By Jessica Robinson
As a volunteer coordinator for the Gentle Hands Program at Wyoming Medical Center in Casper, Wyo., Susie McMurry has seen firsthand the impact nurses have on patients and their families. In her next life, she wants to become a nurse, but in this one, she gives students the opportunity to help others through nursing with the McMurry Nursing Scholars scholarship.
“The passion, skill and dedication of nurses is nothing less than outstanding,” McMurry says. “I hope that the impact of these scholarships helps students realize their own potentials and dreams and significantly raises the bar of quality, safety and care for all people of Wyoming.”
Beverly Menghetti has lived in Jackson, Wyo., for the past three years, and after working at the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, she decided to become a nurse. The McMurry scholarship has helped her achieve her dreams.
“I’m really grateful for this scholarship,” Menghetti says. “It’s made it a lot better and easier for me to be in this program. I’m just really appreciative.”
Demand for nurses is high. The BRAND (Bachelors Reach for Accelerated Nursing Degree) program and the Susan K. McMurry Strategic Partnership for the Advancement of Nursing in Wyoming allow students to train but also to stay in Wyoming where they have an impact on patients and make a huge difference in the community.
The University of Wyoming BRAND program is an accelerated bachelor’s in nursing (BSN) program for students who already have bachelor’s degrees in other fields and who want to become registered nurses. The BRAND program began in 2008. Fifteen months long, the program includes online learning, hybrid courses and hands-on clinical experiences. Since 2009, 137 students have graduated from the program.
The Susan K. McMurry Strategic Partnership for the Advancement of Nursing in Wyoming supports student scholarships through McMurry Nursing Scholars and faculty positions in nursing. Susie McMurry and her husband, Mick, who are among the biggest supporters of UW, created this partnership fund.
“The McMurry scholarships facilitated students to come to our program who would not be able to attend,” says Candace Tull, director of the BRAND program. “And they are now nursing, and they are in practice in Wyoming, so that is a phenomenal benefit.”
The McMurry endowment supports four to five awards of $10,000 each to assist students with travel, housing and living expenses during their clinical rotations. It also provides salary, benefits and resources for a faculty position that strengthens the collaboration among the nursing school, UW-Casper and the Wyoming Medical Center.
“The $10,000 scholarships that we’ve been giving out through the McMurry Foundation have been phenomenal,” says Mary Burman, dean of the Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing. “The support they provide for our students truly means the ability for these students to do the program and be successful in it.”
With support from UW, the UW Outreach School, health care facilities around the state and private donors, the BRAND program helps Wyoming’s rural and isolated hospitals and agencies grow their own BSN-prepared nurses without relocating students or their families to Laramie, Wyo. Supporting homegrown nurses advances the health care of Wyoming citizens.