Teaching the Next Generation of Nurses

A grant of $25,000 from the Community Fund is supporting the creation and growth of a new nursing program at Marian University’s Ancilla College (MUAC) in Marshall County. 

The Community Foundation grant is helping build the MUAC nursing skills lab, re-creating real-world situations nurses would encounter upon graduation. An infant simulation mannequin teaches students to make clinical decisions in a safe manner, experiencing what checking a child’s pulse, heart rate, and other vital signs would be like in the hospital setting. 

“Seeing the opportunities available in Marshall County for nursing students, it’s very exciting,” said Dr. Dorothy Gomez, the Dean of the Leighton School of Nursing and Associate Professor. With her extensive history of instruction in undergraduate nursing, Dr. Gomez believes the MUAC nursing program will bring that something ‘extra’ to future nurses. 

Nursing students will thrive in the small class sizes and faith-based, family-friendly environment fostered at Marian University’s Ancilla College. And, most importantly, they will build solid relationships with their teachers in the tight-knit program, constantly challenged as students to become the best nurses they can be. 

The Community Fund grant supported MUAC in getting accreditation for the nursing program. Expanding the program to a four-year degree is an important step towards helping alleviate the national nursing shortage – a shortage that is often more acute for rural communities like Marshall County. 

“Nurses are unique in their ability to respond to the health needs of their community,” continued Dr. Gomez. “The Community Foundation is making an early investment in this new nursing program. An investment that will build the strength and the health of Marshall County far into the future.”