Buccino Leaders Explore Seton Hall’s IHS Nutley Campus

By Meghan Murphy

On September 18, 2018, Seton Hall University officially opened their IHS campus in Nutley, New Jersey. IHS stands for Interprofessional Health Sciences and is currently made up of the School of Health and Medical Sciences, the School of Medicine, and the College of Nursing. The concept of interprofessional work and study is important because, in the healthcare field, a professional will come into contact with other professionals from all different specializations within healthcare. Therefore teamwork and interdisciplinary leadership skills are extremely important for aspiring healthcare professionals. These are exactly the kinds of skills the IHS campus stresses and builds directly into their curriculum for all three colleges housed in Nutley.

On Friday, November 8, some of the students from the Buccino Leadership Institute took a trip to the IHS campus to get specialized presentations from some of the staff as well as a tour. Select students from the College of Education Cohort who are interested in Speech Pathology, as well as some students from the College of Arts and Sciences Cohort who are Occupational Therapy majors. Also, those interested in Health Administration, or considering pursuing health law attended the trip along with all of the students from the Nursing Cohort. A few students from the Nursing Cohort shared why they want to become a nurse, as well as how they feel about the IHS campus as they begin classes there next semester.

So, why do our Buccino Leadership Institute Nurses want to be nurses? Allison Lamoureux explained that she has always enjoyed helping people, and during her junior year of high school she took anatomy which sparked her interest in the human body. She explained that there are so many opportunities within the field in terms of where one can work. Madison Loustan's explanation stemmed from a personal experience, and she shared that she had a back brace when she was younger for scoliosis. She said that, though her experience with her doctor was not the best, throughout the entire process the nurses were always so caring and positive. This experience inspired her to specifically become a nurse, as she had always known she wanted to be involved in healthcare in some way. Julia Skerratt also shared a personal story, explaining that her mom had cancer, causing Julia to take care of her mom throughout her lifetime. She stressed the desire to have a positive impact on people's lives. Finally, Annemarie Ryan expressed that she always had a desire to be in the medical field, she just did not know where she would fit in. However, growing up, she was inspired by her grandma who worked as a nurse when she saw how she provided for her family. She also knew she wanted direct care with patients and people, which further directed her decision to go into nursing.

These same Nursing students expressed their excitement about the opportunities waiting for them at the IHS campus when they begin their next semester. Annemarie expressed how impressed she is with the facilities at the Nutley campus, emphasizing how fabulous the whole environment is. She also commented on the uniqueness of the interprofessional curriculum offered at IHS and how beneficial she believes it will be for her future career as a nurse. Madison offered that, though she is very interested in and excited for her classes at IHS, she will miss the togetherness of the South Orange campus. However, she is very excited to create a new community at IHS that will directly improve her future professional life. Allison's situation is unique, as she works as a tour guide there on Fridays. Since she knows the campus well, she was able to comment on the details of the facilities, expressing how excited she is that they are up to date and so nice. She is very excited to be a part of something so innovative that is so focused on interprofessional health and teamwork. Finally, Julia said excitedly that she cannot wait to start at IHS next semester and going forward, as she knows it will help her so much when she transitions into the field of nursing.

Between simulated operation and labor delivery rooms, up to date equipment one would find in an actual hospital, and interdisciplinary interaction between all of the colleges that make up the healthcare profession, IHS offers state of the art facilities that directly correlate to improving the healthcare field. The Buccino Leadership Institute Nursing Cohort, as well as some from the College of Education and Arts and Sciences Cohorts, are very excited to begin classes at the IHS campus, and they are sure to make a big impact not only on the campus, but in their future professional healthcare careers as well.