School of Nursing: Connections

Headlines

Information literacy: a changing mosaic of skills, knowledge and attitude
Three nurse executives eye the current job market and its impact on the School’s graduates
Faces of lifelong learning at the UW School of Nursing
Scholarship support makes lifelong learning possible for many
Cross-cultural teaching goes both ways
Two students are Hegyvary Scholars

Scholarship support makes lifelong learning possible for many

Ernest Campany

Ernest Campany has always been interested in dermatology and wound care. While working as a nurse to fund his master’s studies, he began to question whether the currently available technique for wound irrigation was actually slowing the healing process by applying too much pressure on the wound. So Campany set out to develop an instrument to measure how many pounds per square inch were being produced by nurses in simulated wound irrigation. Using his own funds, he began purchasing pressure gauges and other expensive equipment but was unable to afford the most critical piece: a National Institute of Science and Technology calibrated transducer. Now, thanks to an award from the Arlene E. Mitchell Memorial Research Fund, Campany has purchased this instrument and mounted it on an acrylic block to create an accurate calibrator of wound irrigation pressure. With the device, Campany has proved that over half of all nurses fail to apply the correct range of pressure in wound irrigation. The finding promises to be a critical part of the clinical experience in years to come. The Mitchell Memorial Research Fund was established in 1998 to provide support to graduate students conducting nursing research. It honors Dr. Arlene Mitchell, a graduate of both the M.S. and Ph.D. programs at the University of Washington, whose long career in nursing education and research included teaching positions at the University of Maryland and Syracuse University as well as 20 years in the Department of Veterans Affairs, where she oversaw the administration of the intramural medical research program. As the first recipient of a Mitchell award, Campany is currently pursuing a double master’s degree in both occupational health and the adult/older adult nurse practitioner program.

Jamie Goldstein-Shirley

Jamie Goldstein-Shirley is a second-year doctoral student interested in ethical decision-making and end-of-life care. She is currently involved as co-investigator in two research projects, one dealing with the attitudes of hospice professionals toward assisted suicide and the other with mild depression in women. Goldstein-Shirley credits the Donna Fraser Endowed Scholarship Fund with allowing her to choose research projects based on her interests rather than on available funding. "Because the terms of the Fraser fund were set up to be as flexible as possible, it provides support to students who may not have yet defined a specific area of study," she explains. "This was very helpful to me at the time that I applied." Goldstein-Shirley, who has a masters in oncology nursing, plans an academic career as a teacher and researcher. The Donna Fraser Endowed Scholarship Fund was established by Donna Fraser last year in honor of her Aunt Kathleen, who worked as a teacher and who had a profound influence on her life. Fraser credits her aunt with teaching her the value of a positive outlook and compassion for others.

Sabina Dumba

Sabina Dumba is a political refugee from Sudan who began the B.S.N. program last year after working as a nursing assistant in a rehabilitation center. "I like the idea of taking care of people, and of teaching people to take care of themselves," says Dumba, who also volunteers with the Seattle public schools in her free time. With two young children at home and a husband who is also a medical student, Dumba is grateful for the support she has received from the Constance Ann Mead Endowed Scholarship Fund. Established by Dr. William Mead and various other donors to provide financial assistance to deserving undergraduates in the School, this endowment honors the memory of Constance Ann Mead, a School of Nursing graduate who worked as an assistant to the school nurse while her four children were in school. Later she also worked in her husband’s family medical practice. Dumba looks forward to working in a hospital setting after graduation and hopes eventually to help with recruiting people to nursing, particularly ethnic minorities.

Bonnie Kosmyna

At age 44, Bonnie Kosmyna refers to herself as "one of the older students." With prior degrees in sociology and dance, she developed an interest in nursing after becoming a mother. But it wasn’t until her third child entered school that she was able to begin taking preliminary courses at a local community college. Encouraged by her success, she eventually applied to the B.S.N. program and couldn’t believe how much she loved being back in school full-time. "The kids have been a wonderful support system, and it’s been neat to talk around the dinner table about teachers, homework and tests." Now a single parent, Kosmyna credits a big part of her success to the support she has received from the School, including the Cole Scholarship and the Nursing Education Consolidation Fund. After graduating this June, Kosmyna is "aching to work as a nurse and to learn more skills."

Teresa Guthrie

Teresa Guthrie worked for many years as an L.P.N. and R.N. before obtaining her B.S.N. degree at the Bothell campus. Now she is helping to conduct research on anesthesiology agents and pain medications for the Department of Anesthesiology at Virginia Mason Hospital to support her studies in advanced practice and community health nursing. Guthrie is the recipient of the Myra Pascoe Scholarship, an annual award established by Myra A. Pascoe in 1971 to provide assistance to "worthy students of high moral character." Guthrie aspires to work in cross-cultural nursing, using her hospital oncology experience to assess how patients from different cultures approach health care and how it affects them. She is now working with the Suquamish Indians as part of her master’s studies and hopes to continue that work after graduation.

Sharon Edrosa

As both a Gladys Nye Stevenson Scholar and a Bailey/Welsh Scholar, Sharon Edrosa has been able to continue her studies in the B.S.N. program with a goal of working in a neonatal care unit or a labor and delivery unit and eventually pursuing a master’s degree. "This scholarship has helped to ease my financial burden and gives me incentive to reach my academic goals," says Edrosa.