The Pulse

Liliana Jimenez has volunteered with the Center for Health and Social Issues over the past year. Liliana's contribution to the College of Health Sciences community service outreach spans working with veterans at the Georgia Veterans War Home, providing health screening and tobacco cessation for lung cancer to community clean-up in Harrisburg, Milledgeville.

With over 50 hours of planning and service, Liliana has supported on-campus and off-campus activities.

Through her role as service and outreach chair with the Public Health Student Organization, she was integral in planning events geared at student health promotion, such as Dunk for Diabetes, a Type 1 diabetes awareness event and the CHSI's annual breast cancer walk.

One of her mentors, Dr. Damian Francis, writes, "I have seen firsthand her commitment to service and people. I have come to respect and admire Liliana's journey."

Born to Mexican immigrant parents, Liliana is the first in her family to attend university. This experience has also helped her champion the cause of equity in higher education while at Georgia College.

She found her niche in helping victims of abuse and other children who often witness these crises within the family during her internship with Stepping Stone Child Advocacy and Sexual Assault Center.

Her fluency in Spanish was of tremendous advantage as minority groups are more often affected but have the least access to services due to language barriers. Her performance has led to employment with the Crisis Intervention and Advocacy Group Mosaic Georgia directly from her internship.

Congratulations, Liliana!

Pictured below: Liliana Jimenez

Gracie Lingold is a senior public health major currently interning at Community Health Care Systems. Since beginning the internship in early May, she has had the opportunity to work in many different aspects of public health and try new things to broaden her horizons. She has had the chance to work directly with community stakeholders to help facilitate community events, attend mobile clinics and work with the homeless population to increase healthcare access. She's created and conducted lesson plans to bring nutrition education to rural youth, Needs Assessment and planned a significant event to showcase how to manage Diabetes through Nutrition.

"The knowledge and experiences I have gained thus far will stay with me throughout the rest of my life and help me to be successful in my future endeavors, Lingold said. "I would definitely recommend this internship site to other students!"

Pictured below: Gracie Lingold

Students from the MSAT program attended the Georgia Athletic Trainer’s Association Annual Meeting and Symposium held on June 4 at the Hughston Foundation in Columbus, GA.

Pictured below: Dr. Sarah Myers, Georgia College Program Director, and students.

To help combat the ongoing nursing shortage, the School of Nursing recently welcomed 40 undergraduate students into the inaugural summer BSN cohort. They began classes May 9 and will take four consecutive semesters, culminating with their graduation in July 2023. The White Coat Ceremony, the rite of passage to nursing school, was held Friday, June 3.

Faculty, staff, friends and family celebrated with the School of Nursing graduates, May 6. A total of 123 graduates, comprised of doctoral, masters, and baccalaureate students, were recognized. In addition, six Doctor of Nursing Practice students received their white coats, formally welcoming them to the Translational Clinical Project stage of doctoral education. The Facebook link to watch the celebration is https://fb.watch/doT1ygYgGp/.

SON Award Recipients

Outstanding DNP Students

Julie Clark

Shuvory Green

Outstanding Graduate Students

Family Nurse Practitioner program - Jessica Bermudez

Nurse Educator program - Renita Salter

Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner program - Niki Finnel

Nurse-Midwifery program - Katey Jones

Undergraduate Nursing Student Contribution

Bayleigh Jackson

Outstanding Undergraduate Clinical Student

Rosemary Macuch

Outstanding Nursing Major

Sierra Hill

Georgia College School of Nursing Lamp of Leadership Award

Undergraduate Students – Lily Beranek, Emily Goldsberry, and Jorryn Parkes

Faculty – Dr. Angela Queen

Preceptor – Mr. Bruce Bailey, UrgentMD Washington Georgia

Preceptor – Ms. Jina Lee, Atrium Health Macon, 6 Main

Georgia College Class of 2022 Valedictorians

Phillennia Burchard

Ansley Gregg

Madison Hanes

Sierra Hill

Bayleigh Jackson

Audrey Sprinkle

Amanda Caldwell, MSN, APRN, FNP-C

"Implementing Cards as Tools to Expand End-of-Life Conversations"

Chair: Monica Ketchie, DNP, CNM, ANP

Julie Clark MSN, APRN, FNP-BC

"The Implementation of a Validated CSEC Screening Tool for Youth Aged 11 - 17 in a Pediatric Emergency Room"

Chair: Josie Doss, PhD, RNC-OB, SANE-A

Shannon Daly, RN, MSN, RN

"Implementation and Evaluation of an End-of-Life Standardized Participant Simulation into an Adult/Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program"

Chair: Sterling Roberts, DNP, RN, CHSE

Shuvory Chyann Green, MSN, APRN, FNP-C

"Telehealth Etiquette Education: Preparing Practitioners for Successful Patient Encounters"

Chair: Sallie Coke, PhD, C-PNP, FNP-C, PMHS

Latonya Lowe, MSN, RN

"The Implementation and Evaluation of a Kidney Disease Educational Module for New Nurses during a Nurse Residency Program"

Chair: Deborah MacMillan, PhD, RNC, CNM

Tijuana T. Milton, MSN-Ed, RN

"Implementation of a Decision Tree to Address Moral Distress"

Chair: Flor Culpa- Bondal, PhD, PMHCNS/NP-BC

Emily A. Nobles, MSN, RN, CCRN

"Implementing an Evidence-Based Preceptor Program to Improve the Orientation Process"

Chair: Deborah MacMillan, PhD, RNC, CNM

Charlene Sara Pugh, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, RN-C, CNHP

"Levels of Physical Activity and Perceived Barriers of Severe Mental Illness (SMI)"

Chair: Sallie Coke, PhD, C-PNP, FNP-C, PMHS

Angela Paige Queen, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC

"Increasing Knowledge of Opioid Use Disorder and Medication-Assisted Therapy for Advance Practice Registered Nurses in Georgia"

Chair: Jennifer Goldsberry, DNP, MSN, FNP-BC, APRN, CNE

Sophia Robinson-Harris, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, PMHNP-BC

"The Implementation of the Pause Debrief Process in an Emergency Room"

Chair: Debbie Greene, PhD, RN, CNE

Christopher Rodriguez, MSN, RN, CEN

"Increasing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Cultural Competence Among Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Students: An Educational Simulation Intervention (ESI)"

Chair: Krystal Canady, DNP, MSN, APRN, FNP-C

Jennifer Sheldon MSN, APRN, FNP-C

"A Retrospective Chart Review: Screening Patients with Type 2 Diabetes for Depression"

Chair: Glynnis Haley, DNP, NP-C

Casey Elliott, MSN, APRN, FNP-C

Marcia Henry, MSN, RN

Matthew Jaskowak, MSN Ed., RN, PCCN

Tonya Jewell, MSN, RN

Sharon Lawson-Mathis, MSN, RN

Kathleen (Kat) Tremblay, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC

The white coat ceremony formally welcomes our DNP students who are moving on to the Translational Clinical Project stage of doctoral education. The first white coat ceremony was held in 1993 at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and is now part of many programs that educate health care professionals.

Hippocrates advised health care providers on how they should dress. The white coat, worn by individuals to connote their education and credentials as healers, is a symbol widely recognized by today’s society. The white coat can reassure even the most anxious patients that their complaints and concerns will be dealt with competently and seriously.

As the student is coated, the faculty member shakes the coat symbolizing the academic preparation of the student and then places the coat on the student symbolizing the education received during the previous year.

The Fellowship in the American College of Nurse-Midwives (FACNM) is an honor bestowed upon midwives who have demonstrated leadership within ACNM, clinical excellence, outstanding scholarship, and professional achievement. They have merited special recognition both within and outside of the midwifery profession. FACNM represents the commitment of the ACNM to honor its own. Dr. Monica Ketchie, Associate Professor in the School of Nursing, was elected as a Fellow of the ACNM and was recognized at the Annual ACNM conference in Chicago on May 22, 2022.

Pictured below: Dr. Monica Ketchie

Our Georgia College nurse-midwifery student, Cherisse Howell, was awarded the Midwives of Color-Watson Midwifery Student Scholarship from the American College of Nurse-Midwives Foundation. This is awarded to student midwives of color for the purpose of enhancing student success, thereby increasing the number of midwives of color in the profession of midwifery. She is presently in her third semester of the MSN nurse-midwifery program.

Congratulations Cherisse!

For many, college is about change. Students grow in more ways than one. Class of 2022 graduate Rosemary Macuch epitomizes that.

She came to Georgia College with no clear plan or career path. Yet taking one course completely changed her trajectory.

"What influenced me most was my anatomy class with Dr. Kwan Christenson," Macuch said. "All of my friends told me not to take that class because it's really, hard, but I just loved it."

Until then, Macuch says she'd never studied anything that could keep her interested, but she became fascinated with the human body and how it works. That fascination led her to nursing.

"It's definitely changed my life," she said. "I've never been a part of a program that has taken such wonderful care of its students and been so involved with our success."

As a member of Georgia College's nationally recognized nursing program, Macuch flourished.

For more on Rosemary, see the Front Page article here.

Pictured below: Rosemary Macuch

Our clinical faculty play a vital role in preparing our BSN students to become a competent nurse in the clinical setting. We are always looking to add to our part-time clinical faculty in the School of Nursing and all experience areas, as well as education levels, are welcome! If you are interested in serving as a part-time clinical faculty member, please contact Dr. Talecia Warren at talecia.warren@gcsu.edu for more information.

Beth Mann is from Fort Valley, Georgia and began her healthcare journey as a patient care assistant at Peach County Hospital in 1984. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Georgia Southwestern University in 1988 and immediately started her nursing career as a staff nurse in the Coronary Care Unit at Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center, formerly The Medical Center of Central Georgia. Beth accepted her first leadership position in 1991 as an Assistant Director of the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU).

She obtained her Master of Science in Nursing at Georgia College in 1995. Beth has served as Director and Assistant Vice President for various cardiovascular, med/surg, orthopedic and ICU areas. She was promoted to Vice President of Cardiovascular Services and Nursing Strategy in 2017. In 2019, Beth accepted the role of Associate Chief Nurse Officer. She achieved Nurse Executive Advanced Board Certification in October 2020.

Beth has also worked with the cardiovascular services team to implement multiple new programs, grow volumes, and achieve the triple crown in Cardiovascular Accreditation. Most recently, her focus has been on COVID management, Magnet re-designation, nursing quality indicators, patient experience and preparation for EPIC (Nursing Champion).

Beth is married to Bill Mann and together they have 8 children, 4 grandchildren, 1 dog, 1 cat and 13 grand-dogs/cats. The Manns reside in Byron, Georgia and are members of Southside Baptist Church in Warner Robins, Georgia. They are involved in a Life Group and work as leaders in Children’s Ministries (Awana) at Southside. They also volunteer at various organizations throughout the year. Beth and Bill are huge Auburn Tiger football fans. The Manns enjoy spending time with family, doing anything outdoors, and taking trips to the beach or mountains.

“I am thrilled to join the College of Health Sciences Leadership Board where I can re-engage with my alma mater,” Mann said. She joined the Board in May 2022.

Pictured below: Beth Mann

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Our next edition will be released in August. Have a great summer!

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