Sondra Leatherman

How did you choose to study Nursing?
My passion for nursing began with the influence of my mother and a close family friend who was an RN. My mother worked as a nurse aide and then as an EMT and was one of the only healthcare oriented persons in our little community so all of the emergencies came to our door. My career began in our small community hospital as a nurse aide during my junior year of high school and I have never turned back from the nursing profession since.

What are your favorite courses to teach?
I teach Nursing I, which is the first course in our program. It is challenging to work with students who are returning to school after years in the work world as well as students who are fresh out of high school discovering life "on their own." The various backgrounds and areas of the country that are represented in a classroom provide a rich source of experiences that are shared in classroom discussions and activities. While teaching the surgical section of Nursing II it is exciting to hear students' stories of watching surgeries and how they describe holding some piece of human anatomy in their hands. In teaching the management section of Nursing IV, my practice experience is beneficial and it is the area I am most passionate about. As new nurses encounter diverse individuals in the healthcare setting, be they clients or fellow staff members, they must possess carefully honed management skills and techniques to achieve positive outcomes.

How does your background and education experience shape your teaching at Hesston College?
My clinical practice background has and continues to provide me with stories to illustrate concepts we are presenting in the classroom and campus laboratory settings. My first ten years out of nursing school were spent in the medical/surgical area and the intensive care unit. In 1990 I had the privilege to be part of a team opening an ambulatory surgery center and later assumed a management role at that facility. These years of practice, expanded education, and personal encounters with the healthcare system have provided a rich background to teach from.

How do you connect with students in the program?
As I have the opportunity to visit with students who are entering the nursing profession, I am always curious about what brings them to this point. What is their story of "calling?" These stories may not be shared initially but as students stop by my office during the course of the year and begin talking about their dreams and goals for nursing, they frequently reveal the event or person who encouraged or led them to seek out the profession of nursing and our program.

What do students need to know about Hesston’s learning environment?
First of all, nursing courses are not "I'll just get by" kind of courses. The program is rigorous and the content learned will be utilized every day of your nursing career. Our graduates frequently tell us that they "could not have done it if it were not for the instructors." As instructors, we form personal relationships with our students and make every effort to help them be successful in our program. We expect a diligent effort from the students only because we put forth a diligent effort to help them learn.

Where do alumni go and what do they do after Hesston?
Nursing opens the door to a host of opportunities for employment. Our students begin in intensive care units, specialty units, med/surg floors, clinics, long term care, and a variety of other areas. The primary focus of Hesston College’s Nursing Program is to cultivate excellent bedside nurses who have the adaptability to move to other specialty areas with minimal additional training.

The rewards of being an instructor at Hesston College are vast but above all are to see the successes of students and watch them live out Christian values in their nursing practices.