Page 6 - ATI Sales Portfolio

Dr. Lloyd also had an in-depth conversation with ATI Solutions Support Nurse Educator Judi Dunn, MSN, RN, about the school's urgent short-term need to prepare current seniors -- well into the 2014-2015 academic year -- for their boards, and the longer-term need for sustainable program success.
"When I got off the phone with Judi, I went to our dean and said, 'we're going to be fine,' " says Dr. Lloyd.
Dunn's initial meetings with administration and faculty set the positive and productive tone that would characterize the partnership. The ATI team began by focusing on two key areas -- ramped-up NCLEX preparation for the class of 2015 seniors, and developing faculty to transition to a more effective and student-centered active learning environment.
Products including ATI's Capstone Content Review, Customized Live Review, Virtual ATI and others were incorporated to prepare the seniors for their boards in May. Strategies such as identifying academically at-risk students and focused remediation in critical content areas of Pharmacology and Adult Medical-Surgical helped close the gap between students' knowledge and what they would need to know for the NCLEX. That plan was deployed over the fall and into the spring of 2015.
Committing to Success
Concurrently, the Lynchburg faculty went through customized workshops and training designed to help them transition from the traditional "stand up and lecture mode" to a more active learning environment, one that develops clinical reasoning skills and causes the student to come to class prepared to actively participate in the learning experience, rather than just listen to a lecture. One of the key tenets of the training was assuring inclusion of the NCLEX test plan breadth and QSEN competencies as opposed to teaching to the textbooks.
"We knew that we had to change the way we taught," recalls Dr. St. Clair. "My biggest fear was that we would overwhelm our faculty with too much, and that we would lose a lot of educators. Many of them were already new and now we were going to something that was completely different than what they had been used to. "
But the concerns proved unfounded, and the return from winter break brought a welcome surprise.
"Over break, our entire faculty had completely revamped their courses into an active learning format," says Dr. Lloyd. "This was without any prodding from us. They were so inspired by the notion of not having to stand up and be constricted by power point slides. We told them 'you have so much knowledge you can share and stretch the students.' "
"They've done a remarkable job," adds Dr. St. Clair. "They were excited to see change in students and excited to see results. To have a brand new faculty totally willing to do this was amazing."
By early 2015, as the partnership gained traction, Lynchburg College officially moved to ATI's Complete Partnership, a package that would offer the school access to nearly every resource in the ATI product portfolio along with an open door to the experts within ATI to help develop a customized approach to help the school achieve its goals.
Drs. St. Clair and Lloyd met with students to explain why the major changes were being implemented, and to engage them in the new way of learning that would better prepare them for NCLEX and subsequently positions as novice nurses. For the seniors facing boards in just a few months, remediation and courses that drew on critical thinking, emphasized effective clinical decision-making and reinforced the NCLEX content resonated -- particularly after a weekend ATI Live Review session.
"They weren't pleased to have to do that," Dr. Lloyd says, "but afterwards, when they looked at their results, and better understood their gaps, they thought it was amazing. They knew what they had to work on to pass."
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