on the quad
MORRISON FAMILY COLLEGE OF HEALTH
SIMULATION HAVEN
The first cohort of students at the Susan S. Morrison School of Nursing began taking courses in fall 2022, and in spring 2023, began hands-on learning at the St. Thomas Center for Simulation. Simulation in nursing education is growing and St. Thomas nursing students will complete 50% of their clinical experience in the state-of-the-art sim lab, where they will learn how to manage high-risk situations.
The Center for Simulation is divided into two main areas: a skills lab that resembles an emergency ward; and four simulation suites to accommodate a variety of inpatient and outpatient scenarios. That sense of realness can prove to be a game-changer in nursing education. “If you devise and design simulation in a way that’s really close to reality, it boosts the confidence of students who, once they go into their clinical placements, are much more prepared to work with live patients,” said Dr. MayKao Y. Hang, vice president of strategic initiatives and founding dean of the Morrison Family College of Health.
DIVERSE, EQUITABLE AND INCLUSIVE
RECOGNITION
TOMMIE AWARD The 2023 Tommie Award winner is environmental science major Katie McGinnis ’23. From assisting with soil research at the Stewardship Garden to helping
PRACTICING WHAT WE PREACH
St. Thomas regularly trains faculty and staff on DEI to foster belonging and increase the retention rate of students. In January, the School of Education held the Teaching Today’s Tommies workshop, coordinated by Dr. Jayne Sommers in partnership with Christina Holmgren and Katia Colón-LaCroix. The workshop was designed to support faculty on centering curriculum to students’ identities, including racial, first- generation and gender or sexuality identities. Presenters also addressed the impact of national and global events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, social isolation, mental health crisis and racial trauma have on the educational experience and how faculty can best support students through inclusive pedagogy and development theories.
pass the Zero Waste Resolution as a member of Undergraduate Student Government and spending three years as a resident advisor, including for the Sustainability Living Learning Community, McGinnis sees being active on campus as a steppingstone. “St. Thomas is not just about
receiving a job after graduation, but also about developing your personhood and discerning what you’re called to be in life,” she said. Dr. Melissa Lamb, a professor in Earth, Environment and Society who hired McGinnis as a teaching assistant, wrote in her nominating letter that McGinnis, who has a theology minor, “lives out her faith and values by serving others.”
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