Loveforlearningcatchesfire
inheartsofDownstatenurses
N
BySHERRYHALBROOK Althoughthehospital’sgrantthatpaid andgaveuscreditforwhatwe’vealready
LeadersofPEFDivision198at thenurses’expensesforthiswasnot learned.”
DownstateMedicalCenterestimatenearly renewed,PEFandthestateagreedin “Itisreallyafantasticprogram,”said
T
I
O
halfoftheapproximately700registered Julytopickupthefundingforayear DollyRomeo.“IhaveputwhatIlearned
nursesattheBrooklynteachinghospital throughthePS&Tcontract. touseinasupportgroupforcancer
areworkingonpost-certificationdegrees. Option3:It’sanEmpireStateCollege patients.Itwasanexcellentprogram,and
S
T
A
“Iwouldsay40percentto50percent programthat’smeetingtheneedsofmany forme,asamomwiththreekidsin
ofournursesareworkingontheir Downstatenurseswhobegannursing collegeatthesametime,itwasreallya
bachelor’s,theirmaster’sorareinsome withanassociate’sdegreeandnowwant bigdealthePEFcontractpaidforit.”
otherpost-certificationprogram,”said theirbachelor’s. “Itwasphenomenal,”saidMaureen
Division198CouncilLeaderDon FletcherisoneofsevenPEFmembers, Walsh.“Mygoalwastograduatebefore
S
E
S
’
Morgenstern,aresearchscientistwho allnurses,whograduatedwithherBSin mytwins,whoarenow14,andIdidit
R
alsorepresentsmembersatthecenteron JunefromtheCohortProgramin withtheadviceandencouragementofmy
U
thePEFExecutiveBoard. CommunityHealthattheMetropolitan mentorintheprogram,RuthGoldberg.”
“Theculturehereistotakeour CenterofEmpireStateCollege(ESC).Six “Theprofessorsmadeitinteresting,”
N
missionasateachingandlearning ofthosenurseswerefromDownstateand saidLezlieWoods-Grizzle,apediatric
institutionveryseriously,”saidDivision theseventh,JoanEdey,worksat oncologynurseatDownstatewho
198SecretaryJoyFletcher. KingsboroPC,alsoinBrooklyn. graduatedinJune.“Itwasadifferent
“Downstateisencouragingitsnurses TwoPEFnurseswhoworkforthestate learningexperiencethanIhadinnursing
toobtainadvanceddegrees,althoughit OfficeofMentalRetardationand school,inthewayitwaspresentedand
doesn’tnecessarilypaythemmorewhen DevelopmentalDisabilitieshavejust alsoinmyattitude.I’mmuchmore
theyearnthosedegrees,”Morgenstern completedtheirfirstyearintheprogram, interestednowinsubjectssuchas
said. whichgivescollegecreditforskillsand history,thanIwasthen.”
knowledgeacquiredthroughworkandlife ThestudiesatESC,shesaid,have
Educational opportunities experiencesandistailoredtospecifically givenhernewinsightsandskillstorelate
NursesatDownstatehaveatleast meettheeducationalneedsofnurses. topeoplefromthediverseculturesshe
threehandyoptionsfortakingcollege Thenursesusuallytaketwocourses encountersatDownstateandhavemade
courses. persemester,withtheirtuitionlargely hermoreeffectiveinhelpingthem
Option1:Downstateisunderthestate coveredbyfundingsetasideinthePS&T understandtheseriousmedicaland
universitysystemandoperatesamedical contract. humanissuessurroundingthechildhood
schoolwithbothundergraduateand cancerofherpatients.
graduatedegreeprogramsinnursing. Works for them
However,openingsarelimitedinthe “Itwaswonderful.Iwouldrecommend
All systems ‘Go’
undergraduateprogram,whichis thisprogramtoanynurse,”Fletchersaid.
Woods-Grizzlesaidshelearnedabout
accelerated,andentrantsmustmeetallof “Wehadallbeenwantingtogetour
theprogramataninformationsession
thepre-requisiteeducational bachelor’s,buthadbeenputtingitoff
heldatDownstatein2005.
requirements. becauseofthetimeandexpense.Then
“PEFreallyencouragedit,andthe
Option2:BrooklynCollegehasbeen thisprogramcamealongthatletusgoto
hospitalwasverycooperative.Now,we’re
offeringtwocoursesfornurseseach schoolonceortwicea
alltryingtorecruitmorenursesforthe
semesteratDownstate. weekafterwork
program.”
Allofthenursessaidtheynowwantto
pursuetheirmaster’sdegrees,something
that’sextremelypopularatDownstate.
“I’mveryimpressedbyPEF’s
dedicationtoprovidingaccesstohigher
educationforallunionmembers,andit
continuestobeagreatpleasureformeto
workwiththePEFnurses,”said
Goldberg,whocoordinatestheESC
programandmentorsthestudents.“They
aresomeofthemostdedicatedand
hardworkingstudentsIhaveever
known.”
THEYDIDIT—RuthGoldbergofEmpire
StateCollege,left,congratulatesPEFnurses
AnnLynch,DollyRomeo,LezlieWoods-
GrizzleandMaureenWalshattheir
graduationfromthecommunityhealth
Page16—TheCommunicatorSeptember2009
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