Last Friday, the greens at Moore's Mill Golf Club were set and ready for an early morning tee off as Auburn's Master of Science in Nursing program held its "Mulligans for Master's" charity golf event to raise money for the growing department.
"Our master's program is fairly new," said Anita All, nursing professor. "We started in 2005, and just last year had some new formal program options approved by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education."
All said with the program becoming larger, there was a need for more funding.
"We now offer a primary care nurse practitioner program and a nurse educator program, and to do that we need help," All said.
All said golf was an easy choice because of the love Gregg Newschwander, dean of Auburn and Auburn University in Montgomery's nursing school, has for it.
Signs featuring the name of donors were also set in place throughout the course.
All said along with the entry fee, which was $150, mulligans were sold at $20 for four. The entry fee included cart and greens fees, lunch and a tees shirt. Mulligans is a golf term All had to explain, but, once she did, it seemed fitting.
"A mulligan is a way to buy yourself out of a bad shot," All said. "So if you have so many mulligans in your pocket that you bought, then you can play that shot over again."
For students in the program, these mulligans are saving their shots and giving them the opportunity to further their education in a field that is desperately looking for qualified individuals all over the country.
Although nursing graduate students weren't in attendance, All said she didn't blame them because of their intense summer class schedule. She said most students are taking full loads this summer.
Students like Mary Barcus, master's student in nursing, said classes keep her busy, but she still keeps a full-time teaching job at Smith's Station because all the classes are offered online.
Barcus said Auburn has an excellent nursing program and she decided to go here after graduating from Jacksonville State University with a bachelor's degree in nursing. She said she is currently working toward getting her master's in the Nurse Educator program, which is one of the newer tracks offered.
Aside from the full-time teaching job, Barcus said the nursing classes keep her extremely busy even though they are mainly online.
"It's tough, but time management is key," Barcus said. "With online classes you have to make yourself do the work, but it is nice because you get to set your own schedule."
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