Health and Human Services News

MCHHS awards 742 degrees during spring commencement

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The McQueary College of Health and Human Services (MCHHS) awarded 742 degrees at the spring 2022 commencement.  

“Congratulations to all of our MCHHS graduates,” said Dr. Mark Smith, dean MCHHS. “I am proud of all the hard work you have done and wish you all luck in your future endeavors.”  

Department graduation numbers 

Ensuring educational success

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In order to provide the best care to patients, healthcare workers must constantly learn new things to stay up-to-date in their field. Continuing education has become an important tool in the healthcare industry.  

“When working in the hospital as a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), you are sometimes given continuing education money in order to keep your license,” said Dr. Monika Feeney, department head School of Anesthesia.  

The world-renowned medical organization, the Mayo Clinic, has established a program to ensure its employees get the best continuing education possible.  

“The Mayo Clinic recently announced that they will pay 100% of the tuition for any of their CRNA employees wanting to get the DNAP at Missouri State.” 

How the program works 

CRNAs who are wanting to get into the program must currently have their master’s and be prepared to get their doctorate.  

“The doctorate degree can be completed in one, two or three years,” said Feeney. “They are all distance classes, so students can complete the program where they currently reside”  

The university also has a satellite campus on Mayo Clinic’s campus where they offer onsite options for required Campus time. “Our program is made for working people and that drew the attention of Mayo Clinic,” said Feeney. “We are really excited about the opportunity they are giving their employees and this partnership we have.” 

How to apply 

Current CRNAs at Mayo Clinic are asked to apply through the Missouri State DNAP application.   

Applicants will then go through an interview process to determine if they are eligible for this program.  

Students will be selected shortly after the interview process. 

Learn about our DNAP Completion Program

Student on the Street: Robert Shifrin

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Robert Shifrin is a athletic training student at Missouri State University. Shifrin is from St. Louis, Missouri, and attended Parkway High School.   

His favorite course has been his practicum experience.   

“Our practicum course allows us to have some incredible clinical rotations and learn hands-on skills from some great ATs in the field,” Casanova said.   

For Shifrin, the best part of being a Bear is the community.   

“To me, the best part of being at Mo State would have to be the strong sense of community that is created amongst the study body and staff population here,” he said.  

Upon graduation, Shifrin will take on the position of assistant athletic trainer within the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He has been assigned to work with their Latin American affiliate team in the Dominican Republic. 

Learn more about the athletic training department

Developing skills for the future of healthcare

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The healthcare industry is always evolving. New machines and tools are being created and best practices continue to be altered. 

Missouri State’s School of Anesthesia is hoping to stay ahead of the curve on these changes within healthcare by providing students with the best educational resources.  

This year, the anesthesia department offered its first ever Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) workshop to the students in the program.  

“The use of ultrasounds is being incorporated into our practice now,” said James Keaton, CRNA, clinical assistant professor. “We thought it would be a good idea to offer our students the opportunity to get some experience using them.”  

The importance of POCUS 

Being able to effectively monitor patients is one of the most important jobs of a Nurse Anesthesiologist. 

It is important for students to get as much practice in POCUS as possible because everyone’s anatomy is slightly different. Experience will enhance students’ knowledge immensely. 

“By using ultrasounds, we are able to quickly and effectively assess a patient’s condition,” Keaton said. “We can look at someone’s heart and airways to assess how their body is functioning and alter the anesthetic accordingly.” 

Because of its usefulness, POCUS will now be included on the certification exam.  

“The national accrediting body recently announced that students will be required to learn and understand the use of POCUS in our field, so it’s important for us to start that training for our students now,” Keaton said. 

Outstanding first workshop 

Seventy-six students in the anesthesia program were able to go through the POCUS training during the workshop.  

Twenty-four students from departments around the college volunteered their time to get ultrasounds taken of them. 

“The cooperation between departments around the college was amazing. It gives students a better idea of what we do and the program we offer,” Keaton said.  

The workshop was held in the nursing simulation lab in O’Reilly Health Sciences Hall, one of the amazing facilities on the MSU campus.  

This educational opportunity would not have been possible without the generosity of several companies who lent their machines to the program for the weekend. 

Those companies include: 

    • Butterfly iQ. 
    • GE. 
    • Phillips/Braun. 
    • Sonosite/Fujifilm. 

Learn more about the School of Anesthesia