Contact: Marianne Todd

MERIDIAN, Miss.—Students in Mississippi State University-Meridian’s inaugural Accelerated Master of Science in Nursing cohort began their academic journey this week immediately learning to save lives.

The basic life support course was part of a weeklong orientation that began Aug. 5, kicking off enrollment of 36 students in the rigorous School of Nursing program that will prepare them for RN licensure over an intensive 12 months. 

Students learned in-hospital and out-of-hospital CPR as both an individual rescue and as part of a multi-rescuer team. They also learned when and how to use an automated external defibrillator and how to perform rescue breathing.

“I give them scenarios that have played out for me, and I teach them that in this event there will be an emotional aspect,” said Sandra Culpepper, BLS instructor.

Her instruction advised students to be physically prepared to provide basic life support for long periods of time and offered realistic situations in which they might be required to perform life-saving procedures. 

“The longest one I ever worked was for more than an hour,” she told the students. “I’m not trying to scare you. I’m trying to prepare you.”

Kayla Carr, MSN program director, said BLS education is the most fundamental of nursing courses and the foundation from which all other nursing education grows.

“When they’re in the clinical facility, they’ll be prepared to respond to emergencies, whether that is someone in the hallway, a visitor, a classmate or a patient. If anything happens, they’re ready to go, and we’ll keep building every week,” Carr said.

The students also will benefit from MSU-Meridian’s new Interprofessional Simulation Program, which features six clinical exam rooms, six medical surgical rooms, computer-learning stations, a proctor area for facilitator observation and five prebriefing and debriefing rooms with recording and reviewing capabilities.

The MSU School of Nursing was approved by the Board of Trustees of the State of Institutions of Higher Learning in May in a bold move toward addressing Mississippi’s critical healthcare personnel shortages by expanding education. 

Steps to national accreditation continue this fall. The program is expected to grow to accommodate up to 60 students.

For more information on MSU-Meridian’s Accelerated Master of Science in Nursing degree program, call 601-696-2277 or visit nursing.msstate.edu. MSU-Meridian is available online at meridian.msstate.edu.

Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.