St. Joseph's College of Nursing plays a integral role in our community by providing outstanding nursing education, which in turn helps to alleviate the nursing shortage being experienced at hospitals across the country. The College is celebrating its 125th year - a true legacy of nursing education.
St. Joseph's College of Nursing: A Legacy of Nursing Education
Featuring:
Lenore Boris, PhD, JD, RN
Prior to this appointment, Dr. Boris taught in nursing and medical programs at several colleges across Upstate New York. She spent more than 15 years as an associate dean at the Binghamton Campus of SUNY Update Medical University’s College of Medicine. Her responsibilities included oversight of daily operations and managing the budget. She also played an active role in the school’s community relations including supervising a free clinic that provided primary health care to uninsured adults at no cost to the patient.
Dr. Boris began her nursing career as a nurse in the U.S. Air Force. Dr. Boris served as a clinical nurse on active duty and later as a flight nurse and eventually administrator of a clinic. In 2007, Dr. Boris retired as a colonel after 28 years of service.
Dr. Boris earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from California State University in Hayward, her master’s degree in nursing from Syracuse University, and PhD in nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Dr. Boris also holds a law degree from University of Wisconsin.
Transcription:
Amanda Wilde (Host): St. Joseph's College of Nursing plays an integral role in our community by providing outstanding nursing education, which in turn helps to alleviate the nursing shortage being experienced at hospitals across the country. The college is celebrating its 125th year, and Lenore Boris, Dean of St. Joseph's College of Nursing in Syracuse, New York, is here to talk about the college, its history, and its legacy of nursing education.
Welcome to St. Joseph's Health MedCast, a podcast by St. Joseph's Health. Lenore Boris, welcome to the podcast.
Lenore Boris, RN: Thank you for inviting me.
Host: A 125-year legacy is no small thing. How and why did the college get started 125 years ago?
Lenore Boris, RN: Nursing's always held a prominent place at St. Joseph's Hospital. In 1898, the Sisters of St. Francis, after carrying the burden alone for 29 years, recognized the need for specially trained lay women to share with them the nursing care of the sick. The St. Joseph's School of Nursing opened in October of 1898. It's believed to be the oldest continuously running nursing program in New York State. The school trained women ages 18 to 30 years of age In the art of caring, using the most modern techniques of the day.
Host: In those many years, has the student body changed? I mean, it must have. Over 125 years, society's changed.
Lenore Boris, RN: The initial applicants to the nursing program were judged on good health and good moral character before they were actually accepted in to be probationary nurses. In 1900, the initial class had a hundred students graduate. Now, more than 6,000 dedicated men and women have graduated from the college.
The new incoming class that started in the summer of 2023 is composed of 141 students, 120 females and 21 males from diverse range of backgrounds. Today, we don't just look at character, but we focus on the science courses they've taken in preparation for entrance into the school.
Host: Besides this history and obvious longevity, what makes this college, this nursing school, so special?
Lenore Boris, RN: Well, the faculty and staff are very dedicated to being part of our team and educating and helping students along their educational journey. The students speak about how very supportive the staff are and the faculty in helping them to master the material they need to learn. The education faculty and staff provide our future nurses exemplifies our vision of providing outstanding educational outcomes exemplified by graduates who will be recognized for their excellence and leadership along with compassionate care.
Our mission is really founded on some core values that include integrity, innovation, caring, and excellence while embracing the principles of social justice. We provide the educational foundation for students to deliver safe, holistic, client-centered care using an evidence-based and interprofessional framework and in what is today an evolving healthcare environment.
Host: You just mentioned an evolving healthcare environment. How does the school respond to changing societal demands?
Lenore Boris, RN: Well, we offer several different programs to work around people's family and work commitments. This includes an evening 18-month program and an accelerated dual degree partnership program with Le Moyne College. We also just recently started a spring cohort that's a 24-month program to supplement our August day cohort.
We have a very close relationship with St. Joseph's Hospital Health System. This means that students who need to work while they're in school can work as a student nursing assistant at the hospital. This allows them a flexible schedule. Their work complements what they're learning. And if they choose St. Joseph's as their first employment situation following graduation, it eases their transition. We do supply about 60% of our graduates who choose St. Joseph's Hospital Health System as their first place of employment.
Host: So, you have strong support, strong resources, and even experience that are offered to students. How does someone apply to St. Joseph's? And can you talk about specifically upcoming deadlines and just also generally what's required of an applicant, which we touched on a little bit earlier?
Lenore Boris, RN: Our schedule for applying is a little bit rolling and depends on which program they're applying. So for next summer's start of the evening, weekend, and day program, we like to see applications by the first of the year. But someone who applies later is not necessarily denied employment just because they didn't meet the application deadline.
While nursing is a profession that's based on the relationship between the caregiver and the patient, it's also a science-based program. And so, we look for students who excel in the math and science areas. Applicants must have a high school diploma or a GED, they need to have successfully completed algebra, biology, and chemistry, and they need a grade point average of a B or better to get into our program. Nursing is really, unlike any other educational experience. It's a combination of theory, practice in a simulation lab, and applying the theory to the hands-on care of patients in the clinical setting. It's quite a demanding program. Even people who have prior bachelor's degrees who choose to come into nursing, find it's really unlike any other kind of educational college experience they've had. So, it takes people who are really dedicated, have a studious work ethic, in addition to meeting our grade requirements, for them to be successful in our program.
Host: Thank you so much for illuminating the art of care, as you called it, and I love that phrase and the lasting impact of St. Joseph's College of Nursing, and also how to be part of this incredible program.
That was Lenore Boris, Dean of St. Joseph's College of Nursing. St. Joseph's College of Nursing is planning a 125th anniversary celebration, October 6th through 8th. Current and former students and faculty and staff, St. Joseph's Health colleagues, and patients who experienced care from a St. Joseph's graduate are invited to attend and help us celebrate this milestone. The college is asking everyone's support as they continue their mission of being compassionate healers. For more information, visit sjhcon.edu/125-anniversary. If you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and be sure to check out the entire podcast library for topics of interest to you. I'm Amanda Wilde. Thanks for listening to this episode of St. Joseph's Health Medcast by St. Joseph's Health.