The University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing Kearney
Division and the Tri-County Area Hospital District in Lexington are working
together to provide senior nursing students 10 weeks of valuable nursing
experience this summer.
Sara Chapman-Gomez, a UNMC College of Nursing student and Lexington
resident, and Kristi Melroy, Creighton University student of Holdrege are
participating in the UNMC Summer Nursing Internship program. Traci Deans
of Lexington, a nursing student at BryanLGH also is working at the hospital
this summer.
The May 15-July 18 program gives the students an opportunity to apply
nursing theories and skills, as well as make good decisions. Tri-County
Hospital provides pay and tuition reimbursement for the students.
Becky Kreman, nurse specialist and doctoral student at the UNMC College
of Nursing Kearney Division, said the 256 hours of consistent clinical
experience are important in learning to become a professional nurse. Kreman
is overseeing the program.
The students get one-on-one attention from an experienced nurse
and by the end of the program, the student takes on a full caseload of
patients, said Kreman. They work everyday as if it is a job.
She said the experience improves the students judgment, and confidence
with patients and families.
Chapman-Gomez, a senior UNMC nursing student from Lexington, is working
in obstetrics at the hospital and is enthusiastic about the experience
she is receiving, as well as the hospital staff with whom she works. In
school, the instructors were there to tell us how to do things. In this
setting, we get to use our critical thinking skills. I am caring for my
own patients and have much more responsibility, Chapman Gomez said.
The experience exposes students to a great variety of nursing tasks
and it benefits our recruiting efforts, said Leslie Marsh, director of
nursing at Tri-County Hospital. It also gives the student a look at us
as a potential employer.
The mission of Tri-County Area Hospital District is to support and improve
the health of the community and provide high-quality healthcare services
in a cost-effective manner that recognizes the psychosocial, spiritual,
physical and cultural values of the individual.
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the state.
Through its commitment to research, education, outreach and patient care,
UNMC has established itself as one of the country’s leading centers for
cancer research and treatment, solid organ transplantation and arthritis.
During the past year, nearly $31million in research grants and contracts
were awarded to UNMC scientists, and UNMCs funding from the National Institutes
of Health increased by 28 percent, going from $16.2 million to $20.7 million.
UNMCs educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals
practicing in Nebraska than any other institution.