Nursing News 2021
View the photos on the Nursing Flickr page or the recording of the livestream video from the December 2021 Honors and Recognition Ceremony for BSN and DNP graduates. In addition, there are a number of photos of our graduates on the UTC Flickr page. Congratulations, all!
Fifth Level nursing students volunteered at this year’s state-wide Fight the Flu vaccine event at Orchard Knob Baptist Church. With Professor Bronte Naples’ guidance, they administered 163 doses of flu vaccine during the four events. “Your students did an amazing job," the health department said. "Everyone was impressed by their knowledge, skill, professionalism and enthusiasm. Please let them know how appreciative we are of their service and time. We look forward to many more partnerships in the future as we work toward increasing vaccination rates for all vaccine-preventable illnesses in Hamilton County.” Thanks to Professor Naples and our 5th level students!
Congratulations to our faculty (pictured above in order of mention) who were recently recognized by the University for service milestones!
- Marissa Bunch - five years
- Brooke Epperson - five years
- Priscilla Simms-Roberson - five years
- Joanie Jackson - ten years
- Chris Smith - twenty years
View photos on our Flickr Album or watch the recorded livestream of the Whitecoat Ceremony held on August 25. Congratulations to all of our new BSN and MSN students!
A partnership between the Nurse Practitioner program and the UTC Theatre Department and Arts-Based Collaborative is giving NP students vivid simulation experiences that prepare them for real-world patients. Click the photo to read more.
The new Mary B. Jackson Professors for 2021-23 are Tessa Mullinax Baker and Christi Denton. The new H. Clay Evans Johnson Professor for 2021-24 is Brooke Epperson.
The Provost is making an award from the Bess Taylor Cofer Professional Health Care Student Advocacy Fund which is used to attend conferences, training, etc. This year's recipient is LaTisha Toney.
While COVID impacted our ability to celebrate the year, the outstanding Faculty Award for 2020-21 is Jason Peter.
These well deserving faculty members are pictured above in order of mention. Please join us in congratulating them!
UTC nursing students have been part of the volunteers administering COVID-19 vaccines at local hospitals and health care sites. Read the full story in Our Tennessee magazine.
Melissa Humfleet, UTC DNP 2016, has been named nursing program coordinator at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College in Cumberland, Kentucky. Dr. Humfleet earned an associate degree in nursing from Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) in Harrogate, Tenn., and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from Eastern Kentucky University. She earned her educational specialist degree from LMU. She will oversee the Associate Degree in Nursing, the diploma program for LPNs and an Advanced Nursing Assistant Certificate programs.
Dr. Kristi Wick and The engAGING Communities Coalition hosted a free virtual conference May 3-7 for health care providers & their staff, with free continuing education credits available. See the conference website for details.
The Honors and Recognition Ceremony was livestreamed to over 400 family and friends on Friday, April 23. See the photos on our Flickr page or watch the recording at livestream.com/utc/sonhonorsrecognition.
Nursing student Maggie Shaw is the Southern Conference Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Year. Shaw led her team to six shutouts and was named the league’s Player of the Week after blanking The Citadel and Mercer.
“We are extremely proud of Maggie," said Chris Smith, Director of the School of Nursing. "Being a full-time college athlete and student in our program takes tremendous dedication and drive to be successful in both areas. Maggie carries a full load along with clinical rotations in both psych-mental health and the medical-surgical areas, where she is working with hospitalized patients with chronic illnesses. This is a tough program without extracurricular involvement. Maggie is a great example of a student who is managing these demands on her time extremely well.”
School of Nursing students, faculty, and even alumni have been generously volunteering for both the UTC campus vaccination site and off-campus where Dr. Kristina Wick has been leading an effort to take the vaccine to older adults. See a sample of photos on our Flickr album.
See photos from the 2021 Whitecoat Ceremony on our Flickr Album or view the video that was livestreamed to family and friends. Congratulations to all who took part in this rite of passage for our BSN students!
Debbi Honey, RN, senior vice president and chief nursing officer at Covenant Health and a 1982 graduate of the UTC School of Nursing, has been named a Fellow in the American Organization for Nursing Leadership. The FAONL designation recognizes a nurse leader’s sustained contributions to the specialty of nursing leadership, commitment to service and influence in shaping health care. This designation reflects excellence at the highest level of nursing leadership practice. For more, see the Covenant Health Press Release.
Student Projects: Big Impacts
A student project by members of the BSN Class of 2020 is having a significant impact on suicide prevention. Badge Buddies seeks to place a version of the Columbia Scale for suicide screening on the back side of the badge of nurses across Chattanooga.
On Call Magazine
Click to read the December 2021 issue:
College Factual ranked the MSN program in Nursing number one in Tennessee! Thank you to all the faculty, staff, and students whose success made this recognition possible.
Intelligent.com has ranked the UTC School of Nursing among the top programs in the country, with particular recognition for the Gateway RN-BSN program and Nurse Anesthesia. The rankings were calculated through a scoring system that includes strength of the faculty and programs, student engagement, potential return on investment and leading third-party evaluations.