June 2009
UUHCGNE admits first cohort of PhD Students
Congratulations to the first nine University of Utah Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence PhD students who began their program of study in January 2009: [back row] Maureen Henry (Utah), Mary Murphy (Connecticut), Kathy Wright (Ohio), Conrad Rios (California), Valerie Flattes (Utah), [seated] Dawn Wold (Wyoming), Lynn Shell (New Jersey), Lynn Underwood (Alabama), [in front] Michelle Litchman (Utah).
The students meet twice weekly in their synchronous video-conferencing classroom and are actively engaged with each other and their mentors, while educating in place in their places of work and home communities. Each year, the students meet “in-person,” once on campus, once at the Gerontological Society of America conference.
For Bristlecone 1 (as this cohort is called) an on-campus intensive week was held January 12 – 16, 2009. Activities included orientation to the College, program, campus, and gerontology resources; introduction to Hartford history and initiatives; practice using the distance technology and online courseware; attending the first 18 hours of course work; and developing and practicing their “elevator speech” about their program and scientific goals. Both local and distance students lived at the University Guest House, and strong linkages were formed. Students were welcomed to campus by the Dean of the College of Nursing, as well as the Dean of the Graduate School.
The second cohort of gero-focused PhD students will be admitted for fall 2010. For more information on the individual students who make up the Bristlecone 1 cohort, visit: http://nursing.utah.edu/hartford/phd/students/index.html
Gerontology Interdisciplinary Program graduates 3 students with “Hartford/ Noorda” Graduate Certificate
Edith Ann Shepherd, MS, Lisa Kotsiri, MS and Penny Kaye Jensen, DNP graduated this May with a 15-hour gerontology interdisciplinary program graduate certificate as well as their master's and DNP degrees. They were the first three students to complete this specialized certificate that has been designed to meet the goal of the University of Utah Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence to increase the number of faculty qualified to teach geriatric nursing. Scott Wright, PhD, Director of the Gerontology Interdisciplinary Program was instrumental in collaborating with the Hartford Center to develop a tailored graduate certificate. Students take core classes in gerontology and teaching nursing; electives enhance and strengthen programs of study. Juanita Allen, Nanci McLeskey and Blaine Winters, completed a 9-hour geriatric subspecialty. The subspecialty and graduate certificate have been tailored to each Master’s and BS – DNP specialty area program of study, which allows increasing numbers of students to integrate geriatrics and gerontology into their programs of study.
Universal Geriatric Education for Adult Clinical Care Graduate Students Achieved
It is the goal of the Hartford Center to provide universal geriatric preparation for all adult clinical care graduate students by requiring one three credit course (or the equivalent) in geriatric nursing. Associate Director for Education and Practice Dr. Pat Berry has collaborated with program directors of adult clinical care graduate program directors to ensure this goal is met. Prior to October 2007, when the Hartford Center was established, students in Acute Care and Psychiatric Mental Health received no geriatric education in their program of study. Now, Acute Care, Clinical Nurse Leader, Psychiatric Mental Health and Teaching Nursing receiving geriatric content, as well as Adult, Family and Gerontological Nurse Practitioner students. As of summer 2009, 63 students have graduated with universal geriatric preparation.
Universal Geriatric Preparation can be achieved by incorporating one 3-credit course in a program of study, or weaving three credits through a program of study. Program directors have chosen many different ways to teach gerontological and geriatric content.
In the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program, students analyze several gerontology case studies, which build in complexity, in their course work. In the Simulated Learning Center, they are presented with a 62-year old female patient with heart failure. The simulation exercise runs 20 minutes, with a 20 minute debriefing. In addition, all students enroll in the Interdisciplinary Approach to End-of-Life/Palliative Care course. In the Teaching Nursing Master’s program, student groups are challenged to defend one side of this question: ‘Should nursing education focus more on teaching about pediatrics or the elderly?’ Additional experiences include analyzing the roles and responsibilities of nurse practitioners whose primary responsibility is client teaching to the elderly, observational experiences with an APRN in geriatric settings, geriatric teaching assignments, and applying clinical teaching/learning theories and strategies appropriate to geriatric patients and submitting an analysis paper.
Congratulations to Dr. Pat Berry: New FAAN
Patricia Berry, PhD, APRN, GNP-BC, ACHPN, Associate Director of Education and Practice of the University of Utah Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence will be inducted as Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing during the Academy’s 36th Annual Meeting & Conference, on November 7, 2009, in Atlanta, GA. “The Academy is comprised of many of the nation's top nursing executives, policymakers, scholars, researchers, and practitioners,” said Academy President, Pam Mitchell, PhD, RN, FAAN. “Being selected as an Academy Fellow is an important recognition of one’s contributions to nursing and health care.”
With a well-founded base of palliative care nursing spanning over 35 years, Dr. Patricia Berry is sought out as a researcher, teacher, and consultant to nurses, physicians, other health care professionals, and the community. She is a pain and palliative care pioneer not only in Utah and Wisconsin, but her work is far reaching nationally with many realizing her contributions. As project coordinator on the RWJ Foundation grant, Institutionalizing Pain Management, she helped to make pain assessment an integral part of the US health care system. All patients, cared for by Joint Commission accredited organizations (hospitals, long term care, ambulatory, behavioral health, home health, and hospice), are asked about pain regularly due to her ground-breaking work in developing and implementing the Joint Commission pain standards. Dr. Berry has gained recognition for her development, in collaboration with colleague Dr. Susie Beck, of the One Minute Pain Questionnaire, a quick survey used to measure the patient’s pain experience.
Of the over 500 keynotes, lectures, and poster presentations she has delivered regionally, nationally, and internationally to organizations such as the American Academy of Hospice/Palliative Medicine and Hospice/Palliative Nurses’ Association, the majority have been devoted to pain and palliative care topics. Dr. Berry’s research focus has had great influence on transforming care for veterans and elders in pain. Her many peer-reviewed publications, editorial board responsibilities, and international consultation demonstrates her commitment to nursing beyond her workplace. Dr. Berry chaired the ANCC Expert Panel that developed the first certification exam for Hospice/ Palliative advanced practice nurses. There are over 10,000 certified hospice/palliative care RNs and 500 certified hospice/palliative care APNs in the US and Canada; many have used the core curriculum edited by Dr. Berry for exam preparation.
Penny Kaye Jensen, President-Elect of American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
Penny Kaye Jensen, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, FAANP, has been elected president-elect of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) Board of Directors. She will serve as president-elect from June 18, 2009 through the AANP 2010 Annual Membership Meeting in June of 2010, at which time she will assume the presidency of the Board, a position she will hold through the June 2012 annual membership meeting. Dr. Jensen was in the first cohort of DNP students in the College of Nursing, and one of the first students to be a UUHCGNE Scholar. Dr. Jensen is a board certified family nurse practitioner and is employed at the George E. Wahlen Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. She functions as a nurse practitioner in the Primary Care clinics and is the Director of the Non-Surgical Sexual Dysfunction Clinic. She has developed this clinic into a comprehensive consult clinic which is recognized as a national model. She is also an Assistant Professor (Clinical) at the University Of Utah.
She is recognized as a national leader in the field of sexual medicine and participated in a national consensus development project on the diagnosis and treatment of male sexual dysfunction by allied health professionals. She has several published articles in peer reviewed journals on the topic of Male Sexual Dysfunction and lectures at the national level. She was recently accepted into the Sexual Medicine Society of North America.
Dr. Jensen was one of seven nurse practitioners chosen to staff the Main Media Center Medical Clinic during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games held in Salt Lake City, Utah. This was the first time NP’s were utilized as providers in Olympic history. This decision resulted from her presentation of evidence based practice outcomes to International Olympic Game Officials. She received the AANP 2003 Utah State Award for Excellence in Care and Outstanding Contributions in Practice. She received the 2004 Excellence in Clinical Practice Award from the University ofUtah College Of Nursing.
She was reelected to serve on the Board of Directors for AANP in 2006. In June 2006 Ms. Jensen was inducted as a Fellow of American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, this honor is held by less than 1% of all nurse practitioners in the nation.
RN to BS/Geriatric Nursing Leadership
Dr. Ginny Pepper and Dr. Pat Berry have been co-directors of a HRSA Enhancing Geriatric Nursing Credentials Grant (D62HP01910) since 2003. As the grant neared completion, the Geriatric Nursing Leadership “programs” were rolled up to become a part of the Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence to provide a full continuum of educational options for students, nurses and faculty.
Geriatric Nursing Leadership (GNL) is a specialty emphasis within the University of Utah’s on-line RN – BS program. GNL is designed to improve geriatric nursing care and develop leadership skills for those working with the rapidly growing aging population. GNL focuses on the care of the older adults in all settings and has an emphasis on leadership development. Students design and implement a quality improvement project that makes a significant impact in the workplace. Close faculty support and small cohorts help students achieve educational excellence.
Projects have included CNA training, home health care, emergency preparedness, advanced care planning and emergency preparedness training. Some students have chosen to work directly with residents of nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Throughout the years, these projects have had substantial impact in the treatment and care of older adults. Two recent projects that have had significant impact have included a medication competency project at the George E. Wahlen VA Salt Lake City Health Care System and an emergency evacuation plan at the Utah State Prison.
At the VA, Kathy Sokia created and implemented a medication competency for post surgical patients at the VA. Research for her project revealed the medications being routinely used for not appropriate or safe for older adults. Kathy developed policy and protocol, presented to VA leadership, received approval, and then created a staff education program. Due to the success of the implementation of the medication competency at the VA in Salt Lake, there are plans to adopt the competency system-wide.
Art Adcock, who works in the Prison Infirmary looked at the aging population at the prison – and wondered “what would happen if there was a disaster…how would we evacuate?” He researched prison policy and procedure, and found no plans in place. Art developed an evacuation plan, and received appropriate permission from appropriate Correctional Department staff to run a drill – complete with dry ice “smoke.” Only some of the staff knew there would be a drill, and none of the inmates were aware. The data Art collected, and the policy and procedure developed through the project were uses as part of the national prison accreditation. As a result of the relationships built during this capstone project, the Prison has approached the Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence and requested assistance in developing a hospice program.
brainify
brainify is an academic social bookmarking and networking website for college and university students and faculty. UUHCGNE Project Administrator Jan Abramson worked directly with brainify founder Murray Goldberg to have “Gerontology” added as a top-level Primary Discipline, right up with Education, Medical Studies, Law and Science. For more information and to utilize this resource: www.brainify.com
WIN in Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City was the host city for the 42 annual Western Institute of Nursing Conference April 23 – 25, 2009. The four Hartford Centers of Geriatric Nursing Excellence in the “western region” ~ Arizona State University, Oregon Health Sciences University, University of California San Francisco and the University of Utah, along with BACGNE, hosted a reception for Harford scholars, alumni, students and friends. As one student said after the director’s gave their Hartford elevator speeches “I’ve read about these people, I’ve seen their work and research…and to see all of them in the same room – amazing!”
Dr. Ginny Pepper Honored
Ginette Pepper, PhD, RN, FAAN Professor & Associate Dean for Research and PhD Programs was awarded the Regional Geriatric Nursing Research Award. This award has been given annual to foster and showcase geriatric nursing research.
Dr. Pepper’s career in geriatric nursing has spanned nearly four decades. She was the country’s first geriatric nurse practitioner and research associate with a nursing home demonstration project funded in the University of Utah’s Department of Family and Community Medicine. She has devoted her career to the care of older adults, specifically in the areas of pharmacology, falls, patient/resident safety, pain management, and most recently, genetics.
The record of Dr. Pepper’s research contributions to geriatric nursing, in addition to spanning such a long period of time, demonstrate a gradual transition from independent to collaborative and team efforts, especially after she completed her PhD in Psychobiological Nursing and Pharmacology in 1985. Specifically, her predoctoral NRSA award supported her dissertation research Central and Peripheral Anticholinergic Adverse Effects led to her interest in adverse effects of medications, including errors, falls, and motor imbalances in older adults. She spent several years as principle investigator of several extramural and intramural funded research projects in this and related focus areas. Most recently, she has served as consultant and mentor to junior faculty and as a member of an interdisciplinary team, of particular note, as Co-Investigator with a physical therapy faculty on an intervention study to decrease falls in older adults.
RIFF - RAFF....in the OTHER City
At the annual Friday night RIFF – RAFF event, the students and faculty of the University of Utah College of Nursing won the coveted Golden Dung Award for the sixth time since the award was established in 1983. RIFF-RAFF, which stands for Regional Institute for Fun and Frivolity of the Regional Association of Foremost Flakes, consists of skits performed by the member universities and clinical agencies to parody aspects of research and academic life. Although the WIN meeting is characterized by scientific presentations from the nation’s most renowned nurse scientists, the irreverence of the RIFF-RAFF event distinguishes the unique frontier spirit of western regional nursing research society.
For the 2009 skit, students narrated the story of the relocation of the College during renovation of its 40 year old building. Since the College relocated to downtown Salt Lake City during reconstruction, the skit titled Sex and the [Other] City portrayed the four heroines of the HBO classic (parodied by faculty): Carrie (Dr. Margaret Clayton), Miranda (Dr. Lauren Clark), Samantha (Dr. Ginny Pepper), and Charlotte (Dean Maureen Keefe) as they sipped pink jello cosmopolitans and discussed their favorite topic (research, of course), while being served by the much pierced and tattooed waitress (Dr. Gwen Latendresse). Previous awards, some in partnership with University Hospital, BYU, and LDS Hospital, were received in 1983, 1989, 1991, 1995, and 2006. The U has secured the award more than twice as often as any other school in the region, demonstrating that Utah means fun and frivolity. Each year the winners attach a remembrance of their state to the trophy, dubbed the Golden Dung (pictured below) due to the color and amorphous shape of the original award.
Faculty and Student Presentations at WIN
Morse, J & Corbin, J (2009). Qualitative Methods. Salt Lake City, UT: Workshop presented at the Annual Communicating Nursing Research Western Institute of Nursing Meeting.
Staggers, N, Sward, S, Poynton, M & Gooder, V (2009). Informatics Competencies. Not Just for NI Specialists! Salt Lake City, UT: Workshop presented at the Annual Communicating Nursing Research Western Institute of Nursing Meeting.
Clark, L (2009). Attaining Cultural Competencies in Baccalaureate Nursing Education. Salt Lake City, UT: Symposium presented at the Annual Communicating Nursing Research Western Institute of Nursing Meeting.
Clark, L (2009). A Toolkit of Faculty Resources to Teach Cultural Competence. Salt Lake City, UT: Symposium presented at the Annual Communicating Nursing Research Western Institute of Nursing Meeting.
Chase-Cantarini, S & Flattes, V (2009). Cultural Competence and Mutual Respect An Interdisciplinary Approach. Salt Lake City, UT: Symposium presented at the Annual Communicating Nursing Research Western Institute of Nursing Meeting.
Winters, B, Berry, P & Thurston, D (2009). Guideline for the Assessment and Management of Pain in Older Adults with Rib Fractures. Poster presented at the Annual Communicating Nursing Research Western Institute of Nursing Meeting.
Litchman, M (2009). Fall Risk in the Patient with Diabetes: A Review. Poster presented at the Annual Communicating Nursing Research Western Institute of Nursing Meeting.
Kelly, R (2009). Another Step to Pressure Ulcer Prevention. Poster presented at the Annual Communicating Nursing Research Western Institute of Nursing Meeting.
Oderda, L, Pepper, G, Asche, C, Leipzig, R, Tasic, D (2009). Drugs and Fall Risk: An Updated Systematic Review. Poster presented at the Annual Communicating Nursing Research Western Institute of Nursing Meeting.
Putting the Pieces Together: Incorporating Geriatrics Into the Undergraduate Curriculum
Valerie Flattes, MS, APRN, ANP-BC, Donna Richards, PhD, RN, and Jan Abramson, MS coordinated an intensive Saturday workshop (April 4, 2009) utilizing the GNEC training materials. Flattes and Richards attended the GNEC Train the Trainers workshop in Portland, Oregon, and in response to the great interest in a brown bag presented earlier in the year, expanded their offering. They were assisted by the master’s and DNP students who are incorporating a geriatric subspecialty or certificate into their program of study. 27 College of Nursing faculty and TAs were in attendance and participated in the interactive program. To make the workshop widely available to faculty who could not attend, and to encourage integration of geriatrics throughout the curriculum, the GNEC modules have been put into a WEB CT/Blackboard Vista course that is available to all faculty upon completion of a review of the “Introduction to GNEC” and Critical Thinking Modules. Feedback was so positive the decision was made that this workshop was the “First Annual!”
Faculty Publications & Presentations
Beck, S. L., Towsley, G. L., Caserta, M. S., Lindau, K., & Dudley, W. N. (In Press). Symptom experience and quality of life of rural and urban older adult cancer survivors. Cancer Nursing: An International Journal for Cancer Care.
Berry, P.H., Griffie J. (in press). Planning for the actual death. In B. R. Ferrell & N. Coyle (Eds.), Textbook of Palliative Nursing (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Berry, P.H. (in press). Management of other symptoms at end of life. Core Curriculum for the Hospice and Palliative Nursing Assistant (2nd ed.), Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt
Caserta, M., Lund, D., Utz, R., & de Vries, B. (2009). Stress-related growth among the recently bereaved. Aging & Mental Health, 13, 463-476.
Clark, L., Vincent, D., Zimmer, L.M., & Sanchez, J. (2009, in press). Cultural values and political economic contexts of diabetes among low-income Mexican Americans. Journal of Transcultural Nursing.
Hay, J., Harris, J., Waters, E., Clayton, M., Ellington, L., Abernathy, A., & Prayor-Patterson, H. (in press). Personal communication in primary and secondary cancer prevention: Evolving discussions, emerging challenges. Journal of Health Communication.
Doig A. K., & Morse J. M. (submitted). The hazards of using floor mats for fall protection at the bedside. Journal of Patient Safety.
Sheldon, L. K., Ellington, L., Barrett, R., Clayton, M. F., Dudley, W. N. & Rinaldi, K. (in press). Nurse responsiveness to cancer patient expressions of emotion. Patient Education and Counseling.
Hanberg, A., Madden C., Winters, B., & Sward. K. (2009). Using Simulation Technologies to Teach Diagnostic Reasoning in the Care of Older Adults. Accepted for poster presentation at Connecting the Dots: Geriatric Nursing, Education, and Clinical Simulation Conference, April 2-3, 2009, Durham, NC.
Lund, D. A., Utz, R., Caserta, M. S., & Wright, S. D. (2009). Examining what caregivers do with respite time to make respite more effective. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 28, 109-131.
Madden, C., Hanberg. A, Winters, B., & Sward. K. (2009). Integrating Electronic Health Record Systems With Human Patient Simulation. poster presented at the 8th Annual International Nursing Simulation/Learning Resource Centers Conference June 10-13, 2009, St. Louis Missouri.
Morse, J. M. (in press). Breaking bad news. Patients' perspectives. In J. Spiers, A. Cave, M. Cave, & J. Morse (Eds.), Breaking bad news.
Scott-Cawiezell, J., Madsen, R. W., Pepper, G. A., Vogelsmeier, A., Petroski, G., & Zellmer, D. (2009). Using an electronic medication administration record to improve nursing home medication safety. Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety.
Winters, B. (2009). Older adults with traumatic rib fractures: An evidence-based approach to their care. Journal of Trauma Nursing.
Bristlecone 1 students “in the news…”
Each geron-focused PhD cohort at the University of Utah College of Nursing will be a "Bristlecone" group. The Bristlecone pine tree is the oldest living single organism inhabitant - the oldest, Methuselah was 4839 years old in 2007! The Bristlecone pine tree is found only in Utah and five other western states.
Conrad Rios was awarded the Bridging HealthCare Needs Award from the California Association for Nurse Practitioners. The Bridging Healthcare Needs Award is to recognize nurse practitioners in the state of California who are acting as a catalyst for positive change in the healthcare system.
Kathy Wright, MSN, GCNS-BC, PMHCNS-BC, Geriatric Nursing Leadership Academy Fellow, was featured in the John A. Hartford Foundation’s 2008 Annual Report.
Allen, K. & Wright, K. (2009) The AD-LIFE Trial: Testing Another Chronic Care Model Poster presented at the ASA-NCOA 2009 Aging in America Conference.
K. Wright, Beeson, R., Hazelett, S., Kropp, D., Holder., & Allen, K. (2008- Present) Transitional care across the continuum: Empowering the older adult to change through medication reconciliation self management: Pilot Study. Funded by Rose Beeson, PhD University of Akron College of Nursing.
Litchman, M., Hartman, A., Reed, P. (2009). Utilizing a Nurse Practitioner to Enhance
Diabetes Management Programs in Home Health. Caring, XXVII(1), 18-20.
Hartman A, Litchman ML, Reed P, Burr RE (Pending June 2009). In-Home Chronic Disease Management in Diabetes: A Collaborative Practice Model for Home Health Care and Endocrinology Providers. Home Health Care Practice and Management, 21(4).
Rios, C. Workshop State Organization for Nurse Practitioners: Toenail Resection/ Removal March 2009
Mussey, L., Hazelett, S., Kropp, D., Jarjoura, D., Wright, K., Pfister, E., & Allen,K. Improving Self-Management in an Older Adult with Low Literacy: A Case Study. American Geriatrics Society Annual Meeting 2009.
