Wheelchair Donation Helps Nursing Students

Not only do the two new wheelchairs allow more students to gain experience using medical equipment at one time, but the chairs have up-to-date features used by hospitals in the area.

“The students who will be using the wheelchairs are primarily first-semester nursing students,” said assistant nursing professor Liz McNown. “They [use the wheelchairs to] practice the skill of transferring students from bed to wheelchair and back to bed.”

Additionally, the wheelchairs provide students with the opportunity to practice various feeding methods on manikins seated in the chairs.

The wheelchair donation, organized by Butler graduate and the Associate Chief Nursing Officer at Newton Medical Center, Kristi M. Jackson, gives the nursing program a total of seven wheelchairs to be used for these practices.

“Prior to this donation, we had four regular wheelchairs plus one bariatric wheelchair,” McNown said. “Some of our wheelchairs are aging. But by having two additional wheelchairs, this has allowed our students to perform certain skills at the same time. We have 56 students in our first-semester class, and to have only five wheelchairs was limiting what we could have students do at the same time. By having seven wheelchairs available, that just allows that many more students to practice their skills at the same time.”

Butler’s nursing program, which had a first-time pass rate for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) of 93.8%, allows students to prepare for real-world situations. This fall, Butler partnered with Kansas University’s School of Nursing. With a growing need for baccalaureate nurses, this partnership, as well as the instruction of many skilled professors and up-to-date equipment, allows Butler’s nursing program to maintain its quality training and preparation for careers in nursing.