School of Nursing: Connections

Lynn Woods,’99 Ph.D., has been selected as a Hartford Institute Geriatric Nursing Research Scholar. Woods has been a lecturer in the Department of Psychosocial and Community Health and also teaches at the UW Bothell campus.

Capt. Laura L. Feider,’98 MN, has been awarded the Army Nurse Corps Award of Excellence. The award recognizes officers who have made significant contributions to the Army Medical Department and who have provided outstanding service in support of the soldier in the field. Feider is also the recipient of an Army Achievement Medal.

Elizabeth Thomas, the first African-American enrolled as a pediatric nurse practitioner at the UW, is the 1999 recipient of the Archbishop Raymond G. Hunthausen Humanitarian Award from Catholic Community Services. Long active in community service programs, Thomas developed a nationally recognized parenting program at the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic in Seattle.

Clinical faculty member Diane Britt,’79,’84 MA, was selected as "December Employee of the Month" by the University of Washington Medical Center. Britt served as the medical-surgical clinical nurse specialist at UWMC for 10 years, providing diabetes education, wound and skin care consultations and case management reviews for patients leaving the hospital.

Christina Mumma,’77 MA, ’84 Ph.D., has been named a U.S. Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Winners of this prestigious award were selected from more than 400 faculty members nominated by colleges and universities across the country in the only national award program recognizing excellence in teaching. Mumma is a graduate of the first doctoral cohort at the School of Nursing and has been teaching at the University of Alaska Anchorage School of Nursing since 1989.

Linda Haas,’79 MN, was presented with the National Award for Excellence in Nursing by the Department of Veterans Affairs, which currently employs 55,000 nurses. Haas just completed a term as national President of Health Care and Education for the American Diabetes Association.

The School of Nursing mourns the passing in January of Barbara Ann Holmes,’67, who worked for 26 years as a school nurse for Highline School District.

New Web site Provides Information for Midlife Women
As project director for a longitudinal study about the changes that occur in midlife women, Ellen Mitchell,’86 Ph.D., has helped develop a new publically-accessible Web site that all women can access providing the latest findings on menopause-related topics. The site is located at http://www.son.washington.edu/departments/fcn/smwhs/ and also includes helpful information about making health care decisions, such as the decision to take hormone supplements. Mitchell is an associate professor in the Department of Family and Child Nursing. Nancy F. Woods, RN, Ph.D. is principal investigator for the Seattle Midlife Women’s Health Study and Mitchell is co-investigator.

Doctoral Alums Study Future of Nursing Science at Inaugural Event
The first-ever reunion of the Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing Science program will be held June 15-17 at the University of Washington in Seattle. The 3-day event will begin Thursday afternoon with the 21st Annual Elizabeth Sterling Soule Lecture by Dr. Sue K. Donaldson, dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and a former UW SON faculty member who served on the planning committee for the Ph.D. program during the 1970’s. This will be followed by an all-day program of "Think Tank" sessions on Friday that will include presentations by Dr. Kathryn Barnard, Dr. Linda L. Lewis, Emeritus Faculty member Dr. Jeanne Benoliel, and Dean Emeritus Rheba de Tornyay, the latter of whom facilitated the development of the Doctor of Philosophy degree during her tenure as dean.

The School’s widely renowned doctoral program has awarded over 140 degrees since its inception in 1977. The many ways that nurse scientist graduates have had a positive impact on society and the past and future roles of nurse scientists on health policy, legal and ethical issues, technology, education and other areas will all be examined during this inaugural event. A reunion banquet Friday evening followed by a cruise of Lake Washington and a brunch on Saturday will also provide an opportunity for graduates to become reacquainted with cohorts, friends and faculty from the doctoral program.

New Summer Leadership Course Launches New Alums
BSN graduates interested in easing the transition to nursing practice are invited to attend a week-long program on clinical leadership skills. This inaugural certificate program scheduled for June 12-16 is designed to familiarize new graduates with common clinical leadership responsibilities during the first year of professional nursing practice as well as describe strategies for dealing with them. Participants will learn decision-making skills, leadership tools, and also self-care strategies to enhance job satisfaction. The program schedule will incorporate time for participants to attend the annual Elizabeth Soule Lecture on Thursday, June 15. Nursing leader Sue K. Donaldson, dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing is the featured speaker.

The new course is entitled "Clinical Leadership Skills for New Nursing Graduates" and is made possible by a grant from the Helene Fuld Health Trust. Interested participants are encouraged to call the office of Continuing Nursing Education at (206) 543-1047.

Date Set for Annual Friends of Nursing Dinner
Alumni and other friends of the School of Nursing will gather October 12 at Harborside Restaurant on Lake Union for this 22nd annual reunion banquet. Highlight of the evening will be the presentation of the year 2000 Distinguished Alumni Award. Sponsored by the School of Nursing, this popular event attracts alumni from throughout the Puget Sound region. For additional information or to place your name on the mailing list for invitations, please call Chong Porter at (206) 616-6216.

U.S. Army Reserve Names Building for School of Nursing Graduate
The new Nuttall Center at the U.S. Army Reserve headquarters in Tumwater, Washington, has been named in honor of the late Col. Edith Nuttall, a 1963 graduate of the School of Nursing. The Nuttall Center is the first facility to be named for a woman in the U.S. Army Reserves.

Nuttall served as an Army nurse during three wars and rose through the ranks to retire as an assistant chief of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. Her personal honors included the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit award, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Army Commendation Medal. Nuttall returned to her native Washington state after her retirement in 1978, where she remained until her death in 1984.

To share information about a new job, an award, professional travel, retirement, or personal milestones with fellow alumni of the School of Nursing, please contact the Alumni News Editor, "Connections", Box 357260, Seattle, WA 98195-7260, or send an e-mail to kathyd@u.washington.edu. Alumni news may also be submitted in the return envelope included with each issue. Please include your class year in any correspondence.

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