News Updates
Heath Care Administration:
Alice Sapienza, Professor Emerita of health care administration, recently participated in the Mayo Clinic's 36th annual conference on nursing education in Rochester, Minnesota. She led a session on "Competency Development for a Generative Culture of Safety," and provided background and curriculum design evidence for leadership courses in the School of Health Science's new MSN in Nursing Administration Program with Longwood area hospitals. The program is based on the National Center for Healthcare Leadership model; participating Longwood area hospitals include Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Children's Hospital, and Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
Health Care Administration Professor John Lowe was quoted in Sept. 21
Birmingham Business Journal about the link between higher Blue Cross
rates and increased health care worker layoffs.
Nutrition:
In mid-October associate professor of nutrition Teresa Fung was an invited speaker at the American Dietetic Association's Food and Nutrition Conference and Exposition in Denver. The content of her presentation, "Research: An Exciting Journey," was about writing a good research paper and the process for getting published.
Nutrition Professor Teresa Fung's study linking sugary beverages and heart disease was referenced in the September issue of Fitness magazine.
Nursing:
Associate professor of nursing Anne-Marie Barron gave the keynote address at the October 2nd fundraising event for the Center for Cancer Support Education of Arlington, MA. Barron's address was titled "Maintaining Wholeness: Placing Ourselves at the Center of Compassion."
LaDonna Christian, instructor of nursing, presented a poster at the University of the Virgin Islands Health Disparities Conference in St. John, October 15 — 16, 2009. Her poster was titled "Collaborating to Develop a Pediatric Asthma Education Program for the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center."
Priscilla Gazarian, assistant professor of nursing, presented a poster, "Digital Stories: Incorporating Narrative Pedagogy," at the National League of Nursing Technology Summit in Baltimore, October 30 — November 1, 2009.
Physical Therapy:
Assistant professor of physical therapy Clare Safran-Norton was recently selected by the American Physical Therapy Association's (APTA) Research Department to participate in a conference titled "Creating a Culture of Collaboration: Vitalizing Practice Through Research and Research Through Practice." The conference will focus on the creation of an infrastructure within the APTA for physical therapist clinicians and researchers to work collaboratively to facilitate enhanced patient care.
Physical Therapy Professor Shelley Goodgold#s backpack study was
referenced in the Sept. 1 Yankton Press and Dakotan (S. Dakota),
websites for KFOX (El Paso, TX) and KRXI-TV (Reno, NV), and Sept. 9 The
National (United Arab Emirates).
General News:
Dean Gerry Koocher published an article in the September issue of
Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice titled "Any Minute Now but
Far Far Away: Electronically Mediated Mental Health."
Simmons College and Prince Sultan University sign agreement
Dean Gerry Koocher and Associate Dean Judy Beal traveled to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to sign a memorandum of understanding with Prince Sultan University(PSU) to develop a joint degree program in maternal and child health nursing for Saudi women. The program will begin in Riyah in September 2009. In the second year, students will come to Simmons for one and a half years of study to complete the specialization.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Fellow
Dr. Judy Beal, Associate Dean of the School of Health Sciences and chair and professor of the Department of Nursing, has been selected for the 2008 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellows Program. This program is a three-year funded advanced leadership program for nurses in senior executive roles who are aspiring to lead and shape the U.S. health care system in the future.
The fellowships offer participating nurses the experiences, insights, competencies and skills necessary to achieve or advance in executive leadership positions. Dr. Beal will work on expanding competencies in interpersonal and communication effectiveness, risk-taking and creativity. This program receives direction and technical assistance from the Center for the Health Professions, University of California, San Francisco.
New DNP Program
The School of Health Sciences and the Department of Nursing announce that the Simmons Board of Trustees has approved the Nursing Department's proposal for a post-master's Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree. The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) will soon be the required terminal degree by the nursing accrediting bodies for all advanced practice roles, including nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, nurse anesthetist, and nursing administrator. This new practice doctorate will better prepare nurses in these roles to care for the increasing numbers of patients who are living longer with more complex illnesses. The Simmons DNP is similar to the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Degree, which was approved by the Trustees several years ago.
The nursing doctorate program will begin as a post-master's program with three specialty tracks: clinical practice, education, and administration. Courses will be taught using a blended learning model of on-line and on-campus (two week-ends per semester)teaching. Core courses for all tracks include health policy, nursing informatics, ethical and legal issues, leadership and management, applied research, epidemiology and biostatistics, and a capstone scholarly project. Students who apply to the program will be able to individualize their curriculum requirements, based on the portfolio submitted as part of the application process.
Other School News
2009 SHS Achievement Awards
The Distinguished Alumna Award was awarded to Jo-Anna Roire, CNM, MSN, MPH, FACNM, nursing class of '75. Ms. Rorie is associate professor of maternal and child health and the associate director of the nurse-midwifery education program at Boston University School of Public Health.
The Outstanding Teacher Award was presented to Charlene Berube, MSN, RN, CS. Students select the recipient of this award. As an assistant professor of nursing, Ms. Berube specializes in maternal-child health and adult health.
left to right: Dr. Judy Beal, Chair, Nursing Department; Charlene Berube, Outstanding Teacher; Jo-Anna Roire, Distinguished Alumna; and Dr. Gerald Koocher, Dean of SHS
External News
A national center on hygiene and health in the home and community, aimed at helping the public better understand how to minimize the growing risk of infections acquired in the community, has been established at Simmons College in Boston. Read more...
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