Dean's Monthly Communication: November 2007

MESSAGE FROM DEAN WOODS
As Thanksgiving approaches, I find myself reflecting on the problems of the world and all the reasons that I have to be thankful. 

In a city with thousands of homeless people, including young children, I am thankful to have colleagues from the Center for Infant Mental Health and Development who are devoting their best thinking to helping homeless people with children become better parents and enhancing foster care for children who need it.

At a time when so many in our state do not have access to health care, I am thankful that many of our colleagues are helping deliver services at the Everett Clinic to people who would not otherwise receive care. 

When many older adults are facing poor health and worrying about who will care for them, I am thankful for my colleagues in the de Tornyay Center for Healthy Aging who educate future nurses to practice with the elderly and promote their best health throughout life. 

When I talk with friends whose parents are experiencing dementia, I am thankful to turn to our colleagues at the Northwest Center whose work has informed dementia care in assisted living and home environments.

As I helped a friend face a serious illness in her adolescent son, I am thankful to be able to call on our faculty who helped me coach her through a painful experience. 

I am thankful to be able to walk down the hall or have lunch with colleagues in the UW SoN whose work is responsible for bettering the lives of so many. I am grateful for the contributions of faculty and staff in developing creative programs and supporting one another in our aspirations over the years. And I am thankful for the donors and clinical partners who make it possible for us to support our students. It is a privilege to work with you!        

CAMPAIGN UW: CREATING FUTURES UPDATE
The Boeing Company has pledged $100,000 worth of support for the Center for Excellence in Nursing Education to purchase equipment. The company’s generous gift pushes the school over its fundraising goal for equipment, though the campaign to raise an endowment to support the lab continues. This gift was facilitated by CHARYL KAY SEDLIK, an SoN Campaign Advisory Board member.

The SoN has received three $5,000 awards this year for the R. Hunter Simpson Global Service Learning Fellowship. Each $5,000 award will fund a service learning project abroad for a SoN student.  The fellowship covers airfare, tuition and other expenses and provides nursing students the opportunity to connect academic theory to practice through volunteering in a community and culture different from their own.

The SoN has received three gifts that qualify for the Students First matching initiative:

1) From the Robert G. and Jean A. Reid Endowed Student Support Fund in Nursing: A trust established in 2000 $4.4 million, with a $2.2 million match that will create a $6.6 million endowment for both graduate and undergraduate student support.

2) From the Ansell G. and Dorothy D. Johnson Endowed Scholarship Fund: a gift of $106,324.77, with $53,162.39 in matching funds, endowed to support undergraduate education.

3) From an anonymous donor: an endowed fellowship for $100,000 that will be matched with $50,000 to support graduate students.

ENDOWED STAFF SCHOLARSHIP
A new scholarship has been created through the UW Giving Campaign with matching funds from a private donor (a UW staff member) and the UW for SoN staff members who will be pursuing a degree, either undergraduate or graduate, and have been accepted into a UW program.  Funding support will be for books, lab fees, travel or conference fees that pertain to the student’s education, degree or research and for tuition not covered by the state’s tuition-exemption program.  If the student needs to take a course at a community college while enrolled in a UW program, the funds may be used to cover those costs as well.  This new scholarship will be available in  fall 2008.  Staff members will be notified via email to apply.  If after a certain number of years a staff member has not applied or been awarded, the funding will go to an undergraduate or graduate nursing student studying health disparities, community health, geriatrics, mental health, oncology or public health.

SON IN THE NEWS
Three SoN faculty members were featured in the October 2007 issue of the American Journal of Nursing. HILAIRE THOMPSON, asst. prof., Dept. of BNHS; CATHERINE KIRKNESS, research assoc. prof., Dept. of BNHS; and PAMELA MITCHELL, assoc. dean for research and Elizabeth Sterling Soule professor, Dept. of BNHS, were featured in the  "From the National Institute of Nursing Research" section for their research on fever management of neuroscience patients.

LAURIE ROSSNAGEL, administrator in BNHS, was featured recently in University Week for her work as a volunteer with the American Red Cross. Rossnagel is a member of a disaster response team, on call during nonbusiness hours for one week out of every six to respond to local fires and other disasters. To see the article in University Week, visit: http://uwnews.org/uweek/uweekarticle.asp?visitsource=uwkmail&articleID=37832

HONORS AND AWARDS
PAMELA MITCHELL, assoc. dean for research and Elizabeth Sterling Soule professor, Dept. of BNHS, was honored by the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research (FNINR) with the Pathfinder Distinguished Research Award on Oct. 24, 2007, in Washington, D.C. For more than 35 years, Mitchell has conducted research aimed at improving recovery from brain injury through nursing surveillance and psychosocial interventions. She also has studied the introduction of a nurse-managed psychosocial/behavioral intervention as an adjunct to antidepressants for ischemic stroke survivors with depression. Mitchell has been honored by election to fellowship in the American Academy of Nursing and the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association.  She also is president-elect of the American Academy of Nursing. The Pathfinder Distinguished Research Award acknowledges nurse researchers whose work has focused on advancing deep understanding of human health and health care, and has been sustained by multiple grants from NINR/NCNR.

FACULTY
NANCY WOODS, The Robert G. and Jean A. Reid Endowed Dean in Nursing and prof., Dept of FCN, and MARGARET HEITKEMPER, Elizabeth Sterling Soule Endowed Chair and prof., Dept. of BNHS, recently visited Seoul University, in Seoul, South Korea.  Heitkemper presented information about the Center for Women’s Health & Gender Research, while Woods spoke on approaches to women’s health research from the Seattle Midlife Women’s Health study.

CONNIE HIRNLE, senior lecturer, Dept. of BNHS; COLLEEN KARVONEN, clinical faculty, Dept. of BNHS; and MARTHA DUHAMEL, assistant dean for CNE, spoke at the national Professional Nurse Educator's Group conference in Portland, Ore., on Oct. 20. Their presentation, "Using Bridges and Highways to Deliver Continuing Education in Medical-Surgical Nursing," described the 14-week med-surg review course completed by 455 nurses in the past three years. The course, “Medical-surgical nursing review course for practice and certification,” will be offered again in 2008 at 12 co-sponsoring sites in in the Northwest and in an online format with open enrollment. The course is co-sponsored by SoN and UWMC and was funded in part by a HRSA training grant.  

HILAIRE THOMPSON, asst. prof., Dept. of BNHS, served as a member of the advisory panel Oct. 16-17 at the National Institute of Neurologic Diseases and Stroke workshop in Washington, D.C., on the classification of traumatic brain injury.

WEI-TI CHEN was appointed research assistant prof., Dept. of FCN.

CHRISTINE HUNTER was appointed senior lecturer, Dept. of FCN.

EUNJUNG KIM was promoted to assoc. prof., Dept. of FCN.

JAMIE SHIRLEY was appointed research assistant prof., Dept. of FCN

MAYUMI WILLGERODT was promoted to assoc. prof., Dept. of FCN 

NEW GRANT AWARDS
New and competitive renewal grants received in September 2007:

DONNA BERRY, prof., Dept. of BNHS and the Myrene C. McAnich Term Professor in Nursing
Project: Computerized Assessment for Patients with Cancer 
Sponsor: NIH
Abstract: http://www.son.washington.edu/research/grants/ShowAbstract.asp?ProjectID=283

CATHRYN BOOTH-LAFORCE, prof., Dept. of FCN and the Charles and Gerda Spence Endowed Professor in Nursing
Project: Stability and Change in Attachment and Social Functioning, Infancy to Adolescence  
Sponsor: NIH
Abstract: http://www.son.washington.edu/research/grants/ShowAbstract.asp?ProjectID=987

BARBARA COCHRANE, assoc. prof. and The de Tornyay Term Professor in Healthy Aging, Dept. of FCN
Project: Cochrane-FHCRC Contract 
Sponsor: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center 
Abstract: http://www.son.washington.edu/research/grants/ShowAbstract.asp?ProjectID=767

CYNTHIA DOUGHERTY, assoc. prof., Dept. of BNHS
Project: IPA-VA   
Sponsor: Department of Veteran Affairs 
Abstract:
http://www.son.washington.edu/research/grants/ShowAbstract.asp?ProjectID=114

MARGARET HEITKEMPER, Elizabeth Sterling Soule Endowed Chair and prof., Dept. of BNHS
Project: Nursing Management of IBS: Improving Outcomes 
Sponsor: NIH
Abstract:
http://www.son.washington.edu/research/grants/ShowAbstract.asp?ProjectID=99

CYNTHIA PERRY, asst. prof., Dept. of FCN
Project: Promoting Physical Activity Among Latino Youth: A community-based approach   
Sponsor: NIH
Abstract:
http://www.son.washington.edu/research/grants/ShowAbstract.asp?ProjectID=1031

TERRI SIMPSON, assoc. prof., Dept. of BNHS
Project: Undergraduate Infectious Disease Curriculum Enhancements 
Sponsor: HRSA
Abstract: http://www.son.washington.edu/research/grants/ShowAbstract.asp?ProjectID=774

TERRI SIMPSON, assoc. prof., Dept. of BNHS
Project: Web-Based Case Study of a TB Outbreak among the Homeless   
Sponsor: Firland Sheltered Workshop Foundation   
http://www.son.washington.edu/research/grants/ShowAbstract.asp?ProjectID=1048

SUSAN SPIEKER, co-director on the Center for Infant Mental Health and Development, prof., Dept. of FCN
Project: Early Head Start 5th-Grade Follow-Up Study  
Sponsor: Mathematica Policy Research Inc
Abstract:
http://www.son.washington.edu/research/grants/ShowAbstract.asp?ProjectID=999

BRENDA ZIERLER, assoc. dean of TIER and assoc. prof, Dept. of BNHS
Project: Developing Nursing Capacity as Global Healthcare Leaders   
Sponsor: Department of Education 
Abstract: http://www.son.washington.edu/research/grants/ShowAbstract.asp?ProjectID=1090

STAFF
SARAH ROSS, director of international programs, will be visiting India, where she will represent the school in a visit to Sri Ramachandra University School of Nursing in Chennai. Sarah will be out of the office until Nov. 19.

ARRIVALS
SANDIE BENNETT joins FCN supporting the Adult & Women’s Health Care NP program and other assigned faculty. Sandie comes to us from UW Dept. of Rehabilitation Medicine, where she has been newsletter and Web site editor, as well as administrative coordinator. Previously, Sandie worked for UW Engineering Library; Display Products, Ltd. in Seattle; Penguin USA in New York City; and Tower Books in Bellevue. Sandie has a Master of Library and Information Sciences from UW, ESL teacher training certification from Washington Academy of Languages, and BA in Communications from UW.
BILL BRASTOW joins the School of Nursing as our new administrator. Bill has been working in development and alumni relations for nearly 10 years, coming to the UW from a career in banking in 1998. Bill worked as part of the planning committee that launched the University’s current 8-year capital campaign. He created the annual development cost survey, and he authored the financial reporting tools still in use by central-development and alumni-relations units today. Bill’s first day in the School of Nursing isNov.13.

LORRIE CAIN joins FCN supporting the Midwifery program, NNP, and new NMW/NNP HRSA grant. Lorrie comes to us from the Evans School, where she managed their “Electronic Hallway,” an extensive case study Web site, and also worked with Student Services. Lorrie previously worked for UW Dept. of Rehabilitation Medicine in Medical Student Education; UW Dept. of Family Medicine RUOP Program; Cardiovascular Health Study in UW Dept. of Biostatistics; and the UW Athletic Health Care System. Lorrie’s education has been in landscape design (she has a part-time business), horticulture, counseling skills, and business administration and marketing at Edmonds Community College, University of California, Santa Barbara, and Santa Barbara City College. 

INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARS
Please welcome AMIRA YOUSSEF SHARAF, visiting scholar from Alexandria University Faculty of Nursing in Egypt, who arrived at the School of Nursing in early October. She is hosted by FREDERICA O’CONNOR, associate prof., Dept. of PCH. Dr. Sharaf is here to pursue her interests in suicidal client care and crisis intervention.

ACADEMIC SERVICES
SCHOOL OF NURSING STAFF ADVISORY COUNCIL (SAC)
INDRANI DE SARAM was honored with the new Staff Recognition Award at the Staff Advisory Council’s Nov. 8 meeting. The inaugural award also will be renamed after De Saram, who retired from her program-coordinator position in 2006. The honor recognized De Saram’s longstanding commitment to the SoN as well as her professional, courteous and respectful treatment of staff, students and faculty. The award will be given annually in the fall to a classified or professional staff member demonstrating exemplary job performance and serving as a role model for others. Nominees will be reviewed and voted on by the Staff Advisory Council, with Faculty Council concurrence. Other 2007 nominees were: MERRI HUFFINE, administrator, Dept. of FCN; JULIE KATZ, asst. dean of academic services; TRACY OSTREM, asst. dean for development; DAGMAR SCHMIDT, director of student services; and PATRICK TUFFORD, MEPN program coordinator.

COMBINED FUND DRIVE (CFD)
Through the CFD, you can donate to any of more than 2,600 nonprofit organizations that help feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and augment disaster-relief efforts at home and abroad. Other nonprofits work to advance health-care research, protect our environment, and support the arts. You can even donate directly to several UW programs. Representatives this year are:  CYNDIE FOX, assistant to the Chair, Dept. of PCH; JUDITH KELSON, director of TIER operations; LAURA MASON, manager of student scholarships and program operations; SUSAN PULLEN, assistant to the chair, Dept. of FCN; and LAURIE ROSSNAGEL, administrator, Dept. of BNHS.

ACADEMIC SERVICES
A big THANK YOU to MARIA TONG, program coordinator for degree program information, and her team for their incredible work over months and months - and then in a crunch - to get the SoN on the new online Graduate School application system in spite of our incredible program complexities. The team also included: CAROLYN CHOW, director of admissions and multicultural student affairs; PAT CONYERS, program coordinator for admissions; JENN HIXSON, program coordinator, graduate student placements; DAVID JONES, data and operations manager, Dept. of TIER; STEPHANIE KIRSCHNER, database developer; CHRISTINE NOYES, DNP program coordinator; PATRICK TUFFORD, MEPN program coordinator; and ERICA WINBERRY, graduate student program coordinator.

STUDENT RECRUITMENT EVENTS

Saturday, Nov. 19, 2007: Making Connections
Monday, Nov. 19, 2007: CNE Immediate Response

MARK YOUR CALENDARS
CONTINUING NURSING EDUCATION
Please join us at the following conferences:

Nov. 19, 2007: Immediate Response: Essential Skills for Urgent Clinical Situations
http://www.son.washington.edu/cne/secure/display3.asp?SKU=07127-C&customerid=

DECEMBER

Dec. 6-7, 2007: Wound Management Update 2007
http://www.son.washington.edu/cne/secure/display3.asp?SKU=07128-C&customerid=

For more information, go to uwcne.org or call 206-543-1047.

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