Nursing Club

VITAL KNOWLEDGE Nursing Club partnered with Science Club to bring School of Nursing Independence-campus faculty to the Lamoni campus to teach students how to take vitals.

The first nursing club at Graceland began 40 years ago during the 1979-80 school year and was an option for student involvement for about six years.

Now, 33 years later, nursing club has made its way back into student life on the Lamoni campus. President Christina Koch ’20 explains that the purpose of the club is to help bridge the gap between the Lamoni pre-nursing students and the nursing faculty and program on the Independence campus.

So far, the club has identified several things they would like to do to become more prepared for their next step: nursing school. Club members plan to tour a hospital and Graceland’s Independence campus, where the School of Nursing is housed, and meet current nursing students to get an inside look into what’s to come. They also hope to identify opportunities that will help them in taking the TEAS exam, which is required to obtain admission into a nursing program. Earlier this year, the club partnered with the science club to bring Graceland nursing faculty to the Lamoni campus and teach students to take vitals, a new skill for nearly all of them.

Christina already sees benefits. She notes that Graceland nursing faculty have become more connected with Lamoni-campus faculty teaching courses required for pre-nursing students, bringing awareness to the rigor the students will face once they enter a nursing program.

Not the least of the benefits is the additional connection to fellow students. This year, all 10 pre-nursing students who applied to get into Graceland’s School of Nursing were accepted. This means that, for students who connect through the club and then choose to
go into the program, the transition from one Graceland campus to the other can be eased by the fact that they will be making it together.