Committee Meetings and Minutes

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Nursing Advisory Committee

Meeting Minutes

Current Status of Minutes: Final
Date	March 2, 2012
Time	8:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Location	Eastview Campus-Room 8356

Members Present
Gail Acuna, Patti Ellisor, Vidette J. Forebes, Sally Foster, Elizabeth Huss, Eileen Klein, Sandra McCrary-Marshall, Gail Roberts, Jessica Ruiz, Yvonne VanDyke, Nancy Walters, Teresa Zercher
Guests Present
No guest attendance has been recorded.

Item # 1:	Approval of Agenda
Presenter	Nancy Walters
Discussion	N. Walters motioned for approval of the agenda, seconded by S. Foster

Item # 2:	Approval of Minutes
Presenter	Nancy Walters
Discussion	N. Walters motioned for approval of the minutes as presented, seconded by G. Acuna. The minutes were approved by general consent of the committee, with no correction required.

Item # 3:	Introductions
Presenter	Y. VanDyke
Discussion	Ms. VanDyke requested the each member give a brief introduction of themselves and the facility they represent.

Item # 4:	Clinical Facilities Updates
Presenter	All Members
Discussion	Seton –Y. Vandyke reported that Seton is currently building a new tower at Dell Children's Medical Center to allow for the care of an increasing number ill children. Next year, Seton will open a facility near Harker Heights, TX in Killeen. Seton is working to advance the education make-up of their currently employed ADN nurses to BSN's. Seton continues to work and plan for Joint Commission, several of our facilities will be evaluated over the coming year. The focus at Seton is on relationship based care. Seton will be moving to all SMART pumps in the near future, along with electronic healthcare records. There is an open invitation for instructors to come to orientation regarding the pumps, medical records etc. S. Foster reported that many APN online programs have contacted both systems for preceptorships with doctors and nurses. But currently, they are only able to accommodate the schools in the Austin area. St. David's-Gail Acuna reported that St. David's is focused on Service Excellence and core measures. They will be setting up in-services for instructors in the near future. St. David's will also be reviewing SCAN rates. South Austin is growing and has several new units that will open up additional clinical rotations opportunities. All new instructors are welcome to come to a St. David's orientations to get familiar with the pumps etc. St. David's will also be starting a new system for identifying patients in a deteriorating state and starting intervention techniques prior to an emergent event. St. David's Round Rock Medical Center just completed the commission of cancer survey, which was passed with flying colors. Joint Commission survey was last summer and Round Rock had no identified deficiencies during the visit. During Sept./October we also had a Stoke survey conducted, Round Rock is officially a Level 2 Trama Center. Currently RRMC is in a HYBRID state of electronic medical records. St. David's Main has construction taking place that should to completed in the new future. All students are to be parking in Garage 2 only. St. David's is about to start a mock joint commission in preparing for an expected visit by joint commission in the near future. Central Texas Medical Center- No representation in attendance. Scott and White Healthcare – No representation in attendance. Long Term Care- Jessica Ruiz reported that Westminister Manor currently has a new building under construction that will be up and running in late March or early April. A need for increased staff is imperative; we have hired several LVN's in the recent future. These new hires have come to our agency with lots of experience and wonderful documentation skills. Electronic record keeping is coming soon, we have started with our supplies. We have been very pleased to have the students in our facilities and have been very impressed with the knowledge base of the students and faculty from ACC. Vidette Forebes from Reliant Healthcare reported that they are very excited about their new building that will be opening in April with an additional 50 beds. The new location is in South Austin off of Ben White Boulevard. ACC-EVC Nursing Skills Lab-Heather Geracie reported that the lab staff is looking at changing to SMART pumps. Pat suggested that it might be a great idea for Heather and Stacy to attend an orientation for St. David's and Seton to see how much agency work with the pump and then bring that training back to the ACC Nursing Skills labs. Austin State Hospital- No representation in attendance. Shoal Creek- No representation in attendance. Community-No representation in attendance.

Item # 5:	Vocational Nursing Update
Presenter	Sandra McCrary-Marshall
Discussion	B. Vocational Nursing Program Enrollment Data COHORT Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Total By Campus EVC 38 38 0 29 105 FBG 0 0 0 16 16 Total 38 38 0 45 121 Graduates: Spring 2011=24 Fall 2011=42 Spring 2012=38 PN NLCEX Pass Rates: Final Report 2011 (January 2011-December 2011) 96.15 Oath Ceremony- The program continues to conduct an Oath Ceremony during the first semester of the program. Its purpose serves as a time for the student to self-reflect on the obligation and commitment to the nursing profession. One students commented, "Thank you so much for putting the oath ceremony together for us. It was exciting yet solemn. For me, it helped to realize this isn't "just another class"! The oath and signing reminded me of the seriousness of our calling; the duty we have to all of our patients." Curriculum Updates- * Feedback on the student evaluation of clinical sites continues to be positive * Expanding non acute care sites: Austin State Supported Living Center, clinics, doctor's offices, schools, corrections facilities, and rehabilitation units. * The program began offering HYBRID courses in spring 2010. All level 1 courses has sections offered in a hybrid/online format. Data collected has indicated equal to and sometimes greater success of hybrid sections in course passing scores. All course throughout the program have been formatting content online. The program has received positive feedback from students. * Due to the decrease availability of acute care clinical sites, the program continues to implement simulation within the curriculum. Areas of content include Medical-Surgical nursing, Pediatrics and Obstetrics. Feedback from students reflects a knowledgeable and positive learning experience. Vidette Forbes from Reliant reminded the committee of the importance for the LVN's they hire in the rehab facilities to have acute care experience. Our nurses manage 8-10 rehab patients per shift. Every nurse regardless of where their point of entry deserves to a good foundation of education. Jessica Ruiz interjected that their new hires have a 21 day training process in which they are paired with another long term employee nurse. Rehab is seeing an increased acuity of patients in which the LVN must manage their care. * The program is exploring articulations with higher level institutions for student who wish to advance their nursing career/education. An article in Nurse Together states " LPN's have a wonderful base knowledge upon which RN education can be added." Y. VanDyke added that she appreciated the VNG program for moving forward with technology and the importance of a advanced computer skills in all healthcare settings.

Item # 6:	Associate Degree Nursing Update
Presenter	Nancy Walters
Discussion	Program Data Enrollment: Semester Nursing Qualified Applicants Number Offered Adm. Fall 2011 445 150 Spring 2012 462 120 Fall 2012 >350 closes March 30 Anticipate 170-200 Mobility Track April 1-June 1 40 Current by Level: Level 1 Level II Level III Level IV Mobility 116 113 125 146 27 Current by Campus: Eastview CEC RRC Fredericksburg 147 133 132/110=242 5 Graduates: Spring 2011 Summer 2011 Fall 2011 Spring 2012 98 31 119 Anticipate 146 RN NLCEX Pass Rates: ACC-ADN Texas US 98.01% 87.04% 87.81% Curriculum- Currently Updating Curriculum to incorporate the Differentiated Essential Competencies (TBON) and the changes in the WECM (Workforce Educational Course Manual) Transition from RNSG 1260 to 1360 is complete. All students in Level II have a full semester of Medical-Surgical clinical experience. Mental Health transitioned to Level III to be completed in Fall 2012. Faculty Updates- The ADN program has had several faculty changes over the last year due to several factors. Spring 2011 3 Retirements Fall 2011 2 Retirements 1 Resignation due to family relocation Spring 2012 Anticipate 1 due to relocation Fall 2012 Anticipate 2 retirements Simulation Coordinator-search in progress Round Rock Update- All ADN-Nursing levels are now running a full cohort at the Round Rock campus. Our first group will graduate this May Grant Project-Nan reported that she is working with a committee (Perkins Leadership Grant) that consists of 8 Community Colleges with ADN Programs, and 4 Universities with RN-BSN programs, that is working to develop a 1 + 2 + 1 program for BSN. The group has agreed that the ADN degree would be only 60 credits with general education. The committee reps are currently speaking with the registrars and the financial aid departments of their colleges. Nan said that she would be happy to send out the informational power points to the agencies explaining the process. Discussion: Sally Foster asked that the programs give them a % of simulation in each course that is replacing actual clinical experiences. Y. VanDyke interjected that more and more patient care is taking place outside of the hospitals. It would be a good idea for the schools to start expanding the options of nursing care experience in the future. G. Acuna reported that the way we see nursing today will not be the same in ten years. We have an aging population of people living beyond age expectancy with injuries being overcome that they have never been able to overcome before. Patty Ellisor asked Nan and Sandra about graduate job placements. Sandra reported that all of her students are finding jobs, usually at Rehab facilities, clinics, are home health. Nan reported that most of the ADN graduates are finding job but not necessary in a critical care area. It is also taking them longer to find a jobs. G. Acuna reported that St. David's is still hiring ACC-ADN graduate nurses despite rumors to the contrary. Seton is also still hiring ADN prepared students as nurses in their hospitals with the expectations that they will continue their education to obtain a BSN. Jessica Ruiz asked ACC what they are teaching their students regarding options of working outside the hospitals. Sandra reported that more of our graduates are going outside the Austin area to work after graduation to obtain critical care experience.

Item # 7:	Health Professions/CE Update
Presenter	Elizabeth Huss
Discussion	Health Professions Institute/Continuing Education Re-entry Nursing: A definition of Re-Entry nurses is a nurse that has been out of practice for four years. The numbers of enrollment in this course is holding strong, due to virtual college. We have taken the Pharmacology book away; we are training them to use their computer to research their medications. LVN Refresher: The numbers of enrollment in this course are holding steady with 7-8 students per course. Advance IV Therapy: The numbers in this course of down. CE/Grant has been extended: Healthcare Information Technology-our plan is to work with the HITTA program within the Health Science program. Please send your employees to this program while the cost is being subsidized by a federal grant. This is a great way to have your employee's trained in electronic medical records at a reduced price. Additional Information: Nella Godfrey did come and do the conference on professionalism but it didn't get the positive turnout we were expecting. E. Huss asked the committee what kind of conference would be useful for your staff. Elizabeth will be sending out a survey soon to access your thoughts. CE was unable to offer and advance skills seminar due to the lack of a place and or simulation coordinator to offer the course. P. Recek asked if our new graduates would be eligible to take this program. Pam Stone asked to let her come and speak with your graduating student and or the employee's within the hospital systems.

Item # 8:	New Business
Presenter	Yvonne VanDyke
Discussion	ACC was ask to remind their faculty and students that appropriate physician orders should not be followed by nurses or student nurses. ie., it is outside the scope of practice for a nurse to decide whether to give one or two tablets to the patients. Student Evaluations- Y. VanDyke asked if she could obtain a copy of the clinical site evaluation data in hopes of improving the student's experiences in their facilities.

Item # 9:	Announcements
Presenter	All Members
Discussion	* E. Klein reported that all students under the age of 30 that is a new student to the college must have proof of their meningitis vaccination. * Pharm Tech program has been approved as a national provider for continuing education for Pharmacist and Pharm Tech. IV certification, etc. * Thanks to the hospital partner for their support of a grant, this grant is to review the success of ESL students. * The college will be going through SAC survey in the Fall and all faculty credentials and licensure have been review and updated. * A new immerging trend is for Community College to have a service area that is outlined by the legislative body of the state government. * The federal funding for certificate programs was changed this last summer and some of our stackable certificate programs can no longer be funded by PAEL grants. Gail Acuna took off her St. David's hat to invite the two new agencies to become part of the TNA and invited them to the yearly gala. Y. VanDyke interjected that the TNA is an important organization for faculty and student graduates; it is the voice for nurses within the legislator.

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Austin, Texas 78752-4390
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