Newsworthy Winter 2009

The official newsletter of the Nazareth College Department of Nursing

Volume 30 No. 31

…….FROM MY CORNER

Dr. Marie O’Toole, RN, EdD, FAAN

January can be an inspirational month. A new beginning, but unlike spring when there is a different sense of climate in the external environment, the new beginning in January often comes from within. We are fortunate in academic settings, the semester that begins in January presents new courses, new opportunities and the occasion to look within to examine what will facilitate mastery of knowledge that is essential to the safety of patients we will care for and about.

Winter Wonderland Edition, 2009

IMPORTANT DATES!!!!!

February 9, 2009

“Town Meeting” for ALL Nursing Students, 4:30—5:30 p.m. in the International Room. The purpose is to Technology plays an important role in assisting all health care providers to discuss your ideas and concerns. master knowledge. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing Refreshments will be offered. Spon(AACN) recently approved a new edition of the Essentials of Baccalaureate sored by Unity Health Care System.

Nursing, and this revision of the document that guides all nursing programs at the baccalaureate level places a strong emphasis on Information Management.

Building on the report of the Institute of Medicine, the AACN, notes that graduates must have basic competence in the use of computers, as well as the application of patient care technologies such as monitors, data gathering devices and other technologic supports. Many authors have noted that information literacy is crucial to the future of nursing.

March 25—April 9, 2009

Summer and Fall 2009 Advisement for ALL students. Sign up using the folder in the office door with your Email is a very fundamental component of technology, it is the official Faculty Advisor’s name on it. Come method of communication for the Department as well as the College. Do you prepared with the list of courses you know that you can forward your Nazareth email to another account, so that plan on taking. you never miss a communication? Instructions can be found online at http:// www.naz.edu/its/media/pdf/howto-ForwardEmail.pdf.

April 9, 2009

Do you know that you can sync your Facebook account with Blackboard so that announcements and new posts in your courses will appear on your Facebook page? Instructions are online within the Facebook site: http:// apps.facebook.com/blackboard_sync. Did you know that you can have real time, video conferences on the WEB via many free tools, one of which is SKYPE (http://skype.com). The inauguration of Barrack Obama will be streamed on CNN.com in coordination with Facebook so that Facebook friends can view each other's comments. These are just a few examples of how technology can make us more productive. All of these technologies and our ability to share information and knowledge inspire me.

The 12th Annual Nursing Research Conference. Dr. Benjamin Evans will speak on: “Best Strategies: Non-Psychiatric Nurses Dealing With Psycho-Emotional Issues.“ This program will be held at Monroe Community Hospital—5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. For more information contact Dr. Janelli at (585) 389I am fond of saying, if it is impossible to work harder, work smarter! Technology is one way to do that, and I am looking forward in this New Year to 2713. working with students to increase technologic proficiency, mastery of knowledge and improving patient care.

This publication was funded by the Department of Health and Human Services Health (DHHS) Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) under grant number D11HP07360 titled “Nurse Education Practice and Retention.” The content and conclusions are those of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should be any endorsements be inferred by the Division of Nursing, BHPr, HRSA or the U.S. Government.

Hat’s Off Dr. Maureen Freidman published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing; (2008) “Heart Failure Patient’s Time, Symptoms, and Actions Between a Hospital Admission.”

The Nursing Department, along with the Center for Spirituality, and Campus Safety collected enough food to provide 40 Thanksgiving baskets to the Dimitri House which feeds between 150-200 people in Rochester.

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Nursing Club—by Michele Sweeney The Nursing Club volunteered for Fantasy Flight. (www.fantasy-flight.org) This is an organization to provide local residents suffering from life threatening illnesses a chance to enjoy a "Winter Wonderland" made in an airport hanger. Several children win the opportunity to ride in the aircraft to the "North Pole" and back to the magical land where they have the opportunity to enjoy the day with food, fun, and presents. Each year it is made bigger with the help of local organizations and volunteers. Volunteers can take part in building, decorating, or taking down of the winter wonderland, being an elf, registration, parking, clean up or any other activity.

Several of us have volunteered at The Annual Kazoo Fest for Camp Good Days & Special Times. It is a fundraising event at local malls that lasts a few weeks to help raise money for summer camps and events that occur throughout the year. This benefits children, adults, and families whose lives have been touched by cancer. They are able to attend these programs and camps free of charge because of successful fundraising. It requires volunteers to spend a few hours on at least two different occasions at area malls helping raise money. Nazareth Nursing Club has participated in this event last year as well.

The Nursing Club has had Roswell Park Cancer Institute send recruiters and Strong Memorial Hospital came to recruit and provided an informational meeting on interview tips and resume writing. .

While we did not intend the clothing sale to be a fundraiser, it did result in a profit for the Club of between $50-$100 We also had a recognition dinner in honor of Helene to make sure she knows her hard work is appreciated from all of the nursing students.

Next semester we plan on volunteering for several local charities to be determined at a later date. NCLEX review sessions, more recruiters from area hospitals, possible job fair (in the works), a clothing sale, and an end of semester party.

Graduate Nurse Programs

There will be three Gerontological Nurse Practitioner students graduating in May 2009: Muriel Brown, RN; Kathleen Collins, RN; and Elizabeth Quinones-Ramos, RN. Our first graduate of the Post-master’s in Nursing Education— Mary Donohue, RN, MS will be this May! A Celebration/Town Meeting at which time students will receive their certificates will take place on May 13, 2009.

Frank Garcia, RN, GNP student, will become the new Coordinator of the Hispanic Wellness Clinic at Centro de Oro beginning in January 2009.

During the Spring break in March 2009, a third trip to Belize will occur. Judy Brunstein, RN, and Carmella Service, RN, (both GNP students), along with Professor Jackie Sick, RN, GNP, and Diane Marsh, RN, BS and Dr. Janelli; in cooperation with InterVol of Rochester, will provide nursing care and management to residents of the Octavia Waight Nursing Home.

Community Health Project Dr. Friedman’s students presented classes on germs and proper hand washing on December 2nd and 3rd to students at the Council Rock School in Brighton.

The classes were a great success!

Hilary Ship, BS student & Chanthanika Chanthabandith, LPN-BS student.

“WE CARE” GRANT Welcoming Everyone to Culturally Appropriate RN Education Katherine S. Detherage, PhD, RN Associate Professor Principle Investigator WE CARE A historic event occurred November 15, 2008 on the campus of Nazareth College. Coby Schultz, a senior student nurse from Wayland, NY, became the first male to be inducted in a Beta, or undergraduate, Chapter of Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc. Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc. is an international, not for profit organization of professional and student nurses. The Sorority was charted at Freedman’s Hospital (now Howard University Hospital) in Washington, D.C. in 1932, and currently has over 9,000 members located throughout the United States, the Virgin Islands, and West Africa. The organization’s motto is “Service for Humanity.” Each chapter is dedicated, among other purposes, to meet the spirit and the letter of the motto by providing health promotion and disease prevention activities in the communities in which they live.

The Rochester Chapter of Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc., Beta Chi Chi, Inc., was responsible for starting the new Beta chapter which is named Beta Chi Chi Beta. The other Nazareth student nurses inducted into the chapter were Magdalena Collazo, Sheena Dixon, Keisha Fowlks, and Znovia Hill.

Membership in the Beta Chapter is open to all student nurses enrolled in schools of nursing in the Rochester area who have completed 30 undergraduate credit hours with an accumulated GPA acceptable to their school. Besides Nazareth College, the student nurses inducted in this charter chapter are enrolled at SUNY College at Brockport and Roberts Wesleyan College. Congratulations to our future professional nurse leaders!

It is with sadness that I remind you we are in the last year of the WE CARE grant. The grant ends June 30, 2009, however, a continuation grant has been written but the Department of Nursing will not receive notification of the outcome until July 2009. The good news is the Department of Nursing has met the grant’s objectives by enrolling a number of student nurses previously underrepresented in the profession of nursing. Cassandra Scott, BS, RN, Outreach Worker/Nurse Recruiter and Ms. Helene Lovett, Secretary, have both worked very hard to ensure the success of the grant. As you can see from the photograph, they are always prepared to provide and disseminate information about the nursing program and about Nazareth College.

Helene Lovett and Cassandra Scott, RN