Earning a college degree is never easy.

But for Christa Reisdorff, who received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing diploma from NMC on May 11, the journey was a nonstop marathon of challenges.

Nebraska Methodist College welcomed its latest line of nursing and allied health graduates at spring commencement ceremonies held at St. Andrew's United Methodist Church on May 11. 

Imagine offering nursing students and sonography students an extra level of preparation to help them collaborate for the best possible care and outcomes for patients from all cultures, no matter what the future holds within the ever-changing world of medicine.

This is the vision that inspired Michael Levine, MD, FACOG, to create and teach the Levine Scholars Program at Nebraska Methodist College. The program began in August 2017.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness and to celebrate progress made possible by special people like NMC alum Anne Boatright (MSN, 2015).

A decade ago, when Anne Boatright, MSN, RN, SANE, FNE, was just starting her nursing career, she began to understand the terrible impact of sexual assault.

“I was working in a hospital’s emergency department at the time and saw a void in the E.D. care,” said Anne. “No one was trained in sexual assault.”

Undaunted by the complexity of the problem, Anne stepped forward to learn more, do more and forge solutions for those whose lives are touched by sexual assault. She focused first on the unmet needs of victims and then on the needs of medical responders, law enforcement and entire communities.

It’s a journey that has earned Anne national recognition for her transformational leadership, as well as her current position as State Forensic Nursing Coordinator within the Criminal Bureau of the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office.

Children, parents, teddy bears and baby goats were among those taking part in the 5th Annual Community Health Carnival at Minne Lusa Elementary School on April 18.

A little over a decade ago, a trio of NMC students reflected on the pledge they had taken as first-year nursing students. And then, working together, they rewrote it.

Ever since, their words have been used in the NMC pledge and pinning ceremony that is a major milestone in the life of a nurse.

Two of the three pledge co-authors were present at First United Methodist Church on April 13 when 90 nursing students — one of the largest NMC pledge classes in recent history — took the pledge and were “pinned.”

One of the co-authors present was Jessi Cote, who led the student nurses in the pledge to nursing by reading aloud the words she’d helped to write.

According to U.S. Department of Justice, every 98 seconds another American is sexually assaulted. And, it is likely that over the course of a lifetime, one in every six women in this country will be the victim of an attempted or completed rape.

We may know some of the numbers related to sexual assault, yet we typically know little or nothing about the victims and the impact of the assault.

Teresa Prince Conway, a Nebraska Methodist College alum and adjunct faculty member, has set out to change that. Her compelling photo exhibit, called “Survivor Stories,” debuted at NMC on April 1. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and the exhibit is one of the awareness activities on campus.

Teresa’s desire to create the exhibit came from her own personal experience.

“I was a junior in college studying photojournalism when I was raped,” she explained.

Dr. Linda “Lin” Hughes, Honorary Alumni (2011), longtime dean of nursing and recent interim vice president of academic affairs, officially retires from NMC on April 6.

But Lin is far too high-energy and deeply dedicated to NMC to retire for long. Instead, she is taking the required minimum of 120 days off the employee roster — and not one day more — before returning as an adjunct professor this August.

Now, in Lin’s 28^th year as a member of our nursing faculty and her 46th year as a nurse, the NMC family knows it is impossible to measure the full scope of her contributions to students, faculty, our holistic culture and the nursing profession overall.

Even while on spring break this week, NMC nursing students were still learning, helping others and making a difference. It was a busy time for students involved in service learning activities in the community and on campus. 

"As part of being a Nebraska Methodist College student nurse," said Trisha Baker, "we had the opportunity to participate in an Omaha immersion course to address the issue of food deserts and food insecurity."

Better Health, Brighter Futures 

A drop of blood is small yet mighty.

Inside are 5 million red blood cells and answers to questions like these: Is my child at risk for lead poisoning? Do I have diabetes? Could my family’s health and future be in danger?

In Omaha and beyond, students and staff of Nebraska Methodist College are helping to answer these questions. They do this with compassion, skill and one quick finger prick at a time — and without expecting the public to find the time and transportation to come to them.