Everything Nac

Nurses across the state now have access to an online family nurse practitioner program that will be offered this fall by Stephen F. Austin State University. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Board of Nursing recently approved the Master of Science in Nursing program.

“The new program will help the whole community as well as the School of Nursing,” said Dr. Sara Bishop, director of SFA’s DeWitt School of Nursing. “We are already one of the best-known schools of nursing in Texas – our graduation rates are excellent, and our students perform remarkably on their state board exams. This program will offer nurses access to graduate nursing education and provide much-needed primary care to citizens in Deep East Texas.”

The Master of Science in Nursing with focus as a family nurse practitioner requires 46 credit hours and 720 minimum clinical hours to complete. Students will be allowed to utilize preceptors for clinical experiences in their home communities, when possible.

A $750,000 grant from the T.L.L. Temple Foundation strengthened development of the online program, which includes a few on-campus clinical experiences. “We could not have gained momentum if it were not for the support of the T.L.L. Temple Foundation, and we are most thankful,” Bishop said.

Admission to the program will occur only during the fall semester. Priority deadline for fall admission is July 1 for the 2017-18 academic year. After 2017-18, the priority deadline will be April 1.

There are several specific requirements for program admittance, including a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from an accredited institution, a current unencumbered Texas registered nurse license, one year of full-time or equivalent experience practicing as a registered nurse, and more.

The SFA nursing administrators stated that access to health care is a growing concern across the nation. Many Texas counties have a shortage of primary care providers, including the counties in Deep East Texas. The leaders believe this program will connect SFA and East Texas communities through learning opportunities.

“Many of the students will be working with area nurse practitioners and primary care physicians in clinical sites where they will receive assistance and training,” said Dr. Janice Hensarling, associate professor of nursing and Master of Science in Nursing assistant program coordinator. “We have already received so much support from the community, and our program will focus on the needs of rural East Texas.”

For additional information about admission requirements and other details, contact Hensarling at (936) 468-7732 or jhensarling@sfasu.edu.

Immersion is said to be one of the best ways to learn a language. Stephen F. Austin State University undergraduate students studying German are bringing that adage into the 21st century as they create virtual museums examining 20th-century German cultural history.

“The motivation behind this project is twofold,” said Dr. Louise Stoehr, SFA associate professor of German and director of the Language Resource Center. “In an effort to make class assignments more relevant to communication modalities of the 21st century, students create interactive websites instead of writing papers. At the same time, critical thinking skills — learning to ask the difficult questions and seek answers to them — are a focal point of the course. Beyond fostering intermediate-level acquisition of German, the larger goal of this course is to successfully encourage and support mentored undergraduate scholarship.”

Started two years ago as an extension of a study-abroad program, the virtual museum project allows for students to study the history of Germany from the middle of the Nazi Third Reich through the unification of East and West Germany.

“The virtual museum project evolved as a component of SFA’s fourth-semester German course, in which students study the cultural and political history of mid- to late-20th century Germany,” Stoehr explained. “Specifically, through the media of film, graphic novels and youth literature, students learn about resistance to Nazi ideology and leadership during the Third Reich, examine the stark differences of daily life in West and in East Germany, and finally discover through firsthand accounts how average people in East Germany successfully achieved what is known as the 1989 Peaceful Revolution.”

According to Stoehr, the projects were well-received by faculty and staff members, students and the community during the virtual museum’s first two years.

“People are impressed that students create the projects they do and present them in a modality that invites the visitor to engage personally with the materials as he/she wishes,” Stoehr said. “At several conferences, a number of colleagues in attendance wanted to know if they could ‘steal’ my idea for adaptation at their own campuses. Many professors really liked the project for its ability to showcase what language students are doing and to demonstrate the relevance of our subjects to a well-rounded education.”

Groups of two-to-three students in Stoehr’s four-semester German course will present in-depth and interactive websites on selected topics to the public from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 2, in the Griffith Art Gallery on the SFA campus.

The Stephen F. Austin State University Wind Symphony will present “Tetelestai” at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 1, in W.M. Turner Auditorium in the Griffith Fine Arts Building on the SFA campus.

Composer Andrew Boss described his “Tetelestai – A Symphony for Wind Ensemble” as work that “portrays images rather than adhering to a strict narrative,” allowing for “a different interpretation of these images from each listener as he or she engages in a unique aural experience as the music unfolds.”

Tetelestai is Greek for “It is finished,” the last words Jesus spoke before his death, according to the Gospel of John.

“The nature of this word – in the perfect indicative mood of its verbal form teleo – suggests having completed an action that is both irreversible and infinite,” Boss wrote in describing the piece. “Within the context Jesus used, it meant that he perfectly fulfilled the demands of the Mosaic Law on behalf of his people, and that he took the punishment his people deserved and placed it onto his own shoulders by his death.”

Throughout the symphony, Boss attempted to capture images of how he interpreted these series of biblical events.

“This is not a programmatic work, because I am not retelling the story of this account,” he wrote. “Rather, I am portraying images based on how this story makes me feel.”

The first movement portrays images of the crucifixion – betrayal, despair, suffering and death.

“This movement begins and ends with a linear theme in the horn representing a promise waiting to be fulfilled, which returns intimately later in the piece,” he said.

The second movement portrays images of conflict between two opposing forces, such as life vs. death, or dark vs. light. The third movement is subdivided into two separate sections, beginning with a short interlude, followed by the finale.

“The finale begins in a reflective mood and slowly intensifies toward a climactic conclusion that portrays images of victory and rebirth,” Boss said, “which is how I interpret the resurrection.”

In addition to “Tetelestai – A Symphony for Wind Ensemble,” the Wind Symphony will perform works by Davide Della Cese, Pete Wiley and David Maslanka.

Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.