Ramapo College awards first doctorate degrees
MAHWAH — Five nursing students received the first doctorate degrees awarded by Ramapo College of New Jersey at graduate commencement exercises Thursday.
The three-year 36-credit nationally-ranked program leading to a doctor of Nursing Practice degree began in the fall of 2020, championed by Dr. Kathleen Burke, program director and assistant dean of nursing.
"We offer an alternative to research-focused doctoral program," Burke said. "We place greater emphasis on practice and less emphasis on theory, research and statistics. There is a greater need for evidence-based treatment, rather than waking a patient at 6 a.m. to take their temperature because that's the way it's always been done. These students had projects that made dramatic changes where they worked, with a direct impact on patient care."
The five doctoral graduates are Mary Hozak of Woodland Park, Joseph Scarano of Emerson, Shaun Frame of Woodbridge, Patrick Dwyer of Washington Township and Ruth Harrell of Prospect Park.
"I chose Ramapo over other schools for the culture that they have instilled," Dwyer said. "They truly make it feel like a family environment. I attended Ramapo for my bachelor of science in nursing, and went back to Ramapo for my master of science in nursing, and then for the DNP based on that same culture. The Ramapo Professors want all of the students to succeed and create an environment that is conducive to all students."
Hozak's project was aimed at better supervision of patients with congestive heart failure after release to minimize the need for readmittance.
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"We found patients weren't taking medications because they couldn't afford them, not taking them as ordered, or taking medications they already had without realizing the dose had been changed," Hozak said. "There are a lot of challenges to treatment of heart failure, and being able to identify the problem was a real gift from Ramapo."
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Scarano's project was more effectively identifying elusive stroke symptoms in emergency rooms.
"We found about 20% of strokes were being missed because the symptoms were vague," Scarano.
As the school's first doctoral candidates, the students were given the unique privilege of designing their hoods and robes.
"We wanted them to be loud and proud so they would be easily identified from a distance," Scarano said the maroon robes with gold stoles.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Ramapo College awards first doctorate degrees
