Summer at the School of Nursing and Health Studies launched with an orientation session and closed with an award ceremony that was quite the celebration. And for the months in between, students, faculty, and visitors from near and far kept the SONHS humming during Miami’s hottest months.
In May, 82 new students kicked off their 11-month Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing adventure at the SONHS. The group included the inaugural eight Helene Fuld ABSN Scholars.
Global initiatives were also in full swing. Faculty and students traveled to Guyana, the Dominican Republic, India, and elsewhere in the world. Meanwhile students from Spain’s Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Mexico’s Universidad Autonomia de Campeche, and Chile’s Universidad Andres Bello spent several weeks at the SONHS, doing clinical rotations at UHealth facilities and training at the Simulation Hospital.
The Simulation Hospital was also the site of the annual Inter-professional Patient Safety Course, several days of training for nurse residents from UHealth Tower (formerly University of Miami Hospital), the inaugural workshop in a series known as POCUS (Point of Care Ultrasound Workshop for Advanced Practice Nursing), and a presentation on “Medicare Fraud & Abuse: A National Issue,” with Capt. Jacinto J. Garrido, PhD, DNP, ANP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, and contributors from the FBI and Office of Inspector General-Health and Human Services.
Even the University of Miami Police Department took over the Simulation Hospital’s clinic and Emergency Room spaces, stairways, and ER entrance for its “Active Shooter Tactical Training” exercises.
But perhaps the most energetic Simulation Hospital activity involved a field trip with over 60 high school students from around the nation taking part in the Summer Scholars public health and health promotion classes taught by SONHS faculty Diego Deleon, MD, and Carmen Presti, DNP, RN, ACNP-BC, respectively. “It was ridiculously fun,” said Amanda Allen after touring the facility and even trying her hand at intubating a mannequin. “It gave me an adrenaline rush.”
Special educational opportunities included a; the closing SDS Scholars Leadership Series lecture, which featured former UM President Donna E. Shalala, PhD, discussing “Leadership in Healthcare”; and the inaugural 2018 Summer Training Institute on Health Disparities conducted by the Center for Latino Health Research Opportunities (CLaRO) at the SONHS from July 27 to August 5 to give early-career investigators research experience and skills for developing and submitting competitive NIH R-level grant applications.
A fitting way to close out the summer took place on August 9 with the Master of Science in Nursing Award Ceremony that filled the 700-seat WATSCO Center Fieldhouse to capacity. Associate Dean Johis Ortega, PhD, ARNP, ACNP-BC, ENP-BC, FNP-BC, FAAN, called on the 170 newly minted nurse practitioners to “be leaders.” “Be a voice for the voiceless. Be a beam of light to those who find themselves in darkness,” he said. “As we walk out of these doors today, I no longer consider you my students. It is my privilege to call you colleagues.”
We want to know how you spent your summer! Tweet us at #SONHSSummer or email rmlromero@miami.edu.
