(Summer 2021 Purple & White Article)
In the Spirit of Florence Nightingale
2021 marks the 50th anniversary of Nursing at Iowa Wesleyan University. On January 27, 1971, Iowa Wesleyan announced the introduction of the Nursing program after receiving accreditation from the Iowa Board of Nursing. Iowa Wesleyan was seeking to fill a local need after the closure of the nursing program in Burlington created a vacancy for nursing programs in the Southeast Iowa region. IW became the smallest of five colleges in the State of Iowa to teach at the time and the only institution in Southeast Iowa to host a nursing program.
The first 18 nursing students gathered in the IW chapel on March 3, 1973, to celebrate the first annual capping ceremony, which would later become the White Coat Ceremony. This ceremony celebrates new sophomores beginning their clinical rotations. Since that first class, the nursing division has become a staple program at IW and within the Southeast Iowa region.
This Light Won’t Go Out
In celebration of this milestone achievement, Lisa Kongable ’86, the Division of Nursing Associate Chair and Associate Professor of Nursing, stated, “I think it shows the commitment [Iowa Wesleyan has] to nursing and to healthcare, and our resiliency too. The fact that IW and the nursing program has been able to keep up with the changes is incredible.” IW consistently examines the technological advancements in the healthcare fields and seeks to update tools used in the classroom for teaching the new generations of nurses. Students also get to learn from nurses currently in practice. Professor Kongable continues to work as a Nurse Practitioner for the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics in addition to teaching at IW.
In addition to the continual changes adapted from real-world shifts in healthcare practices, IW has updated the nursing program to better meet the needs of students. While IW initially started with only a prelicensure Bachelor’s program, the curriculum has expanded to include an LPN to RN as well as an RN to BSN program. This allows IW to cater to a greater number of current and future nurses.
Caring in Action
Over the years, many nursing alumni have invited and encouraged their children to also attend IW for nursing. Terri Morris ’85 and her daughter, Victoria Morris ’20, are one such legacy duo. Terri recalled her time at IW fondly and indicated pride and joy in her daughter for following in the same footsteps. “I really felt like Iowa Wesleyan put nurses out that were confident in what they knew . . . I have just always been a strong advocate for Iowa Wesleyan.” Victoria indicated her belief that the IW nursing program has survived 50 years because it has “adjusted as needed, but the core of the program has stayed the same.” Despite the constantly changing environment of the healthcare profession, IW maintains the same principle foundations. Victoria notes that “the foundation [of the nursing program at IW] is based on critical thinking, if you have the basics of that figured out, you can apply it to any situation . . . I haven’t seen a nursing program with such a strong base in critical thinking, and that is priceless.”
Terri added that “Iowa Wesleyan had students prepared to be able to take the boards, to be in the workforce and just see where ‘I remember doing that in clinical,’ or being in a leadership role and having those applications that were taught. I don’t think I realized how wellrounded and the depth of that program until I was out in the workforce.” The mother-daughter duo also indicated that they enjoyed the opportunity to receive three years of hands-on clinical experience, Terri noted, “I have always felt that that clinical experience is what really pulls all that didactic experience in the classroom and the lab together and puts it to a practical application.”
IW students receive upwards of 500 clinical hours in a variety of care-focused settings by the time they graduate, including work in emergency rooms, mental health sites, prisons, and intensive care units. Professor Kongable notes that students experience a “full tour” of nursing “not only due to the healthcare setting type, but also the specialty type.”
IW nursing students also actively engage with the campus and local community through food and blood drives, and extracurricular engagement. Many students in the nursing program are also involved in athletics or choir, allowing them to connect with students across the University. Lida Landre ’20 notes, “I was blessed to have been able to go through nursing school as well as be a dual-sport athlete at Iowa Wesleyan, playing volleyball and competing in track. My coaches and my nursing professors were very understandable and helped me work through my crazy schedule. I couldn’t have asked for anything more from my nursing professors or athletic coaches during my time at Iowa Wesleyan.”
Mary Tobin ’86 added that the nursing professors “set us up with any kind of help we needed” to succeed in nursing. Tobin recalled a specific instance of sleeping through a final exam, to be woken up by her professor Erliene Clayton calling; Tobin mentioned that she rushed across campus to the top floor of the Science Hall in her pajamas to take the exam. While taking the exam, Tobin realized that she was underdressed for the chill of the room. Professor Clayton proceeded to provide Tobin with a sweater for warmth while she completed her exam. “What a kind, caring gesture . . . that was one of my favorite memories.”
Adapting for the Future
Landre echoed the sentiment of support through the challenges posed by the coronavirus, “My final semester of college was moved to almost completely online, and the nursing department did everything they could to make sure all of their students were taken care of and received the education they needed . . . my professors helped me not only get through the semester but also study for the NCLEX. My professors Kongable, Wycoff, Kittrell, and Tarrence helped me build my critical thinking skills, and prepared me to work in a critical care specialty.”
Professor Kongable discussed the struggles of the Spring 2020 semester, as nursing students were unable to complete clinical experiences due to COVID-19 restrictions. “We’ve got to have clinical. We can’t opt out of that, we don’t want our nursing students just learning from the textbook. Thank goodness, we had most of our clinical hours in. We did have to resort to more clinical simulations than we usually do, it’s just not the same as realworld nursing.” With the coronavirus restrictions being relaxed, Aleesa Kittrell, Division of Nursing Chair and Associate Professor of Nursing, indicated, “We have since been very fortunate to have the support of multiple clinical agencies and are very fortunate to have our students back in the clinical setting completing their learning experiences.”
Professor Kongable notes that COVID-19 has entered the curriculum for nursing students, especially as several students have worked on Covid units. Current students receive an education in infection control and the use of personal protective equipment. Professor Kongable emphasized the importance of “being able to work with everybody in creative and strategic ways to still support a valuable, high-quality learning experience for the student.”
Iowa Wesleyan is excited for the chance to celebrate 50 years of Nursing during the Homecoming Celebration on October 1-3, 2021!
Kendra Gauge 