Six nursing students enter ASCEND nursing diversity program

Barbara Broome (front row, fourth from left), dean of
Kent State University’s College of Nursing, and Lisa Aurilio
(second from left), vice president of Patient Services and
chief nursing officer at Akron Children’s Hospital, met with
the first 20 nursing students chosen to enter the ASCEND
program. Six of these students are in the Bachelor of
Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) program at Kent State.

(Photo credit: Nancy Mosca, Akron Children’s Hospital)

This summer, six students from Kent State University’s College of Nursing will work as full-time interns at Akron Children’s Hospital as part of the “Assuring Success with a Commitment to Enhance Nurse Diversity,” or ASCEND program. The ASCEND program, which is in its initial year, focuses on traditionally underrepresented groups in the nursing profession. Development of the program began two years ago as a way to increase diversity in the registered nursing (RN) workforce at Akron Children’s Hospital.

A total of 20 students from regional colleges and universities were selected for the program. To meet the criteria for selection, students must have completed their junior year, be in good standing in an accredited Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) program and have completed at least one clinical rotation in medical surgical nursing and pediatric nursing.

Kent State nursing juniors and seniors Brittany McIntyre, Christopher Lyons, Luke Sutton, Jiahui Wang, Jamie Burchett and Kimberly Armentrout will each work at the hospital 40 hours per week for 10 weeks and be paid a $5,000 stipend. During this time, they will receive hands-on training in professional development and nursing skills, with the potential opportunity for a future nursing position in a pediatric hospital setting. As students who complete the program graduate and nursing positions become available, the hospital hopes ASCEND interns will be interested in applying for these jobs.

ASCEND interns will work with a mentor on up to two different pediatric units for a total of 312 hours and perform nurse-related duties. Areas of career development such as professionalism, priority setting, teamwork, delegation, use of clinical practice policies, family-centered care delivery model, nursing- sensitive indicators, cultural competence, case-study discussions, simulation opportunities, interviewing skills and résumé development make up the additional 88 hours of the program.

“This kind of clinical experience is such an advantage for our nursing students,” says Barbara Broome, dean of Kent State’s College of Nursing. “We greatly appreciate our partnership with Akron Children’s Hospital and the development of this much-needed program to help increase diversity in the nursing profession.”

The ASCEND program is sponsored by Akron Children’s Hospital Center of Nursing Professional Practice.

To learn more about nursing programs at Kent State, visit www.kent.edu/nursing.