Every since Clara Barton rolled her first bandage, nurses have been looked upon as compassionate caregivers. It was a profession that drew many women until the 1980s.
“The AIDS epidemic really put a scare into people, and we saw a noticeable decline in new enrollments for several years,” says Sister Ann Sakac, a Dominican nun, who will be stepping down as president of Mount St. Mary College in Newburgh this June after serving in that role 31 years .
“The profession suddenly became ”˜off-limits”™, and that attitude persisted through to the 1990s. I think many well-meaning parents were genuinely concerned ”“ worried their children might contract a deadly disease. And on the flip side, doors were opening for women in careers where men traditionally held sway. Now, the pendulum is swinging back in the other direction and it”™s a wonderful thing, because we certainly need good nurses, and because we are now a co-ed college, we are seeing more and more men entering the field.”
More than 2,600 students attend Mount St. Mary College each year, and the school’s nursing program now has a waiting list.
The learning is intense, and Sakac acknowledges it is a “tough couple of years when first starting out to become an RN or licensed nurse practitioner. New York State”™s standards are higher than other states.
“Today”™s nurses go through much more rigorous training than their predecessors,” she continued. “Our students not only have to understand anatomy and physiology, but be proficient in math and related sciences. We are a technology-driven world, with robotics in the operating rooms and computer programs designed especially for medication distribution and analysis. We are always introducing new technology as it becomes available; so you need not just people skills, but those technical skills that are now part of the profession.
“Yet, with all the technical learning that must become second nature, they still need to know how to work independently using own skill-sets and have the knowledge ingrained, not be reliant on a computer to do the work for them in case of crisis. Hurricane Katrina is, unfortunately, a perfect example of where technology washed away and the human element took over.
“So they do, in fact, learn nursing inside and out. When they come out, they are ready to tackle the world.
“Its not just the body we are teaching students to care about, but we also stress the need to remember the integrity of the whole person: the patient”™s spirit and mental well-being is just as important as their physical being. It”™s something we as a society seem to be slipping away from, but we are doing our utmost to keep those principles high on the list of our students”™ priorities.”
U.S. News and World Report has just named one of America”™s Best Colleges in 2008. For the past three decades, Sakac has seen the college community grow from 800 to nearly 2,600 students, with new buildings, new programs and a renewed sense of commitment to its nursing program ”“ once again a vibrant part of the school”™s curriculum.
Now, ready to hand out her last batch of diplomas in May, is she going to miss the limelight?
“I don”™t think so,” said Sakac with a smile. “I”™ve been here 30 years. I”™ve seen the school go through some wonderful changes. We”™ve been able to expand and we”™ve seen some remarkable students come through our doors. We”™ve been able to convey to our students, regardless of their faith or race, a feeling of caring for a person not just as a body but as a living being with spirit. I”™ve been fortunate enough to guide the school and to help it grow. But everyone knows when it”™s time to go, and I think this is the right time for me and for the school.”
While Sakac has been feted, awarded, applauded and rewarded with kudos for her leadership, the Catholic University graduate (just one of the schools where she”™s earned several of her degrees) doesn”™t seem to be fazed by the admiration. In fact, she says, “I don”™t know what I”™m going to do with myself! It has been thirty years of work, and I may go back to teaching English. I am going to be a ”˜free agent”™ for a while….my first sabbatical, believe it or not. I guess that”™s when I”™ll start thinking about a new direction. I don”™t have time now.”
Her successor is Father Kevin Mackin, who was president of Siena College in Loudonville for 11 years. Macklin says he”™s looking forward to advancing the college”™s mission “in the Dominican tradition.” Right now, the college”™s new president is touring Asia and the Middle East before taking on the mantle of president on July 1.
He”™ll be taking over a college that tripled its enrollment under Sakac”™s tenure with an operating budget of $54 million a year. “I have no doubt he”™s going to continue the mission we are on: to turn out the best students who care for the whole person, both physically and spiritually, whether they are here to become future teachers or nurses,” said Sakac.
