First nursing school, first Utah hospital continues training front line nurses
While walking through a grocery store, a woman approached Dr. Steadman to share her story of healing and to thank her for her service.
Dr. Sheryl Steadman, Dean of Nursing at Westminster College and member of St. Mark’s Hospital Board of Trustees, donned a jacket with St. Mark’s Hospital’s name and logo on it as she walked through a busy grocery store. A woman in the aisle spotted the jacket and immediately approached Dr. Steadman, sharing her personal story of healing and complimenting the hospital teams’ professionalism and compassion.
“This was not the first time this has happened to me when I was wearing that jacket. The woman stopped to say, ‘Thank you for your service.’ Now, that’s usually a phrase we say to military people; but we’re hearing it a lot more lately because of the COVID pandemic,” Dr. Steadman observed.
Interestingly, Dr. Steadman’s nursing career began with a desire to join the military and serve as a MASH nurse during the Vietnam war.
“I was two years too late, since I didn’t have my bachelor’s degree completed at the time. But one of the main reasons I went into nursing was to be on the front lines, serving our country and communities in times of need — and that motivation hasn’t changed,” Dr. Steadman said.
Today, Dr. Steadman leads an army of nursing students, as she prepares the next generation of nurses to defend our communities’ health on the front lines.
To ensure the highest level of training, Westminster College partners with St. Mark’s Hospital, granting nursing students opportunities to gain hands-on learning experiences in clinical settings that complement their classroom education.
“St. Mark’s Hospital has been a long-standing, valuable clinical entity for the nurses at Westminster. They teach well, they know the importance of working with students, and they provide the full gamut of healthcare services,” Dr. Steadman said. “We want our students to receive the very best learning experiences at the very best facilities, meaning they meet the highest standards of care — and St. Mark’s has always been a facility of the highest standards.”
Upon graduating from Westminster, many of the trained nurses continue with fulltime employment at St. Mark’s Hospital.
“Our graduates are respected and sought after. Many of them make St. Mark’s Hospital their first choice of employment. There’s a tremendous amount of history between Westminster and St. Mark’s, and that relationship is extremely important to nursing of the past, present and future,” Dr. Steadman said.
From Utah’s first training school to the future of healthcare
In addition to being Utah’s first hospital, St. Mark’s Hospital opened the first training school for nurses in the Intermountain Region in 1894. The St. Mark’s Hospital School of Nursing enrolled nurses who worked during the day and continued their education in the evening, with classes that started after 7 p.m. and were taught by physicians. By 1907, a residence was built so nurses could live in the hospital’s basement during their formal training.
In the 1940s, St. Mark’s Hospital became legally affiliated with Westminster College, offering academic support to the student nurses — which continues today. As is tradition, today’s bachelor’s degree graduates proudly receive their treasured “St. Mark’s Hospital/Westminster College School of Nursing” pin.
Dr. Steadman foresees many more years of front line, community service ahead for St. Mark’s Hospital
“I have been a nurse for more years than most people are old, [and] when I think of St. Mark’s Hospital, I think of an outstanding community hospital that treats the whole person with personalized care. You can feel a difference as soon as you pull into the parking lot; and I see it continuing to grow and build on that for the future. What an exciting time!” Dr. Steadman said.