Nursing students from Torrance Memorial’s New Grad program attend a celebration luncheon to receive their Certificate of Completion.

American University of Health Sciences (AUHS) alumni were honored in the New Grad Celebration Luncheon at Torrance Memorial Medical Center on January 24, 2017. The luncheon was Valentine’s Day themed with pink, white and red hearts, balloons and other decorations. The guests were served with a wide variety of sandwiches, cookies, brownies, chocolates, and candies. 30-40 students were recognized at the celebration including AUHS alumni Melvin Miclat and Vanesa Dapitan. Miclat and Dapitan were both from Cohort 14 and graduated from AUHS in May 2016.Miclat and Dapitan attended the Valentine’s Day themed celebration luncheon where they each received a Certificate of Completion for graduating from Torrance Memorial Medical Center’s new grad program. Chantal Jura, AUHS Director of Affiliations and Development, went to the luncheon on behalf of AUHS to show the university’s admiration and full support.

There were tables at the event reserved for the associates for participating schools such as Mount St. Mary’s University and West Coast University. Jura was unaware of the seating arrangements and happened to sit next to Dapitan.

“It was nice for (Miclat and Dapitan) to see a representative from their alma mater to come at their graduation for their new grad program,” said Jura, “I introduced myself and (Dapitan) was really happy that I was there.”

Jura was proud of how far the two AUHS alumni has come in their journey to becoming registered nurses.

“Going through so many different steps they had to go through to get to where they are right now is admirable and also encouraging because it goes to see that they can accomplish their dreams,” said Jura.

AUHS alumni Vanesa Dapitan receives a Certificate of Completion from Torrance Memorial Hospital’s new grad program.

Jura explained how graduating from the new grad program was one of the final steps to becoming a “full-fledged” and “full-paid” registered nurse.Nursing students must pass their National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) board exam in order to become a registered nurse but they must also have hospital experience, according to Jura. After a nursing student has passed the NCLEX exam, they enter new grad program which is a way for hospitals to transition newly board approved students.

Students in a new grad program work under a preceptor at the hospital (who is a nurse) in different units of the hospital such as the burn intensive care unit (BICU), Maternity, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), etc. Miclat and Dapitan, for example, worked in the telemetry unit. (In a telemetry unit of a hospital, patients are often in critical condition and in need of constant monitoring and care.

Telemetry nurses review data from special equipment to track a patient’s heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and other vitals).

The length of each new grad program varies, some programs can be nine months long and others can be a year long. But after nursing students complete the new grad program they will be able to work as a regular RN.

Jura was moved by several of the presentations at the celebration luncheon, especially the touching stories where they encouraged students to continue on with nursing even if they fail. There were many words of wisdom and encouragement. She remembered how the students had an open mic session toward the end of the event.

“One student went to the stage and she shared how the first time she didn’t pass her NCLEX the first time. It was devastating and she was unsure of retaking it,” Jura said, “But the school was so supportive and told her to keep going.”

Jura strives for all of her students at AUHS to be successful like Miclat and Dapitan. Jura works with AUHS students individually, help make sure that their portfolios are ready, that they are connected on linkedin, that they have at least a clear sense of what they want to do after graduation. Her goal is to have herstudents informed about the best practices to get employed set realistic goals and to know what their options are after graduation.

AUHS is a private, for-profit, minority owned, minority serving, Christian-based university whose mission is to educate and equip students with life careers and to produce quality health care professionals for the community, the nation and the world. It is a university where appreciation of life and one’s spiritual reason for existence can be nurtured.

AUHS offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), a Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences (BSPS) and a Master of Science in Clinical Research (MSCR). To request more information, email admissions@auhs.edu or call (562) 988-2278. For the latest news, pictures and videos of American University of Health Sciences’ events, like us on Facebook @auhs.edu and follow us on Twitter @AUHS_Campus and Instagram @auhsedu.