Kramer School of Nursing continues excellence
Kramer School of Nursing at Oklahoma City University has embarked on a major project, said Lois Salmeron, EdD, RN, MS, CNE, ANEF, Dean and Professor, Kramer School of Nursing at Oklahoma City University. Oklahoma law is changing to allow 30 percent of prescribed, directed clinical experience in a simulation center be allowed for clinical practice.
“We have now embarked upon a campaign to raise $2 million to remodel our east end of Kramer School West, the one story building into a simulation center,” Salmeron said. “If we can get $1.1 million of that committed by the end of May then we can move forward with remodeling by summer so we can be ready to go in the fall.”
Kramer has two skills labs in its newer building and one skills lab in the west building. But they are being used by the cohorts that are teaching curriculum at Kramer.
“This will be specifically devoted to simulation. And that’s what we want to do,” Salmeron said. “We will have a simulation center that will have all the components to allow all the clinical hours to be counted as guided under rules and regulations of the Oklahoma Board of Nursing.”
Salmeron has been working with the Kramer Advancement Group to raise the money. They are actively seeking sponsors and donors to do this.
“We welcome anybody to give a contribution to the center,” Salmeron said. “I’d be glad to talk to anybody about it.”
A testing center will be in the west facility as well. This will involve preadmission testing and national testing to see how students perform in courses. By having a testing center will allow the students to bring their laptops to connect.
It will do away with some of the last minute challenges students encounter when trying to take their tests, Salmeron noted.
One of the areas being remodeled there will have a center to be able to teach home skills.
“So many patients are being taken care in the home now,” she said. “So it will be part of hospice care, long-term health care. We’ll really have a place to do that here. It’s going to be like a home setting.”
Kramer recently completed a visit by Accrediting Commission of Nursing Education, a national accrediting body.
“If you have full accreditation, every eight years they come and visit,” she said. “There was a team of six that came in March looking at our master’s program and out DNP program.”
The preliminary report is that Kramer School of Nursing has achieved all the standards of the criteria. There are two more layers of review expected. The review panel will come in June and the Board of Commissioners will come in July.
“We’ll know by August if they will grant us the full eight years of accreditation,” Salmeron said. “And we will know the result. That’s a big deal. It takes so much work to get ready for that.”
Salmeron said the course of hard work has been a personal enrichment for her career.
In 2001 the Kramer School of Nursing had a very small group of graduates. They didn’t do well with their board examinations. The Board of Nursing was on the doorsteps of Kramer inquiring why.
All of that changed during the next 10 years with the service of former Dean Marvel Williamson. Today, Kramer School of Nursing has exploded with a student population of nearly 500. There are 28 full-time faculty members in all levels. Two faculty are at the Duncan campus. One of the faculty members on the OCU campus is serving as the program coordinator for the Duncan initiative. Duncan Regional Hospital, approached Salmeron about bringing its general baccalaureate program to Duncan. Approval by necessary entities was granted, and a cohort with 15 students commenced studies last August at the Duncan Regional Hospital Education Center.
“We deliver that curriculum live through Synchronoss Polycom Technology,” Salmeron said.
