  |
 |
| Nursing Returns to Notre Dame College | Diane Jedlicka | |
||
Nursing Returns to Notre Dame College
|
|
According to Jedlicka, Notre Dame College’s nursing program differentiates itself from others because, “We view nursing as a sacred work, not just a job. We have close relationships with our patients and access to their spiritual lives. Thus, nurses are deeply involved with spiritual as well as physical healing.” Committed to the mission, Jedlicka says, “Nursing is more than a profession. It is a privilege to care for people.”
The College plans to recruit 20 students for fall, 2007, with the ultimate goal of 250 students enrolled in the program. The program expects to enroll 50 students annually.
|
In January, officials from the Parker- Hannifin Foundation presented a check in the amount of $150,000 to Notre Dame College to support the construction of a nursing performance enhancement lab to be named in honor of the Parker-Hannifin Foundation. The lab, which will be located on the third floor of the Administration Building, will be set up to simulate an actual hospital setting to give students a greater degree of comfort and familiarity with the hospital environment when they transfer to a clinical setting. It will include six hospital beds, computer stations for charting, medication cards and emergency equipment for codes. It is slated for completion this summer.
Notre Dame College offered a B.S. in Nursing from 1939 to 1950. According to the records, a total of 10 women received a B.S. in Nursing: eight students and two Sisters of Notre Dame.
Diane Jedlicka
|
Dr. Diane Jedlicka comes to Notre Dame College from Otterbein College where she held the positions of professor and program director of adult health care. In addition to teaching, she has significant experience as a staff nurse, flight nurse and outreach educator in Columbus, Ohio. The civic-minded Jedlicka has been a volunteer disaster nurse with the American Red Cross where she helped victims of the 1974 Xenia tornado and the infamous Blizzard of ‘78.
Diane’s love for things international takes her to India periodically as a volunteer with the Christian Medical College and Hospital. The two to six week programs help alleviate the severe nursing shortage in that country. She has also traveled to Russia, and in 2004 aided victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami. At home she has enjoyed her role as volunteer host family for international exchange programs in Columbus.
The very accomplished Jedlicka is also skilled in the intricate Japanese art of origami which she learned from a high school classmate. Her love of the art has grown over the years, along with her expertise. Her works have even won ribbons at the Cuyahoga County and Ohio State Fairs.
Jedlicka earned her nursing diploma at St. Vincent Charity Hospital School of Nursing, and her B.S.N., M.S., and Ph.D. at the Ohio State University. She holds memberships in numerous professional organizations and volunteer activities.
Jedlicka has three adult children and resides in Olmsted Falls, Ohio with her husband, Ron.
The Nursing Division has been augmented with the addition of two additional faculty members, Christine Beck and Colleen Sweeney.
Christine Beck
|
Christine Beck, assistant professor of nursing, came to Notre Dame College from Cuyahoga Community College last August, where she was an instructor. She currently teaches Gerontology and the transitions course for the R.N. to B.S.N. program.
Beck’s professional nursing experience includes medicalsurgical staff nurse at the Cleveland Clinic, and case manager with University Hospitals‚ Home Health Team where she developed her love of community health nursing.
She earned her Master of Science in Nursing at Case Western Reserve University as well as an M.A. in medical anthropology and a post-master’s certificate for nurse practitioner. “The advanced nursing degree allows me to diagnose and treat common illnesses and prescribe medication,” Beck said.
Currently she is enrolled in the online Ph.D. in nursing program of the University of Hawaii’s School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene.
At Cuyahoga Community College, Beck developed the curriculum for its community health nursing program which developed community-based initiatives such as the Healthy Neighborhood Partnership.
In her new role as assistant professor of nursing at Notre Dame, she is already involving her students with practical experience in community nursing. Her gerontology students have worked with the Public Health Department’s Department of Aging. “Students are seeing some of the frailest of the city’s aging population,” she said. Other students are assisting with Project H.O.P.E., a program for the homeless at St. Phillip Neri in Cleveland.
Colleen Sweeney
|
Dr. Colleen Sweeney is no stranger to Notre Dame College, having been on the WECO faculty since 2000. She joined the College’s Nursing Division in January, 2007 as a full-time faculty member.
Sweeney attended St. Vincent Charity Nursing School and holds a B.S.N. from Kent State University. She has 10 years of nursing experience in the field of neonatology at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, Johns Hopkins and Huron Hospital. At Huron, she also conducted educational programming for women in the family maternity center.
She holds a Ph.D. in Health Care Ethics from Loyola University in Chicago where she taught Social and Political Philosophy and Health Care Ethics.
In addition to her nursing credentials, Sweeney has a juris doctor degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University. After earning her J.D., she worked as a public defender in New York City. According to Sweeney, “It may seem odd, but there are many parallels between being a public defender and being a nurse since both represent the indigent.”
In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Sweeney is developing the curriculum the B.S.N. program. “Diane Jedlicka was able to get the whole curriculum approved by the Ohio Board of Regents. Now we are fine-tuning it so that our mission statement can be seen at every level of the program.”
Mary Ann Kovach ‘06 is the director of public relations at Notre Dame College.