The faculty members of the Division of
Health and Natural Sciences provide a supportive learning environment that
promotes student success through excellence in instruction and programs and
services that meet the diverse needs of the College community. To promote student success, the faculty
continues to seek new knowledge, ideas, and practices through participation in
conferences, workshops, and regional meetings.
Below you will find some of these faculty activities.
The 2013 North
Jersey Ornamental Horticulture Conference was held January 7-9, 2013, at
the College. This three-day conference
provided turf, tree, and landscape professionals with updates from Rutgers NJ
Agricultural Experiment Station Specialists and industry experts. The
conference was planned by the County Agricultural Agents and Program Associates
in Bergen, Essex, Morris, Passaic, Sussex and Union Counties. The conference provided the LHT program with
recruitment opportunities.
Professor Craig Tolley attended the New Jersey Professional Landscape and
Nursery Trade Show on January 22-23, 2013, at the New Jersey Convention
Center in Edison, New Jersey. The
exposition is the tri-state area’s premier green industry educational
conference and trade show. This year’s
exposition addressed the strategic business interests of landscape
professionals, nursery growers, retail garden centers, public works crews, golf
course groundskeepers and arborists.
The Department of Landscape and Horticultural
Technology participated in the 17th
Annual Sussex County Springfest Flower and Garden Show in Augusta, New
Jersey, March 14-17, 2013. Springfest is northern New Jersey’s
premier flower show which features landscaped gardens, horticultural vendors,
and educational exhibits. The show
features exhibitors of live plant materials, tools, garden furniture, food, and
wine from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. Professor Brian Oleksak opened the speaker
series with a presentation entitled Ferns
and Ornamental Grasses for the Home Landscape.
Professors Brian Oleksak and Craig Tolley of the
Department of Landscape and Horticultural Technology hosted the North Jersey Pest Control and Health
Officers Day Training on March
22, 2013. The day-long event was
co-hosted with Rutgers Cooperative Extension and featured topics on the biology
and control of mosquitoes, bedbugs, rabies and miscellaneous wildlife damage in
the landscape. Participation in the
seminar enables attendees to maintain certification of applicators licenses
under the Department of Environmental Protection. The event was attended by fifty-one
professionals in the pest control industry.
Professor Denise
Vill’Neuve, Chairperson of the Department of Allied Health, and Professor
Marian Maloney together with senior Radiography students attended the New Jersey Society of Radiologic
Technologists Annual Meeting on March 5-6, 2013, Atlantic City. Faculty and students attended a variety of
quality educational sessions to enhance their understanding of modern
technology within the profession.
Students participated in the Student X-ray Bee. Two CCM student teams earned awards in the
Technical Poster Exhibit. The posters are
judged on their professional/educational value, originality of subject matter,
technical quality and creativity, and presentation. Relaxation Techniques in the Radiology Department created by Michelle
Genung, Kristie Trabucco, Jenifer Vogler and Patricia M. Roberts earned a
second place. The third place winner, 30 Shades of Grey, was created by Juliet
Colvin, Esra Kaya, Jessica Erbentraut, Laura Mejia and Hollie J. Fields.
The Respiratory Therapy Program held open houses on March
18 and 28, 2013, for those interested in learning more about this healthcare
profession and related employment opportunities. The program provides students with the
knowledge, skills, and professional attitudes and behaviors needed to attain
state licensing and national credentialing for a career in respiratory
therapy. Graduates of the program have
obtained positions in a variety of settings including hospitals, long-term care
facilities, home health agencies, pulmonary rehabilitation centers and
physician offices.
Professor Sharon
Kapica, Chairperson of Biology and Chemistry, and Dr. Maria Isaza, Assistant
Chairperson, attended the formal dedication of the newly renovated Biology
laboratories at the College of Saint Elizabeth (CSE) on January 28, 2013. During the design phase, a team from CSE met
with CCM faculty and administrators, toured laboratories, and discussed both
the design process and particular enhancements which were incorporated into the
CSE designs. Professor Kapica and Dr.
Isaza were formally recognized as graduates of the College of Saint Elizabeth. The Biology and Chemistry Department has had
an ongoing partnership with the College of Saint Elizabeth and is currently
finalizing articulation agreements in Biology and in Nutrition.
Professors
Keri Flanagan and Christine Kelly of the Department of Biology and Chemistry
attended the Women in Science Day
sponsored by the College of Saint Elizabeth on March 6, 2013. The event was designed to encourage women to
consider a major in science and to introduce them to the varied academic
options in the fields of science.
Through panel discussions and demonstrations, faculty and students
learned about fields such as medicine, pharmaceuticals, consumer products,
foods and nutrition, and education.
Students in the
Biology Club had an opportunity to attend panel discussions on internships and
research opportunities. The Northeast
Regional Alliance (NERA) MedPrep Scholars Program, a partnership between the
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and four other institutions,
expands health careers preparation for underrepresented and disadvantaged students
from junior high school through medical school with the goal of increasing
competitiveness for medical school.
Montclair State University and the National Science Foundation sponsor a
paid research experience in the Kittatinny Mountains of Northwest New Jersey
focusing on hands-on, field-oriented research on the following topics: surface and subsurface hydrology, erosion and
sedimentation, water chemistry and biodiversity and ecological research. On February 26, 2013, the Biology Club
sponsored an event, ‘Reel’ Live Surgery,
where students had an opportunity to view a mitral valve repair surgery.
Professors Keri Flanagan, Sheila Barbach, and Jenifer Martin of the
Department of Biology and Chemistry attended a workshop, Discover How POGIL Can Work
for Your Students, on March 23, 2013, in Baltimore, Maryland. The POGIL (Process Oriented Guided Inquiry
Learning) workshop explored the benefits of this approach to active learning in
the classroom. Participants experienced
a POGIL-based learning environment, analyzed activities to understand how
guided inquiry is structured in a POGIL classroom, and considered classroom
facilitation and other issues related to the implementation of POGIL.
Dr. John Berger of the Department of Biology and
Chemistry together with faculty of Montclair State University (MSU) have
submitted a proposal, Montclair State
University Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, to the National Science
Foundation Department of Undergraduate Education. The intent of the award is to prepare County
College of Morris and other community college students to teach physical
science courses in K-12 schools lacking such educators. The award would fund two years’ tuition for
CCM graduates that enroll in MSU’s education and physical science courses.
Chairperson Monica
Maraska and Professors Mary Gerepka and Kathy Prokop attended the New Jersey
Nursing Initiative (NJNI) first full-day Forum on Innovations
in Clinical Education on January 25, 2013, at the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation in Princeton, N.J. The
initiative is working to transform nursing education in the state. Its goal is to ensure that New Jersey has the
well-prepared, diverse nurse faculty it needs to educate nurses to meet the
demand for health and health care in the 21st century.
Chairperson
Monica Maraska gave a presentation at Morristown Medical Center on January 28,
2013, to CCM alumni interested in the RN to BSN program programs. She discussed area schools that offer
articulation agreements with the College.
CCM
nursing students have been invited to participate in HELP (Hospital Elder Life
Program) at Morristown Medical Center. The volunteer program is an innovative approach to improving the
hospital care for older patients. It is
an opportunity to increase the students’ awareness of the geriatric population
in the community and open doors to new possible volunteers for the program.
Professor Patricia Baxter
of the Department of Nursing together with several clinical students attended
the Medical Surgical Nursing Symposium sponsored by Atlantic Health System on
March 19, 2013. The program included presentations and discussions on
behavioral change theory, patient coaching, and teaching back techniques.
On March 25, 2013, several nursing
faculty and the lab coordinator participated in a webinar on Electronic Health
Records presented by NEEHR PERFECT. Many of the clinical affiliates used by CCM
have transitioned to electronic health records.
The Department of Nursing is in the process of evaluating several of
these systems so that it can be infused into the nursing curriculum. This will ensure that CCM graduates have
up-to-date knowledge of current technology in health care organizations.
Professor Laura Parker of the
Department of Nursing attended the National League for Nursing Convention, Nursing:
Issues of Our Times, on March 20-21, 2013, in Atlantic City. The pre-convention nurse educator’s workshop,
State of Simulation Science:; Where We Are and What’s Coming Next?”, focused
on conducting a simulation using current best practices, integrating simulation
into a curriculum, exploring new evaluation tools, examining inter-professional
(IPE) education and simulation, and discussing the possibility of high states
testing (simulation testing for
licensing).