Health and Human Services News

Congratulations to the MCHHS 3MT winners

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MCHHS hosted the college Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT) on Oct. 31.  

Students were prompted to research an issue that was occurring in their field of study, and then present to a panel of judges in three minutes or less.  

This year’s competition included:  

  • 9 presentations 
  • 5 departments 
  • 21 students  
  • 8 faculty advisors 

The results  

The top four presentations were: 

  • Breanne McLay and Cameron Bruso, School of Anesthesia, Two-Handed Mask Ventilation with Alternative Ventilatory Device. 
  • Sarah Waterman, nutrition and dietetics, Accessing SNAP Benefits at a Midwestern Public University. 
  • Cecelia Peine, Jesse La Fond and Tyler Boyer, occupational therapy, How OT’s Can Address Scamming Among Older Adults. 
  • Cody Haether, Zach Gaarder and Jordan Sandusky, School of Anesthesia, Advanced Airway Techniques. 

“I would like to say a huge thank you to the participants of the 2022 MCHHS 3MT Competition and to Dr. Monika Feeney for organizing the competition,” said Letitia White-Minnis, associate dean MCHHS.  

“I also want to congratulate our winners on their presentations.  It is challenging to summarize an entire research project into 3 minutes, and they each did so in an outstanding way.” 

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