An innovative class assignment shows the strength of alumni-student relationships.
Business owner. Military commander. Hospital CEO.
Thanks to an innovative class assignment, University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students have been learning about the wide variety of career paths in the nursing profession, through the experiences of more than 200 UMSON alumni.
Since last fall, BSN students enrolled in the first-semester NURS 342: Professionalism in Practice 1 course in Baltimore and at the Universities at Shady Grove have participated in an assignment for which they interview an alumnus about different aspects of their nursing career and professional trajectory, then write a paper reflecting on their interaction. The course focuses on nursing education, nursing history, communication skills, career options, and building resilience.
“While you may no longer be in practice or at the bedside, your perspective on nursing will provide a valuable insight for the first-semester students,” Cynthia Sikorski, BA, executive director of alumni relations, wrote in an email to alumni to solicit volunteer interview subjects for what is considered the course’s signature assignment.
UMSON alumni answered the call, including Susan Labhard, MSN, BSN ’82, RN, who retired in 2021 after working 34 years in various nursing roles for Shriners Children’s Portland in Oregon. She also has served as a commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve Nurse Corp in New York, Montana, Oregon, California, and Washington.
Labhard was paired with Amanda Catipon, one of 210 BSN students who completed the interview assignment last fall. Another 185 students participated in the spring 2023 semester.
Catipon’s interview with Labhard took place via Zoom web conferencing over four and a half hours. They talked about their different experiences as nursing students of two generations, changes in technology, Labhard’s career path, and Catipon’s goal of specializing in pediatric oncology. Catipon learned that Labhard and her classmates wrote their papers on typewriters and photocopied articles and books in the library and that setting artificial deadlines is the key to getting things done.
While Catipon’s mother is a nurse, she went to nursing school in her native Philippines.
“She did not study in the United States, so she didn’t really have a perspective on that, on what my schooling is like,” Catipon says. “So, it was nice to hear another adult’s perspective and to hear about their nursing career.”
Catipon says she now considers Labhard to be a lifelong mentor. The two have continued to stay in touch.
“I’ll never forget anything that she told me because she was the main person that I had in nursing school who pushed me to try to get every opportunity that I could,” Catipon says. “I look at her now as a role model.”
Labhard advised Catipon about the importance of networking and making connections throughout her education, Catipon says. Based on the alumna’s advice, Catipon requested and received extra shadow hours in pediatric oncology at John’s Hopkins Hospital and was accepted into the hospital’s clinical externship program.
“If it wasn’t for her telling me about the externship, honestly I would not have known about it,” Catipon explains.
Now in her third semester, Catipon works as a patient care technician at the University of Maryland Medical Center in addition to serving as a clinical nurse extern in the oncology center at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Labhard found the interview assignment equally rewarding.
“If I can do anything to encourage the next generation of nurses, I’m happy to do it,” she says. “I wanted Amanda to know it’s OK if you are not happy where you wind up as a nurse initially. There are so many options one can take.” Labhard explains that she first thought she would work in acute care but then fell in love with the field of rehabilitation for children with disabilities. During her career in the Navy Reserves Nurse Corp, she traveled the world, serving on aircraft carriers and submarines.
“I felt like we connected,” Labhard says. “I think students can learn from our successes and what didn’t go well.”
BSN student Haley Smith was paired with Barbara Schuman, MSN, BSN ’78, RN, CCM. During their phone interview, Smith learned about Schuman’s career, which has included roles in medical surgical and intensive care, education, geriatrics, management, independent consulting, adult day care, research, and case management. She now works as a utilization nurse in the care management department at Ascension St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore.
“I got to have a personal conversation with someone who can really relate to me,” Smith says. “She explained she was in my shoes once and gave me advice and encouragement to keep going.”
Smith says that when hearing about Schuman’s 44-year nursing career, she was surprised to learn just how flexible the profession can be.
“I also found it interesting that although she did well in school, she didn’t necessarily enjoy it,” Smith says. “However, she really enjoys being a nurse. This is really encouraging for those having a rough time in school, as they can still be hopeful and excited for the future.”
The assignment is an important one, Schuman says, noting she will participate again in the future.
“It allows students to see a different perspective about nursing, both where it’s been and where it’s going,” says Schuman, who lives in Linthicum, Maryland. “And it allows students and alumni to learn from each other.”
Dawn Mueller-Burke, PhD ’01, MS ’98, CRNP, NNP-BC, assistant professor, serves as UMSON’s lead on curriculum revisions for the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s Essentials, an updated framework for nursing education using a competency-based approach. She says the assignment fits in well with the goals of the Essentials.
“The AACN Essentials challenges schools of nursing to shift to a new model of nursing education, that of a competency-based approach,” she says. “Linking arms with our esteemed alumni offers invaluable insight into the breadth of nursing opportunities and challenges and can inform curricular revisions for a more practice-ready graduate.”
Linda Cook, PhD ’05, MS ’97, RN, CNS, ACNP, assistant professor, who teaches the course in Baltimore, says the response from students has been positive.
“We have found through this assignment that students gain an appreciation of nursing,” she says. “I’ve had several students say to me they were surprised at all the different career paths of our alumni community. And it provides students with an opportunity to learn about the history of nursing from people who have lived it.”
THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN THE FALL 2023 ISSUE OF NURSING FOR/UM MAGAZINE.