Our annual fall meeting is an opportunity for members to gather and welcome new inductees  of STTI to our Chapter. We also host a guest speaker and this year it is Dr. Daniel Pesut, former president of STTI. Below is information for the evening and click the link to learn more about our guest speaker.

Date: Friday October 27, 2006 @ the NDSU Alumni Center (map)

• 6 PM Registration and social time-connect with friends and members
• 6:15 PM Dessert Bar and seating
• 6:45 PM Speaker
• 7:30 PM Induction to follow speaker
• 8:00 PM Closing remarks and Group photos to follow
• Cost $5 for all inductees, $10 for guests and current chapter members.
• Please RSVP: Email either Jane Lindblad or Diana Moon  or call Lindsay at 218.329.2434.

Xi Kappa Chapter-At-large is honored to welcome Dr. Dan Pesut as the keynote speaker at our annual fall induction. Dr Pesut exemplifies all that STTI honors: an excellence in nursing practice, education, and research. He served as a staff nurse in the U.S. Army and worked as a clinical nurse specialist at the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research. Dr. Pesut is also past-president of Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society. He will speak of his term theme: “On Renewal". Please join us for the night.

Membership and Chapter Engagement, by Sara Stetz, Xi Kappa Leadership Succession Chair  Membership in Xi Kappa should be an adjective, not a noun!

We would like to encourage members to become more engaged in chapter activities, not only by attending events; but by helping us carry out Xi Kappa’s Vision Statement:  “To celebrate nursing excellence by developing and recognizing professional achievement.” There are many opportunities available to members  It may be a short term commitment to complete a special project that interests you  Examples are helping with an induction, an educational program or a service project. However, you will find serving as a board member to be rewarding in a multitude of ways  It is an excellent way to gain leadership skills, but more importantly you will meet people who support you professionally and personally.  Serving together with other board members will give you connections that last a lifetime.  Currently, we are looking for members interested in helping with our yearly awards for achievement in the nursing profession and for scholarships on the Awards’ Committee  This group gathers together to select recipients and recognizes the winners at a chapter event. What a great idea – Nurses Celebrating Nurses If you are interested in scrap-booking, we are looking for a charter member to work together with an archivist to document the chapter’s history.  This is a fun opportunity to catalogue how far our chapter has come and members’ accomplishments!  We would also like to establish a mentoring program with new members.  Please contact us if you would like to be involved with this or any other program.  We think you will find it rewarding in many ways. For a power point presentation about chapter leaders go to this link and select the last item on the Chapter Leaders Resource page. This power point describes the variety of ways you can serve in our chapter. If you already have a task in mind you would like to volunteer for, please email me. Top of Page

Chapter Needs: Seeking Graphically Gifted Volunteer or someone interested in expanding their inner artistic self

The Chapter is seeking volunteers with graphic arts skills to assist in the design and direction of production of a greeting card. Greeting cards will be sold to chapter members and members of the community to generate funds for chapter activities, including scholarships. If you personally are graphically gifted, or know of someone who is, please contact Chapter President Marjorie McCullagh (701.231.7517) or Vice President Jami Petry (701.866.7956) to discuss this project in greater detail.

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Schools Update 

All member schools look forward to inducting a new group of students and community members at the fall meeting into STTI. It is a wonderful honor and we welcome you. Names will be printed in the spring newsletter.

Concordia College, by Jennifer DeJong: Concordia College is keeping very busy. Currently there are 44 seniors and 36 juniors. The accelerated nursing track for second baccalaureate degree students is going very well. 

Faculty news: Dr. Polly Kloster and Dr. Linda Scott were promoted and tenured. Jack Rydell became full time. And Jean Bokinske, Jill Holmstrom, Jack Rydell and Connie Peterson all in doctorate programs. 

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Jamestown College, by Jacqueline Mangnall: Jamestown College began the fall with a full complement of excited nursing students. The Department of Nursing faculty are undertaking some major projects which include a prerequisite curriculum revision and an expansion of our class sizes from 36 to 48 students. In addition, we are planning for the addition of a clinical experience in the hospital in Chogoria, Kenya. 

We are in the process of entering into a partnership with the nursing school that is affiliated with the Chogoria hospital and it is our vision to be able to provide a full baccalaureate education to two students each year from the Chogoria area. Seven of our students and two faculty will be traveling to Kenya this February for a three-week hospital and community health experience. Finally, we are pleased to announce that we were awarded a second grant from the Dakota Medical Foundation. Their generosity enabled us to renovate our nursing lab and update our simulation equipment.

Last, but not least, Jackie Mangnall, completed the doctoral program at UND School of Nursing, Spring 2006. Her dissertation topic: Deliberate Self Harm in the Female Prison Population.

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MSUM, by Barbara Matthees: MSUM The Minnesota State University Moorhead Nursing department is very busy with a number of exciting programs and projects.

• The RN to BSN program, which is delivered in a distance education format 100% online has  full classes (25 students) beginning August and January. Students live in multiple communities across Minnesota, North Dakota and as far away as Missouri and Kansas.

• The generic BSN admitted the second class this fall. The eight semester program includes clinical courses over two summers, with the first class scheduled to graduate in Spring 2008.

•  MSUM continues to offer the MS in nursing as a part of the Tri-College University Nursing consortium. Planning is in process toward the Doctorate in Nursing Practice (DNP) and a Nurse Educator masters in collaboration with three other MnSCU schools.

• Three new faculty members joined the department: Carolyn Townsend, fall 2005; 
  Jean Robley, summer 2006; and Terry Dobmeier, fall 2006.

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NDSU by Marjorie McCullagh: The NDSU College of Pharmacy has recently changed its name to the College of Pharmacy, Nursing and Allied Science. This change reflects the presence of the Department of Nursing, which was established in the College in 1969. 

Enrollment in the undergraduate program continues to expand, and is currently at 189 nursing majors. Additional students are served by the program as pre-nursing majors.

Faculty in the campus clinical laboratory are now teaching with the assistance of a newly-purchased $45,000 simulator. The simulated man (or woman)
breathes, has heart and lung sounds and, with the assistance of an
instructor, can talk to patients through a speaker hidden in its head.

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SPOTLIGHT ON OUR MEMBERS