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HEALTHINFORMATIONADVANCES INHEALTHCARE LEAD TOGREATER DEMANDSFOR HITPROFESSIONALS!Theworld of health informationtechnology looks drastically differentthan it did 20 years ago. In response tothe Meaningful Use program of 2009,and in exchange for some hefty cashincentives, many healthcare facilitiesthat once prided themselves in theirseemingly unending collection ofmanila patient records, converted theirpaper files to on-the-go electronichealth records. Today, more than 95percent of hospitals operate with theease and assistance of an electronichealth record (healthit.gov, 2019).FGC’sHealthInformationTechnology (HIT) and MedicalCoder/Biller (MCB) programs preparestudents to thrive in a globallychanging healthcare environment.Students navigate through thefundamentals of the U.S. healthcaredelivery system and are introduced totheworldofhealthcarereimbursement. Over the years wehave found that incoming students aremost excited to learn about medicalcoding and the possibility of working8 GATEWAY TO HEALTHfrom home. However, by the conclusionof the program, we discover thatstudents have developed a keenunderstanding and appreciation for thehealth information profession, oftenrealizing that HIT is “so much more thancoding!”So, what exactly is entailed in healthinformationtechnology?Healthinformation technology (HIT) makes itfeasible for health care providers toproperly manage patient care throughprotected use and exchange of healthinformation. HIT professionals ensurethe accuracy, usefulness, integrity andprotection of patient health information;implement electronic health informationsystems; and serve as project managersthat contribute to the improvement andmaintenance of quality clinical andbusiness operations.There is anincreasing need for credentialed healthinformation managers due to the rapidand ongoing advances in healthinformation technology and constantlyevolving trends in healthcare delivery.FGC’s Health Information TechnologyAssociate in Science degree program isBy JAPERA DENSONfully accredited by the Commission onAccreditation for Health Informatics andInformation Management Education(CAHIIM). Therefore, upon completion ofthe HIT program, graduates are eligibleto take the Registered HealthInformationTechnician(RHIT)certification exam offered through theAmericanHealthInformationManagement Association (AHIMA). Wealso offer a Medical Coder/Biller AppliedTechnology Diploma for those looking tofocus their skills on the coding andreimbursement side of things. After thecompletion of this 37 credit-hourprogram, graduates are encouraged tosit for the Certified Coding Associate(CCA) exam.Whether you are new to healthcare,are seeking a career change, or are aseasoned veteran looking to sharpenyour skills, our HIT and MCB programsmay be perfect for you! For moreinformation, please contact Ms. JaperaDenson, HIT Program Coordinator, atjapera.denson@fgc.edu or by telephoneat (386) 754-4261.Reference: The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.(2019). Hospitals’ Use of Electronic Health Records Data, 2015-2017. t/files/page/2019-04/AHAEHRUseDataBrief.pdf

PERSPECTIVESAlumni SPOTLIGHTAlumni of FGC’s Health Information Technology programsshare their storiesAkeidria BAILEYHealth Information Technology, A.S. & Medical Coder/Biller, ATD Spring 2017Credential(s): Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT)What got you started on the HIT career path? “I have always desired to be in thehealthcare field. As I got older, I realized how great it could be to have a career inhealthcare without being hands on in the clinical aspect.”What are your goals as a HIT professional? “I aspire to one day own my own medicalbilling and coding company.”A fun fact about yourself: “I am an only child on both sides!”Tushina WEIRHealth Information Technology, A.S. & Medical Coder/Biller, ATD Spring 2019Credential(s): Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT)What got you started on the HIT career path? “I started in the Medical Coder/Billerprogram because I wanted a work from home job. I really enjoyed the classes and foundthem very interesting. I decided to pursue my HIT degree because of all the amazingopportunities that it afforded me.”What are your goals as a HIT professional? “I am currently pursuing my bachelor’sdegree from UCF in Health Informatics and Health Information Management. I intend toobtain my CCS and RHIA credentials. My eventual goal is to have my own HIM consultingbusiness.”A fun fact about yourself: “I am a die-hard Disney fan!”9 GATEWAY TO HEALTH

PERSPECTIVESStudent PERSPECTIVESFGC Students Share Their Perspectives of the Nursing andHealth Sciences ProgramsLEAH OGBURN – Practical NursingThe practical nursing program has been a wonderful experience in aiding me to fulfil mylifelong dream of becoming a nurse. The Florida Gateway College Practical Nursingprogram educates students so that they will be prepared to begin their career and headin the right direction for success in the field of nursing. One of my favorite things aboutthe program is that they provide students with hands-on experience in many ways, suchas in the skills lab. The Skills Lab allows students to learn skills before moving to thesimulation lab to practice life-like scenarios. We take everything we’ve learned to theclinical setting where we get to apply and advance our knowledge with real patients,with the help of our clinical instructors. The practical nursing program instructors arealways there to ensure our understanding of the concepts so that we can provide excellentand safe nursing care.JAIMIE WILLIAMS – ASDN, Fast TrackMy name is Jaimie, and I am a student at FGC. I am currently in the ASDN Fast TrackNursing Program with only one semester to finish out the course. If someone were to askme what my perception is on the program, I would tell them that it is exactly what it iscalled, “Fast Track”. I would let them know that this program is amazing but it takes a lotof dedication to get through it. It is built for working individuals, however, it calls for a lotof studying and sacrifice, therefore, full-time employees may need to decrease their hoursto keep up with the fast-paced schedule. All in all, your future as a RN is worth thesacrifice, and the amazing teachers at FGC will teach you everything that you need toknow in order to succeed!ELNORA HAMPTON – Coder/BillerHello everyone, my name is Elnora Hampton. Currently, I work in a hospital as a CNA,and prior to starting the Medical Coder/Biller program, I had very little experience withbilling and coding. At first, the thought of ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS were frighteningmainly because they were both completely foreign subjects to me. Even the codebookswere intimidating! However, I can now say that the courses I have had so far are some ofthe best courses I have ever taken (including the ICD-10-CM coding class ). I alsoappreciate the camaraderie my classmates and I have developed. We have turned intogreat friends with great connections, and someone is always checking on the nextclassmate to offer help if needed. Our professors are caring, willing to go out of theirway to help, great listeners, and they push us to be greater than we think. FGC has beena great school and I am proud to say that this is where I will graduate.10 GATEWAY TO HEALTH

PERSPECTIVESStudent PERSPECTIVESFGC Students Share Their Perspectives of the Nursing andHealth Sciences ProgramsWILLIAM STUTTS – RN-BSNWith graduation arriving soon, there are several aspects of Florida Gateway College’sBSN program that should be shared with others. Even though I already was anexperienced bedside nurse when I first started the program, it has provided me withseveral new skills and experiences that I would not have acquired otherwise.Communication skill improvements, presentation experience, leadership skills, andadvancement in nursing theories have greatly expanded my nursing horizon. The BSNprogram was excellent in challenging me and greatly ensured that I will be a betterpatient advocate in the future. This is not saying that the program was without anydifficulty, but the program was able to challenge me in the areas I needed it most. Havinggained this immense nursing experience, I greatly look forward to using it to serve myrural community.CAROLINE MORALES MERCED – ASDNFinishing nursing school was rewarding, but it did come with many challenges. I have failedexams, passed exams, and most times, I passed them right on the dot with a 75. You learnearly in nursing school that you need to put in the effort to succeed. To put it simply,showing up to class and listening to the instructor was only half of it. The other half involvedyou keeping up with the materials by reading the textbook and watching the lectures. Inmy first semester of nursing school, I was not doing so great, and I did not understand whyI was having such a hard time. I figured out that nursing school was a completely differentworld. If I wanted to do better, I needed to change my routine and find out what workedfor me. I cannot count how many times I had to change my learning style or how manyresources I read and videos I watched to understand the material. Fast forward tograduation, and it is still hard to believe how far I have come. Although the nursingprogram seems hard and impossible to do, it is not. If you figure out a way to organizeyourself and keep up with the material, you can do it!Here are a few tips from me:1. If your usual learning style works, stick with it, and if it does not, try other methods.2. Do not cram for your exam! My suggestion is to create a study schedule. Split everything up so that you can keep up with thematerial and give yourself some time off. It is all about time management.3. Try to understand the material rather than memorize it! The best way for me to do this was to put everything in my own words.I also watched videos and looked at other resources online.4. If you need help, do not be afraid to ask. The instructors and your classmates are always there to help.5. Join a study group, but only if it works for you. Some of my classmates have benefited from it, but I never did it because Iknew it was not for me.6. Take clinicals seriously! All the nursing skills that I gained are thanks to clinicals, and now I feel prepared to start my profession.The nursing program at FGC is fast-paced and challenging, but it will equip you with the knowledge and skills you need to pursueyour passion for nursing, as it did for me. The instructors are there to help students succeed and are available to answer questions ifneeded. Nursing is a trusted profession, and I am glad to be a part of it.11 GATEWAY TO HEALTH

Clinical Placementin the Time of aPANDEMICBy KRISTEEN ROBERTSOneof the most importanttenets of the FGC nursing programis to provide excellent clinicalexperiences that align with the Endof-ProgramStudentLearningOutcomes (EOP-SLO). We are proudto say that we have greatpartnerships with a variety ofexcellent healthcare facilities withinourlocalandsurroundingcommunity. This, coupled withhighly qualified and credentialedfull-time and adjunct instructors, iswhy we are able to provide qualityclinical experiences for our nursingstudents.In Spring of 2020, thesepartnerships faced the challenge of12 GATEWAY TO HEALTHaffording students a quality clinicalexperience in the middle of apandemic. The first challenge camewith the shutdown of the long-termcare facilities. Soon after, our acutecare facilities stopped students fromentering their facilities to gain clinicalexperience. These disruptions in theclinical experience presented achallenge for all FGC nursing studentsin general, but most significantly forstudents who had planned tograduate in May of that year. Giventhe Governor’s Emergency Orders,wecreatedvirtualclinicalexperiences using standards and bestpractices which allowed our studentsto complete their requiredtime in virtual clinical practice andachieve the End-of-Program StudentLearningOutcomes.Thecommitment of FGC’s clinical nursinginstructors (full-time and part-time)was critical in our students’ success.They were ready and willing to learna completely new way of teachinghands-on skills that prepared ourstudents to join a nursing workforcethat was desperately in need of theirskills.It has been 18 months since thoseplans have had to be put in place, andwe are fortunate that our clinicalfacilities have cautiously reopened.We continue to face challenges as wework to place students in theappropriate clinical setting.

CLINICALPLACEMENTInitially, placement required weeklyCOVID-19 testing and masks for eachstudent entering the facilities. Earlierthis year, our students were able toreceive the COVID-19 vaccine, if theydesired, and many did so. During thisfall semester, vaccine mandatesbecame a challenge as some of thefacilities mandated the vaccine foreach student coming into the facility.However, some preferred thatstudents be vaccinated, but if theywere not, they would be required tocomplete weekly COVID-19 testingBACHELOR OFSCIENCE DEGREENursingJason Neil BashawSamantha NicoleBrasherMatthew EdwardBrownTia La'Cole BrownRussell Steven Butler,Jr.Amanda Nichole EvansBrittany MichelleFortnerDevin Taft FrazierDalton Holt HunterTara Kathryn KirklandAnna Lisa MarloweAlison Lynn MartinezKelcey MicaylaMcLeanAmanda Kay MorganSusan MelissaNabingerJennifer LeNayNegretteKayla Briann RhodenAlexis Nicole RobsonTyler Brooks SherrodAshley Denise ShoupVanessa LesleySimmons13 GATEWAY TO HEALTHbefore beginning clinicals for theweek.Another challenge we encounteredthis fall semester was securing clinicalinstructors to supervise our studentsduring their clinical rotations. Manyof the adjunct instructors also workfull-time in clinical facilities and hadto work the front-line with patientspositive for COVID-19. As a result, westruggled to find sufficient clinicaladjuncts to supervise our students asthey requested to take a break orwere temporarily reassigned to otherMaria Nazareth SmithWilliam Jackson StuttsJordan Matthew TurnerLacie Leigh VittetowASSOCIATE IN SCIENCEDEGREENursingErin Lee AlfordCourtney Rhonda AshCourtney Shae BaldwynMelissa Anne BartonTaylor Ashley CrosbyTerica Juanita DukesTeresa Lynn EzellBrittany CheyenneGaylordShantay Shanice HarrisLatonya Willisa HunterKaliegh Nicole MalloyKasey Christine MartinezTroynesha RacquellePerteeKathryn Elizabeth SandsChristina Marie SanzPhalon Jade SchwartzDaniel Christopher SimonsCassie Miranda TomlinsonMichelle Ashley UnterbornBrittney Deanne WalkerJaimie Marie WilliamsTimeisha Larie WilliamsJessica WillisPhysical Therapist AssistantDanielle Marie BanosSavannah Grace BrownChristian Ciara CassJames William Croft, IIIAmanda Katherine DennisonEmily FennemanTocarra Dorlette GainerRontise Dupri HartenBryce JollyTaylor KillingsworthCarley Paige LibbyBrandon Christopher LloydArvin Galla Jones MarcelinoAustin RobertsonAmanda WilliamsCERTIFICATEPhlebotomySha'kwanda Yvette AndersonElisabe Aradillas-SosaJozelyn Marie BrinsonChella Marie ByrdenEugenia Nichell ChristainJoann Kaisa GillyardTesya GriffisShelby Lorraine HarringtonSummer Brooke Harveynursing roles within their full-timejobs making them unavailable tosupervise our students in clinicalpractice. Despite all the challenges,we can gratefully say that our nursingstudents have been able to completethe clinical component of theirprogram with the help of our clinicalpartners and dedicated clinicaladjunct and full-time instructors. Wehave not had to use our virtualClinical plan since the summer of2020, but we are poised and ready topivot to it if needed.Danasia Cherese HopeHaley R. KilbyAbraham LainezSaraiah Zanee LewisMary Jo LomasJameisha Lasonia EmariMillerDenisha Renia MoodyBrandon MosleyStephanie Nater-AponteStephanie Nicole PattersonJalacia Salei QueenAterria RiggsDeanna Marie RimesPrecious RiveraTommacia RossAlexis RutherfordKrista Gail Santos-FralickVictoria Kaitlyn VinciTaylor Leann ZippererPractical NursingBritney Nicole BrittTrinity Nichole BrownArley Marie BryantVanessa CarranzaAngelica Lyn CrayMatthew R. FallsShantrell GranvilleAnna HallAndrea Lynne KirklandElizabeth Jane LucasKgadi WendyMautjanaElizabeth Ann MorrisLeah OgburnKasey Michell PaynterJessica Lynn PresnellShannon Marie RosierCandice-Jade SaphireTajalle-CrisostAbigail Marie ThomasAPPLIEDTECHNOLOGYDIPLOMAMedical Coder BillerShannon Dean Bullock

PERSPECTIVESFaculty PERSPECTIVEMy Transition to Online RN-BSN CoordinatorBy DR. MELISSA DAVISFrom 2016 to the summer of this year, I had beena full-time nursing faculty member in the Associate ofScience Degree in Nursing (ASDN) program. I taughtthe beginning nursing course: Nursing Foundations,and the last nursing courses: Obstetrics/Pediatrics andLeadership that included skills laboratory andsimulation/clinical practice. However, in August of thisyear, I transitioned into our fully online RN-BSNprogram. Coming from an on-ground to an onlineprogram forced me to quickly learn principles andpractices related to online learning. I had to remindmyself that the level of teaching in the RN-BSNprogram is higher as the students are practicingregistered nurses (RN). I also gained an appreciationfor the differences in the students’ behaviors: what isimportant to pre-licensure students in the ASDNprogram is very different from those of post-licensure(RN-BSN) students.The students who are enrolled in the RN-BSNprogram are working mostly full-time and are in the14 GATEWAY TO HEALTHprogram to further their nursing education and/orto be promoted. However, some of them areenrolled as a requirement for continuousemployment in their current job. Many of the RNBSN students plan to enroll in masters and doctoraldegree programs in nursing and, based on history,are successful when they do. The RN-BSN studentsare prepared for degree advancement in nursing asthey work on continuous quality improvementprojects and other assignments, take low stakesexams in select courses, and sharpen their writingskills with multiple written assignments using theAPA format. The program faculty engage studentsvia discussion forums on topics about nursingtheorists; medical pathology; ethical, legal andprofessional behaviors; leadership; evidence-basedtechnology that provides safe and effective care;population health; and in-depth nursingassessment. I must admit that mentoringprofessional nurses is exciting and I am enjoying thechallenges every day!

FACULTY OF THEYEARFULL-TIME FACULTYOF THE YEARKristeen ROBERTS“For the past 8 years, I have been allowed to be part of a team that iscommitted to providing excellent student-centered education here at FGC. To beincluded in this extraordinary group of educators is an honor in itself. Teachinghas always been one of my passions, but to be able to combine that with my lifelong dream of nursing is truly a blessing. To be recognized as Faculty of the yearis very humbling. To paraphrase a saying often used in the pediatric realm ‘ittakes a village to educate a professional nurse,’ and I am honored to have theprivilege of working with the very best village!”PART-TIME FACULTYOF THE YEARDeliaMAXWELL-WHITE“I am graciously ecstatic about being the 2020-2021 Adjunct Faculty of the

Health Information Technology, A.S. Medical Coder/Biller, A.T.D. Phlebotomy, O.C. ABOUT the Department of Nursing and Health Sciences GATEWAY TO HEALTH THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES EDITORS Japera Denson, Christa Pribble DESIGN Japera Denson PHOTOGRAPHY Stephen Culotti, Japera Denson,