The holiday season always spurs us to ask: What can I do, what can I give? As nurse leaders and experts, I am asking you to consider a gift of time[horizontal ellipsis] or knowledge.
Over a year ago, our colleague and DCCN editorial board member Judith (Julie) Lindsay traveled from her home in Texas to bring her gift of time and knowledge to Blackfeet Community College in Montana, to direct a new nursing program.
I am in awe of her "Mountains to Mountains" transition. Such a move requires strength, vision, and support. I feel inadequate each time I talk to Julie and hear of her students and their incredible progress in such a short period. Last April, 2 nursing students were mentored and completed a research poster at a WIN conference in Seattle!
"What can we do to help?" I ask. She tells me they need lots of things, curriculum models, sample test, materials for skills laboratory[horizontal ellipsis] and mostly mentors.
Julie also tells me that anything related to OB or obstetric models would be greatly appreciated! So, this holiday season, give the gift of time and knowledge and think about how we can support Julie and her students.
I will share some information about the program and the community below.
Blackfeet Community College is most commonly known as BCC, a public 2-year tribally controlled community college located on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Browning, Montana, with an average student enrollment of 650 annually. Browning serves as the center for trade and cultural activities with a population of approximately 8000.1
The school has programs in conservation, family and social work, engineering technician, and some preparatory courses for health care workers. Most BCC students live and work on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation; an estimated 80% live in poverty.
For many years, BCC has offered pre-nursing coursework for its students, preparing many to work as certified nursing assistants. However, if students wanted to become a licensed nurse, they had to head to the major universities in other communities in Montana or 2-year colleges elsewhere. Recently, leaders at BCC had an idea-strengthen nursing education at all levels.
As a result, a new licensed practical nurse (LPN) program has graduated its first class, and a new registered nurse (RN) program is now enrolling students who will start this fall (2014)!
In a recent article, Kristen Cates2 of the Great Falls Tribune tells us about the new nursing programs, as she spoke with BCC's college president.
"We really needed more native nurses," BCC President Billie Kipp said. "It seemed more practical to train our own nurses."2
Kipp said, "Training nurses on the Blackfeet Reservation hopefully cause ripples of improved health. Perhaps one of the nurses has an elder in their family with a health issue that they haven't talked to anyone about. Their nurse family member can convince them to seek out medical treatment. And more locally trained, Native American nurses can improve health care in the various clinics on the reservation, too."2
The college hired Julie Lindsay, PhD(c), MSN, RN, last year as the director of the nursing program. They will hire more staff with the expansion into the RN program. The idea is to train more work force to stay locally, providing care in the clinics on the reservations. For some, it will open new doors.
Lindsay said, "Indian Health Services is actually going to partner with Blackfeet Community College now to do ongoing education courses for its employees. The nursing program has a simulation room in their health care building with computerized baby and adult mannequins that can help students run through all sorts of scenarios."2 "The LPN and RN programs are accredited with the Montana Board of Nursing as well as regional, college-level accreditation organizations", Lindsay reported. "Students are expected to keep a 2.5 GPA and must earn at least 95% in their math test before they can even start their clinical rotations."2 "Nursing school is tough work. Students are typically reading 10 chapters a week on top of their clinical rotations[horizontal ellipsis] and working while going to school."2
Last year, 10 students successfully completed the new licensed practical nursing program. This year, BCC is adding a registered nursing program. Many of the LPN students plan to continue and complete the RN program.
Cates2 explained that the Department of Public Health and Human Services will provide federal funds to help address increasing the diversity of employees in the health care field as well as addressing the aging population of Native American nurses now working in the field. The college is part of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, the collective spirit, and unifying voice of our nation's 37 tribal colleges and universities-a unique community of tribally and federally chartered institutions working to strengthen tribal nations and make a lasting difference in the lives of American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Tribal colleges and universities meet the higher education needs of our American Indians and serve geographically isolated populations that have no other means accessing education beyond the high school level.
Finally, and most importantly, it is the mission of Blackfeet Community College to serve as a living memorial to the Blackfeet Tribe in preserving the traditions and culture of a proud and progressive people.
"One of the unique components of the nursing program on a reservation, Lindsay said, is the infusion of tribal culture into lessons on patient care. Coming from Texas with a non-Native background, Lindsay said she's been taught more by her students this year regarding those practices"2
Lindsay continued to share important lessons; she's learned not making eye contact is a sign of respect with patients and her southern use of ma'am and sir are too formal.
"When it comes to caring for elders, a whole family might be involved in the decision-making process, so federal privacy laws don't hold much water," Blackman said. "And you can't rush an elder or their family through a doctor's appointment. You've got to give them time," she said. "You can't be too assertive or too aggressive with elders."2
For more information on how you can help, contact Kathy Ahern Gould at mailto:[email protected] or Julie Lindsay at mailto:[email protected].
Kathleen Ahern Gould, PhD, RN
Adjunct Faculty
William F. Connell School of Nursing
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
References