Local Students become Local Nurses

by Leanna Lehman -- When Western Nevada College lost its nursing program amidst the economic strain of 2011, it was unknown if the highly successful professional nursing program would reopen. Fortunately, it has done just that -- and is better than ever. Thanks to the concentrated efforts of individuals like Bus Scharmann, Raylene Stiehl, Linda Jackson, and Dr. Judith Cordia, WNC’s Nursing director, local students are becoming local nurses. Former WNC Fallon Dean, Bus Scharmann, retired in 2011 and went on to become superintendent for CCSD and has long been advocating restarting the nursing program.  “After years of fighting for students from the inside,” Scharmann stated, “I felt I could do better for the college from the outside. And that turned out to be true.” Scharmann believed that bringing back nursing would strengthen other programs like math and English. Further, he understood the economic benefits of such a program. “If you want a program that leads to jobs, this is it,” Scharmann explained. “And most of them come back to work here.” Seven nurses graduate this month from WNC’s two-year program, five of whom are staying in the Fallon area to work at Banner Churchill Community Hospital. Two other students have signed contracts with St. Mary’s in Reno and Tribal Health in Wadsworth; all putting their education to work for Nevadans. The first nursing classes that returned to Fallon started in 2017-2018 were led by Linda Jackson, the former WNC nursing program instructor. In 2018-2019, Raylene Stiehl took over as lead instructor and has been working with seven 2nd year students and an additional ten 1st year students, running the program at full capacity. Not only is Stiehl beloved by her student nurses, she recently received the Daisy Award, which honors nurses  across the United States and 21 other countries for their "super-human work, skill, and compassion." Through a partnership with Banner Hospital, scholarships, apprenticeships, and county contributions, nursing students can now complete the majority of their program requirements in Fallon. Not only is this a substantial money saver for students, but a huge time saver as nearly all of the nursing students are also mothers. “This program would not even be possible for several students if they had to commute,” Stiehl explained. According to Stiehl and Jackson, both classes of nurses were high-scoring applicants and have proven to be even higher caliber students. With the national NCLEX exam in front of them, finals, clinicals, 3 AM rotations, stints in the OR, ER, and maternity, all while maintaining their apprenticeship duties, these women are truly putting the “care” into Health Care. Graduating nurses in this year's program are Crystal Hornby, Sydney Howard, Kayla Braun, Marysol Murrilo-Kidd, Jerri Crandal, Sabrina Buist, and Misty Youngbear.   Never miss a meeting or community event – keep an eye on the community calendar at https://www.thefallonpost.org/events/ If you like what we’re doing, please support our effort to provide local, independent news and contribute to The Fallon Post, your online news source for all things Fallon