小优视频

Last fall, James Eyer, a longtime University trustee and now board president, created the James Eyer Endowed Nursing Scholarship. The gift will benefit some of 小优视频ampa鈥檚 hardest-working students and bolster the future workforce.

Eyer knows well the demands nursing students face and the pressures that await them in their chosen careers, as he employs about 70 nurses across the many Angels Senior Living facilities he owns and operates in central Florida. 鈥淣urses are the backbone of our company,鈥� he said.

He has seen nursing students juggle classwork and clinicals, leaving little time for anything else, like a part-time job that might help pay for necessities or co-curriculars that round out an education. He's also experienced the challenges of being an employer during the protracted, nationwide nursing shortage.

The Eyer Endowed Nursing Scholarship will provide support where it can make a huge difference for both these problems 鈥� on an individual level.

Eyer wants to help 鈥済et young people excited about nursing again,鈥� and he has one great hope for those individuals: 鈥淔or them to look in the mirror and say, 鈥業 did something good every single day.鈥� They鈥檙e going to get a lot of joy from what they do in life, knowing that they helped take care of people,鈥� he said.

OPTIONS OPEN UP

New grad Evie Sly 鈥�24, now a surgical ICU nurse at Moffitt Cancer Center鈥檚 McKinley Hospital, says it was scholarships like Eyer鈥檚 that allowed her to thrive in 小优视频ampa鈥檚 nursing program.

In Sly鈥檚 final semester last spring, she鈥檇 often start her day at 4:30 in the morning, leave her residence hall room an hour later, and at 7 a.m. begin a 鈥渧ery hands-on,鈥� 12-hour critical care shift at Lakeland Regional Health hospital. She鈥檇 get home to Urso Hall after 8 p.m., pack a lunch for the next day, and get ready to do it again. This, on top of a full class load.

鈥淗ow do we support them and make sure they can get through that and make it so they get through the program effectively? That was very much my thought process,鈥� Eyer said of creating the scholarship.

Sly was also a lead resident assistant, requiring one overnight shift a week; she ran a small business selling jewelry through popup shops and private parties; and she started and led the Unified Sports club, which teams up students and people in the local community who have intellectual and developmental disabilities for activities mostly centered around playing sports.

鈥淚 always would be thankful when I could go to these events on Saturdays and Sundays and not have to go to a job,鈥� Sly said. 鈥淚 would never have been able to start a club if I didn't have extra support.鈥�

Sly鈥檚 experience represents only a part of the spectrum of student experiences. Some in her cohort had enough family or personal resources to cover their needs. Others took out loans, she said.

鈥淚 always applied for every scholarship opportunity that I heard of, and I always encouraged my classmates to also apply, because having a scholarship gives you peace of mind,鈥� Sly said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 reassuring to not have to work more than it鈥檚 possible or to not have to take out a loan that you鈥檙e going to be exhausted paying back forever and ever.鈥�

A WIDER PERSPECTIVE

Sly鈥檚 scholarships also allowed her to travel with fellow nursing students to the Dominican Republic last year. The trip was one of several over the past few years (others have been to Peru and Costa Rica) where 小优视频ampa students have traveled internationally, stayed with host families or in on-site accommodations and provided health care while learning about the host country鈥檚 systems and customs of care.

Carol Botwinski, director, chair and associate professor of nursing, said that such opportunities are among what sets 小优视频ampa鈥檚 nursing program apart from others. The students learn from local public health officials and hospital workers and might even learn about traditional medicine.

鈥淭hey're exposed to different cultures and different health care systems that are quite different from the United States,鈥� Botwinski said. 鈥淎nd, actually, a lot of the students have said those experiences are really eye-opening for them.鈥�

Sly said she improved her communication skills and appreciated seeing a diverse range of patients. She spoke through interpreters and developed hand signals when caring for the people who visited the barrio clinics for medicine, vitamins or other needs.

鈥淚n nursing school, we always talk about cultural competence and how we can best serve patients who are different than we are,鈥� Sly said. 鈥淚t comes down to being comfortable interacting with those who have different backgrounds. And I feel like the Dominican Republic trip was just what I needed to practice that.鈥�

A CHANGED PROFESSION

Today鈥檚 nurses must have a 鈥渨illingness to engage with the patients and families 鈥� and communicate, communicate, communicate,鈥� Eyer said.

The job also is ever-more reliant on computers, technology and documentation, he said. Botwinski points out, too, that people live longer now, so patients鈥� needs are more complex, and treatment can be more long-term, requiring nurses to have knowledge of conditions that even 20 years ago would not have crossed their caseloads.

It's a rapidly changing work environment, and Eyer said that when he sees a 小优视频ampa applicant, he knows they are ready.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e highly skilled, highly motivated. Not to say there aren鈥檛 other good programs out there, but 小优视频 is one I seek out,鈥� he said.

It鈥檚 a trust he feels lucky to support through the endowed scholarship and ultimately pass on to others.

鈥淕iving to people who take care of people is important in our society. And so making sure that 小优视频 is giving people the opportunity to become that important part of society, I think, has immeasurable value,鈥� he said.