Jewel Yoder

In academic year 23-24, the Department of Nursing graduated 20 new traditional BSN nurses, 8 Family Nurse Practitioner students, and 2 Doctor of Nursing Practice students, and we are so excited to see where this profession takes them. We had four newly appointed faculty this year: Jennifer Van Fleet MSN, RN with a specialty focus on OB, Rosemary Ganthungu and Hilary Arroyo with a specialty focus on Psych/Mental health, and  Ekomobong Essien MSN, RN, CPNP-PC to help with our Pediatrics course in our Family Nurse Practitioner program.

We have a vibrant student mentoring program led by faculty with student guest speakers, monthly topics, student peer-to-peer support, and Registered Nurse (RN) to student mentoring. Our students really seem to appreciate the chance to hear from one another on topics, such as studying and time management in nursing school, testing tips from upper-class students, imposter syndrome (normalizing feelings of inadequacy), self-care, and other topics.

We began year one of professional (RN) mentors for some of our students in 23-24 in collaboration with Goshen Health, and look forward to the growth of this program. We continue to embrace the diversity of our student body and welcome them all into the profession of nursing – we are blessed to have you!

We are so grateful to our many donors and grants that support our ongoing endeavor to meet our departmental mission,

“Within the community of faith and learning at Goshen College, the nursing program nurtures students in the process of becoming informed, articulate, sensitive, and responsible professional nurses. As a ministry of the Mennonite Church, we seek to prepare graduates to engage in life-long learning and to practice in an ever-changing healthcare environment.”

A huge thank you to all our donors who are supporting the new “Center for Nursing and Public Health” located in the renovated Westlawn building- we could not have done this without you and are so excited to open in January of 2025!

For 24-25, we look forward to incorporating many new things: Next Generation NCLEX testing models, continuing to develop more simulation scenarios for student growth and assessment, and continued work on the development of competency-based education in nursing.  We have 17 sophomores to date, 21 juniors, and 17 seniors enrolled in our traditional undergraduate program.

Academic year 23-24 saw us graduate two Goshen College nurses through our DNP program and I am so pleased to be serving as lead faculty for one of our EMU graduates.  We anticipate cohort 3 starting in Fall of 2024 and to date have 19 people who have graduated through this program.

23-24:  We continue to offer Part-time and Full-time online tracks of study and are excited to have a cohort of 5 students enrolled in the part-time offering. They will be graduating in the Spring of 2025.

I represent Goshen College as part of the Indiana Nursing Education Equity and Diversity Statewide grant (IN NEEDS) through the Indiana Center for Nursing (ICN).  This grant program was awarded in 2019, through the Center to Champion Nursing in America (CCNA),  Innovations Fund. The focus is on increasing diversity in the nursing workforce in the state of Indiana; through holistic admissions, mentorship, and funding. We will need more nurses to meet the demand for healthcare in our future aging population.  Of primary interest to me is how to increase diversity within nursing; which is not limited to ethnicity but expands to gender, sexuality, educational opportunities, and socio-economic status.

Goshen College in partnership with seven other colleges and universities state-wide has been awarded one of the  U.S. Health Recourses and Services Administration (HRSA) Nursing Workforce Development grants.  Our grant is entitled NEEDS2B and has grown out of the work of the ICN.  Beth Miller, Associate Nursing Faculty, will be the program liaison for Goshen College.  The grant will offer 24 scholarship/stipend packages to diverse nursing students to help with matriculation into the profession of nursing. To date, we have had 17 students successfully matriculate through our program in part because of the NEEDS2B program. This is the third year out of a four-year program and we look forward to continuing to partner with the ICN to apply to renew this highly effective and successful grant for future students.

We are in year four of implementing mentorship in our nursing program, knowing that students thrive when they have the support, resources, and fortitude to persevere through the rigors of nursing school.

In the 23-24 academic year, the IN Needs program helped Goshen College hold 4 different nursing salons in which all undergraduate students had an opportunity to participate.   A big thank you to AAPR who helps by funding food at these events.

Goshen College held a highly successful first annual Career Day for Nursing and Public Health drawing in over 60 local high school students who wish to explore healthcare careers.

For the 24-25 school year, I will be teaching:

NURS 309 Healthcare Ethics which I really enjoy- this coming year I plan to host guest speakers on the topics of: Assisted Reproductive Technologies, Genetics with Dr. Ammous and Jared Beasley RN from the Community Health Clinic, Medically Fragile Newborns, Scarcity of healthcare resources, public health ethics, research ethics and organ transplant scarcity and allocation concerns, it is going to be a fun and engaging course!

Most of my efforts will be focused on the transition into our departments into the new academic space, on-boarding of new faculty, and strategic work on incorporation of simulation into our curriculum.

For the 23-24 school year, I will be teaching:

NURS 309 Healthcare Ethics

NURS 408 Community Health and covering the associated clinical experiences

NURS 802 DNP project implementation

For the 22-23 school year, I will be teaching:

PUBH 410: Senior Seminar

NURS 309: Healthcare Ethics

NURS 500: Foundations for Leadership

NURS 410: Senior Seminar

NURS 510: Health Care Ethics

NURS 802: DNP Project Implementation

For the 21-22 school year, I will be teaching :

NURS 309: Healthcare Ethics with Susan Setiawan

NURS 510: Healthcare Ethics (graduate level)

NURS 410: Senior Seminar

For the 20-21 school year, I will be teaching :

NURS 410: Senior Seminar

NURS 211: Fundamentals of Nursing

NURS 212: Holistic Client Assessment

For the 19-20 school year, I will be teaching:

NURS 331: Philosophy and Theories of Nursing

NURS 433: Research in Nursing (2 sections)

NURS 438: Community Health

NURS 211: Concepts and Strategies in Nursing

For the 18-19 school year, I will be teaching:

NURS 331: Philosophy and Theories of Nursing (2 sections)

NURS 433: Research in Nursing (3 sections)

NURS 449: Leadership in Nursing (1 section)

For the 17-18 school year, I  will be teaching:

NURS 331: Philosophy and Theories of Nursing (2 sections)

NURS 433: Research in Nursing (both online and face-to-face) (3 sections)

For the 16-17 school year, I will be teaching the following courses:

NURS 331: Philosophy and Theories of Nursing (both online and face-to-face)

NURS: 447 Issues Seminar (a capstone project)

NURS: 449:  Leadership in Nursing

NURS 409: Leadership in Nursing and clinical (traditional program)

NURS 308: Gerontology (traditional program, shared with Joyce Hoffman)

For the 15-16 school year I taught the following courses:

NURS 331: Philosophy and Theories of Nursing

NURS 312: Clinicals (at Elkhart General) for one section of Pediatric Nursing

NURS 447: Issues Seminar

NURS 449: Leadership in Nursing

22-2023: A huge thank you to my tenure and promotion committee for their work and support.  Thank you to the board of trustees at Goshen College for awarding me tenure with this institution. I look forward to my future here and to the growth that lies ahead for us with a new nursing/ public health facility, our expansion into nursing simulation, and perhaps a master’s of public health at some future point in time.

I am honored to have been awarded a President’s Innovation Grant for my scholarly work in the DNP program for the 18-19 and 19-20 academic year.  I also received the Mininger Grant for faculty development in 17-18, 18-19, and 19-20, which will also support my ongoing academic growth, as I progress through my Doctoral program.  Thank you to the Nursing Department for assistance through the Nora Martin Scholarship for funding my education, as well as, your ongoing support, as I pursue my terminal degree!

I am pleased to have been the recipient of “Nursing Excellence in Interdisciplinary Relationships” award in 2009 at Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, Colorado. I was proud to be nominated two consectutive years for “Leader of the Year” award in 2010 and 2011, at Rose Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado.  I was also awarded the “Courageous Leader under Pressure” award in 2010 as Rose Medical Center opened its 24 bed level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit after being remodeled into private rooms for the tiniest patients.