College of Nursing and Health Professions

Looking for an affordable and convenient way to advance your nursing career? USI has programs for practicing nurses like you who are looking to take their careers to the next level. The deadline to apply for our MSN program and Post MSN Certificate has been extended to August 1, 2023.

Three Posey County teens recently visited USI to thank a member of our Nursing faculty for her quick response when they were injured in a three-vehicle accident.

Congratulations to Amy Wilson, Clinical Associate Professor and Chair of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (DMS), and Dr. Katherine Peak, Clinical Assistant Professor, for receiving the 2023 Faculty Development Award for the College of Nursing and Health Professions! They used the monetary award to purchase a 3D/4D transducer to use with the program's new ultrasound machine.

USI's Dental Assisting and Dental Hygiene students are making a difference! They provided oral health screenings and free dental care products for community members impacted by homelessness at the Homeless Connect event yesterday in downtown Evansville. Our students were able to screen 118 people. Of those, 83% were identified as needing early or immediate dental care. The students connected these individuals to local safety net clinics at the event for restorative dental care.

Two student-athletes in the College of Nursing and Health Professions made a splash during their freshman year as members of USI's first Swimming and Diving teams! Read more about our inaugural swimmers in the newest issue of USI's Illume magazine.

Three USI students received the prestigious Rising Star of Research and Scholarship Award from Sigma Theta Tau, international honor society of nursing. They are Cassandra Nepp, BSN '22 graduate (not pictured), and current DNP students, Byron Rademacher, at left, and AnnMarie Humphress, at right. Pam Thomas, Clinical Assistant Professor of Nursing, recognized Rademacher and Humphress at USI's annual Research Conference, held April 19.

Congratulations to Dr. Marilyn Ostendorf, Clinical Assistant Professor of Nursing, and USI Nursing students on two exciting wins! On April 10, they won the 2023 Critical Care Challenge sponsored by the Greater Evansville Chapter of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. The team also captured first place at the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) Challenge sponsored by the Kentucky Nurses Association on March 21.

Congratulations to Jenna Thacker, OTD, OTR/L, CHT, '11, OT '12, Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy (OT), for receiving a $5,000 Early Career Faculty Grant from the University of Southern Indiana Provost’s Office. These grants are given each year to encourage early career faculty to pursue promising research, creative and engagement projects for one consecutive 10-week summer term. Thacker intends to study functional dry needling (FDN), which she says is “growing like wildfire” in the field of physical therapy (PT).

Congratulations to Emily Holt, Clinical Professor of Dental Hygiene and Dental Assisting, for making an impact on student success at USI! She was recognized in the inaugural Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Outstanding Faculty-Commitment to Student Success Awards!

Alexandra Gilmore ’17 was named the 2023 Nurse of the Year at Baptist Health Floyd in New Albany, Indiana. She has worked in the hospital's intensive care unit for six years.

Kristy Denton '12, MHA '15 has a new title to add to her resume: Mrs. Southern Indiana! The USI graduate, wife, mother, long-term care administrator and adjunct instructor for Romain College of Business is a native of Newburgh, Indiana, and has been with American Senior Communities since 2014. She currently is the administrator at Willowdale Village in Dale, Indiana.

Students in the USI College of Nursing and Health Professions are taught the importance of working together within a healthcare team to ensure the best possible patient outcomes. Brooke Shafer, a senior nursing major, has first-hand experience with this concept.

The USI Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program is offering non-diagnostic ultrasounds to those in their second and third trimester on Thursdays through April 27. Physician consent is required.

The worlds of healthcare and art intersected recently at USI during Dr. Zach Ward’s Competitive Strategies and Marketing in Healthcare class (HA 496). Aaron Kizer, a native of Owensboro who is renowned for his striking portraits of celebrities and pop culture icons, recently spoke to Ward’s students about his work and artistic portfolio that ranges from hip-hop artists’ album covers to Fortune 500 companies.

USI Nursing's newest faculty member puts best foot forward with mission to provide new shoes for Mount Vernon elementary school students.

Jessica R. Riley, MSN, RN, APRN, AGACNP-BC, has been named Congestive Heart Failure Coordinator at Cape Cardiology Group, located in the Heart Hospital at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. She received her Post-Master’s Certificate as an Acute Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner from University of Southern Indiana in July 2022.

Two students in the Family Nurse Practitioner program completed a pilot continuing education program that focused on reducing health disparities in the United States.

Sarah Fruit was named the USI Student Volunteer of the Year award at the Volunteer USI Dinner in August and is also the 2022 recipient of a University-wide scholarship. She says opportunities within the Food and Nutrition Program at USI have prepared her for her future career.

Prior to the USI Nursing White Coat Ceremony on September 11, 2022, Hailey Reas’ mother loaned her something special to wear to remember her family’s legacy of nursing service.

A junior majoring in Health Administration is the first student-athlete in USI school history to claim a NCAA Division I conference title. Read more about Lauren Greiwe and her accomplishments on the USI Women's Cross Country team.

Ann White, RN, PhD, MBA, NE-BC, Dean Emerita of the USI College of Nursing and Health Professions, received the 2022 Pillar of Leadership Award from the Indiana State Nurses Association (ISNA).

Two students from USI's Radiologic and Imaging Sciences program, Hortensia Almanza '23 and Eva Chung Loo '23, placed third in the state quiz bowl during the Indiana Society of Radiologic Technologists (ISRT) meeting in Indianapolis on September 30. The program's newest faculty member, Ryan Williams '14, M'22, was also installed as the Vice President for the 2022-2023 ISRT Board of Directors.

Congrats to Katie Ehlman, Professor of Gerontology, for receiving the Faculty Recognition Award at the USI Founders' Day Celebration! Her anonymous nominator says, “Ehlman is an outstanding role model for students and is constantly creating experiential learning opportunities for them. Her work elevates the visibility of the University on a local, state, national and global platform.”

Dr. Joy Cook, Associate Professor and Chair of Radiologic and Imaging Sciences; Dr. Heather Schmuck, Clinical Associate Professor of Radiologic and Imagines Sciences; and Amanda Reddington, Clinical Associate Professor of Dental Hygiene/Assisting, presented "Getting Down and Dirty with Lead Apparel" at the 2022 American Dental Education Association Annual Session and Exhibition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 19, 2022.

Meet this 2017 graduate who received the 2022 Nurse of the Year for Community Service award from Deaconess Hospital.