A campus collaboration has led to a North Dakota Department of Health grant to provide training that teaches suicide intervention skills.
In November, Military and Veterans Services partnered with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to offer Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) on campus at no cost to participants. The aim of the training is to help caregivers provide emergency first aid to persons at risk of suicidal behavior. A total of 19 NDSU students, three NDSU faculty and staff and two community members attended the two-day training.
Registration for the training session was filled in less than a day. "The response was overwhelming," said Kaarin Remmich, Military and Veterans Services representative. "There is clearly a need for this on our campus and in our community."
Becky McDaniel, assistant professor of nursing, wanted to offer ASIST as an educational opportunity for her nursing students enrolled in mental health theory and clinical courses. “They were interested in attending ASIST, but were disappointed when the class was already full,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel and Remmich discussed how they could work together to offer the training regularly and brainstormed ideas to have ASIST trainers on campus. Days later, the North Dakota Department of Health announced a grant opportunity for schools to implement suicide prevention training.
McDaniel and Remmich wrote a proposal that would allow three individuals on campus to be certified ASIST trainers, which requires a weeklong commitment for training.
In early January, the notification came that the North Dakota Department of Health chose to fund the grant. McDaniel said she “was so excited that I immediately started emailing and texting my friends, family and coworkers in the nursing department.”
McDaniel and Remmich will become certified ASIST trainers this spring, along with Calie Craddock, commander of NDSU’s American Legion Post No. 400. Craddock is a leader in the military community and actively involved in research on campus regarding suicide prevention.
“This is a great opportunity because it allows academic affairs and student affairs to work together to meet the needs, not only of nursing students in the classroom, but also the needs of our campus and even those of the greater Fargo-Moorhead community,” Remmich said.
McDaniel hopes to work with NDSU Distance and Continuing Education to offer the training on a consistent basis.
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.