Boise State leads the way in caring for Idaho. From state-of-the-art simulations to curriculum emphasizing essential workplace skills, Bronco Nurses take innovative approaches to education.
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Thanks to School of Nursing Clinical Instructor Christine Larsen, new technology is helping nursing education mirror the workplace.
Electronic medication administration records – or eMARs, as they’re referred to by nurses – are the programs nurses use to chart medications they give to patients. There used to be a wide disconnect between student nurses’ clinical experiences in hospitals – where they use electronic documentation – and the Simulation Center.
With a background in computer programming, Larsen offered to design an eMAR for students to use. She shaped the online program to teach students the essential skills for using nursing technology, helping them develop their physical habits and clinical judgment.
Thanks to the ingenuity of a Bronco Nurse alumni, Misty Robertson, the School of Nursing has increased its clinical offerings through a brand new clinical model.
Robertson is the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Nursing Officer of St. Luke’s Nampa Medical Center and Fruitland Medical Plaza. She knows firsthand that the size of healthcare facilities can limit the number of students able to complete clinicals there.
“Misty worked diligently with Boise State to discuss ways that we could meet our student learning outcomes while considering new clinical placements,” said Shelle Poole, divisional dean of the School of Nursing. “It is leaders like Misty that equip us to continue to meet the growing demand for a highly-educated and a workforce-ready nurse.”
Robertson proposed expanding students into departments that are non-typical placements where they would still effectively learn the essentials of nursing. Turns out, her idea was a win-win.
Boise State’s School of Nursing works hard to cultivate relationships with local healthcare organizations, the future employers of its graduates. So Divisional Dean Shelle Poole established the school’s Strategic Advisory Board comprised of leaders from seven local health systems. They regularly contribute insights and suggestions, impacting the cutting-edge education that prepares Bronco Nurse students to join Idaho’s workforce.
Input from these local nursing employers resulted in: creative clinical models, advanced technology and modern documentation in skills labs and simulations, workplace readiness concepts – like professionalism and clinical judgment – and doctoral-level nurse practitioner education.
U.S. News and World Report recently ranked Boise State’s on-campus bachelor’s of science in nursing program in the nation’s top 100, and the number one in Idaho.
“This ranking reflects both the innovation and expertise of our faculty as well as the outstanding caliber of our students,” said Amy Spurlock, chief nurse administrator and associate divisional dean of the School of Nursing. “The majority of our pre-license graduates choose to practice in Idaho and we remain proud of the impact they make in serving the critical health needs within our state.”
The healthcare simulation community recently recognized the College of Health Sciences’ simulation team as industry trail-blazers. During their latest re-accreditation process, reviewers spoke highly of the Simulation Center and were particularly impressed with their online scholarship dashboard.
Kaylin Holmquist, the School of Nursing’s instructional design analyst, designed and built the acclaimed dashboard. It displays activities such as different types of presentations, peer-reviewed publications and service. Users can filter the dashboard to display data by scholarship type, conferences or individual scholars.
“We really wanted to showcase research in a way that enhances the culture of Boise State as a research institution and the School of Nursing as research-focused,” Holmquist said.