Dean's Monthly Communication: October 2007

MESSAGE FROM DEAN WOODS
I just returned from a visit to Chengdu (province of Sichuan, China), where I made a presentation on "Challenges for Nursing in the Early 21st Century.." This experience was a powerful reminder of the importance of our global health efforts in the School of Nursing.

I was overwhelmed by the scale of the population: Chengdu is a relatively typical major city with a population of 10 million! Imagining the scale of a health care system to serve the range of needs in China is mind-boggling. At the same time, I realized that we are linked to many of the schools of nursing in China. Our exchange agreement and years of collaboration with Chiang Mai University School of Nursing offer a platform for linking to many of the major Chinese schools because the Chiang Mai faculty have collaborated to offer nursing education in China for many years.

Many of you have provided consultation to Hong Kong schools of nursing, including Hong Kong Polytechnic, University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. There are currently projects focusing on HIV/AIDS that involve one of our faculty members in collaboration with schools in Shanghai. I suspect there are a myriad of other involvements I do not know about. As we consider opportunities to work with nursing faculty in China, the magnitude and variability of the Chinese population provide a grand challenge to all of us to imagine what health care can be. This country, which is blending traditional Chinese medicine with allopathic care, invites our active engagement with enthusiasm. They are hungry to build good health care for people in a variety of settings, with a great interest in Western nursing education and research.

I know we will have multiple invitations for engagement in many parts of the world. To balance all of these and to help us stay focused on the unique contribution our school can make to global health, I am constituting a Global Health Advisory Group for this year. ANN KURTH, assoc. prof., Dept. of BNHS; CATHERINE CARR, assoc. prof., Dept. of FCN; BARBARA MCGRATH, research assoc. prof., Dept. of PCH; and SARAH ROSS, director of international programs, have agreed to serve in this capacity. BOBBIE BERKOWITZ, Alumni Endowed Professor in Nursing, and chair and prof., Dept. of PCH, will serve as chair liaison. Please do not hesitate to share your ideas with these colleagues and know I will be most interested in your input!
--Nancy Woods, The Robert G. and Jean A. Reid Endowed Dean in Nursing

NEW GRANT AWARDS
The University of Washington Institute of Translational Health Sciences is among 12 academic medical organizations nationwide to receive funding through the National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Science Awards. The UW Institute will receive about $62 million of the approximately $577 million in total funding to be
awarded over five years to the national consortium, which is transforming how clinical and translational research is conducted at academic health centers nationwide. Ultimately, this consortium will enable researchers to provide new treatments more efficiently and
quickly to patients. For more information, see the UW news release:
http://uwnews.washington.edu/ni/article.asp?articleID=36634

ELEANOR BOND, the Susan and Michael Cummings Term Professor, Dept. of BNHS
Project: Targeting Everett's Health Disparities
Sponsor: HRSA
Abstract:
http://www.son.washington.edu/research/Grants/ShowAbstract.asp?ProjectID=1006

CATHRYN BOOTH-LAFORCE, the Charles and Gerda Spence Endowed Professor,
Dept. of FCN
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

YA-MEI CHEN, research asst. prof., Dept. of PCH
Project: Subcontract with the City of Seattle
Sponsor: Seattle Department of Human Services
Abstract:
http://www.son.washington.edu/research/Grants/ShowAbstract.asp?ProjectID=1087

GEORGE DEMIRIS, assoc. prof., Dept. of BNHS
Project: Patient and Family Participation in Hospice Team Meeting
Sponsor: University of Missouri, Columbia
Abstract:
http://www.son.washington.edu/research/Grants/ShowAbstract.asp?ProjectID=894

MARCIA KILLIEN, prof., Dept. of FCN
Project: Night Shift Work and Hormone Levels in Men
Sponsor: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Abstract:
http://www.son.washington.edu/research/Grants/ShowAbstract.asp?ProjectID=719

FACULTY
KRISTIE BJORNSON was appointed research assistant prof., Dept. of BNHS.

CAROL BOSTON-FLEISCHHAUER, clinical asst. prof, Dept. of BNHS, will speak at the Professional Nurse Educator's Group, in Portland, Ore. on Oct. 19. Her speech is titled, "Improving Nurse Preparation for Health Care's Quality Agenda: An Educational Imperative," and reflects key concepts included in the clinical Informatics and Patient-Centered Technologies program.

CHRISTY COYNE was appointed research assistant prof., Dept. of BNHS.

MARGARET HEITKEMPER, the Elizabeth Sterling Soule Endowed Chair and prof., Dept. of BNHS, was recently a visiting scholar in the Department of Medical urgical Nursing at Universidade de S㯠Paulo, S㯠Paulo, Brazil, from Sept. 5-14. During her visit, she taught a course on research methods using ideoconferencing technology. She consulted on biobehavioral research directly with many S㯠Paulo faculty. She also gave a presentation on complementary and alternative medicine at Samaritan Hospital, S㯠Paulo, and presented in a CAM experiences workshop.

JERALD HERTING, research assoc. prof., Dept of PCH, will begin working
as a consultant for the Office of Nursing Research. He has more than 15
years' experience conducting research in the areas of adolescent drug
and alcohol use, mental health, delinquency and educational
achievement. His work includes survey design, instrument development
and alternative statistical models for evaluating program
effectiveness. Faculty and students are invited to make appointments
for consultation within the research office. For more information,
please visit:
http://www.son.washington.edu/research/internal/Consultation/Consultants.asp

ANN KURTH was promoted to associate professor, Dept. of BNHS, and also jointly appointed as associate professor in the School of Medicine's Dept. of lobal Health; and Adjunct Associate Professor, Epidemiology.

CYNTHIA PRICE was appointed research assistant prof.,Dept. of BNHS.

SARAH SHANNON, assoc. prof., Dept. of BNHS, has been appointed vice associate dean for academic services. Sarah will work with SUSAN WOODS, assoc. dean for academic programs and prof., Dept. of BNHS, to learn the associate dean role and will replace her when she retires. SANDY MOTZER, vice assoc. dean for academic services and assoc. prof., Dept. of BNHS, will continue in her role and will work on special assignments, such as MEPN/GEPN issues and all-program accreditation.

DIANA TAIBI was appointed an assistant professor, Dept. of BNHS.

LINDA TERI, prof., Dept. of PCH, has been named to the Medical and Scientific Advisory Board of the National Alzheimer's Association.

BRENDA ZIERLER, assoc. dean for Technological Innovations in Education
and Research (TIER) and assoc. prof., Dept. of BNHS, gave two
presentations at the Western Vascular Society in Kona, Hawaii. Her
research team members were nursing graduate research assistants JUNG-AH
LEE, GEUNHYE HAN, HYUNJIN OH and COURTNEY JACOBSON. As part of their
partnership with UWMC and the Agency for Healthcare Review and Quality
(AHRQ), the research team also completed the venous thromboembolism
safety toolkit, which will be implemented at UWMC and Harborview.
TIER's BRIAN BEARDSLEY designed the user interface and built the
toolkit while working closely with TIER's DAVID HUGHES and SETH WOLPIN,
research asst. prof., Dept. of BNHS, to develop the training modules.
AHRQ highlighted the toolkit as a model for other grantees to follow.
It is the first mandatory training that all residents of UW Medicine
(UWMC and HMC) will have to take. The toolkit can be found at
http://vte.washington.edu

STAFF
We bid a fond farewell to CINDY COWEN, Fiscal Specialist 2, Dept. of BNHS, who is moving to Arizona. She has worked in the department since March 2005, and leaves some big shoes to fill in the research and grant proposal area.. Her last day in the SoN will be October 26. We'll be thinking of her down there, baking in the sun this winter!

TIER welcomes AMY EMBREE as new Web lead and E-learning project manager. Amy was a graduate student assistant at the Help Desk, and we are thrilled that she has come back to work with us. Amy received her bachelor's and master's degrees at UW, and worked at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in communications project management. Amy will be responsible for all things "Web" in the SoN, including management of course Web sites, the redesign of the School of Nursing Web site, and eventually the development of an Intranet for the SoN.

Welcome to JOLAYNE HOUTZ, our new assistant director of communications in the School of Nursing. Jolayne will work part time, taking over from Elise Daniel, who moved to a full-time position as e-communications manager in UW Marketing. Jolayne brings 20 years of professional communications experience to our school, including 17 years as an award-winning news, feature and consumer-affairs writer at The Seattle Times. Her volunteer work with Northwest Medical Teams International in Mexico in 1990 led to an ongoing volunteer outreach project in a small Mexican-Indian village that continues today. Jolayne graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in journalism. Jolayne will be available on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

SON IN THE NEWS
MAGGIE BAKER, asst. prof., Dept. of BNHS, was quoted in a recent Seattle P-I article: "Beware Elder Abuse as Population Ages," by John Iwasaki (Sept. 27, 2007). Ageism persists in a youth-oriented society that doesn't value the elderly, she said.

ACADEMIC SERVICES
KUDOS to DAGMAR SCHMIDT, director of student services, and ERICA WINBERRY, graduate student program coordinator, and the entire Academic Services unit for coordinating an outstanding orientation for new students in five degree programs.

ADMISSIONS NEWS
On Oct. 8, 2007, the graduate school will implement a new online application process for ALL graduate applicants. SoN applications will remain hard copy his year, but will likely evolve to online applications in the near future.

Application deadline for all MEPN & GEPN applicants, including international applicants, is October 15.

OCTOBER STUDENT RECRUITING EVENTS
Thursday, Oct. 11, 2007
UW freshman orientation

Monday, Oct. 15, 2007
South Seattle Community College advisors

Wednesday Oct. 17, 2007
N. Seattle College transfer fair

Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007
Latino Health Forum

Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007
South Seattle Community College CLIC Center recruiting

Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007
UW SoN Minority Community Building

Monday, Oct. 22, 2007
Pierce County Community College Career Day

Friday, Oct. 26, 2007
What's in it for U at the UWMC?

Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007
Highline Community College

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS
Global Student Service
Welcome home to our inaugural R. Hunter Simpson Global Service Learning Fellow FUQIN LIU, who returned in September from a 10-day experience in Vietnam. She participated in Global Impact: Vietnam Trek arranged through Seattle Community Colleges. With the Simpson Fellowship support, she provided health care and education outreach in northern Vietnam. To read an article about the trip, see: http://vietnamnews.vnanet.vn/showarticle.php?num=03SOC190907

International Guests
The School of Nursing hosted eight nursing educators and administrators from Syria last month. BRENDA ZIERLER, assoc. dean of TIER and assoc. prof., Dept. of BNHS, gave a presentation about distance learning to the group, which was on a multi-city tour of the United States sponsored by the World Affairs Council.

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND RESEARCH (TIER)
Last month's C&C Exchange migration was a success -- 140 users are now on the upper campus server, which will allow cross-campus calendaring. The SoN was the second school to migrate (the I-School was first). C&C is now responsible for hosting 14, with many more to come. The Learning Lab has replaced its carpeting with a JCAHO-compliant tile floor. An open house was held in late September for clinical faculty and our clinical partners to demonstrate the integration of SimMan, Vita Sim, Surgical Sally and other simulation equipment in clinical teaching.

CONTINUING NURSING EDUCATION
Mark your calendars for November:

--Nov. 7-10: 30th annual Pacific Northwest National Conference on Advanced Practice in Primary and Acute Care
http://www.son.washington.edu/cne/secure/display3.asp?SKU=07130-A-C&customerid=

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

MARK YOUR CALENDARS
--The Office for Nursing Research will host an open house on Oct. 30 from noon-2 pm. It will be held in the new Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) lab in 651. We will send e-mails giving further detail as the date nears.

--SON's 30th annual NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ADVANCED PRACTICE IN PRIMARY AND ACUTE CARE is Nov. 7-10, at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. The conference is chaired by MARIE-ANNETTE BROWN, Group Health Endowed Nursing Professor in Chronic Illness Care and prof., Dept. of FCN, and MADDY WILEY, clinical faculty, Dept. of BNHS, with outstanding participation on the planning committee from many SoN faculty, clinical faculty, alums and colleagues in the community. The conference is SoN's largest continuing-education offering of the year, with more than 900 registrants expected from throughout the U.S. Join your colleagues in celebrating the 30th anniversary of this outstanding conference.

--A conference on INSOMNIA: BEHAVIORAL AND PHARMACOLOGIC MANAGEMENT IN PRIMARY CARE will be held on Saturday, Nov. 10, at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle. National sleep experts featured as speakers are CAROL LANDIS, prof., Dept. of BNHS; SUE MCCURRY, research prof., Dept.. of PCH; and colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh, Stanford University and the UW School of Medicine. The conference is made possible in part by educational grants from Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Sepracor, Inc. The grants were spearheaded by Carol Landis chair of the conference planning committee. The conference is being held in conjunction with SoN's annual conference on Advanced Practice in Primary and Acute Care .

Brochures for these and other CNE conferences are on the CNE bulletin board on the 3rd floor across from T305 or CNE's website at www.uwcne.org.  

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