Training for Shawano area nursing students will move out of the classroom and into the workplace starting in the fall of next year.
The new ThedaCare Medical Center-Shawano and Northwest Wisconsin Technical College on Tuesday announced an agreement to offer Shawano’s NWTC nursing programs on site at the new medical center in 2015.
Hospital and NWTC officials said it is the first such collaboration in the state.
“This project really benefits ThedaCare, NWTC and our community,” said Dorothy Erdmann, CEO of Shawano Medical Center. “It will be a very big benefit to our hospital staff to have a simulation lab on site where interdisciplinary teams of nurses, physicians and their assistants can learn more about caring for complex patient cases.
“It’s an opportunity like never before to keep our skills sharp and current, teaching and learning right here in Shawano’s own hospital.”
Erdmann said the collaboration with NWTC has the community at heart.
“This is what it means to be a small community hospital that stays true to its roots,” she said. “Our hope is that these student nurses will ultimately help fill vacancies at the same hospital where they learned to be nurses.”
The concept of a nursing school within a small rural hospital was first championed by Erdmann, who said she saw an opportunity to “grow our own” nurses and allied health professionals to meet future staffing needs at ThedaCare’s new hospital, which is under construction.
At the same time, NWTC was looking to relieve space constraints at its crowded Shawano campus, according to Jeffrey Rafn, president of the technical college.
“These are the kind of relationships that technical colleges and employers must work hard to create,” Rafn said. “We are uniquely positioned to work together toward a common goal — to train nurses exactly where they will be needed, in a small community health care setting.”
A 5,000-square foot learning center is being constructed within the larger medical center to house both classroom and laboratory teaching equipment.
“This is a complete collaboration between ThedaCare and the college,” said Kay Tupala, NWTC dean of health sciences. “The learning center will be used by nursing students and current ThedaCare staff for orientations and continuing education.”
In particular, it will be equipped with a high fidelity simulator in the simulation lab and an exact replica of a ThedaCare patient room.
Nursing students will complete their first round of clinicals, or hands-on patient care, at TCMC-Shawano while in their second semester.
Between 55 and 60 certified nursing assistants are trained at NWTC-Shawano each year. Ten associate degreed nurses and 10 practical nurses, plus students pursuing degrees in health care business services, will also start their studies on site at TCMC-Shawano this year.
Tupala said the college is prepared to respond to market demand and poised to expand the number of programs available at its TCMC-Shawano site.
ThedaCare Medical Center-Shawano will replace the 81-year-old Shawano Medical Center. The new facility is under construction adjacent to ThedaCare Physicians-Shawano at County Road B and state Highway 22. The center will also house ThedaCare At Home-Shawano and ThedaCare At Work-Shawano.
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