COVID-19 Update (March 20)

Hello School of Nursing Community,

On March 10, 2020, President Susan Cole announced that multiple schools and colleges in the University will be extending their Spring Break due to current circumstances involving COVID-19. In her announcement, it was noted that the School of Nursing will be following a different schedule.

To promote everyone’s safety, while providing quality education, the School of Nursing is initiating the following plan to best meet academic and clinical needs for the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester:

• Classes at the School of Nursing will resume on March 16, 2020.
• Fully online courses will continue instruction as usual.
• Hybrid courses will continue online instruction as usual. On-campus lectures are cancelled and will be substituted with online instruction through Canvas.
• Face-to-face courses with lecture will not meet on campus. Your instructor will provide online instruction through Canvas.
• We will be providing detailed information in the coming days regarding courses with a clinical component.

For more information about COVID-19, please refer to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website.

Thank you for your patience during this time. The nature of working in health care dictates that we adapt to ever changing circumstances.

– Dean Smolowitz

Update – March 12, 2020

Dear School of Nursing Community,

We are working hard to provide quality education while limiting exposure to persons in close quarters.

Please see the following updates:

• Open practice hours for the Simulation Center are cancelled until further notice.
• All Stop the Bleed classes have been cancelled until further notice.
• In the next few days, faculty will send specific information regarding course, laboratory, and clinical schedules. This information will be sent through email and accessible via Canvas.

– Dean Smolowitz

Update – March 13, 2020

Dear School of Nursing Community,

Here are the COVID-19 updates for today. Some of this information has been previously discussed.

For the week of 3/16 through 3/20:

• All face-to-face classroom lectures will be delivered in an online format.
• All online courses will continue as scheduled.
• Hybrid courses will be held online. Faculty will substitute an online session for the on-campus meeting.
• All courses with an on-campus simulation or laboratory component will be substituted for an online experience. Do not report to the Simulation Center.
• Hospital and community-based experiences are suspended until further notice. Do not report to your assigned clinical location. Faculty will be providing an online experience to address clinical content.

Please note that faculty members will be contacting you regarding online coursework through Canvas.

We ask that you continue to check your email and Canvas for further updates. You are welcome to contact me with questions.

– Dean Smolowitz

Update – March 18, 2020

Dear School of Nursing Community,

The School of Nursing faculty, staff, and administration would like to thank everyone for their contributions and flexibility during this challenging time. We are working with professional academic nursing organizations to meet all requirements. Our goal is to be sure you are able to move forward with your studies towards your anticipated graduation date.

Until further notice, all lectures, clinical, laboratory, simulation, and community experiences will be virtual. Faculty members will be providing detailed instructions for each course. Stay in touch. We will continue to monitor and provide regular updates as information becomes available.

Please do not hesitate to contact any of us.

Be well.

– Dean Smolowitz

Update – March 20, 2020

Hello School of Nursing Community,

Thank you for your patience and understanding during this challenging week.

I would like to close out the week by reminding all of our students that resources are available to you.

Please make sure you are getting reliable, factual, information about this ever-changing situation. Take action and practice social distancing, connect virtually with people you trust and love, disconnect from social media, and look after yourself physically.

Please remember that all lectures, clinical, laboratory, simulation, and community experiences will be virtual until further notice. Do not report to campus.

We are here for you and encourage you to reach out to us.

– Dean Smolowitz