by Chuck Seaver, South Lake Tablet
Orlando Health South Lake Hospital held its official ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, January 31st to commemorate the first graduating class of the new Dedicated Education Unit (DEU).
The program is a partnership with the hospital and Lake Sumter State College (LSSC). Together, the partnership will develop a teaching-learning model that welcomes student nurses to a dedicated medical unit located on the hospital’s campus for their entire clinical rotation. The dedicated education unit will pair students one-on-one with Orlando Health South Lake registered nurses who will serve as clinical instructors and mentors while also helping students develop partnerships needed for a successful nursing career.
The first class to participate in the program started in August 2022 with a planned graduation in May of this year.
One of the first students that will be completing the inaugural class is Kevin Nandan. Nandan felt a “calling” to the medical field after losing his grandfather to kidney disease and his mother to cancer, both in the same year. Nandan earned a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Central Florida before entering the DEU program at LSSC. He has visions of entering the cardiac nursing field eventually but admits that he has interest in several fields at this point.
Nandan praises the DEU program noting that students receive one-on-one interaction and instruction from on-duty nurses working directly with the nursing students. The opportunity to “shadow” with a nurse the entire shift allows students to learn more and learn it quickly versus classroom experience only. “It’s not an easy task but the journey is doable if the student is dedicated. The struggle toughens you up,” states Nandan while referring to the challenges of becoming a nurse. An average semester is 10 weeks with 120 clinical hours per semester. Lake-Sumter State College offers two nursing programs. Nursing, Associate in Science (ASN) degree and Bachelor of Science (BSN) degree.
Chief Nursing Officer Bonnie Onofre, R.N., has been a member of the Orlando Health team for seven years. Onofre describes the DEU program as an innovative way to introduce new nursing students to the real world of health care and standards of care for patients. In a traditional student environment, one faculty member has oversite of 10 students on an average rotation while the DEU program allows a one-on-one experience between staff and student. “The program helps the student take the academics and turn it into practicality,” says Onofre. The student remains with the same unit of care for an entire semester.
Onofre describes the benefit for instructors as well stating that the instructors reach a greater success by actually seeing the students learn and grow as the semester continues. The ultimate goal is to have the student come on board after graduation as an employee. “In a way, the students are being interviewed the entire time that they are working in the DEU. Instructors can see how the students are progressing, especially in stressful situations”. A faculty coordinator from LSSC checks in with the students every couple of weeks to ensure that all requirements are being met on both sides of the partnership. Onofre praises the LSSC as a valuable partner to the Orlando Health team and the DEU program.
