School of Nursing receives two grants to expand learning opportunities
Troy University’s School of Nursing will use two grants totaling $178,070 to expand virtual reality training with emergency medical services and launch a mentorship program for nursing students from rural and underserved communities.
The awards are among 138 grants totaling more than $144 million announced through Gov. Kay Ivey’s Alabama Rural Health Transformation Program.
A $118,070 grant will support BATON, a program designed to improve communication between nursing and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) students during patient handoffs. A second $60,000 grant will establish Troy Compass, a peer mentorship and rural workforce development program.
Dr. Rebecca Allen-Jones, a lecturer in the School of Nursing who helped develop both proposals, said BATON refers to “passing the baton” of medical information between caregivers. Nursing and EMS students will enter the same virtual reality simulation from separate locations to practice transferring patients and information.
According to Allen-Jones, hospital closures can leave rural nurses caring for more critically ill patients while EMS providers transport patients farther.
“We want to make sure that they’re prepared to handle things, stabilize and then be able to give appropriate transfer,” Allen-Jones said.
Faculty will develop the curriculum this fall before expanding the program in spring 2027. The initial goal is to involve at least 40 nursing students and 10 EMS students or providers.
The program is expected to include 10 scenarios. Some will follow patients from EMS care in the field to nursing care in a hospital. Others will require nursing students in a rural hospital to stabilize a patient and transfer the patient to EMS for transportation to a higher level of care.
The program will likely begin with critical care students before expanding into all five semesters of Troy’s nursing program.
Allen-Jones said clinical rotations do not always allow students to receive reports from EMS, ask questions or transfer critical patients.
“We always call simulation a safe space, a space to practice and make mistakes,” Allen-Jones said.
Emma Grace Gurman, a senior fifth-semester nursing major from Midland City, Alabama, has practiced giving reports to EMS through her work as a student nurse apprentice. She said many students do not receive the same opportunity during nursing school.
Gurman said some previous virtual reality exercises had technical and organizational problems. Additional funding could improve the equipment, she said, but preparation and structure will also be important.
Allen-Jones said BATON is still being developed and will use software that responds to students’ decisions during each scenario.
Troy Compass will begin in spring 2027 with five incoming first-semester students and five third-semester mentors. Applicants from rural or disadvantaged communities and areas with limited medical services will receive priority.
Participants will attend monthly meetings to discuss classes, schedules and academic progress. Plans also include technology and digital note-taking resources, visits to rural health care facilities and, eventually, a nursing conference for senior participants.
Gurman said entering nursing school required her to adjust quickly to new assignments, skills assessments and ways of thinking.
“I was extremely scared to start,” Gurman said. “Nursing changes the way you think.”
She said guidance from a third-semester student could have eased that transition because the mentor would have recently completed the same classes and assessments.
“It’s no sugarcoating, but it’s also, ‘You can do it,’” Gurman said. “‘Look how far I’ve come. You can make it.’”
If Troy continues receiving annual funding, students who begin as mentees will later become mentors. In their fifth semester, they will help faculty plan and oversee the program.
Troy’s long-term goal is to have as many as 50 students participating at one time.
Troy plans to measure the programs through surveys, student grades, retention, graduation and National Council Licensure Examination pass rates.
“We definitely need more nurses, but we also need nurses that are confident and that feel like they can go out and serve a purpose,” Allen-Jones said.
Eligible nursing students are encouraged to watch their Troy email for COMPASS application information. For more information about either program, contact Allen-Jones at rallen32926@troy.edu or visit troy.edu and search for the School of Nursing.
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