Thirteen active-duty new grad U.S. Air Force nurses graduated April 23 from an advanced clinical training course offered through Scottsdale Healthcare’s Military Training Program.
The nine-week Nurse Transition Program provides hands-on patient care experience for novice U.S. Air Force Air Force nurses at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center and Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center.
Supervised by Scottsdale Healthcare preceptors, the Air Force nurses mainly work on medical-surgical units within the hospitals and have impact days to further enhance training in areas such as intensive care, emergency department, wound care, laboratory, and the operating room. The Nurse Transition Program is designed to enhance participants’ clinical skills before reporting for duty in military medical facilities.
The 13 graduating nurses bring the total number of graduates to 195 since the Scottsdale Healthcare Nurse Transition Program’s launch in 2009. April graduates and their base assignments include:
Captain Christina Nigro, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio; First Lieutenant Paul Reichert, Keesler AFB, Miss.; Second Lieutenant Heather Batt, Joint-Base Langley-Eustis, Va.; Second Lieutenant Holly Fletcher, RAF Lakenheath, England; Second Lieutenant Ellen Frisbie, Fort Sam Houston, Tex.; Second Lieutenant Diana Hudson, Travis AFB, Calif.; Second Lieutenant Amanda Jones, Travis AFB, Calif.; Second Lieutenant Samantha Leonard, Travis AFB, Calif.; Second Lieutenant Emily Plowman, Landstuhl Air Base, Germany; Second Lieutenant Kathryn Polese, Nellis AFB, Nev.; Second Lieutenant Sean Pruett, Joint-Base Langley-Eustis, Va.; Second Lieutenant Rachel Schlink, Travis AFB, Calif.; and Second Lieutenant Elizabeth Shearer – Travis AFB, Calif.
Scottsdale Healthcare is the largest of four Air Force Nurse Transition Program sites across the U.S. in terms of number of participants and the facilities available for use in training. The only other civilian hospitals offering the program are University Hospital in Cincinnati and Tampa General in Florida.
The Nurse Transition Program is part of Scottsdale Healthcare’s partnership with the U.S. Armed Forces. Created in 2004, the military partnership made Scottsdale Healthcare one of the first community hospitals in the United States to welcome all branches of the military for medical training.
Scottsdale Healthcare’s Military Partnership provides training, education and clinical experience for military medical personnel to perform successfully in combat and humanitarian missions while building relationships that can be used in potential disaster response situations. More than 2,000 service members have been trained through the Scottsdale Healthcare Military Partnership.
