almost 170 free surgical cases on it and you first “learn” the procedure by going through the steps and virtually completing the surgery. After each section, you test your skills with a short quiz. The students are assigned various cases to be completed and tested on in Touch Surgery and they upload their test results into Canvas. The students are also completed Surgical Case Study Reports and we have a weekly Zoom virtual class and discuss the reports and other things as they arise. While they all miss the operating room, they are happy to be able to still practice virtually, and look forward to being in the workforce in May!

First-year students have one course that was already on-line and two that were blended. We have Zoom virtual classes twice a week to go over their assignments, worksheets, study guides, etc. I have also created short videos of how to use practice passing instruments, utilizing everyday stuff you can find at home. This course is trickier because we will need to be back in the lab to complete the work, but these students continue to review old skill videos and are excited to get back to class.

The Zoom virtual class is what I believe is keeping us all together as a program. Seeing and hearing each other at least once a week keeps that connection, and I bring encouragement to those who are feeling down and unsure right now. I have an awesome group of 20 students. They have been patient and understanding as we navigate this pandemic. Being prepared ahead of time and having the support that the College has provided has helped to make the transition to the digital world much easier. I am very thankful for everyone at the College who has supported the faculty and staff, and most importantly, our students. “

A sincere thank you to all of the Moraine Park instructors, and students for their patience as we move through these times together.

For more information on Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu.

As we see so often during difficult times, people always find ways to keep a light shining by helping others.

Such is the case at Moraine Park Technical College. With the coronavirus continuing its grip on local communities, our nation and the world, the College is doing what they can to help.

Nearly 37,000 healthcare and safety-related supplies, including N-95 masks; disposable gloves and gowns; surgical gowns, hats and shoe covers; face shields and more, were collected from each of the College’s campuses – Beaver Dam, Fond du Lac and West Bend – and have been donated to local healthcare facilities in those communities including Marshfield Medical Center (formerly Beaver Dam Community Hospital), Froedtert and SSM/St. Agnes.

The healthcare supplies came from several of the College’s more than 60-plus programs, including:  Associate Degree Nursing, Nursing Assistant, Respiratory Therapy, Surgical Technologist, EMS and Cosmetology.

The College is also loaning respirators SSM/St. Agnes according to Barb Jascor, Moraine Park’s dean of health and human services.

“In addition to the need for healthcare and safety supplies, we were also seeing an ever-increasing need for ventilators,” said Jascor. “We wanted to do what we could to help and it made sense to loan our ventilators in advance, as a precautionary measure, should the local need for ventilators surpass current capacity of our community health care partners.”

For COVID-19 updates at Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu/coronavirus.

Moraine Park recently received a donated C-arm from Sharp Medical Inc. that will be used by both the Surgical Technician and Radiography programs. A C-arm is a mobile medical imaging device used in surgery to capture live images during various surgical procedures and must be properly draped to avoid contamination of the sterile field.

According to Dani Cook, surgical tech instructor, the idea started at an advisory meeting when a member inquired if the students had the opportunity to learn how to drape a C-arm before starting their clinical. Kelly Shafaie, associate dean of nursing, reached out to the radiography program to see if one could be purchased and used cross-functionally.

While researching vendors of C-arms, contact was made with Kevin Noone, president of Sharp Medical , who made a unique offer to help both organizations. They were willing to donate a used C-arm to MPTC, in exchange for recognition in helping an educational institution that introduces so many students to our industry.

The C-arm has arrived and will be now be used by our Surg Tech students to give them the experience of properly draping the equipment in a less stressful environment. The Radiography students will then take over and learn how to maneuver the C-arm into position without contaminating the sterile field. Radiography instructors, Nichol Supri and Todd Bartelt, both feel this type of training will tremendously increase the student’s skills when working alongside other healthcare members in a surgical setting.

morainepark.edu/programs

Juggling the responsibilities of life is tough, but Faith Rockwell of St. Cloud is tougher. She came to Moraine Park in 2019 with a mountain of daily responsibilities, a goal to provide a stable life, and a sweet young daughter who relied on her to accomplish both.

“I graduated high school in 2014 and got married shortly after,” Faith said. “My original plan was to go to college, but when I became pregnant in 2016, that shifted my plans.”

Faith became a single mother when her daughter was just six months old and was left to take care of all the parenting and financial responsibilities.

“Suddenly my life changed from being a stay at home mom to having to struggle to pay bills and provide for my daughter,” she said. “There were times we went hungry. I knew I had to find a stable career to get us into a better situation. That’s when I found Moraine Park.”

Faith chose the respiratory therapy program, a career path that offers job security and an opportunity to serve in a fast-paced health care environment.

“Moraine Park has been amazing,” Faith said. “My teachers have helped me so much by providing me with many resources to help me be successful in my program.”

She has utilized many resources that often are forgotten, like disability services, counseling, and the student emergency fund.

“Being a single mom is terrifying,” Faith said. “It feels like you can never get ahead or enough. I struggled for a long time, and finally, I decided to apply to Moraine Park. Since coming here I’ve had more support and help than ever before. It is possible to redefine your life.”

Faith is scheduled to graduate in May 2021 and has goals to specialize in the NICU and help premature babies with their breathing function.

“Achieving my educational goals gives me hope for my future.”

morainepark.edu/ican

Moraine Park Technical College is committed to community engagement and student success.  The College supports these commitments through the opportunity for students to participate in student community impact and apply their classroom knowledge to an applicable, real world environment. 

In 2018, MPTC started a community impact awards program where students can track their service hours, submit their reflections, and earn a Bronze Award for 25 hours, Silver Award for 50 hours, Gold Award for 100 hours, or Presidents Award for 200 hours of service learning or volunteering.

As of January, 2020, we have our very first President’s Award Winner – Renee Vnuk-Uhrman! Renee earned the President’s Award with over 220 volunteer hours to date!

Renee is a second year medical laboratory technician student, who took advantage of dual credit opportunities in high school and became a certified phlebotomist after graduating. She is also part of the College’s Promise Scholars program, our current MPTC Newman Civic Fellow, the Secretary for the MLT Student Club, and volunteers at her local community hospital as well as Campbellsport High School as a bowling and band coach; all while maintaining high academics.

“We are so proud of Renee,” Moraine Park President Bonnie Baerwald said. “She is a great role model and student leader, with such a strong dedication to her family, school, and community, and a true desire to make an impact. It was extra fun to present her with our first President’s Student Community Impact Award, which includes lunch with the President! We are all excited to see what comes next for Renee!”

Nursing students in Instructor Michele Mengert’s Mental Health and Community Concepts course recently completed their community advocacy projects as part of our Fall, 2019 service learning opportunities. Michele said, “students are purposefully working to learn community oriented nursing. We want to target prevention as a priority. Nurses need to understand how to advocate for specific populations of people and have knowledge of the resource programs in your community that you can partner with to help your patients.”

This semester 20 students spent over 100 hours researching and collaborating with community partners to learn more about parenting, fostering, opioid addiction, poverty, developmental disabilities, domestic violence, sexual assault, and more. Students formulated detailed advocacy plans to address how a nurse could help a community identify and address these issues, providing education, awareness, advocacy and resources. Students gathered data to help determine strengths and weaknesses in their own communities. Project presentations were held on December 20.

Congratulations on all of this great work on important community issues!

Moraine Park Technical College is committed to community engagement and student success.  The College supports these commitments through the opportunity for students to participate in student community impact and apply their classroom knowledge to an applicable, real world environment. 

In 2018, MPTC started a community impact awards program where students can track their service hours, submit their reflections, and earn a Bronze Award for 25 hours, Silver Award for 50 hours, Gold Award for 100 hours, or Presidents Award for 200 hours of service learning or volunteering. In the 2019 fall semester, 17 students earned awards and logged over 800 hours of service!

Congratulations to the fall 2019 award winners!

Bronze Award Winners

Completing 25-49 hours of service learning.

• Brielle Aylesworth, Medical Assistant
• Merinda Chamberlin, Medical Assistant
• Kylie Cody, Medical Assistant
• Ashley Despres, Medical Assistant
• Stephanie Dobek, Medical Assistant
• Brittany Enderle, Medical Office
• Erika Kaatz, Medical Assistant
• Amy Kaminski, Medical Assistant
• Sarah Lemmenes, Medical Assistant
• Heather Pieper, Medical Assistant
• Rhonda Roehl, Medical Assistant
• Olivia Sharp, Medical Assistant
• Kayla Wagner, Medical Assistant
• Rebecca Wenninger, Medical Assistant
• Haley Ilkenhans, Medical Assistant
• Tania Torres, Graphic Communications
• Meghan Griswold, Marketing and Social Media     

Moraine Park Technical College’s nursing program earned an eight-year accreditation status, the maximum time frame that can be granted.

The Accrediting Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) completed an on-site visit in February of 2019, and the College was notified of their award on October 15, 2019.

To earn this accreditation, Moraine Park had to meet the standards set by the ACEN and demonstrate compliance by having policies that support the College and mission, students, faculty, curriculum, resources, and outcomes.

“We are extremely proud that Moraine Park’s nursing program has achieved the highest level of accreditation possible,” Kelly Shafaie, associate dean of nursing at Moraine Park, said. “Earning this accreditation means our students are receiving an exceptional education in nursing. We are grateful for our communities and their continued support that promotes the success of our program.”

In 2018, Moraine Park’s nursing program pass rates were an impressive 99 percent, and currently, the program ranks in the top 10 for nursing programs in Wisconsin. For more information on Moraine Park’s nursing program, visit morainepark.edu/nursing