Photo by Reagan Johnson ’18
Nursing in the 21st Century
The Winona State University Nursing Department brought more than 300 undergraduate students together with Nursing faculty, graduate students, and distinguished speakers for a day-long innovation symposium titled “Resilience and Leadership” this past October at East Hall.
Nursing students from the Winona and Rochester campuses participated in breakout sessions to discuss stress management and resilience training, incorporating gratitude and compassion into their personal and professional lives, and determining their strengths as individuals and in a group. WSU Distinguished Alumna Dr. Bonnie Clipper ’87 was the primary sponsor of the Nursing Department Symposium, which was first held in 2014.
“The buzz in the room was productive and uplifting,” said WSU Nursing Professor Dr. Jo Stejskal, who coordinated the event. “The topics are salient and resonate with the students as they progress through the nursing major and prepare for their careers. It was great to see them interacting and sharing present and future applications of the strengths.”
WSU Nursing alums Dr. Sherry Chesak ’97 and Dr. Susanne Cutshall ’88, ’98 were the keynote speakers. Chesak, who earned her master’s degree in Nursing Education from WSU, is Program Director for Nursing Academic Affairs at Mayo Clinic, Rochester. Cutshall, who holds baccalaureate and master’s degrees from WSU, works as an Integrative Health Specialist in the Department of General Internal Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester.
“I learned a lot from my peers, as well as from the speakers,” said Valerie Parkins, a junior from Eau Claire, Wis. “It was great to be able to hear from them in the smaller group breakout sessions and debrief a little of what they were thinking, along with just getting to know them better.”
Kelly Ziemer, a senior from Rochester, Minn., said the topic of stress management resonated for her. “As students and future nurses, we all need to learn to take care of ourselves first in order to function to our full potential and be the best possible caregivers for our patients.”
WSU’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program received full initial accreditation from the Commission for Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) in August 2015. The board found that WSU’s program met all four accrediting standards needed to receive full accreditation.
