Empowering Futures: The Howley Nurse Scholars Program

Podcast Transcript

Dr. James K. Stoller: 

Hello and welcome to MedEd Thread, a Cleveland Clinic education podcast that explores the latest innovations in medical education and amplifies the tremendous work of our educators across the enterprise.

Dr. Tony Tizanno, MD: 

Hello. Welcome to today's episode of MedEd Thread, the third in a series of three educational institute podcasts, exploring Cleveland Clinic's, Howley Aspire Program. I'm your host, Dr. Tony Tizanno, director of Student and Learner Health, here at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.

Today, I am very pleased to have Shanell Hill and Michael Moreland. Both are nursing professional development specialists within nursing education at Cleveland Clinic, Shanell, and Michael, welcome to the podcast.

Michael Moreland: 

Thank you, Tony.

Shanell Hill: 

Yes. Thank you so much for having us, Tony.

Dr. Tony Tizanno, MD: 

So again, welcome both to the podcast. To get us started, if each of you would just tell us a little bit about yourselves, your educational background, what brought you to Cleveland and your role here at Cleveland Clinic. SHanell we can start with you.

Shanell Hill: 

My name is Shanell Hill. I'm a master's prepared registered nurse working here in nursing education and professional development. I'm a Cleveland native and I've been with the Clinic for my entire nursing career, which is actually coming up on 20 years this October. And I actually went to Huron School of Nursing, so very early on in my career I was introduced to the Clinic and really loved the culture of the Clinic, the nursing caregivers and all of my experiences. So I never left.

Dr. Tony Tizanno, MD: 

Well, that's fabulous. So that was Huron Road Hospital?

Shanell Hill: 

Yes.

Dr. Tony Tizanno, MD: 

That's where I was born. Oh, wow. Been a few years ago. Michael.

Michael Moreland: 

Sure. I was born and raised here in the Cleveland area. I actually grew up in East Cleveland as a youngster. Moved away to go to school and then moved back here to help care for my mom, and then became a licensed practical nurse of what we refer to as an LPN.

After gaining some experience, I, I went on to get my associate's degree. Uh, and then got some more experience and went back for my bachelor's. I spent the bulk of my career working in critical care 13 and a half years, but I've been here at the Clinic, I'm working on my 21st year.

Cleveland Clinic happens to be the only place I've ever worked as a nurse, so while doing clinicals throughout the city. Cleveland Clinic stood out to me as one of those places I want to align myself with, and so went back to the unit that I did clinicals on. The manager hired me. I've been an employee ever since.

Dr. Tony Tizanno, MD: 

Fabulous. So in today's episode, we'll explore the Howley Nurse Scholars Program, an enrichment program sponsored by Cleveland Clinic and the Howley Foundation. This innovative program is designed for high school juniors, interested in pursuing careers in nursing, and targets those students who would most benefit from the opportunity to participate in this novel and engaging experience.

So Shanell, if you could please help frame today's topic by providing our listeners with an overview of the program, the impetus for it, how it came to be and where it stands.

Shanell Hill: 

So there's actually an interesting story behind the birth of this program. The Howley Aspire Nurse Scholars Program is the brainchild of our Chief caregiver Officer, Dr. Kelly Hancock and Nick and Laurie Howley of the Howley Foundation, and those are donors for the program.

So Mr. Howley was here as a patient and he realized that the nursing caregivers didn't mirror the patients. Now we know, the literature has told us about the importance of alignment between the caregiver and the population that they serve.

So he inquisitively start asking all of the employees he touched to try to figure out why they didn't hold nursing roles. And so this little bit of informal investigation shed light on the barriers that many encountered. So the goal was to establish a nursing pipeline that could mitigate those challenges and barriers many of the students in our community face when attempting to pursue a career in nursing.

So that goal is what birthed this program, and it's an immersive healthcare enrichment program that spans from the junior year of high school through completion of a four year nursing degree. The program is designed to cultivate the essential skills, the knowledge, and the experience needed to successfully matriculate through nursing school and embark on a rewarding career as a nurse.

We really focus on a holistic education. We want to empower our students to excel both academically and professionally. We also are concerned with their personal growth. We wanna help them unlock their full potential as future leaders in the nursing field. Through mentorship, hands-on experience and expert guidance, we aim to inspire and prepare the next generation of Cleveland Clinic caregivers.

We are proud to say that we're approaching our 10th year spring 2026 is our 10 year anniversary, and this program is really making a huge impact. We have a total of 20 practicing registered nurses that have graduated from the Howley Aspire program working here at Cleveland Clinic. We also have 45 patient care nursing assistants that are working here at Cleveland Clinic and matriculating through nursing school.

So we're very excited about the program and all of the progress that we've made.

Dr. Tony Tizanno, MD: 

I love this story, Shanell, it sounds like the enthusiasm was kind of sparked and it's a giving back. I was taken care of well, as a patient, what can I do to better reflect the tapestry of our community in the persons who care for us?

So outstanding. So Michael, what is a nursing professional development specialist, and how does their role serve the goals of a nurse Scholars program?

Michael Moreland: 

A nursing professional development specialist, we refer to them as an NPDS. And so if you don't mind, going forward, I'd like to refer to them as an NPDS and they're a registered nurse.

This registered nurse has advanced training to facilitate education that meets the ongoing professional development needs of nurses within our healthcare organization. To meet the goals of the Nurse Scholars Program an NPDS would design, as well as deliver educational experiences for our student learners that are supported by evidence-based practice.

This approach allows for the latest knowledge in the field of nursing to really drive the development of nursing and nursing skills. And so an NPDS would then evaluate the effectiveness of those educational programs delivered, and then make adjustments to the curriculum in an effort to optimize the learner's overall knowledge gained from the Howley Aspire program.

Dr. Tony Tizanno, MD: 

So polishing and perfecting, it's an important role to keep things up to date and Lord knows it's changing quickly. Shanell, what are some of the common responsibilities and educational modalities encompassed by the work that you do?

Shanell Hill: 

The core of my role centers around fostering, engaging and effective learning experiences for our students.

So this includes things like delivering educational content, designing and updating curricula to ensure that it remains aligned with the latest evidence-based practices. And then there's assessment and evaluation. So that allows me to provide constructive feedback to our students to help them refine their skills and enhance their understanding of the content being delivered.

We also really have a huge emphasis on hands-on learning. Our students engage in simulation-based training during every session with us, and this approach allows us to immerse them in realistic clinical scenarios within a controlled environment, ensuring that they have a safe space to really develop their critical thinking and practical skills that are gonna be necessary for their success in the future.

Professional development and mentorship are other key components to the program. It's important for us to really nurture and cultivate leadership and combining all of these educational modalities, prepare our students to excel both academically and professionally.

Dr. Tony Tizanno, MD: 

Well, I really appreciate that Shanell, you know, it's not lost on me having heard the first two segments and now this, that these students perhaps for the first time are beginning to look at themselves as professionals and all that entails from the way they present themselves to the way they conduct themselves.

I have to give this program a lot of credit. It's a tall order, but you seem to be doing so well. So Michael, what can program participants expect from the junior year experience?

Michael Moreland: 

Junior year, Tony really consists of 12 consecutive Saturdays where our participants come here at main campus to the Health Space building. They'll spend from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM in the afternoon with us. We'll feed them breakfast, we'll give them lunch and snacks in the afternoon as well.

Our goal is to expose them to the field of nursing with the intent to inspire our students to pursue nursing as a career option program. Participants will have the opportunity to see a nurse functioning in various roles with various specialties. Some to name a few would be a nurse that works in forensics, for example, or a nurse that works in cardiology or urology. We even have a nurse from case management, an advanced practice nurse, clinical nurse specialist, and a nurse who delivers babies midwifery to name a few.

Other key concepts that we expose our students to during this 12 weeks are things like health literacy, healthcare disparities. We talk a bit about personal branding as well. Our coaches review with them soft skills and techniques, and this is really beneficial for our students. Additionally, our students get to see a nurse as they respond to critical situations, so students will learn what their role would be as a first responder.

They're taught CPR skills by our American Heart Association educator team here at Cleveland Clinic. And so these skills combined, our students will learn them through an integrated, didactic, and hands-on simulation learning combination. This approach allows for our students to practice the knowledge that they're being taught in the classroom right away in our nursing skills, labs and SIM areas, as Ms. Shanell has already mentioned through hands-on simulation.

Dr. Tony Tizanno, MD: 

Fabulous. So given all of that, Shanell. What can students expect after completing the series of programming efforts?

Shanell Hill: 

After completing the 12 weeks of junior programming, students have the opportunity to be invited back for senior year. During senior year, we take a deeper dive into the knowledge and skills specific to nursing, while shifting our focus to professional socialization and integration into the nursing field, life skills and college readiness.

Successful completion of senior year leads to an opportunity to earn a very generous scholarship to Ursuline College to complete their Bachelor's of Science and nursing degree, and an opportunity to become a Cleveland Clinic caregiver. Our Howley Aspire Program graduates are connected with talent acquisition to apply for patient care, nursing assistant positions.

Now this hands-on experience that they're receiving as a patient care nursing assistant really helps reinforce the concepts they're learning in nursing school, allowing the student to solidify their knowledge and apply it in both the classroom and the clinical setting. We continue to build community and belonging even after our students transition on to college with our post-secondary programming that provides lots of support and mentorship to these students.

Dr. Tony Tizanno, MD: 

Shanell, I love the fact that you build belonging in your program because with that, there's better engagement, there's more opportunity for advancement, there's higher levels of performance, and I think it's at the foundation of what we all try to do as leaders, and that's what you're inspiring. So Michael, I'm sure that you've sparked interest in those who are listening, so could you explain how students would get started and learn more about the program?

Michael Moreland: 

Sure, Tony. The requirements for participation in the Howley Aspire Nurse College Program include demonstrating a financial need, achievement of a minimum of a 3.0 GPA, then providing three letters of recommendation. Now, one letter can come from a science teacher, we recommend that, one letter from a math instructor, we recommend that. And then another letter from maybe someone in the community, so it could be a faith leader or maybe a coach on a sports team.

Aside from those things, they would also need to complete three essay questions. And so this is where the student has the opportunity to really shine. They can talk about things like what extracurricular programs and activities they're involved in, how they're making a difference in the community, and why this program would seemingly be a good fit for them.

These essay questions are heavily weighted, so we would advise that they would start with a rough draft, then revise, and then maybe ask a counselor or, or maybe their English teacher to proofread things and then submit them. After completion of the application, our team needs to review all of this information, and I don't know if we've mentioned this already, we have 50 spots available.

So we're reviewing applications, and then we would extend an offer to these students to attend an interview. After the interview, participants would receive notice that they could join the next cohort. If there were students who were really sure that nursing was the pathway for them at this point, junior year, I would say start signing up for College Credit Plus, or what we call CCP courses.

These courses are very important for two reasons. One, they're gonna be needed to achieve their Bachelor's of Science and Nursing degree, and two, if they can take them now earlier in high school, there's no cost, so they're free.

Dr. Tony Tizanno, MD: 

Well, that is an outstanding start. I just am surprised at how comprehensive this all is.

So Shanell, what opportunities might be available for someone who's not yet in the 11th grade to get involved and have a look at this?

Shanell Hill: 

Well, students can get a head start by visiting our website at clevelandclinic.org/aspire to review our eligibility requirements, learn about when applications open. We also really encourage ninth and 10th graders to join our mailing list. This will allow us to go ahead and send them a direct link to the application when they become eligible.

Additionally, we offer a free one day summer bootcamp for rising ninth, 10th, and 11th graders. This bootcamp provides students with a quick preview of the 12 week program, offering a hands-on experience that introduces them to key concepts and skills they'll develop throughout the full program if they continue on and apply.

Students can also reach out to us at aspire@ccf.org with any questions or concerns. And I just wanna echo Mr. Mike in saying that it's very important to get those college credit plus courses done. Be very strong in math and science and keep that GPA up because we do require a 3.0.

Dr. Tony Tizanno, MD: 

Fabulous. Well, that is all very enticing for either of you. Is there anything that I didn't ask or discuss that you think is important for our listeners to know?

Michael Moreland: Sure. Tony, I have two things. The first thing is that it's important for our participants to know that we understand that they're taking time out of their normal schedule.

Saturdays are hard to come by, and when you're in high school and you have to give up a Saturday, it means the world to you. So I want our participants to know that at the completion of our 12 week junior program sessions, we give them a stipend. When our students come back to us senior year and attend all sessions and complete our programming, at the end, we give them another stipend.

So we value their time. The second thing I'd like to mention, Tony, is that what we've noticed is that some Cleveland Clinic caregivers still are in awe about the mission of this program. It is a great program and I love the work that we are doing on a day-to-day basis, but our caregivers are wondering how they can get involved.

And so I would say to them, there are many opportunities to help us facilitate learning experiences for our students and several other opportunities, and they can reach out to our program at aspire@ccf.org. Also when our students start their college journey, right after they become PCNA's or patient care nursing assistants here at Cleveland Clinic, we like to pair our student learners with professional nurses at the bedside.

What I mean by that is we're looking for nurses to be mentors, and so you can also reach out to us at aspire@ccf.org if you would like to be a mentor for one of our young nursing students coming through the Howley Aspire program.

Dr. Tony Tizanno, MD: 

Michael, that's just fabulous. I mean, this is so well thought out from inspiring to providing content to offering opportunities for mentoring.

And please, this last point about our caregivers who might have interest in supporting this program I hope you reach out to Aspire and throw your hat in the ring. There's a lot to be offered and the more the better. Well, thank you so much Shanell and Michael. This has been a wonderfully insightful and exciting episode of MedEd Thread.

To our listeners, if you'd like to suggest a medical education topic to us or comment on an episode, please email us at education@ccf.org. Thank you very much for joining, and we look forward to seeing you on our next podcast. Have a wonderful day.

Dr. James K. Stoller: 

This concludes this episode of MedEd Thread a Cleveland Clinic Education podcast. Be sure to subscribe to hear new episodes via iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Until next time, thanks for listening to MedEd Thread and please join us again soon.