Recruitment and Retention of Alaska Natives into Nursing

RRANN students out and about in the School of Nursing: Sara Swanson, Michelle Wilson, Angela Hill, Michelle Todd, Allison Angaiak, Marei Benton, Isabel Nay, Suzette Blaser, Rachel Kemp, Cindy Petterson, Renee Kochuten, and James Chapman.

Inside this Issue:

3211 Providence Drive

Anchorage, Alaska 99508

(907) 786-6944 http://nursing.uaa.alaska.edu/rrann

https://www.facebook.com/rrann.nwdp  

2: Words from Our Spring Graduates 3: Five Villages in Five Days:

Bering Straits Region RRANN Outreach Effort 4: RRANN Student Amanda McKinney: Looking Back and Looking Forward!

5: Guest Contributor Naomi Chuckwuk: RRANN and Public Health 6-7: Meet the RRANN Staff!

8-9: Interested in Supporting RRANN? 10: About RRANN

Recruitment and Retention of Alaska Natives into Nursing is pleased to announce a new name for our newsletter series: Kijik, or “Gathering Place.”

Kijik (or Qizhjeh) was a well-populated Dena’ina settlement. The Dena’ina abandoned Kijik as a settlement in 1909 due to concern over a measles outbreak, but still gather at the site to collect subsistence foods; foods necessary for healthy life. This continues the long tradition of Kijik being a gathering place

where people care for each other.

RRANN wishes to offer its deepest respect and gratitude to James Hobson as well as his mother, Aggie, for their gift of this name capturing the dream of its students and staff: Native people joining in community to build a healthy future.

We invite you to join us in these pages as a community celebrating news and accomplishments of our people.

A New Name for our Newsletter! Kijik: Gathering Place

our health system was of value, and by becoming a nurse, my value could be put to use directly with individuals, families and communities, as well as with the teams that provide our care. I welcome challenges faced as opportunities for learning about myself, our world and our people in order to share our strengths and grow together. Thank you RRANN for connecting me with those who share the same journey!

I am Inupiaq Eskimo and Polish American from the Fish River Tribe in the Bering Straits area. I just received my license as a Registered Nurse and graduated from UAA’s School of Nursing. Knowing that I had the ability to promote a comfortable environment for our people when in a time of need encouraged me to endure the nursing program. An internship with ANTHC years ago proved to me that my presence within

Quenna Szafran: Words from a RRANN Graduate

Were you a RRANN graduate? Would you like to reconnect?

Greetings to all our RRANN alumni! We’d like to hear

what you are doing now in

your careers and families, and we’d love to feature

that information in an

alumni updates section we

would like to add to future

RRANN Kijik newsletters.

If you have news to share

with our Kijik newsletter audience, please contact

Stephanie by phone at 786-

6944 or email:

smsanderlin@uaa.alaska.edu.

Michelle Todd: RRANN Graduate

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We are pleased to

announce that Michelle

Todd is also a Spring

2013 graduate,

graduating with a

bachelor’s degree in

nursing!

Congratulations,

Michelle!

Congratulations,

Quenna!

Five Villages in Five Days: Bering Straits Region RRANN Outreach Effort

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Mary Reeve, RRANN Student Success Facilitator, accompanied by Susan Labelle, UAA Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, and Rene Contreras, UAA Pathways Coordinator, WWAMI School of Medical Education attended four college and career fairs in the villages of Nome, Shismaref, Gambell, and Teller.

These career fairs were hosted by the Workforce Development Director, Luisa Machuca, Youth Programs & Native Employment Work Service, Kawerak, Inc.

Each day many of us would leave our home base of Nome and fly out on a day trip to the beautiful villages, spend the day with the students and staff, and return to Nome at evening.

We had wonderful connections with 100+ students from K – 12 levels. Working relationships were formed during our stay in the region to include Douglas Walrath, Executive Director, NACTEC Vocational School who took us on a tour of the entire live-in facility and we met some awesome students and two young ladies are thinking of majoring in nursing. Another great connection was made with the Northwest Campus staff and they are willing to work with us in identifying nursing students who may be attending UAA soon.

We were weathered out of Saint Michael and we were quickly scooped up and taken on a tour of the new Nome hospital by Rhonda Schneider, Recruitment and Staffing

Manager, Human Resources and what a beautiful hospital it is. She is willing to work with the RRANN program in recruiting our nursing graduates for employment.

We currently have Terra Abbot, RN, Inupiaq from Nome who works in the Nome hospital and another student, Theresa Olanna, who wants to be a nurse in Nome as well. Many students do want to return to their respective regions after graduation to be able to work and live in their regions serving their people, living off the land, and being close to their families.

Igloo created by Teller students.

Nome NACTEC students taking a break and enjoying each other’s company!

Shishmareff students smiling with UAA staff members.

A mural in the new Nome hospital.

Student Expectations in Inuqiaq at Gambel School; our languages are so important!

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Hello, fellow nursing students. I am Amanda McKinney and I am Inupiaq, my family is from Little Diomede and Wales, Alaska. When I was growing up I knew that I always wanted to be a nurse, but that goal seemed far out of my reach until I reached high school. In my senior year of high school, I took an on-the-job training opportunity from a program called King Career Center, and I was placed at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC). I had a total of 192 hours in the Emergency Room, Operating Room, and the Labor and Delivery Room. At ANTHC I assisted the nurses, and job shadowed other health professionals. My on-the-job training experience inspired me to seek higher education and has led me to pursue more educational opportunities such as summer internship programs, volunteering opportunities, and a tutoring/mentor position. After I graduated high school I was accepted to the University of Alaska

Anchorage Della Keats Pre-medical Summer Enrichment Program. It was a six week program that provided introductory healthcare college courses, and job shadowing experiences. The job shadowing experiences for the Della Keats Program at Providence Alaska Medical Center and Geneva Woods Midwifery and Women’s Health Care have been an indispensable part of my education. Della Keats opened up many opportunities for me and led me to participate in the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases/National Institutes of Health (NIDDK/NIH) Short Term Education Program for Underrepresented Persons Undergraduate Program (STEP-UP) in the summer of 2010. NIDDK/NIH STEP-UP prepared me for my biology and chemistry courses because I learned biochemistry principles, lab procedures, and skills. I interned at the First Alaskans Institute Summer Leadership Program in the summer of 2012, and then I was placed at the ANTHC Physical Therapy Department. I got the opportunity to understand different Native cultures and values, and this inspired me to learn more about my own rich Inupiaq culture. The summer leadership internship was a valuable experience because I gained the knowledge of my leadership skills and how to relate to individuals who have different leadership values and perceptions. In the Physical Therapy Department, I learned fundamental knowledge on how to move patients safely without compromising my back. I am presently participating in the Native community by tutoring for the Recruiting and Retention of

Alaska Natives into Nursing Program. I tutor Human Anatomy and Physiology, Introductory Microbiology, and Introductory Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry. I chose to become a tutor because I enjoyed mentoring other students while I was enrolled in the biology and chemistry courses. I volunteered from August 2010 to May 2013 as a Comfort Care Companion for ANTHC, and I have a total of 170 hours. I have been in the Critical Care Unit, Orthopedics Unit, and the Pediatrics Unit as a Comfort Care Companion. My experiences in the hospital will benefit my nursing education because I am familiar with patient interactions and the roles and responsibilities of a nurse. I have worked closely with nurses, and I know that a career in nursing is right for me. I enjoy working for the Alaska Native community, whether it be volunteering, interning, or tutoring. I am delighted to finally be in the summer 2013 Bachelors of Science in Nursing Program at the University of Alaska Anchorage. I aspire to work at ANTHC after I graduate in December 2014 because my experiences there have been wonderful. I enjoy the supportive and respectful environment at ANTHC and I want to be a part in increasing the quality of life for Alaska Native people. I want to make a difference in the Alaska Native community by becoming a nurse at ANTHC. I will use my education in the service for the betterment of the Alaskan Native community.

RRANN Student Amanda McKinney: Looking Back and Looking Forward!

Visit the Indian Health Service Scholarship program online!

http://www.ihs.gov/scholarship/index.cfm

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The Health Professions scholarship provides financial aid to qualified American Indian and Alaska Native undergraduate- and graduate-level students. Recipients must be members of federally recognized Tribes and enrolled in an eligible health profession degree program.

The IHS Scholarship Program provides financial aid to all scholarship recipients

covering tuition, required fees and other educational and living expenses.

in exchange for financial aid, scholarship recipients agree to fulfill a service commitment in full-time clinical practice upon completion of their academic or post-graduate clinical training.

About the Scholarship:

I am an Alaskan Native; I received my B.S. in Chemistry from Westminster College and have worked in various healthcare fields for over ten years. I've seen medicine as a family member, a patient, and a professional; what strikes me through it all is just how personal health care is and how important it is to have providers with whom all patients can identify. That’s why I believe in the RRANN program with its goal of increasing the number of Alaska Natives and American Indians serving as nurses in my home state of Alaska and beyond. My grandparents spoke Yup’ik and were not proficient in speaking English. Navigating healthcare was very hard for them since they faced unfamiliar language, jargon, and faces in clinics and hospitals. As Indian Health

Service patients, they rarely saw the same doctor twice, adding to the strangeness of an already uncomfortable situation. Feeling alienated in healthcare settings is not a situation faced only by our elders and others in the past. Recently, I needed a tetanus shot and sought care through an IHS facility. When a physician's assistant I am related to and had known since I was very young walked in, I was surprised and excited to see her! Despite my professional experience in healthcare, clinics, and hospitals, I realized that when I’m the patient, I have more trust when I know the care provider and feel more comfortable asking questions, leading to a more complete and well-rounded visit. Over the past 20 years, occurrences of high blood

pressure, heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, and cancer has sky-rocketed with 70% of deaths due to these chronic illnesses. The current generation of children in the U. S. is the first generation with shorter estimated life expectancies than their parents. These chronic illnesses decrease life expectancy and quality of life and are largely preventable through lifestyle changes. Public health officials and care providers can provide training and education to the public in order to reverse the trends of these chronic illnesses. Programs like RRANN are big steps toward reaching people on personal and cultural levels, making training and education much more effective and moving us forward to a healthier world.

Guest Contributor Naomi Chuckwuk: RRANN and Public Health

“Despite my professional experience in healthcare, I realized that I have more trust when I know the care provider and feel more comfortable asking questions, leading to a more complete and well-rounded visit.”

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Education from the UAF. Her professional background includes

many years of work with at-risk

student populations and Alaska Native students in elementary and

high schools. She has over 25 years

of experience in coaching/

mentoring in many different areas, including sports, performing arts,

and community service groups.

Rebecca also has many years of

community involvement with the

many diverse cultural groups and individuals in our state including her

membership in Pav’va Inupiaq

Dancers, a dance group based in Fairbanks.

Rebecca works with RRANN

students in Fairbanks, Nome,

Dillingham, and Kotzebue. She truly enjoys connecting with the

wide variety of communities in her

service area.

Born in Bethel, but raised in the

Fairbanks area, Rebecca Dreier

comes from a long line of educators

and holds a B.A. in Elementary

Rebecca Dreier UAF RRANN Student Success Facilitator rrdreier@alaska.edu 907-455-2880

An itinerant public health

nurse in the Yukon Kuskokwim region before

joining the University of

Alaska Anchorage faculty in

1979, Jackie Pflaum is now the Associate Vice Provost

for Health Programs

Development. Her research

in nursing history includes a biography of Elinor Gregg,

first Nursing Director of the

Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Jackie Pflaum RRANN Project Coordinator Jspflaum@uaa.alaska.edu 907-786-4527

With 25 years of experience educating the youth of Alaska, Robert (Bob)

Love has served our state as a

principal, teacher, and counselor for Craig City Schools and Mt. Edgecumbe

High School, located in Sitka, Alaska

serving s student body of mainly

Alaska Natives and students from rural

Alaska.

Currently housed at the University of Alaska Sitka campus, Bob works with

the students of Southeast Alaska in

Sitka, Juneau, and Ketchikan. He also

works within the Career Education Department as a Recruitment

Specialist.

Robert Love UAS Outreach Specialist robert.love@uas.alaska.edu 907-747-7777

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After working years in health and as an educator, Mary (Pachooka) Reeve Hobson joined the Anchorage RRANN program staff to work with pre-nursing students. Mary earned a UAA B.A. degree in Secondary Education; Social Studies with a minor in Political Science. She has an extensive background as a UAA Alaska Native political activist, was chosen as Minority Student of the Year in Alaska, worked

as an intern in Senator Ted Steven’s Washington D.C. office, was appointed to the University of Alaska

board of Regents in 1990 by Governor Cowper, and was chosen as Student of the Year by the Bristol Bay Native Corporation. She has enjoyed assisting Alaska Native and American Indian future nurses in achieving their goals and dreams and is now looking

forward to her retirement, effective Fall 2013!

Mary Reeve Hobson is retiring! Quyana Mary! You have given many years of service to University of Alaska students!

Stephanie Sanderlin is of Yup’ik, Aleut, Russian, and German heritage and is originally from Dillingham, Alaska. Her parents, Jim and Jeanie Timmerman, raised Stephanie along with her three younger siblings in a subsistence and commercial fishing family.

After graduating from Dillingham High School, Stephanie attended Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa and received her B.A. in English Teaching. She spent 15 years in secondary education before moving to the UAA School of Nursing to work for the Anchorage RRANN program. Since Stephanie's mother served as an Alaska public health nurse for over 30 years and currently works for the Head Start program as Wellness Content Manager, Stephanie has been pretty well-acquainted with nursing and nurses throughout her lifetime. Consequently, she realizes the incredible role nurses play in healthcare and is eager to help Alaska Native and American Indian students as they pursue their nursing degrees.  

Stephanie Sanderlin UAA RRANN Student Success Facilitator smsanderlin@uaa.alaska.edu 907-786-6944

         It is with a heavy but hopeful heart that I announce my departure from the RRANN Program and the Kusko-kwim Campus (KuC). I have been the Recruiter, Advisor, and RRANN Coor-dinator here at KuC. For the past year and a half, I have worked with Nurs-ing and Pre-Nursing students. I worked with the graduating cohort who finished in December of 2012, and helped fill our current cohort that will graduate in December of 2014. I hope that I have helped our students be better prepared for their education and careers. At KuC I tried to inspire growth, hope, and good decisions. I am now moving to Juneau to work as an advisor for the University of South-east. Piurci (Continue to Be). Quintessentially, Quentin (Ciissiaq) Simeon

Quentin Simeon is Departing RRANN to Advise Students at

UAS in Juneau. Quyana Quentin! We have enjoyed working with you!

William Samson has lived in Alaska since 1999 and

began his pursuit of a B.S. in Nursing Sciences in 2004.

Graduating in 2010, he expressed his dedication for student learning as he tutored students in pursuit of

B.S.N. and A.A.S. degrees in Nursing Sciences.

After nearly four years of student tutoring, William

acquired the Tutor Coordinator position. He works to

develop positive and long-lasting

rapport between the students,

staff, and faculty of the School of Nursing.

William Samson Tutor Coordinator wdsamsonjr@uaa.alaska.edu 907-786-4527

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For more informa on about making a gi ,  contact Ivy Spohnholz at (907) 786‐1944 or 

ivy@uaa.alaska.edu. 

The goal of Recruitment and Retention of Alaska Natives in Nursing (RRANN) is to increase the percentage of Alaska Native and American Indians in nursing to equal their percentage of Alaska’s population (16%). Through recruiting Alaska Native students into nursing and providing both group and individual support through their studies, the program has helped over 120 Alaska Native and American Indian students graduate from UAA’s nursing programs. RRANN is one of UAA’s most successful initiatives with a 96% graduation rate. Contributions to this special program support the mentorship, cultural community, financial support and tutoring provided to program members.

Interested in supporting RRANN?

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“Providing culturally relevant health care is not a matter of political correctness; it is often a matter of life and death. When cultural competency is missing from health care, important information is not communicated, symptoms of illness are overlooked or misinterpretedmisinterpreted and patient outcome suffers.”

—RRANN Founder, Tina DeLapp, EdD, R.N.

RRANN helped me a lot when I was going through the nursing program. Now I have the income to give back, and I feel that’s important because believe in RRANN with all my heart. —RRANN Graduate and Donor, Flora Sapp, R.N.

RRANN matters!

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3211 Providence Drive Anchorage, Alaska 99508 (907) 786-6944 http://nursing.uaa.alaska.edu/rrann https://www.facebook.com/rrann.nwdp  

Non‐Profit  Organiza on U.S. Postage  

PAID Permit #107 Anchorage, AK 

Recruitment and Retention of Alaska Natives into Nursing is vital, enriching, and valuable to both the University of Alaska system and Alaska’s diverse and varied communities. RRANN began in 1998 with federal grant funds to recruit and mentor Alaska Native and American Indian students in the pursuit of nursing degrees. In 2006, UAA ranked 7th in the nation for Alaska Native and American Indian students earning Bachelor degrees in various health-related programs. Sixty percent of these graduates were RRANN students. RRANN employs student success facilitators around the state to support our students in the day-to-day challenges of school and life. The program also helps students connect with on-campus housing, career and academic advising, job placement, and academic and financial aid resources, including a scholarship program open only to RRANN students. RRANN students have access to the free loan of tools like lab coats, stethoscopes, SmartPens, and scrubs. RRANN, in partnership with community and other UAA agencies, also works to provide enriching gatherings and speakers who offer guidance and wisdom to students as they continue in their pathways to nursing careers. Since 1998, RRANN has proudly seen 179 Alaska Native and American Indian students graduate from the School of Nursing. Approximately eighty percent of RRANN graduates remain in Alaska to serve our population with excellent and culturally relevant health care.

Jessica Schneider, former RRANN Student, wearing a

traditional parka.