Three members of the College of Nursing faculty at South Dakota State University were honored by the South Dakota Nurses Association at its October convention in Sioux Falls.
The honorees were Amanda Sandager, Rookie of the Year; Lori Hendrickx, Nurse Educator of the Year; and Venita Winterboer, District 8 & 9 Nurse of the Year.
Amanda Sandager
Sandager, an instructor, joined the SDSU faculty in fall 2021 and quickly became a member of the nurses association. Venita Winterboer, a fellow faculty member who nominated Sandager, said, “Amanda has brought a new energy to District 8 & 9 with her participation and commitment. Her leadership experience have been an asset.”
Specifically, Sandager has assisted with securing speakers and events for the district organization and volunteered with District 8 & 9 in Feeding Brookings, which was a service project for the group.
Winterboer added, “Amanda is actively involved at SDSU and the community. This involvement provides her the opportunity to be a spokesperson for nursing and assist to recruit other younger nurses to become members of SDNA.”
Sandager earned her bachelor’s degree from SDSU in 2013 and her master’s in 2018 before teaching two years at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
At SDSU, she assists with skills lab, simulation, clinicals and teaches a prenursing seminar and Patient Centered Concepts IV. In addition, she works as an emergency room nurse at a telemedicine company in Sioux Falls.
Lori Hendrickx
Hendrickx, who joined the SDSU faculty in 1998, has been a practicing nurse for more than 40 years and has been involved in nursing education for 34 years.
Hendricks, who is a full professor, is a five-time selection as SDSU College of Nursing Teacher of the Year (2000, 2002, 2004, 2009 and 2012) and has served on the national boards of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and Rural Nurse Organization.
Hendrickx, who teaches at the Aberdeen satellite campus, was part of a team that developed and launched the accelerated degree program there and at Rapid City as well as coordinating the clinical nurse leader online master’s degree program.
While she has been the primary faculty member for 16 courses across multiple degree tracks, “a consistent theme in her faculty role includes commitment to promoting rural health through inclusion of rural health content in curriculum and developing rural health experiences for nursing students,” according to fellow professor Tom Stenvig, who nominated her.
Venita Winterboer
Winterboer, a lecturer in undergraduate education who has been on the faculty since 1986, has served as District 8 & 9 president since 2021.
According to Hendrickx, who nominated Winterboer, “She maintained regular meetings with excellent speakers throughout the COVID pandemic and has established an effective meeting platform using Zoom. During this past year, she has increased discussion about partnering with the Student Nurses Association and has suggested speakers who are local nurses doing creative work.
“Her many years of service to SDNA and historical knowledge of the organization are evident as she leads meetings and provides suggestions for community service opportunities and engaging speakers.”
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