N

r e t t e l s w e The Glen Taylor Nursing Institute

for Family and Society at Minnesota State

University, Mankato is dedicated to providing leadership

and expertise in family and societal health at local, state,

national and international levels. The Institute, Taylor Visiting Scholars and Becky Taylor Doctoral Fellowships are made possible by a

$7 million endowment established by Glen and Becky Taylor.

Spring 2018 • Issue 8

From the Director

As we begin 2018 I am excited to share recent initiatives of the Glen Taylor Nursing Institute for Family and Society at Minnesota State University, Mankato. This newsletter celebrates the graduation of one of our Becky Taylor Fellows and the hiring of a faculty member to serve educational needs of nurses and health care professionals. Our efforts to strengthen collaboration with practice partners allows us to capitalize on simulation opportunities in the new Clinical Science Building and move toward transforming nursing practice. Faculty and students continue to engage in local Dr. Sandra Eggenberger and international conferences where they can learn from colleagues and disseminate their scholarship. We are excited about our new partnership with the Bloomington School District where faculty and students provide an innovative model of nursing practice to students, families and communities. Wishing you a great New Year!

Darmofal Research

Leslie Darmofal, an assistant professor in nursing at Bemidji State University and recent doctoral graduate of Minnesota State Mankato School of Nursing, has been using her Becky Taylor Fellowship to identify and measure the psychological distress that comes with -- and after -- cancer. Distress, she says, can be part of any stage – from diagnosis to remission to a clean bill of health. Her premise is that in the majority of cases, the effects of having cancer at any stage will likely produce psychological effects that linger. Yet over time, health care provider’ concerns and inquiries about how the patient and family are feeling psychologically tend to fade. “It’s not like a broken leg and once it’s fixed it’s fixed,” Darmofal said. “You carry this with you for the rest of your life. Sometimes anniversaries of diagnosis or when you go for your annual check, all the emotions come back.” She envisions a time when the psychological distress of cancer for the patient and caregiver is

Webinar for IFNA Institute Director Dr. Sandra Eggenberger and colleague Dr. Sonja Meiers from Winona State University recently shared their expertise in family interviewing with the global community of International Family Nursing Association. The State of the Science of Family Interviewing webinar focused on family interviewing in nursing research, education and practice. These leaders in family nursing provided a review of evidence and shared their experiences with family meetings and family interviews.

monitored over time and nursing actions are implemented. At this stage, though, guided by nursing faculty Dr. Sue Ellen Bell, she's off to a promising first round of research. Reviewing recent literature on the topic and having access to more than 70 individuals at varying stages of living with cancer, Darmofal’s work opened her to a flood of responses that convinced her there is plenty of data to mine and examine. “I had, across the board, every type of comment,” she said. “It didn’t matter if you were 10 years out from cancer diagnosis and treatment, or if you were one year out. People had very strong feelings about how they felt about themselves living with the cancer experience.” The next stage of her research includes replicating the project to see if it points out treatment options that are the most effective. Given that cancer “survivorship” is a hot topic in the medical and nursing communities, it’s likely she’ll find others researching along those lines as well. Together the findings will inform next directions. “The idea is if we keep moving forward one further step,” Darmofal said, “we will be able to identify the effective interventions for the distress of people at the right times for the right cancers.” Darmofal received her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree at Minnesota State Mankato in December 2017.

Health Commons at Pond

she anticipates the word will only continue to grow keeping the patients served and the district satisfied. A goal is for Health Commons at Pond to provide an innovative model of care and quality learning experiences for graduate and undergraduate School of Nursing students, as well as other College of Allied Health and Nursing students. It is a partnership that will care for the Bloomington School community and serve the university community students who need a place to learn and grow. “I think we are there for good,” she said. “We certainly have the support of the community and the University community.”

Staffing the clinic, from left to right: Rhonda Cornell, family nurse practitioner; Kim Fortin, administrative assistant; and Nicole Schmitz, clinic coordinator and nurse practitioner. Not Pictured: Patricia Beirwaltes

When the Health Commons at Pond Center opened in Bloomington in 2017, its Minnesota State Mankato School of Nursing faculty and advanced practice degree faculty were mostly occupied with school physicals for sports. But as the school year went on and word spread of this no-cost, walk-in clinic with a range of health care services available every Monday to students and their families, the numbers grew and the reasons for visits became more diverse. “The last Monday I worked, every visit was different,” said nurse practitioner Pat Beierwaltes, one of three Minnesota State Mankato nurse practitioner faculty who staff the facility. “I think I did one sports physical. The rest were a hearing screen, a vision screen, immunization, a pre-op physical, an asthma action plan … so a lot of diversity. And we’re starting to see some repeat customers.” The Health Commons space, near Minnesota State Mankato's graduate program at 7700 France in Edina is owned by the Bloomington School District and being served by Minnesota State Mankato’s nursing program. It’s housed in the city’s east-side elementary school where most of the students qualify for discounted lunches. Those who use the clinic services include families who need urgent care, families struggling with insurance coverage as well as immigrant families. The language barrier serves as a key for Beierwaltes to allow some immigrant patients to get comfortable. “I think patients and families are often intimidated by using their English with health care providers, if they have any, and so I always try to get them to teach me something in their home language…It really takes away the edge from them when they hear you struggle with it. It kind of lets them know you understand how difficult it is.” That comfort level not only puts the patient or the patient’s parents at ease, it becomes the kind of thing people talk about – resulting in more use. “The ethnic communities are very connected. So if they learn from someone that they were accepted and welcomed there … then it just opens doors.” School nurses have also been great references for the clinic. “School nurses in general across the community have been really happy we’re there and have sent us a lot of referrals,” Beierwaltes said. “I also think our presence is getting communicated to the athletic trainers who are telling their sports teams about it.” Staffing and operating hours remain the same as when the clinic opened. The school district is donating the space and Beierwaltes says

Simulation Training for Workforce As she worked at sorting and bottling a tabletop’s worth of fake pills, Tiffany Gordon reflected on being new staff in a new building in a new age of nursing education at Minnesota State Mankato.

Like the pills, everything nearby is about simulation: Simulated hospital rooms house beds that are occupied by astonishingly high-functioning mannequins. It’s a significant advance from when Minnesota State Mankato’s simulation opportunities were much smaller. For a dozen years, Gordon says, the school had to rely on a “closet in Wissink” until legislative approval finally allowed for creation of the Clinical Sciences Building, which opened its doors and opportunities in early 2017. Soon after, the nursing program saw opportunities to establish and enhance relationships with healthcare workplaces by opening up the simulation rooms and training to those interested. With relationships established with the Mankato Clinic, Mayo Clinic Health Systems, Ecumen and the Open Door Health Center, Gordon was brought in within the past year to coordinate workforce training. Gordon joined the School of Nursing and College of Allied Health and Nursing. Gordon, an assistant professor, received her undergraduate and master’s degrees at Minnesota State Mankato. They see working with outside healthcare providers as a way to advance the family nursing goals and mission of the Taylor Nursing Institute. “There’s so much research that shows involving the family and bringing them in to the plan reduces chances for the patient being readmitted into the hospital,” Gordon said. “That’s part of our mission—to advance family and societal health.” Gordon’s primary area of interest has always been in community health and preventative health. “This job is a good fit in that aspect,” she said. The appointment brings Gordon back to Mankato following her 2005 undergraduate nursing degree here. She has since been a pediatric nurse in California, later working in entomology and oncology and, upon returning to Minnesota, as homecare nurse with Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare. Some of the partners are already making use of the simulation grounds – Mayo Clinic Health Systems in August brought 100 employees into the facility over a five-day stretch to manage scenarios of violent outbursts in medical settings. As Gordon sees it, the possibilities are nearly endless for the building, and for promoting the idea of family nursing. “Basically, if somebody comes to us with a need for training, we will figure out how to bring in that family piece, because it’s always there,” Gordon said.

Glen Taylor Nursing Institute for Family and Society

Spain Conference

Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) nurses attended the IFNA conference and toured University Medical Center

In a city known internationally for 1) people running through the streets with bulls, and 2) family nursing practices, Taylor Nursing Institute faculty and students this summer opted for the latter as they shared and absorbed the latest findings in care at the 13th International Family Nursing Conference.

“It’s clear to us when we connect at these conferences that we are a global force and leaders in family nursing practice and education,” said Taylor Nursing Institute Director Sandra Eggenberger. “We also recognize how some other countries prioritize and provide care for the family.” In June, family nurses from 29 countries gathered at The University of Navarra in Pamplona for the conference, which Eggenberger said was an ideal situation to see how practices and education at the Taylor Nursing Institute is faring compared to other countries. It’s exciting to find areas where the Institute can expand efforts, as well as how it is partnering with other countries, Eggenberger said. The ultimate take-away from the conference, she added, is knowing that she and her fellow faculty are contributing knowledge to inform current directions in family nursing and advancing global family research and nursing practice. “This conference has a significant impact on me and my scholarship. Knowledge I gain from lectures and conference sessions helps me be sure I include the most recent research in courses that I teach for family nurse practitioners and family nurse educators,” she said. From that point the discussion always moves to how the research is being applied in practice in various systems and countries. “I think this conference helps us to continue growing and staying connected to the expert researchers and educators in family nursing. It also allows us to share all that we know and are doing at Minnesota State Mankato. We have much to disseminate--knowledge about family, how to teach family nursing, and create partnerships that support families and communities.” In a textbook example of networking, Eggenberger notes that she and colleagues are presently working on a project with a global network formed at the conference. It’s an international, multi-site study of

Poster presentations at IFNA

how nurses engage (or don’t engage) families during patient care in hospital systems. The Institute brought to the conference Minnesota State Mankato faculty and students who presented a total of 14 podium presentations and six posters. One presentation detailed the Institute’s work in collaborating with Hennepin County Medical Center staff in applying family nursing practices in an academic-to-practice partnership. “What stood out to me was the commonalities of what we all encounter,” said HCMC nurse Brittany Michelson, who attended the conference. Five nurses who practice at Hennepin County Medical Center joined faculty at the conference. This was the first time nurses from midwestern U.S. hospital systems attended this conference. “I didn’t realize until we were at the conference just how rare and difficult it is to build and maintain clinical academic partnerships. So to see ours in a new light between HCMC and the Taylor Nursing Institute was really remarkable. It was rewarding to see all the different ways nurses around the world were working in their own settings to promote family involvement.” Spain was an inspirational location for a convergence of family nurses, Eggenberger said. Beyond the scenic landscape and colorful history of Pamplona, the country is one of several global leaders in the field. “Culturally they’re focused on family and family health,” she said. “I took a tour of a Pamplona hospital, and discovered they were dealing with similar concerns that we were dealing with in the United States: How do we involve families and offer nursing care that is family-focused?. Because of their concern for family nursing they are working toward the same goals that we are. We are fortunate to have these opportunities to learn from each other and develop action plans together.”

Minnesota State University, Mankato

360 Wissink Hall Mankato, MN 56001

*335380*

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An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity University. This document is available in alternative format to individuals with disabilities by calling 507-389-1165, or 800-627-3529 or 711 (MRS/TTY). NURS108NE 1-18

Family Nursing Network Forum We are using this forum to develop and share knowledge related to families and nursing in the local, regional and global arena. Come join our network. Our goal is to create dialogue and advance understandings that will influence nursing practice, education, and research with families. Based on theoretical or research findings, individuals can offer additions and revisions in nursing actions and particular actions with a family. Family Nursing Constructs Framework •

Creates a coherent approach and common language

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Provides a broad and encompassing approach

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Addresses family nursing science and family nursing practice actions

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Aligns with multiple theoretical frameworks

Family Constructs Network Website http://www.familynursingnetwork.org/

Glen Taylor Nursing Institute for Family and Society • Minnesota State University, Mankato