Health and Human Services News

The double life of a soon-to-be graduate

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Caleb Huettenmeyer, a fourth-year student graduating from Missouri State University’s School of Nursing, looks forward to what the future holds after graduation. 

“I’ve put in a lot of time, effort and work toward getting my degree,” Huettenmeyer said. “I’m excited to put everything I’ve learned into action.” 

Huettenmeyer secured a job at the prestigious Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis as an emergency room (ER) nurse.  

“They’re ranked number one in Missouri and 11th in the country, so it seems like an incredible opportunity to work with them,” he said. 

His goal is to take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) the second week of June before he begins this position. 

Preparation for becoming a nurse 

Coming to MSU in fall 2019, Huettenmeyer completed his two years of pre-requisites and then applied to the nursing program in January 2021. After an extensive interview process, he was accepted as one of 48 out of over 150 applicants—beginning his journey through nursing school in fall 2021.  

Huettenmeyer began officially as a patient care associate (PCA), then transitioned to a nurse technician on the floor a few months later. Since August 2022, the rest of his nursing school days have been filled with work as an ER nurse technician at Mercy Hospital. 

“This past semester, I’ve been working almost every weekend,” he said. “I love the work, but it’s an intense job.” 

Typically, nursing students are expected to be on the floor as a general nurse technician before specializing. However, because of nursing shortages and his passion for the specialty, Huettenmeyer was able to nab the ER nurse technician position almost immediately. 

“I was rejected twice before meeting with them in person and persuading them to let me prove myself,” Huettenmeyer said. “They hired me soon after.” 

Nurse Boomer

Surprise! Guess who?!

For four years, Huettenmeyer has kept the secret of being our beloved Boomer bear. 

“It was like leading a double life. I’m excited to finally share the surprise with my friends at school when I wear the feet to graduation,” Huettenmeyer said.  

“I never got to go to a tailgate as myself, so I’m excited to return as an alumnus.” 

In addition to being Boomer, he was: 

After Barnes-Jewish, Huettenmeyer would like to transfer to an ICU somewhere and then become a flight nurse. The 10-year plan has him becoming a CRNA (certified registered nurse anesthetist) sometime in his 30s. 

“I’m ready to move on to the next chapter,” Huettenmeyer said. 

“The past two years have had some rough spots, but the friends I’ve made at Missouri State truly got me through it.” 

 Explore the School of Nursing

Innovating hands-on learning

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Investing in resources to give students hands-on learning opportunities is a top priority for MCHHS.

One of the resources is the Simulation (SIM) Lab located in O’Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center.

The SIM Lab is a controlled hospital environment with real machines and mannequins used to simulate a real-life health care experience.

“The main purpose of the SIM Lab is to give students going into health care professions a chance to interact with the health care environment before they are thrown into their profession,” said Alexis Curran, MCHHS simulation coordinator.

“We create a scenario where it may be something they will see in the hospital. This will help prepare them for patient care.”

How the lab operates

Students use the SIM lab starting in their junior year. Faculty members monitor and control the lab.

The lab has a control room. Faculty and lab techs will sit inside and observe. They’ll also control the mannequin and the cameras.

“The lab uses a recording system so students can watch in a different room and help critique each other.”

The lab has several hospital rooms to replicate different scenarios. They include:

  • Medical surgery room.
  • Clinical room.
  • Intensive care unit (ICU).
  • Maternity room.
  • Pediatric room.

Continuing to evolve

To give students more real-life scenarios, the SIM Lab continues to be upgraded and used in different situations.

“Last fall, we also started using simulated patients (SPs), which are human actors who take on a patient profile to make the scenario seem more realistic,” Curran said.

“Our students don’t perform skills like catheters or NG tubes on our SPs, but they have been a great asset for helping our students learn communication skills, and students have reacted positively to working with a live person.”

The goal for the future of the lab is to have departments within the college collaborate to give students more diverse experiences that are as realistic to the patient care setting as possible.

Learn more about MCHHS resources

Faculty fan-favorites

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Dr. Jennifer Yates, clinical assistant professor at the department of occupational therapy, and Sherri Ramirez, clinical assistant professor at the School of Nursing, are two fantastic members of our MCHHS faculty. 

Let’s ask them some questions! 

What’s been the craziest thing to happen in your classroom?  

Yates: I was introducing virtual reality as a means for therapeutic rehabilitation, but I think I will keep that experience between me and the students. I will say I am definitely not meant for virtual reality. 

Ramirez: I have a class that is very competitive. I love doing a Kahoot or a case study where they try to show they know the information. The names they give themselves in a Kahoot are very entertaining to the class. You never know what they are going to come up with. They also act out scenarios of what patients might do. That can always be interesting. 

Do you have a favorite class to teach?  
Yates posing with her students
Yates posing with her students and a recipient of a custom-made car for OT’s annual Go Baby Go event.

Yates: I love all the classes I teach and I have quite a wide array, but I am particularly fond of my assistive technology course. It’s a very hands-on course. The students participate in many community projects, but my favorite one is a program called Go Baby Go. The students adapt small, motorized vehicles for children with special needs. Most of these children would otherwise not be able to experience this type of mobility through play. Play is a child’s occupation and a fundamental right all children should be able to experience.  

Ramirez: I love teaching the medical surgical nursing class because they are so eager to learn, go to clinicals and take care of patients. They want to “get their hands dirty” and soak up as much information as they can in order to save lives. I can see how proud they are of themselves when they connect the dots of didactic and clinical practice. 

Where are you from?   

Yates: I am originally from Missouri, but I have lived around Nashville, Tennessee, and Dallas, Texas, for roughly 15 years before returning to Springfield in 2020.   

Ramirez: I’m a Navy brat and from everywhere. If I had to name my home base, it would be Texas, but I’ve lived in Springfield for the majority of my adult life. 

What brought you to Missouri State?

Yates: I’ve always known I wanted to eventually get back to southwest Missouri. After starting and owning my pediatric therapy practice, I knew the next step I wanted to pursue was teaching and research. Missouri State is my alma mater and it feels like home to be back here.  

Ramirez: I have known many faculty members from Missouri State from my previous hospital nursing positions and they were all impressive to me. They love their students and have a great rapport with the hospital staff.  

Learn more about the department of occupational therapy

What’s your favorite part about working here?  

Yates: The people for sure. I truly love coming to my job every day. The faculty, staff, students and administrators are all the best. We have a wonderful program that is next to none. I cannot say enough good things.  

Ramirez: I have worked at a couple of different nursing programs, and here I felt at home from day one. It doesn’t matter who I’m having a conversation with, the dean of nursing, the director of nursing or the AMAZING administrative staff in the school of nursing. We all have mutual respect for each other. 

Explore the School of Nursing

A powerful partnership to create an autism center of tomorrow

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Tim Dygon, executive vice president at Arc of the Ozarks and Letitia White-Minnis, associate dean of the McQueary College of Health and Human Services, discuss what the partnership will do for the community in the present and in the future. 

“This all started with a conversation and a dream,” Dygon said. “We’re now all working together to open a large-scale autism and neuro-developmental center that will provide autism evaluations and screenings, as well as ongoing therapies.” 

“It always starts small. It always starts with an idea and a discussion. We know that if we continue to have strong partners like Missouri State and Mercy at the table, we’ll have great ideas that will grow into something incredible.” 

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