Kiesow and Monson say the timing couldn’t be better for the launch of the program. “With the loss of Presentation College, there is no longer an educational institution that fills the nursing shortage via traditional pathways, and SDSU’s program served a different purpose— students would come here for the education, often from different states, then accept positions in different communities, often outside of South Dakota,” said Kiesow. When nurses leave their communities to pursue education, they establish roots elsewhere, leaving local healthcare facilities both vulnerable and overworked. “To serve this area, we need to serve the students in the region,” explained Kiesow. To do this, the university intends to develop a program that meets the highest standards of nursing education while creating strong partnerships with local healthcare facilities. “Our program is meant to have a ‘personal touch’ in the sense the students will be able to connect with all the faculty and staff through one-on-one interactions as well as in the classroom space,” said Kiesow, adding that there is a heavy focus on practical experiences and case studies. All faculty, she shares, are practicing nurses, adding a level of relevancy to the curriculum as well as connectedness to current practices in the nursing field.
THE BUSINESS ISSUE february 2025
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