Air Force leader to headline military nurses’ graduation at hospital

Commencement is Dec. 8 at Scottsdale Healthcare, 1 of 2 civilian sites with elite training program

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - An assistant Air Force surgeon general from Washington, D.C., will speak during the Dec. 8 graduation of active-duty nurses participating in an elite military training program offered at Scottsdale Healthcare and only one other civilian location.

The 11 nurses participating in the Nurse Transition Program at Scottsdale Healthcare will graduate in their military uniforms at 9 a.m. at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center, 9003 E. Shea Blvd.

Major General Kimberly Siniscalchi, Assistant Air Force Surgeon General for Medical Force Development and Nursing Services will deliver the commencement speech and hand graduates their certificates.

The Nurse Transition Program enables graduate novice registered nurses in the Air Force to gain experience and competence in direct patient care under the supervision of nurse preceptors. Only eight sites conduct the training program. Scottsdale Healthcare is the largest site in terms of number of participants and the facilities available for use in training. The only other civilian site with the program is University Hospital in Cincinnati.

“The nurses completed approximately 85 percent of the core competencies in the Air Force’s 11-week Nurse Transition Program by the fourth week due to the great experiences, preceptors and support at Scottsdale Healthcare,” said Maj. Nancy Johnson, one of the program’s faculty members stationed at Scottsdale Healthcare.

Since Oct. 1, the nurses participating in the program have worked on inpatient units at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center and Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center, where they gain valuable hands-on experience in caring for patients. They also have enriched their knowledge and experience by shadowing healthcare professionals in a variety of areas within the hospitals, such as wound care, laboratory, and areas were patients receive dialysis or are prepared for surgery.

Additionally, the nurses have volunteered with Scottsdale Healthcare’s recent flu vaccination clinics, giving 2,000 immunizations.

After graduation, the nurses will report for duty at Air Force hospitals and clinics in Texas, Idaho, Nevada and California. The nurses, who range in age from 23 to 45, are from Colorado, Missouri, Mississippi, Maryland, Wisconsin, Illinois, Texas and California.

The Nurse Transition Program is part of Scottsdale Healthcare’s Military Partnership, created in 2004 to ensure military medical personnel have the necessary skills and experience to perform successfully under wartime conditions.

As part of the training provided by the Military Partnership, physicians, surgeons, nurses and other medical personnel who serve in the military learn in a high-tech lab established at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center’s Greenbaum Surgery Center. The lab features advanced human patient simulators, which have heart beats, respirations with audible breathing sounds, bowel sounds, the ability to talk and respond to medications, and other functions. They also can be outfitted with various “injuries” that actually “bleed.” The simulators help promote effective teamwork among healthcare professionals, especially in trauma scenarios, such as those that may be experienced if deployed to a war zone.

Scottsdale Healthcare was confirmed by the United States Air Force to conduct the Nurse Transition Program earlier this year. Four active-duty nurses participated in and graduated from an 11-week pilot program that began last July.

Scottsdale Healthcare’s next Nurse Transition Program will begin Feb. 18 and accommodate a maximum of 23 nurses. In 2010, nearly 70 Nurse Corps officers will train at Scottsdale Healthcare.

Scottsdale Healthcare (www.shc.org) is the not-for-profit parent organization of Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center, Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center, Scottsdale Healthcare Thompson Peak Hospital, Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center, Scottsdale Clinical Research Institute, TGen Clinical Research Services at Scottsdale Healthcare, Scottsdale Healthcare Home Health Services, Scottsdale Healthcare Community Health Services, NOAH Clinics and Scottsdale Healthcare Foundation. Scottsdale Healthcare ER wait times are updated every three minutes at www.fastERtimes.org.

Technorati Tags: Arizona, Scottsdale, Scottsdale Healthcare