FORT CAVAZOS, Texas – The Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center held a ceremony for five nurses completing the Army Nurse Corps Brig. Gen. retired Anna Mae Hays Clinical Nurse Transition Program 14 Aug.
The 24-week program offers a variety of clinical experiences for the residents, in addition to 80 plus hours of didactic classroom learning, and a minimum of 800 clinical hours rotating throughout CRDAMC’s various departments.
Registered nurses and 2nd Lts. Tara Horoho, Benjamin Howe, Makenna Larson, Kaylie Meyer-Watters, Kaleb Sackenheim and Jacob Schadler received their certificates and will stay on at the hospital.
Horoho, Sackenheim, Howe, and Larson in the medical surgery pediatric unit, Meyer-Watters, and Schadler in the mother bay unit.
Critical topics like medical ethics, communication, and concept and pain management were discussions in the classrooms and clinical hours were completed in the medical/surgical, post-partum, emergency, labor and delivery, intensive care, and perioperative departments. 
The group delivered an evidence-based recommendation project presentation to the hospital staff, preceptors, and leaders on sequential compression devices with the goal of establishing a policy for using and ordering the devices.  
SCDs are inflatable sleeves that wrap around the legs and help prevent blood clots.
Based on the teams observations on the floor and from prior experience the SCD ordering and usage was an issue they thought needed a more streamlined approach according to Meyer-Watters, project leader.
Our hopes was to make the staff aware of the observations we’ve seen and initiate a pool or algorithm within the system for standardization and cohesion, said Meyer-Watters.   
The team recognized that their successful completion of the program was directly related to the hard work, dedication, and coordination of their preceptors, as well as Dr. Laquita Wright director, and Carolyn Terrell, administrative assistant, CNTP.
“That was an amazing project, that is exactly the energy that we’re looking for, so that we’re not doing the same things that we’ve always done,” said Col. Tomeka Bowser, chief nursing officer, CRDAMC.
CNTP preceptors and leadership congratulated the graduates on completing the program and offered advice as they venture into the career field.
“This is absolutely amazing,” said Wright. “As I look out into the audience, I see the love, I see the support. Thank you to each and everyone of you for taking the time out today to come and support the growth that we see before us.”
After presenting the graduates with their certificates Bowser offered advice for their future experiences in the field.
“Continue to lean on your preceptors and peers. None of us knows everything, and we learn new things every day, said Bowser. “Strive to be lifelong learners.”