{"id":138785,"date":"2021-04-01T10:47:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T16:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=138785"},"modified":"2022-09-20T14:57:31","modified_gmt":"2022-09-20T20:57:31","slug":"air-force-nurse-brings-care-to-the-classroom-shannon-constantinides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=138785","title":{"rendered":"Air Force nurse brings care to the classroom | Shannon Constantinides \u201905"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Former Air Force nurse Shannon Constantinides \u201905 comes from a long legacy of helping others. That\u2019s why she decided to get both her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and Master\u2019s of Science in Nursing (MSN) at UCCS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past 15 years, she has put her degrees to use as an Air Force nurse, ER nurse, Orthopedic Surgeon, Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) at UC Health, and, most recently, as a PhD student. Now, at 38, she is looking forward to using her vast knowledge and experience to teach two hybrid nursing courses at UCCS this fall, when the campus returns to in-person operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s befitting that Constantinides ended up at UCCS not only to get her degrees, but to teach. Her family is native to Colorado Springs and Constantinides\u2019 mother got her BSN from Beth-El College of Nursing in 1977, then earned her MSN during the 1990s, all while working as a Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspired to help others<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Inspired by her mother, and a high school career report about Nurse Practitioners, Constantinides decided to enroll in UCCS to kickstart her career. Once there, she got real-world experience from a variety of professors and classes, including health practicums that offered extra clinicals in-between semesters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would always sign up for those and get extra practice in the hospital \u2014 then be that much further ahead when the semester started,\u201d Constantinides recalls.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such a willingness to go above and beyond came from Constantinides\u2019 long family history of military service, which dates all the way back to the Revolutionary War. Constantinides\u2019 father and grandfathers each served in conflicts throughout history, including World War I and the Civil War. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe lore is that [General] Ulysses S. Grant received his commission to lead the Union Army while he was staying with our family, somewhere in Virginia,\u201d Constantinides says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A saga of service<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Constantinides decided to carry on this saga of service by joining the United States Air Force (USAF) just two months after graduating from UCCS with her BSN in 2005. During her four-year enlistment as an Air Force nurse at Travis Air Force Base near San Francisco, she treated troops injured during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main part of her role was to treat and help transport those suffering from polytraumatic wounds to one of five Veteran Affairs (VA) polytrauma treatment centers across the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout her time as an Air Force nurse, Constantinides was able to learn everything from routine tasks like treating wounds to complex procedures involving orthopedic surgery. One day, she was asked to \u201cscrub in\u201d and assist in a joint replacement, which piqued her interest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expanding nursing knowledge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After her service, Constantinides decided to move back to Colorado Spring to earn her MSN and NP credentials from UCCS. Even then, flexible online learning options from UCCS allowed her to start her degree while still working as an Air Force nurse, then keep pursuing it while working at Penrose Hospital in downtown Colorado Springs doing Perianesthesia Nursing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But after witnessing many surgeries at Penrose, Constantinides knew she wanted to be the one operating on patients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018I want to be on this side of the procedure, not the anesthesia side,\u201d Constantinides remembers. \u201cSo that was a really pivotal moment for me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A surgery team typically consists of an Assistant Surgeon, a Scrub Technician, who controls the necessary instruments, and a First-Assist, who is usually another surgeon, NP, or Registered Nurse (RN). By getting her NP credential at UCCS, Constantinides was able to begin working with renowned Colorado Springs orthopedic surgeon, Dr. David Weinstein, before she even completed her American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) board certification exam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going for gold<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For about eight years, Constantinides worked alongside Weinstein, who specializes in sports medicine, and even helped Olympic Athletes at Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center with medical issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But after learning so much with Weinstein, Constantinides was ready to elevate her thinking about healthcare, nursing, and surgery. In 2018, she started her research PhD in Advanced Applied Biospecifics and Mixed-Methods Research from Florida Atlantic University (FAU).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Constantinides and her husband have a place in Key Largo and travel to Florida often to fish, it was FAU\u2019s research-forward approach that made it the right choice for her PhD. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThankfully I had really good research classes at UCCS,\u201d Constantinides mentions. \u201cThat gave me a definite leg up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So did her former UCCS professors, who helped her throughout her PhD and also ended up asking her to teach at UCCS this fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bringing care to the classroom<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to Constantinides, it\u2019s hard for universities to find a practicing NP who has earned a research-based PhD, on top of previous education. But at UCCS, education is just as important as on-the-job training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re going to teach, especially in a clinical field, you need to have experience to teach from,\u201d Constantinides says. \u201cSo I waited to get my PhD and go into academics until a time when I felt like I had something to contribute.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an educator, Constantinides will still keep up her NP certification and work with UCHealth to help patients because, to her, that\u2019s what makes nursing all worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think nurses \u2014 we have such an important role in society,\u201d Constantinides says. \u201cWe take care of people because they\u2019re people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A cure for burnout<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s this mindset that drives many nurses like Constantinides to keep working, even in light of COVID-19, during a time when \u201cburnout\u201d is all too common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy dissertation actually looked at emotional exhaustion in healthcare,\u201d Constantinides says. \u201cMost people aren\u2019t actually \u2018burned out,\u2019 they\u2019re emotionally exhausted \u2026 But there are things you can do to improve adaptability \u2014 self-care is really important.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right now, Constantinides feels like the world needs more care. It needs more capable Nurses and Nurse Practitioners. While these degrees may require more education and licensure or certification, she believes they pay off in flexibility and career placement. So far, Constantinides\u2019 learning has allowed her to do so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To this end, Constantinides\u2019 final word of advice for future nurses is to keep an open mind and don\u2019t get attached to just one role. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I tell students is: don\u2019t decide on one thing,\u201d she concludes. \u201cThere\u2019s so much you can do with a nursing degree \u2014 be open to all sorts of opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Air Force nurse Shannon Constantinides comes from a long legacy of helping others. That\u2019s why she decided to get both her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and Master\u2019s of Science in Nursing (MSN) at UCCS. (More)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":138787,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,427],"tags":[370,369,303,105],"class_list":["post-138785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-alumni-stories","tag-alumni","tag-alumni-success","tag-department-of-nursing","tag-helen-and-arthur-e-johnson-beth-el-college-of-nursing-and-health-sciences"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Shannon-Constantinides-Featured.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1mBpJ-A6t","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=138785"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":142771,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138785\/revisions\/142771"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/138787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=138785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=138785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=138785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}