向护士致敬
获奖者具有心理健康背景
一个共同的话题将休斯顿乌西顿休斯顿教职员工的Cizik护理学院连接起来，并在《休斯顿纪事报》 2021年向护士致敬的学生中获得了荣誉 - 刑事司法系统中的心理保健经验。
“像我和你”
在校园中被称为“博士chudi，”助理教授Chukwudi C. Ekwemalor博士，MBA，MSN，RN，PMHNPBC，领导本科生的精神病和心理健康护理计划，并共同教学研究生课程。一位数量测量师/项目经理变成了护士，他在尼日利亚的祖国获得了第一家文凭和工商管理硕士学位，然后在休斯敦社区学院学习，成为一名持牌职业护士，以移民到美国。
“I started my nursing career in nursing homes and later worked at the Harris County Jail,” Ekwemalor said, noting that it is estimated that half the people incarcerated there have at least one mental health condition. “Mental health treatment in jail and other places requires a lot of therapeutic communication. You have to really talk to patients in a way that enables you to understand them.”
Ekwemalor went on to receive his Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Prairie View A&M University before earning his Master of Science in Nursing and PhD from Cizik School of Nursing, as well as completing a post-master’s program to become a psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioner. His research interests focus on vulnerable populations, immigrants, and minorities. His long list of awards as a student and an educator include an Excellence in Nursing Silver Medal from the Good Samaritan Foundation.
“Now is a time of great opportunity for psychiatric and mental health nurses, and succeeding in the field requires truly being a people person,” said Ekwemalor. “Therapeutic communication is at the heart of psych nursing. Patients have to trust you to reveal some of the difficult personal situations of their life. You have to genuinely try to understand somebody and walk with them. A lot of psychiatric patients are people who are like me and you.”
探索各种选择
Like many students earning BSN degrees through Cizik School of Nursing’s 15-month Pacesetter program, Lance Edwards was preparing for a career change. The London native was one of only three students across Houston to receive a scholarship through the Salute to Nurses program.
回到英格兰，爱德华兹（Edwards）担任心理学家，治疗青少年和精神分裂症患者。像Ekwemalor一样，他与哈里斯县监狱的心理健康患者一起工作，在那里担任案件经理。他很快搬到了哈里斯县少年缓刑部门，在那里他使用多系统疗法来帮助青少年及其父母。
爱德华兹说：“我以前（在伦敦）在医院工作，我真的错过了更多的医疗方面。”拜访急诊科，亲戚激起了他对护理的兴趣，他的妻子鼓励他进行改变。
Edwards graduated in August 2021 and was very active at Cizik School of Nursing, serving in the Ambassador program, as president of the school’s National Alliance on Mental Illness chapter, and as an Area Health Education Center Scholar. He also tutored undergraduate students taking Ekwemalor’s class. A PARTNERS scholarship helped him focus on his studies and academic activities full time.
毕业前，爱德华兹（Edwards）倾向于在急诊室工作，但也在探索护理的其他方面。“护理有很多选择。它是如此的动态和多样化，”爱德华兹说。
他对潜在护理学生的建议是选择合适的学校，制定良好的时间表，并使用可用的教育资源。
他说：“这确实是很多工作，但这是非常可以实现的。”“您必须真正让自己参与学校社区。你真的不能独自做。”
