Sara
Koole '98
Practice What You Teach
Sara Koole '98 understands
the toll that a nursing career can exact. Last year, she started working
at the Heart Hospital of South Dakota in the critical care unit. In January,
she began teaching nursing at the University of South Dakota and now believes
she has found her niche.
"I enjoy both sides of my
field, but I've really taken a strong liking to teaching," she says. "It's
exciting and thrilling, and it gives me the opportunity to bring real-life
experiences into the classroom and influence the careers of future nurses."
The former Sara Hanenburg
graduated with a degree in nursing from Trinity in 1998, then finished
her master's in nursing at the University of Illinois-Chicago in 2002.
She and her husband, Douglas '98, moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, a
short drive from her hometown of Edgerton, Minnesota. Her background gives
her the credentials to fill a void in her professions.
"There is an extreme shortage
of nurses in health care," Koole says, "but there is an even greater shortage
of nursing educators. Teaching is a great way for me to use my master's
while staying current with medical progress and breakthroughs."
Her time at the College provided
the framework for what she does now. Koole cites the nursing faculty's
emphasis on caring for individuals and their holistic needs as a crucial
component of health care. Her faith helps to reduce the anxiety she sees
at the hospital.
"The things I do have a direct
effect on our patients and their families," she says. "I am thankful that
I can serve these people and try to treat them as God would treat them.
I want people to notice my gratitude for my salvation through the way I
relate to them. When I see people in these vulnerable situations, I want
to extend myself to them to make their circumstances less painful."
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