The Department of Nursing at Southern Arkansas University, Magnolia, was one of four nursing programs to receive a $3,750 donation from the Minden Medical Center and its owner, LifePoint.
Also receiving awards were Louisiana Tech University, Grambling State University, and Northwest Louisiana Vocational Technical College.
Minden Medical Center was recognized as the number one hospital in LifePoint Hospitals Inc. The award was based on LifePoint Hospital’s five divisional vice presidents’ evaluation of five areas. The five areas include the quality of patient care, quality of physicians on staff, quality of its employees, employee’s workplace, and perception that the community has of the hospital.
“The Department of Nursing is appreciative of this donation supporting nursing education at SAU,” said Dr. Bernadette Fincher, chair of the Department. “We applaud the Minden Medical Center for the recognition they received from this award.”
Minden Medical Center has worked with Louisiana Tech, Grambling, SAU, and Northwest Technical for a number of years as a site for clinical rotations and preceptor programs. Clinical rotations allow nursing students to rotate through medical/surgical units, labor and delivery, surgery, ICU, emergency, and nursery. This gives students a broad scope of experience.
A preceptor program is offered to students during their last clinical semester. This program allows the student the opportunity to work with a nurse in the hospital setting on a one-on-one basis in a designated department. The preceptor program is beneficial for the student in that the nurse can share her experience and knowledge with the student, and the student can refine skills and techniques they have been developing throughout their nursing program.
“Students of the SAU Associate Degree Nursing Program have benefited from the clinical experiences afforded through MMC for many years,” said Fincher. “This honor validates the exemplary clinical environment our students are exposed to during learning experiences at MMC.”
