Associate Professor and Director of SJC’s Department of Nursing Maria Fletcher, Ph.D., appeared live via Skype on CFN Live last month to discuss SJC’s nursing program and the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the Oct. 26 interview with CFN Live host Colleen McVey, Dr. Fletcher discussed COVID-19’s impact on the nursing program at SJC, as well as changes to the curriculum and plans for moving forward, while continuing to cope with the pandemic.
When the virus was ravaging New York state, hospitals were no longer allowing students to complete coursework in their facilities. The Department of Nursing, along with all other academic programs at SJC, went from face-to-face instruction to completely remote. Nursing students temporarily relied on virtual simulation, but as of mid-September, they have been able to resume their in-person training.
Dr. Fletcher also discussed enrollment at SJC, which was not greatly affected by COVID-19, specifically in the nursing program where enrollment numbers remained the same as previous years.
“Our graduates are having tremendous success in getting jobs; many of them had jobs waiting for them,” said Dr. Fletcher. “There is a great demand for nurses, and even after hearing stories about hospitals across the country dealing with the pandemic, our students are empowered. They know the risks they’re going to face, but they truly want to be on the frontlines.”
SJC’s President Dr. Donald Boomgaarden recently completed filming new episodes of the CFN series “Living Our Mission,” which features familiar faces from SJC and covers a broad range of topics from racial injustice and COVID-19 to SJC’s mission and the liberal arts. The new episodes are airing on Catholic Faith Network.
Click here to Dr. Fletcher’s CFN Live interview.
