Career leads across the globe
A conversation with Elise McKenna ’81, RN, BSN, MPH, MSEd Elise McKenna ’81, RN, BSN, MPH, MSEd recently visited the Mount and shared with Joan Gambeski of College Advancement updates about her work and life. What paths have you followed during your career in nursing? While in grad school at Columbia, I had the opportunity to teach a course at the graduate level and realized how much I loved teaching. I lived overseas in the 1980s and 1990s in Korea and Germany, as my husband was an Army officer. I earned a Master of Science in education from the University of Southern California while working as a nurse at the U.S. Army hospital in Seoul. During my graduate work, I did an independent study with Seoul National University examining the developing country’s healthcare system, including both private and public hospitals: an experience that solidified my interest in public health, ethics and underserved populations. In Germany, I began teaching an undergraduate course to soldiers studying the healthcare system, and I was hooked. I was fortunate to be hired full-time at the University of Kansas as a visiting professor for a year while my husband was stationed at Fort Leavenworth. We then moved to Washington, D.C., where I taught at Georgetown University’s School of Nursing and Health Studies. While I think I taught almost every nursing class from sophomores to seniors, I was honored when asked to develop and teach two new core courses: Health Care Delivery System, and Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. During those 12 years of teaching, I also started consulting on a Robert Wood Johnson funded grant to advance the spread of palliative care programs in hospitals nationally. When did you launch your consulting practice? I started consulting (hdpdconsulting.com) when I moved to Vermont, about 10 years ago. I was able to
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My mother, Elise Cuff McKenna, Sr., served in World War II as a registered nurse and will always be an inspiration to me. When I was in the seventh grade, my mother worked as the night supervisor at our local hospital. About the same time, my grandfather—who had dementia—moved in with our family. As the oldest girl of six, I spent a lot of time with him. I think the positive way our family cared for him, combined with my mom being a nurse and a role model, made me start to think seriously about nursing. Elise McKenna ’81 and her husband, Bob Bleimeister
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I feel fortunate that I was able to blend my family, education, and meaningful work into what I think has been, and continues to be, a fun, diverse, and exciting career.
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secure small consulting projects initially with institutes at large universities, such as Duke, NYU School of Nursing, and Mount Sinai School of Medicine, which led to other annual contracts with the State of Vermont and NYU. What areas of nursing and public health are you working in today? The focus of my current work at the state level is all about improving primary care in rural Vermont. I continue to work with the NYU School of Nursing for an institute called NICHE, Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders, which provides hospitals, long-term care facilities, and health systems with evidence-based practices in the care of older adults. Why did you choose nursing as your major in college? My family had a great influence on the choices I have made in my life.
Mount Saint Mary College Magazine | WINTER 2015-16
What do you value most about your Mount education? How did it prepare you for your future studies and career? When I think about my experience at the Mount, what stands out the most is the personal interest the faculty took in me and other students. They took the time to care, encourage and were genuinely interested in our lives. I was invited into the homes of many of my professors and administrators. The faculty, including the Dominican Sisters, often invited us for gatherings in their homes. I truly felt like I was a valued member of the Mount community. I had to work especially hard as a student, but I always believed I had the support of the faculty and that reinforced my resolve to get as much as I could out of my education. What suggestions do you have for today’s nursing students? In my own career I have received the most satisfaction from working with underserved populations. My suggestion would be that, whatever system you work in, keep your eyes on the vulnerable groups. Be mindful of the complexities of the journey; do work to make a better way. Elise McKenna lives in Stowe, Vermont with her husband and their 85-lb labradoodle, Zoey. They have two grown sons. Read more at msmc.edu/magazine