SON: Connections - Spring 2003

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Josephine Ensign, Assistant Professor of Psychosocial and Community Health, has received a Fulbright Award to spend four to six months at Chiang Mai University (CMU).

Ensign will be in Thailand during the summer to work with CMU faculty to develop advanced research practices and improve their ability to write articles for publication in English-based international nursing journals. Ensign will also learn Thai perspectives on high-risk adolescent health issues and community-based health research. "And I'll be looking at how the Thais have done participatory action research with adolescents and young adults," Ensign says, "and apply what I learn to my research with homeless adolescents here in the U.S."

Ensign's presence for an extended time at Chiang Mai University adds a new dimension to the exchange relationship between the two schools of nursing.

Other University of Washington-CMU exchange activities this year include the annual summer visit by a UW faculty member and group of students, which Noel Chrisman, Professor of Psychosocial and Community Health, will lead, and the new fall term Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Thailand Study Abroad program, in which Professor Marjorie Muecke and Assistant Professor Michael Kennedy, both of the Psychosocial and Community Health department, will teach required second-year BSN courses to 10 UW students in Chiang Mai. Four CMU nursing doctoral candidates are currently studying at the UW School of Nursing as visiting students under the two schools' collaborative agreement.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright Program provides funds for students, scholars and professionals to undertake graduate study, advanced research, university teaching and teaching in elementary and secondary schools.

Ensign, with a smile, also admits that one of her motivating factors for going to Thailand "is that I had such fun the last time I was there-in 1991 as part of the U.S. women's team that won a silver medal in the international swan boat championships." (Dragon boats and swan boats are generally 40-foot traditional wood canoes propelled by a crew of 20 paddlers and a steerer.)

The American boat was beaten only by the Thais, but, Ensign remembers, "they were so nice about it!"

UW Nursing Ranked No. 1

After surveying more than 1,000 graduate programs and nearly 7,000 academics and professionals last fall, U.S. News & World Report published its annual list of top-ranked graduate schools. At the top of the list in almost every nursing category is the University of Washington's School of Nursing. The UW received top honors thanks to peer opinion about the program's excellence and statistical indicators that measure the quality of the school's faculty, research and students.

UW Master's Program Rankings 2003
Nursing - 1
Nursing Specialties
   Adult - 2
   Clinical Nurse Specialist: Adult/Medical-Surgical - 1
   Community/Public Health - 1
   Gerontological/Geriatric - 6
   Nurse Practitioner: Family - 2
   Nursing Service Administration - 3
   Pediatric - 3
   Psychiatric/Mental Health - 1
Nursing Midwifery - 7
Occupational Therapy - 10
Physical Therapy - 5

Coordinator of Recruitment and Admissions Carolyn Chow received a Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award in recognition of her leadership in diversity efforts on behalf of the School of Nursing. The honor was presented this winter as part of the annual tribute to the slain civil rights leader and was organized by Health Sciences and the UW Medical Center. Chow has been a major force behind the school's commitment to diversity in recruiting students. She has been a member of the Collaborative Access Network on Diversity Outreach (CANDO) since 1999, and chaired it in 2000-01. Chow is also a member of the Staff Advisory Council, and chaired it from 2000 to 2002.

At the national level, Chow has secured funding to help the school participate in minority nursing conferences. PoliticalCircus.com, an Alexandria, Vir.-based organization that provides daily news for the Asian Pacific American community, last fall chose Chow for an Honorable Mention in its search for the 30 most influential Asian Pacific Americans under 30.

The Washington/Alaska Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation has honored Basia Belza, Associate Professor of Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems, with its 2002 Outstanding Volunteer Leadership Award. Belza was recognized for her "enthusiastic and committed volunteer service on behalf of the 1.8 million people in Washington and Alaska living with arthritis, the nation's No. 1 cause of disability," according to the organization.

Belza, an expert on physical conditioning and fatigue management in chronic disease, served 10 years on the chapter's board, and was its chair in 2000 and 2001. She also served as a member of the Arthritis Foundation's national board of trustees, and was a national delegate from the chapter.

An abstract written by Bothell Bachelor of Science in Nursing student Liane (Veberes) Andersson and an interdisciplinary team at Harborview Medical Center received exceptional praise at the Society of Critical Care Medicine conference last winter in San Antonio. The abstract was among five (out of 524) to win a special citation.

Low Tidal Volume Ventilation for Acute Lung Injury Does Not Increase Sedation Use co-authors are: Veena Karir, Darcy Day, Tina Spencer, Nayak Polissar, Claudette Lee Cooper, Margaret Neff and Gordan Rubenfeld. The Medical ICU staff at Harborview provided data collection support.

Andersson is a part-time student scheduled to graduate in 2004.

Janelle Sagmiller, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing student scheduled to graduate this year, was selected by the Office of Minority Affairs as one of the Endowed Scholarship recipients of the Educational Opportunity Program. This award is a monetary scholarship presented at the Annual EOP Banquet on April 30.

Marcia Killien, Professor of Family and Child Nursing, and her team have secured additional funding for the Women's Health Nursing Research Training Grant, extending it through February 2008. The grant, from the National Institute for Nursing Research, provides pre-doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships.

Margaret Heitkemper, Professor and Chair of Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems, is the recipient of the 2003 Award for Basic or Clinical Research in Digestive Sciences. This prestigious honor recognizes her continued efforts in raising the standard of research, education and patient care in the field of gastroenterology. The award is given by Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc. and the American Gastroenterological Association.

Two Professors have been awarded new intramural grants, with one year of funding through April 2004:

Frances Marcus Lewis, the Soule Professor of Family and Child Nursing, has received the Nettleship Johnson Award for Training Volunteers to Help Mothers with Breast Cancer Support Their Children: A Feasibility Study.
Brenda Zierler, Assistant Professor of Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems, has won the Suzanne E. VanHooser Award for her study, The Natural History of Asymptomatic Isolated Calf Vein Thrombosis in High-Risk Trauma Patients.

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