Polk State College Nursing Department

CONGRATULATIONS to John Conklin May 2019 AS grad and May 2020 BSN grad who was selected as member of Air Force Nurse Corps where he will serve as a critical care nurse. His commissioning ceremony had to be virtual and following COVID restrictions so sorry you can't see his face. John had a prior bachelor's degree before entering the nursing program and was able to take advantage of the dual enrollment program. He finished both programs with honors. Way to go!

CONGRATULATIONS to Dr. Joan Connors who has been selected to serve as Interim Director of Nursing. Joan has many years of experience in nursing and nursing education, including the past six years at Polk State as BSN faculty and BSN Coordinator.

Pictured is a quilt made for Dr. Hutcherson by Professor Amy Eaton. The quilt consists of some of the t-shirts of the department through the years. You may say "I have that shirt".

Below is a link to a short video prepared for the retirement party for Dr. Hutcherson. Graduates you might find yourself or your classmates in some of the pictures. You can also see pictures of faculty from early years.

Hutcherson Retirement Video View on VidGrid

CONGRATULATIONS to the December 2020 class! They had a modified pinning ceremony, which you can see the video at https://vimeo.com/489452609. Congratulations to Clive Perry and Jesse Sansome for receiving the Spirit of Nursing award and John Machesko for receiving the Outstanding Student award. Best of luck to all the graduates on the NCLEX-RN and the start of your professional career. We are proud of you!

Nursing Pinning 2020 This is "Nursing Pinning 2020" by Polk State College on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

Employment Opportunity: Shannon Harris, a AS nursing graduate, is needing someone to help in the care of her mother. Very basic care only is needed. Shannon says biggest experience needed is the ability to make a PBJ sandwich. In addition to an hourly wage, room and board is a possibility. If interested, contact Shannon at [email protected] or 863-648-5959.

We were saddened to hear of the death of Jessica Burton, AS graduate of May 2013. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family.

Dr. Annette Hutcherson, Director of the Nursing Program, will retire in December after 31.5 years at Polk (and over 50 years as a nursing educator). Thanks to all the students who chose Polk State for your nursing education whose paths I crossed.

Professor Lynda Schaak is retiring in December after 26 years of service to students in the Department of Nursing. We want to thank her for her nurturing support of students throughout the years and wish her well.

CONGRATULATIONS to Haley Kemp, 2017 ADN grad, who has completed her master's and received certification as a Family Nurse Practitioner. We are proud of you!

Professor Lisa Stadelbacher is retiring in December after 28 years of service to the Department of Nursing. We appreciate all that she has done to contribute to the success of the program. You can tell from this picture what she will be doing in her new-found free time!

HAPPY NURSE PRACTITIONER WEEK to all our wonderful grads who have gone on for a master's degree and are working as a nurse practitioner. We are proud of you!