Lecturer, MSN, WHNP-BC

When IUSON BL seniors reach their final months of coursework, they begin a practicum in a clinical setting, known as their senior Capstone. Since 2018, this hands-on learning experience has been coordinated by IUSON BL alum and faculty lecturer, Jamie Titzer.

Each year, Jamie scours central and southern Indiana for nurse preceptors who will provide guidance and feedback to our senior Capstone students. Jamie’s lineup of preceptors – found through outreach to managers of hospital units and clinical coordinators – is designed to ensure that students gain real-world experience in a wide variety of settings. These settings include Pediatrics, the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, Oncology, Community Health clinics, Elder Care facilities, and many others. Capstone is designed to help students successfully transition from college to professional work, which is why Jamie feels it is such an important, and memorable, part of our students’ education.

When Jamie took over the Capstone clinicals, she wanted to provide the best possible experience for our seniors. Jamie’s first step was to update the format used to place students in their clinical assignments. “Before, assignments were more randomized,” she says. “There would be a certain number of slots, and students who got to pick first were able to choose from more options, leaving some students disappointed with their pick. I wanted to create a way for our seniors to feel they have more control over picking where they want to do their Capstone experience.” Jamie now asks that seniors submit their top three nursing area preferences, so that she can tailor clinical placements to their individual interests.

Typically, six or seven other IUSON BL faculty are assigned to clinical placements, keeping the mandated 1:10 faculty/student ratio. Jamie and her faculty peers visit the clinical locations at least three times a semester to observe their students in action. Jamie says she enjoys watching students grow in the clinical setting. “I’ll share experiences I’ve had with students and also explain how a skill or situation should be done. Then, when we go into the clinical setting, I get to watch that skill suddenly make sense to the student! That’s the best part.” By the end of each student’s Capstone experience, students will have logged 112 clinical hours and be evaluated on nine competency areas.

This past spring, what would have been a routine end to the semester was interrupted by COVID-19. “It was a huge disruption,” says Jamie. Jamie found herself in the unprecedented situation of having to remove all 70 Capstone students from their clinical placements. “Students were worried,” she says. “They wished they could have spent more time with their nurse preceptors practicing skills and learning experiences.” To help students complete the rest of their required hours, Jamie devised a plan that creatively combined virtual ATI assignments, NurseTIM virtual online experiences, case studies, and other virtual simulations. 

The fact that simulations are such an integral part of the nursing program made going virtual – even on such short notice – somewhat easier, says Jamie. But that has not always been the case. The introduction of new technologies at IUSON BL has been part of a gradual evolution, one that Jamie has experienced firsthand.

As a 2008 IUSON BL grad, Jamie recalls that simulations were not available to her as a student. “We didn’t have SimMan or the Sim Center,” she says, “just a few manikins in Sycamore Hall.”

Now, as faculty, Jamie readily uses simulations and notes just how useful students find them. “They feel that they can learn more from a simulation, because each student is required to collect data, perform skills, and debrief with their peers after the simulation ends,” she explains. Jamie develops new simulations with the expert guidance of our Simulation Center Coordinator, Sally Gindling. “As nursing evolves – and we see new recommendations out in practice – we want our simulations to reflect the up- to-date, evidenced-based practice guidelines. Sally works to make that happen,” Jamie says.