Pulse 2008 by East Carolina University

Pulse 2008

A message from the dean

Dr. Sylvia Brown

Success is not the product of luck, windfall or chance. Instead, success is the consequence of foresight and opportunity tempered with a healthy dose of courage and wisdom. The stories in this Pulse illustrate success by modeling innovative thinking and approaches to issues facing the nursing profession of today and tomorrow. While advancing technology has revolutionized how we teach nursing, old-fashioned sensory perception skills remain strong at East Carolina. Join Drs. Janice Neil and Donna Roberson for a discussion of olfactory pedagogy on pages 4-5. Their fascinating work perceptively reintroduces 21st century students to the importance of personal interaction during patient care. The East Carolina Center for Nursing Leadership addresses workforce issues like retention and job satisfaction by empowering rural nurse managers with education and management principles. Dr. Elaine Scott’s research investigates concerns of rural nurse managers and will benefit the center as it expands in other regions. Read about the center’s strategy on pages 6-8. This issue also brings news of the establishment of the Richard R. Eakin Distinguished Professorship in Nursing. The $1 million endowed chair will support a full professor with a research interest related to eastern North Carolina health concerns such as obesity, cardiac care or diabetes. This endowment allows us to recruit top-notch researchers to our faculty while demonstrating our commitment to our region. Mark Alexander, director of development, proudly announces the Golden Lamp Society in our advancement news on pages 22-23. This giving society is supported by the newly organized Advancement Council and is designed to recognize consecutive giving to the College of Nursing. Also, I am pleased to introduce the inaugural Advancement Council, a talented group tasked with supporting Mr. Alexander through generating ideas and sources of financial support for the college. Finally, I want to highlight our international studies initiatives described in the story about our undergraduate students’ trip to Guatemala on pages 18-21 and Dr. Mary Kirkpatrick’s work with the Maastricht project (page 34). We continue exploring opportunities that introduce our students to health cultures outside the United States. Through internationalization, our students develop sensitivities to the needs and concerns of cultures different than their own. There are many other success stories we would have liked to share with you, but space and economy drive us to simply list a few items: • Dr. Martha Engelke recently received a second Kate B. Reynolds Foundation grant to study school nurse case management. • The Bariatric Nursing Consortium, a research group of ECU nursing faculty and Pitt County Memorial Hospital nurses, received the prestigious 2007 Magnet Prize from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. • Drs. Martha Alligood and Frances Eason were inducted as fellows of the NLN Academy of Nursing Education. Even with our high standards and visible achievements, we must continue looking ahead to the next partnership, the next proposal and the next opportunity. Tomorrow will certainly bring new challenges, new decisions and, like clockwork, a new group of students. At East Carolina, we’ll be ready! Sylvia T. Brown, EdD, RN, CNE Professor and Acting Dean

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Table of contents 4 Old-fashioned sensory perception Research adds odor to 21st century simulation education 6 The business of nursing Advancing leaders at the bedside and in the boardroom 9 Nurses know best Identifying, solving workforce issues at home 12 Click and connect Web site strengthens community partnership 14 Briefcase in hand, nurse at heart Diane Poole is PCMH’s executive vice president and the 2007 Distinguished Alumni Award winner 16 Charting her own course Graduate student and longtime nurse Hettie Peele leads by example 18 Tome el cuidado Students teach lessons in health to children of Guatemala 22 Endowment named for ECU Chancellor Emeritus Richard R. Eakin Nurse scientist to research health needs of eastern North Carolinians 23 I am an ECU nurse 24 Giving back ECU College of Nursing establishes emergency needs fund, Golden Lamp Society 28 Beta Nu challenged to think, act globally 30 Class notes 32 Faculty publications and grants 33 ECU welcomes six new faculty

Left to right, nursing students Casey Hill, Lauren Boyd, Kristen Blell and Molly Montsinger take a breather after climbing Volcano Pacaya during a study abroad course in Guatemala. On the cover: The College of Nursing pin was designed by students and represents worldwide service through knowledge, featuring ECU’s motto “Servire” (to serve). The college is a leader in the state, producing more new nurses than any other four-year university. The University of North Carolina Board of Governors on Oct. 12 approved changing the name of the School of Nursing to the College of Nursing. The change recognizes the college’s tremendous growth, productivity and complexity and aligns it with other colleges at ECU.

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Old-fashioned

sensory perception

Unique research study adds odor to simulation education

By Crystal Baity East Carolina University nursing student Carmelia Pate of High Point was better prepared for her first infected wound by participating in a unique research project that added smell to a pretend wound on a life-like patient. In fact, when Pate dressed a stage three wound during a clinical rotation at Pitt County Memorial Hospital this year, she thought back to that simulated scenario in the nursing lab last year. “When I did my wound dressing, I said

‘I can do this,’ ” said Pate, 22. And that’s just what nurse faculty hoped would happen. In April 2007, Dr. Janice Neil and Dr. Donna Roberson led a group of faculty and students in an all-day study to create realistic wound care simulation and determine if malodors improved student confidence and coping strategies. The realistic odor came from imported cheese that Neil ordered online. Limburger was the most pungent. Petit Livarot and Epoisses Berthaut also were used.

After obtaining Institutional Review Board approval, 49 students participated. Observations were recorded and students completed a questionnaire and interview. A key to successful wound management includes accurate assessment of odor that is emitted as a result of bacterial invasion and necrotic tissue, according to a nursing manual. In other words, Roberson said, bacterial action in a wound can create a pungent smell. Joining in the study was nursing lab coordinator Rita Coggins, instructor Becky

Nursing students Erin McGillicuddy of Greenville, Carmelia Pate of High Point and Fredy Lopez of Raleigh participated in the college’s research study.

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Hylant and clinical assistant professors Beth Bryant, Sharon Cherry and Gina Woody. “The longer it was at room temperature, the more it smelled,” said Roberson, assistant professor of nursing. “It would get more liquefied the longer it was out. The wounds appeared to have drained.” The students’ senses were tested as they pulled off the old dressing set up by instructors before cleaning, irrigating and re-dressing the wound. Neil, associate professor and chair of the junior division of undergraduate nursing science, had the idea to duplicate the smell of an infected wound as she thought of ways to make simulation more realistic. One challenge was finding a non-toxic malodorous substance that could be added. “Smell is only 3.5 percent of a sensory experience. They already had sight and hearing,” said Neil, an expert in perioperative nursing. Wound management and care often is challenging for health care providers and patients with draining or malodorous wounds. Students said it was important to stay composed out of concern for the patient’s feelings. “They maintained their nursing ‘poker’ faces very well,” Roberson said. Working on a simulated patient gives students the chance to perform all types of clinical procedures in a risk-free environment before caring for actual patients. “The same principles are applied,” said Fredy Lopez, 24, of Raleigh. “It might be different with a patient screaming because it hurts, but it does give you an idea

of what to expect and how to prepare to deal with a certain situation.” Erin McGillicuddy, 27, of Greenville said the addition of odor to the simulated patient was beneficial. “With these patients, there is only so much of a reality factor. It’s a plastic wound, so you’re not really anticipating the smell. When the smell was applied and it looked purulent, it was a more realistic challenge,” she said. McGillicuddy was the only one of the three students to have dressed a real wound – a sacral wound on a bedridden patient - before the simulation. “It was about as deep with a sloughy appearance and similar texture,” she said. Neil and Roberson couldn’t find supporting literature on

adding smell to simulation before their study. Roberson, Neil and Bryant wrote an article discussing the research findings for an upcoming issue of Ostomy/Wound Management. Neil is preparing an article for Perioperative Nursing Clinics. Roberson, Neil and Bryant also presented at a conference in Hilton Head, S.C., and have received inquiries from faculty around the country who are interested in improving wound care simulation. Lastly, the successful study paired seasoned and inexperienced researchers and students, whose input was valuable. “It was an opportunity to show the students that research can be fun,” Roberson said. “It doesn’t have to be dry-boned.” ■

Above, Dr. Donna Roberson, left, and Dr. Janice Neil led a study of wound care simulation to determine if malodors improved student confidence and coping strategies. Imported cheeses were used to create realistic wound odor.

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The Business of Nursing Advancing nurse leaders at the bedside and in the boardroom By Erica Plouffe Lazure

The greater aim of ECU’s nursing leadership concentration is to have a better-educated nursing management workforce to help address the critical nursing shortage in eastern North Carolina and beyond.

Think of East Carolina University’s nursing leadership concentration as an advanced degree in patient safety and advocacy, designed to bring success to those on the front lines of health care. “Nursing is inseparably linked to patient safety, and to ensure patient safety, it’s important to consider the nurses’ working environment,” said Dr. Elaine Scott, assistant professor and director of the college’s MSN in nursing leadership concentration and the East Carolina Center for Nursing Leadership. “Our program is charged with educating nurses who can be leaders in a health care environment that is increasingly chaotic; to help them be innovative and creative; and to follow the mandate to keep patients safe – and to do it inexpensively,” Scott said. Now in its third year, ECU’s nursing leadership concentration has grown from six students to more than 50, providing nurses from across the state with the skills and tools to help them and those they manage maneuver

through today’s hospitals and care facilities. Valarie Gatlin was one of the college’s first nursing leadership graduates and in April became administrator of transplant and surgical services at Pitt County Memorial Hospital, where she has worked 22 years. Scott asked Gatlin to serve on a focus group that served as pioneers of the East

nurse from the bedside with demonstrated leadership skills to manage a nursing unit. The nurse is usually unaware of all the components to managing a unit. Identified nurse leaders need the tools to be successful.” Culturally diverse mentors and strong nurse leaders are needed to support, build confidence and encourage nurse managers industry-wide.

Carolina Center for Nursing Leadership, whose mission is to mobilize nurses to become effective partners and leaders in creating healthier communities in eastern North Carolina. “Nurses are right in the center. You can’t have quality health care without the nurse,” Gatlin said. “You take a staff

“There are many culturally diverse nurses with potential to lead, but they need help recognizing their strengths,” she said. They also have to be given the opportunity to lead. “I believe the first step in being an outstanding leader is to get involved, both in the workplace and in your

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“A good visionary leader has to help improve quality of care,” said Valarie Gatlin, administrator of transplant and surgical services at Pitt County Memorial Hospital, where she has worked 22 years.

community,” Gatlin said. The greater aim of ECU’s nursing leadership concentration, Scott said, is to have a better-educated nursing management workforce to help address the critical nursing shortage in eastern North Carolina and beyond. To achieve this goal, faculty members have netted more than $430,000 in grants in the past three years to provide outreach networks for nurses, to design a distanceeducation curriculum tailored toward working nurses, and to develop on-campus specialized student leadership courses and professional opportunities for graduate students and undergraduates. For example, for the past

three years, ECU’s BB&T Leadership Enhancement Fund has provided $20,000 annually for internships, assistantships, and conference fees for nursing students. An important part of helping nurses in the region’s 29 counties become better advocates is to help them to see each other as mentors and allies, Scott said. A combined $375,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Duke Endowment, Northwest Healthcare Foundation and the Pitt Memorial Hospital Foundation has enabled Scott and her colleagues to develop Partners for Rural Nursing, a program which has led to a 25-member Rural Nursing

Council in Greene, Jones and Lenoir counties as well as mentorship programs for nurse leaders across eastern North Carolina. Additional rural nursing councils will be developed in other counties in the coming months. Outreach, said Scott, is a critical aspect to better preparing nurses. Others include working with Wayne County’s Hispanic Community Development Center to provide information in Spanish about nursing and nursing careers. Grants from the ECU Beta Nu chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, and the Council on Graduate Education for Administration in Nursing, have funded two surveys.

The surveys revealed that 56 percent of the state’s nurse managers have only an associate’s degree and little to no formal training in leadership. Scott said it’s critical for nurse leaders – who are often the least educated among their institutions’ leaders – to have strong management, budgetary and interpersonal skills that will enable them to be better advocates for their patients and those who care for them. “There is a need for our nurse leaders to be bettereducated,” she said. “They are going into meetings with colleagues who have master’s degrees and MBAs.” To better facilitate educational opportunities for nurses,

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“Our program is charged with educating nurses who can be leaders in a health care environment that is increasingly chaotic; to help them be innovative and creative; and to follow the mandate to keep patients safe – and to do it inexpensively,” said Dr. Elaine Scott, assistant professor and director of the MSN in nursing leadership concentration and the East Carolina Center for Nursing Leadership.

Scott said she is looking at developing more streamlined academic programs for nurses who receive their associate’s degrees at community colleges and want to earn a bachelor’s or master’s degree at ECU. “Seventy percent of those we surveyed recognize the need to go back to school, but they struggle with access, coordination and financing,” she said. The distance education model, she said, enables the nurses to both continue their careers and pursue their schooling. A registered nurse can earn BSN and MSN degrees online. Gatlin began with an associate’s degree in nursing from Pitt Community College and has worked as a surgical and cardiac surgery intensive care nurse throughout her career. After 10 years on the floor, she earned her bachelor’s degree from ECU in 1998 and honed her leadership skills teaching and mentoring new nurses on night shift when the hospital

opened its cardiac surgery intermediate unit. She became a nurse educator but missed the bedside. Upon her return, she became an assistant nurse manager for cardiac surgery. “I feel when I reach a goal, I need to move on to another goal, so that’s when I decided to go back to obtain my master’s degree,” Gatlin said, noting that PCMH has supported her involvement in local and statewide organizations. She serves as president of the state’s Great 100 board and vice president of the ECU Beta Nu chapter of Sigma Theta

Tau, the international honor society of nursing. She earned her master’s degree in 2006, managed the hospital’s ambulatory surgery unit for about three years and now leads four surgical units: orthopedics, general surgery, surgery intermediate and intensive care. “A good visionary leader has to help improve quality of care,” Gatlin said. “I’ll always take it back to the patient. We need nurse leaders who know how to make transforming changes and who will create new knowledge around the

management of health care delivery.” The very human demands of patient services mandate that nurse leaders take a different approach to its management, Scott said. “It is the nurse leader who oversees patient care and is oftentimes the advocate for the patient in the hospital system,” Scott said. “We need to find ways to organize the delivery of patient care in a way that is both cost effective and safe, and measure those outcomes. We’re not manufacturing a car. We’re saving lives.” ■

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Nurses know best Members of the Lenoir, Greene, Jones nursing council include Rosalind McDonald, front, and Elaine Penual, Tim Crone and Bertha Moore, all from Lenoir Memorial Hospital.

Identifying, solving workforce issues at home By Crystal Baity A landmark coalition in partnership with East Carolina University is striving to nurture future nurses and retain experienced ones in eastern North Carolina. Twenty nurses from Lenoir, Greene and Jones counties are regularly meeting to identify and solve workforce issues in their communities. It is the first of three nursing leadership councils that ECU will help set up in the 29-county area east of

Interstate 95. “As far as we know, this is the first time we’re pulling nurses together to create a vision for the community,” said Donna Lake, a former military nurse and coordinator for the Lenoir, Greene, Jones Nursing Council. “We’re the facilitators to get the communities to identify some of the issues they face. Local nurses know best what they need.” The council is made up of nurses from all areas: hospitals, public health departments, schools, outpatient, home health agencies and more.

Three broad goals have emerged: recruit, retain and replenish, said Becky Foyles, nurse educator at Lenoir Community College in Kinston. “We need to be sure we’re educating the nurses to meet our needs,” Foyles said. “Our workforce is important because of people living longer. We’ve got to have nurses who are knowledgeable and available to make sure we’re not struggling when we need those nurses at the bedside.” Foyles (BSN ’98, MSN ’03) is a 31-year veteran with more

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Front, Anna Weaver, vice president for surgical services, and Valarie Gatlin, administrator of transplant and surgical services, both at PCMH, ensure top-quality patient care.

than 25 years experience as a hospital nurse. She received her licensed practical nurse degree from Lenoir Community College in 1976 and an associate’s degree from Wilson Community College in 1980. She returned to the classroom the next decade to begin working on her undergraduate and graduate degrees. She has taught at LCC since 2001. “Our group is bringing all the voices together,” Foyles said. “My need is no greater than public health or school nursing. I want to be part of improving the profession, educating the public and looking at strategies for solving the nursing shortage.” A 2006 study released by the North Carolina Center for Nursing suggests the state is at the beginning of a nursing shortage that will rapidly grow more severe as nurses

and the general population get older and the state gains more residents. By 2020, the state will need an estimated 108,000 full-time registered nurses but will have only about 76,000 nurses – approximately 70 percent of what is needed. In rural eastern North Carolina, nurses often leave the area to work in larger medical centers. It’s important to find ways to reward and recognize area nurses so they stay in the region and take care of the local communities. The best way to do that is to ask those nurses what they want and need, said Elaine Scott, assistant professor and director of the East Carolina Center for Nursing Leadership at ECU. Giving nurses a voice in helping to solve their own workforce issues was part of the motivation behind the grant which initiated the council.

Scott and Beth Nelson, grants writer with the Pitt Memorial Hospital Foundation, spearhead the Robert Wood Johnson Partners in Nursing grant, one of 11 funded across the nation. Lake serves as coordinator of the grant. Two additional councils are being planned in the Onslow and Bertie county areas. Scott thought about how often nurses don’t have the time to escape to neutral ground to think about workforce issues. Since the first meeting, the nurses have given their time to the council, which goes to the origin of nursing, Scott said. “They recognize the need because there is so little opportunity for this kind of stimulation,” Scott said. “Rather than seeing each other as competitors, they now see

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each other as collaborators.” Judi Brown (BSN ’75, MAEd ’82), an allied health science teacher at South Lenoir High School in Deep Run and former nursing instructor, said the formation of the Lenoir, Greene, Jones nursing council has been an excellent way for nurses to network. “I have enjoyed our meetings, which I believe have been effective in the positive promotion of the nursing field. Looking at effective ways to recruit and promote job satisfaction in nursing has been a key element in our efforts,” Brown said. Bolstering the image of the modern nurse will attract more people to the profession, Scott said. “There is this worn out, frayed image of a female who is soft, gentle and caring, but the reality is nursing is very

chaotic, science-based, rapid thinking, high energy and requires tremendous math and science skills,” she said. “Kids don’t know what nursing is.” The council will meet with middle and high school counselors in the area to go over requirements for getting into ECU’s College of Nursing, which has high admission standards and the state’s highest pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination for registered nurses. These same skills are needed to be successful in community college associate degree programs. New nurses make on average $45,000 a year upon graduation, Scott said. Building strong nurse satisfaction and the right mix in the workforce will lead to better retention. Mentoring will play a large role, with the council suggesting the

formation of a “white cap” society for older, more experienced nurses to mentor new nurses or nurse managers. Succession planning for leadership also is needed, Scott said. “Before long, we will be ‘passing the torch’ to a whole new group of nurses who have never known anything but new technology and how to integrate those technologies for the future,” added Brown, a National Board Certified Teacher. “Every meeting has given us fresh ideas to take back, study and think about how we can take health care in our counties into the coming decades. As a member of this partnership, I hope we can map effective plans to recruit and retain nurses as well as promote superior health care in our service area.” ■

Front, Felicia Collins, case management services manager, and Darren Anderson, case management services supervisor, both at PCMH, lead a large team.

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Click and connect Web site strengthens community partnerships By Crystal Baity Longtime professor Alta Andrews officially retired in April, but an innovative online tool she helped initiate in the East Carolina University College of Nursing lives on. Community partners can “talk to” university partners and students can connect with faculty through the college’s Web site called Exchange. The site makes communication easier since the college has more than 800 contracts across the country to precept nursing students. “We wanted to create a sense of community but also wanted to be able to talk with all the agencies that help with nursing education,” said Andrews, former associate dean for community partnerships and practice. “We named it Exchange because we wanted it to be free flowing.” Exchange began about three years ago when the college received a federal grant for its family nurse practitioner concentration, a totally online graduate curriculum. “It all boiled down to communication,” Andrews said. “There are issues that nurses need to discuss with colleagues we don’t see face-to-face. There may be topics that are internal to nurses but not to ECU as a whole.” The grant helped fund the design, and the college’s technology team provided the rest. Faculty wanted a modern, appealing look that was easy-to-navigate. All areas require registration with a user name and password. An E-mentoring program for the adult and family nurse practitioner concentrations was included as part of the grant proposal, said Kimberly B. Hardy, clinical assistant professor. The goal of the E-mentoring program is to retain students, but unexpected benefits have resulted too. Graduates have maintained contact with mentors and the site has acted as a recruitment tool for students from rural areas who are more likely to

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Kimberly B. Hardy, clinical assistant professor, began an e-mentoring program for adult and family nurse practitioner students enrolled in the distance education concentration.

“We wanted to create a sense of community but also wanted to be able to talk with all the agencies that help with nursing education,” said Dr. Alta Andrews, retired professor and associate dean for community partnerships and practice.

return to their community to provide health care services, Hardy said. The program gives students the opportunity to network with nine volunteer mentors, experienced nurse practitioners working in eastern North Carolina, and receive valuable support and advice on practice issues, employment options, continuing education, stress and time management, just to name a few, Hardy said. “Online education is very different from a face-to-face classroom experience,” she said. “The student stays in their community and may feel isolated as they transition from the R.N. role to the advanced practitioner registered nurse role. The mentors understand the student’s experience and provide non-judgmental, confidential support. This helps the student feel connected.” Students sometimes just need to be reassured they can make it through graduate school while balancing life’s responsibilities. “Most students are working and have families,” Andrews said. Helen Reilly is a volunteer mentor, preceptor and family nurse practitioner in Brody School of Medicine’s Department of Cardiovascular Sciences. As a liaison for the eastern region of the Council of Nurse Practitioners of the North Carolina Nurses Association, Reilly has used Exchange to

post information on industry issues and job openings. “With everyone being longdistance learners, this is another avenue to keep the lines of communication open and to let them know there is someone at the other end of the computer,” said Reilly, who has been a nurse for 36 years. “We’ve all been there, and we just need to support each other.” After the initial start-up with nurse practitioners, the site expanded college-wide. “It has been amazing,” Andrews said. “Several concentrations in the graduate program are using it to post information that you wouldn’t put on the official Web site or on Blackboard.”

Among the many features of Exchange are the following: • Clinical “pearls” • Continuing education opportunities • Discussion boards • Employment opportunities • Faculty-only pages • Family information • Links and resources • Photo galleries, especially helpful in online curriculums where students rarely go on campus • Pre-planning for preceptors that includes forms and information about educating nursing students on site. “What we are discovering is that it is limited only by our imagination and how many people use it,” Andrews said.

“It’s one of those things that will never be finished.” Andrews said as the site evolves, she would like to see increased use by undergraduate students. “While our technological innovations have afforded us this site, nothing replaces the human interaction and communication that will develop as a result of this site,” said Dr. Sylvia Brown, professor and acting dean, in her welcome on the Exchange Web site. Echoes Andrews: “It feels like the ECU College of Nursing. We’re not a cold place. We’re a friendly place. We’re very connected to professionals.” ■

Andrews retires after 31 years in the College of Nursing Dr. Alta Andrews has a little more time to tend her flowers and vegetables. Andrews, former associate dean for community partnerships and practice and a pillar of the College of Nursing, retired April 30. Friends, neighbors and colleagues, who often receive something freshly-picked from her garden, say she continually shares with others. “Once you meet her, you realize how much she cares about those around her,” said Acting Dean Sylvia Brown in announcing Andrews’ retirement.

Last fall, Andrews co-chaired the State Employee’s Combined Giving Campaign for ECU as she had for many years in the college. “This is Alta – always willing to give and then give more to the people and organizations that come into her vision,” said Brown, who grew up with Andrews in the same Duplin County town of Beulaville. Andrews received a bachelor’s degree in nursing from ECU and joined the family and community nursing faculty in 1977 after earning a master’s degree from the University of North

Carolina at Chapel Hill. She earned a doctorate in 1989 and another master’s degree in 1991. She received five outstanding faculty awards and an outstanding mentor award. She was integral in adding the nurse practitioner and midwifery concentrations. She helped direct grant projects totaling $2.7 million during her tenure.

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Briefcase in hand,

nurse at heart Diane Poole ’81 ’88 serves as executive vice president of Pitt County Memorial Hospital, flagship of University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina, where she oversees matters large and small. For Poole, patients come first — and that usually means nurses do, too.

“Nursing is a wonderful career with many opportunities.” – Diane Poole

By Marion Blackburn From the staff room to the boardroom and through some of health care’s biggest changes, Diane Poole‘s 37-year year career has taken her to the heights of the profession as a hospital and health system executive. The one thing this ’81 BSN and ’88 MSN graduate has never done? “I wouldn’t let my nursing license lapse for anything,” she said. “I began my career taking care of patients, and I’ll always keep patient care in the fore-

front of my mind.” Poole today serves as executive vice president at Pitt County Memorial Hospital, the flagship institution of University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina. The hospital, well-known to decades of nursing students from their clinical rotations, saw 266,000 outpatients and 33,000 inpatients in 2007 — and had a $717 million budget. Poole is responsible for matters macro to micro, from housekeeping to operating rooms, overseeing most aspects of hospital operations. She’s

navigated surveys, accreditations, evaluations and assessments. Helped steer a major health care organization to financial improvements and watched over a workforce of nearly 6,500. Yet even with these considerable responsibilities, Poole remains a compassionate listener, an interested mentor and an engaged executive, said those who work with her. She was named the College of Nursing’s Distinguished Alumna for 2007, an award recognizing her exemplary contributions to the profes-

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Alumna Diane Poole was the College of Nursing’s featured convocation speaker in May. “I’m an example of all the different things you can do, the contributions you can make in the span of a career. I can’t think of any other profession where you can do so much.”

sion. In May, she served as the College of Nursing’s featured convocation speaker. “Nursing is a wonderful career with many opportunities,” she said. “I’m an example of all the different things you can do, the contributions you can make in the span of a career. I can’t think of any other profession where you can do so much.” The path began as it often did in those days, with a diploma in 1971 from Lenoir Memorial Hospital in Kinston, where she lived next door in the nursing dorm. Her father was a career Marine, and she attended high school in Jacksonville. She worked first at N.C. Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill and then Lenoir Memorial before her tenure began at PCMH in Greenville. She rose into management and served as vice president for nursing for several years. In her executive roles, she initiated ventures including the successful community health programs that gave rise to the school health nurse program, pediatric asthma program and home health care. She also served as chief planning officer and chief quality officer for the health system before

returning to the hospital in her current role. Those years saw an explosion in growth, as PCMH grew from a single organization to the leading institution of a regional health care network. The hospital and system stayed healthy despite the uncertainties that hit many health care institutions. Poole believes small victories and attention to patient care and staff well-being make the difference. “For nurses who are taking care of patients and managing units, their primary concern is having the resources, people, supplies and time they need to care for patients and their families,” Poole said. “It’s sometimes hard to connect the financial, legal and regulatory world with the everyday world of patient care, and I want to make sure no one feels administrative decisions stand in the way of outstanding patient care.” When staff members expressed concerns with the hospital’s new automatic supply dispenser system that keeps inventories current, she oversaw the addition of supply clerks to help them. “If you run short of IV tubing or need a procedure kit and you have to go to the

supply machine and enter a code but find an item is not there when your patients have immediate, pressing needs, it can be frustrating,” she said. “But with clerks on hand seven days a week, they can make sure supplies are taken care of on the unit. It was important for us to address that staff concern.” She also advocated for new workplace models to ease an ongoing nursing shortage. “We continue to recruit good nurses, but if there aren’t enough out there for us to hire, we have to help our staff nurses in other ways,” she explained. “One way was to add more nursing assistants. We can’t always hire all the nurses we need, but we can bring on assistants to pair with our nurses to help them complete their workload.” For more than a year she has served as executive vice president at the hospital, a job with manifold pressures, from clinical operations to patient care to staff satisfaction. How does she deal with the pressures? “It’s not really about me or my role,” she said. “It’s about making sure the structure is in place to run independently.” In her personal life, she has been asked to help her family in difficult times. Her

father and mother experienced extended illnesses before they died, and she has helped other family members create plans for their care. “Once you’re a nurse, your clinical background becomes part of who you are,” she said. As an executive, that’s equally true. “Diane is closely connected to patients,“ said long-time colleague Joan Wynn, Ph.D. ’07, vice president of quality for University Health Systems. “She’s taken that core value to a senior executive position and has a practical, balanced approach that comes from her experiences in the real world and from her many years in leadership positions. “She is also a role model,” Wynn added, “one of those people who make you want to excel.” Reflecting warmly on her education at the College of Nursing, Poole said the advanced coursework she completed there gave her new eyes for complex issues. She counts many faculty members among her friends. “I’ve been fortunate to maintain a great working relationship with the college,“ she said. “I’ve been so proud to watch it grow through the years.” ■

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Charting her own course Hettie Peele leads by example By Jeannine Manning Hutson Hettie Peele doesn’t have much free time, but when she does, she loves to curl up and watch Turner Classic Movies. And her favorite actress? Bette Davis. “She was willing to take risks. She had integrity. She believed in herself,” Peele said. She could be talking about herself. Peele anticipates graduating from East Carolina University next summer with her master’s degree, concentration in nursing education, and then she hopes to be accepted into the ECU College of Nursing doctoral program next fall. “It is my long-term goal to teach at a college of nursing,” said Peele, who also works on the medicine-surgery unit at Pitt County Memorial Hospital. “I’m getting a full graduate student experience, not just from courses but the personal development,” she said. “I’m growing in leadership, personal and professional development. The ECU College of Nursing has been a turning point in my life.” Peele has been a nurse for 18 years. She earned her associate’s degree of nursing from Pitt Community College in 1991, and that was after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1978 with a degree in psychology. She taught high school health occupations courses in Pitt County for eight years in the mid-1990s and 2003-06. “I see former students who work as nurses now at PCMH or who are enrolled at the College of Nursing. That’s rewarding,” she said. In the summer of 2006, she earned her RN-to-BSN degree at ECU and promptly enrolled in the master’s program. “How did all of that happen? I always had an interest in health care, but I didn’t feel like I could do it,” Peele said.

“That’s why I’m interesting in teaching. If they have that dream, then it should be nurtured and fostered.” For several years, Peele worked in rehabilitation nursing. “I think that opened my eyes to teaching. You are teaching for discharge, not just the patient but also the family. So teaching high school was a natural transition and now as a staff nurse I have the opportunity to be engaged with the nursing students to answer their questions. I remember when I was a nursing student and a novice nurse,” she said. Dr. Martha Libster, associate professor of nursing at ECU, called Peele “a rising star” in nursing education. She taught Peele in two courses and said her passion for nursing is obvious, as are her natural leadership skills. “Hettie knows being a really fantastic educator starts with knowing herself really well and finding the humanity in what she does, so I can see why she would be attracted to Bette Davis,” Libster said. “Hettie is a good listener, a great student and really cares about people. All of those qualities bode well for a fantastic educatorin-the-making. The fact that she wants to work with pre-licensure students — that humanity of nursing work that is really needed in pre-licensure nursing programs across the country — is wonderful.” Libster also noted that Peele is not only studying to be a nursing educator but also honing her leadership skills through her participation with several organizations, including serving as secretary and now president of the Nursing Graduate Student Organization and vice-president of the ECU Graduate and Professional Student Senate. “I believe that’s how you become a leader. You become engaged,” Peele said.

She also participated in the ECU Leadership Challenge Institute, sponsored by the ECU Center for Student Leadership and Civic Engagement, and represented ECU at the Leader Shape Institute, which was designed to empower student leaders to “lead with integrity.” Libster said that Peele is on her way to becoming a wonderful addition to a nursing faculty in the future. “I know her goal is to be a professor, and as an African-American woman to be a professor in nursing is to be in a leadership role, and she is well on her way,” Libster said. “She has been building leadership qualities and skills and has won numerous awards. And she is growing exponentially and is well on her way to meeting her goals academically, professionally and personally.” Even though working full time and pursuing her master’s degree leaves little free time, Peele said, “These are the best years of my life. I’m in the process of becoming the person I’m destined to be.” Peele praised the ECU nursing faculty for their nurturing of her as a student and a future nursing educator. “The relationship with the faculty has helped me grow as a person,” she said. “They have not only shown the personal touch in nursing while teaching the curriculum, but also exemplifying the essence of nursing, caring about their students and the profession. That’s why I want to continue to my Ph.D., and then I can pass it along to another Hettie.” She added: “All of my professors are helping me find my voice as a future nurse educator and develop my teaching philosophy. I’m weaving together my tapestry and my voice as a future nurse educator, and the College of Nursing has given me that foundation.” ■

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The ECU group poses with staff from La Union, which helped organize the trip.

Tome el cuidado

Students teach lessons in health to children of Guatemala By Doug Boyd Painting a school. Climbing a volcano. Keeping a dictionary handy at dinner. That’s how students and faculty members from the East Carolina University College of Nursing spent part of their time during a study abroad course in May to Guatemala. But they weren’t there as tourists. Instead, students were there to learn Spanish, assist with health care in rural communities and teach children important lessons in preventive health. From May 12-23, 13

students lived, worked and learned in the Guatemalan town of San Miguel Escobar, a village in the south-central portion of the country. Students spent half their time in language classes and half in various community health care settings. They lived with local families. Dr. Kim Larson and Melissa Ott organized the trip as part of the course, “Perspectives in International Community Health Nursing.” In her previous job as dean of nursing at Barton College in Wilson, Larson traveled to Honduras and Peru. In the 1970s, she

worked in the Peace Corps and lived in Honduras. She came to ECU to further her research into Latino health care issues. Ott is a clinical assistant professor who came to ECU two years ago from the University of New Hampshire. While there, she co-taught an international course in Guatemala. “Very worthwhile,” is how Larson summed up the Guatemala trip. It challenged students, expanding their notions of what is “beyond the Western model of health care and U.S. living,” she said. Students enjoyed the simplicity

of life that centered around family, Larson added. Larson and Ott spent two years planning the trip. The Guatemalan educational organization La Union Centro Linguistico helped make on-site arrangements. The goal of the trip and the course as a whole was to establish a partnership between the College of Nursing and an indigenous Mayan community to ensure on-going community health outreach projects and to teach future nurses the cultural ways and needs of one of the many Latino populations living in the United States.

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Above, students teach handwashing. At right, students learn how to cook tortillas.

Financial support for the students was available from the Thomas Rivers International Fund and the Blythe-Kinsland-Kirkpatrick International Fund for Nursing. Some students received up to $400 each from these funds. “We’ve gotten a lot of support from the College of Nursing, and that’s been wonderful,” Larson said. Altogether, 10 seniors and three juniors traveled to Guatemala, along with a nurse practitioner and ECU alumnae, Donna Nelson, who also wanted the experience. To prepare, Larson, Ott and the students held weekly lunch meetings called mesa Latina, where they practiced Spanish and worked to lower the students’ anxiety about traveling to a developing country. Another key resource was classmate Fredy Lopez, who emigrated eight years ago from Guatemala. Students

also read numerous articles about international health care, medical outreach and the impact of immigration on families and communities. Guatemala is south of Mexico. A northeast strip borders the Caribbean Sea, and the Pacific Ocean is on the southern boarder. Most of the country is mountainous. Its 12.7 million people have a per capita income of $5,000, but income is skewed. Approximately 7.1 million Guatemalans live below the country’s poverty line, according to the CIA World Factbook.

Getting to work After flying from Raleigh to Atlanta then on to Guatemala City, the students settled in with their host families. Every morning after breakfast, students attended Spanish class, and in the afternoon they were involved in community service projects. At

the end of each day, students went home to discuss their work, eat supper and help with chores. Families had to make do with just a few gallons of water each day, and showers had to be short. Hot water was even scarcer. Students worked in groups to complete their community service projects. In Santa Maria de Jesus, students provided children with a nutritious snack and created a bingo game to teach how certain foods strengthen different parts of the body. In Alotenango, students wrote and taught a song about tooth-brushing to another group of children, providing each child with toothbrushes, toothpaste and school supplies. At this school, the ECU team spent the rest of the afternoon painting the walls with a needed coat of turquoise paint. The children responded with a song of thanks for the visit. “The children were just so

Student Casey Hill, right, poses with her host family.

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Maggie Blakemore of Edenton, front, is followed by Candice Wickes of Hillsborough and faculty member Melissa Ott and other nursing students as they walk toward a hospital where they will work. Above, women wash clothes at the community wash area in Antigua, Guatemala.

grateful,” said senior Natalie Evans of Winterville. Though the students attended language classes every day, managing to communicate in a different tongue even for basic information was challenging but rewarding. “It was a good crash course,” Evans said. “It was a little frustrating at times, but it was better to do that, be surrounded by people who speak Spanish, to be forced to do that. We really had to get out the book, the dictionary, and go through it. It was really a barrier we had to go through on a daily basis just to have dinner. At the end, I felt I had accomplished something, definitely.” Evans hopes to pursue her family nurse practitioner degree and work in community nursing. Though she got

homesick and missed the relatively clean air of eastern North Carolina – cooking fires and smoke-belching vehicles keep the air of San Miguel Escobar heavy with smog – she also plans to return to Central America. “I definitely want to go and do more outreach trips,” she said. “I thought it was a really good experience, and I want to do more.” One day, the host organization scheduled a medical outreach clinic in Vuelta Grande, a mountainous rural pueblo with limited access to health care. To prepare, students went to local pharmacies to purchase necessary medicines and supplies. They had to negotiate with pharmacists in Spanish. At the clinic, while some students gathered health histories from Spanish-

speaking mothers and grandmothers, others wrote instructions for prescribed medications. Students overcame the language barrier, playing and comforting children while mothers had time alone with the providers. Another day, students learned about natural healing practices from a Mayan curandero, or folk healer. He described the practices as a combination of spiritual and herbal treatment. His explanation of medicinal plants and their healing properties included geranium, basil, sage and white lilies. These plants, along with candles, spices, incense, liquor and tobacco, help remove negative energy and evil spirits in people who seek care, he said. A few students participated in a healing ritual and said they felt a little better afterward.

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Student Casey Hill of Windsor helps paint a Guatemalan school. The determination of the Guatemalan people in the face of extreme poverty struck Hill. “It’s so fulfilling to see what other people go through and we’re so fortunate to have.”

‘Once-in-a-lifetime experience’ Student Casey Hill of Windsor had never left the United States except for a high school trip to Mexico, a tourist jaunt that didn’t give her much taste for the locale. She was understandably anxious about spending 12 days in Guatemala. “I’m a homebody and a mama’s baby, and this is the first time I have ever done anything like this, and I’m very nervous,” Hill said a week before leaving. “I’m scared.” But, she added, “It was somewhere I wanted to go and be a part of.” Perhaps her nervousness was well-founded. Hill came down with traveler’s sickness for a couple of days but said after she recovered she had a great time. She especially

enjoyed interacting with the local children they were there to help, teaching them how to wash their hands, brush their teeth and eat well. Like Evans, Hill kept a dictionary with her at suppertime to help her communicate with her host family. The determination of the Guatemalan people in the face of extreme poverty struck Hill. “It made me realize why they come here illegally,” Hill said. “They need the money. The parents love their children, and that’s why they come here.” Hill encouraged other students and graduates who have an opportunity to travel to do so. “It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and they should not give that chance up,” she said. “It’s so fulfilling to see what

other people go through and we’re so fortunate to have.” Student Kristen Blell agreed. “It broadens your world, opens your eyes to new things and new experiences.” Blell said she became so attached to her host family, she cried when she left them to return to the United States. Larson and Ott hope to organize annual trips to Mayan pueblos for health outreach projects, primarily in preventive care, to benefit each community and establish a relationship between the communities and the College of Nursing. The students, Larson said, were enthusiastic about international work and learning about other cultures. “Many of the students told me that they would like to go back next year,” she said. ■

The following students traveled to Guatemala: Chandra Biggerstaff Greenville Maggie Blakemore Edenton Kristen Blell Sanford Nina Block Minnesota Lauren Boyd Winston-Salem Renea Devero Havelock Natalie Evans Winterville Casey Hill Windsor Molly Montsinger Durham Hope New Rocky Mount Angel Peele Greenville Dana Stroup Raleigh Candice Wickes Hillsborough

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Endowment named for ECU Chancellor Emeritus Richard R. Eakin College recruiting nurse scientist to research health needs of eastern North Carolinians By Crystal Baity The College of Nursing’s first endowed distinguished professorship has been named in honor of East Carolina University Chancellor Emeritus Richard R. Eakin. “There is none more deserving,” said ECU Chancellor Steve Ballard at the December announcement. Eakin served as ECU chancellor from 1987 to 2001. During that time, the university grew by 5,000 students, achieved doctoral status and saw the passage of a bond referendum responsible for the construction of the new Health Sciences Building, home to the College of Nursing. The $1 million endowment in the college is made possible by a $667,000 challenge grant from the C.D. Spangler Foundation Inc. and $333,000 in state matching funds from the Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund, created by the N.C. General Assembly in 1985. The Spangler Foundation committed $6.9 million to fund an endowed distin-

guished professorship at each of the 16 University of North Carolina institutions in 2007. Endowed professorships range from $500,000 to $2 million. Eligible disciplines include high-need fields of education, engineering, nursing and the traditional arts and sciences. The Spangler Foundation named the professorships. Ballard thanked the Spangler Foundation and lauded the College of Nursing, its leadership and distance education programs and its role in providing new nurse graduates to North Carolina’s workforce. Dr. Phyllis Horns, former dean of nursing who now serves as interim vice chancellor for the Division of Health Sciences and interim dean of the Brody School of Medicine, said Eakin hired her and she has always appreciated his support. “Dick was instrumental in getting the Ph.D. program in nursing. He was also chancellor when we got the nurse midwifery program, which is the only one in the state,” Horns said. Eakins was instrumental in the expansion

of the Rivers Building, which helped alleviate overcrowding in nursing’s former location, and in the development of the Health Sciences Building, she said. “His chancellorship has meant a lot to this university and the College of Nursing,” Horns said. “What we do with this professorship will reflect the high standards you’ve set.” The Richard R. Eakin Distinguished Professorship will support the recruitment of a nurse scientist who has a history of funded research in an area that addresses the health needs of eastern North Carolinians. Dr. Sylvia Brown, acting dean of the College of Nursing, thanked the Spangler Foundation and noted that the college has worked many years to develop an endowed professorship. “We hope to attract an outstanding scholar and researcher,” Brown said. “Ultimately, the students will reap the benefits of this generous gift.” Brown said Eakin has agreed to serve on the board of the Center for Nursing Leadership

in addressing workforce nursing issues in eastern North Carolina. She presented Eakin with a miniature “Thinking Man’s Chair” in recognition of the professorship and for his excellence in leadership and higher education. Eakin thanked everyone, especially the generosity of Spangler, who hired Eakin as chancellor. He said he was honored to have the professorship named for him. “I’m particularly thrilled it is given to the College of

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I am an ECU nurse Number students applied for undergraduate admissions (2007-08) BSN – 447 RN-BSN – 138 Number students admitted to undergraduate program (2007-08) BSN – 276 RN-BSN – 79 Number students admitted to graduate program (2007-08) Master’s – 404 Doctoral – 22 Students are from: NC Counties: Alexander, Beaufort, Bertie, Brunswick, Buncombe,

Burke, Camden, Carteret, Catawba, Craven, Cumberland, Duplin, Durham, Forsyth, Gaston, Granville, Guilford, Halifax, Henderson, Hoke, Johnson, Lenoir, Lincoln, Martin, Mecklenburg, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Onslow, Orange, Pitt, Robeson, Sampson, Stokes, Surry, Union, Wake, Wayne, Wilson, Yadkin. Other states: Alabama, California, New Mexico, New York, South

Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Utah, Washington Enrollment for 2007-08 BSN – 475

RN-BSN – 89

MSN Concentrations:

Nursing,” Eakin said. “It’s a college entirely worthy of this great honor.” Beginning this year, the Spangler Foundation will invest up to $20 million over five years to help each campus qualify for one additional endowed chair each year, potentially adding 80 professorships systemwide. The plan is contingent on the N.C. General Assembly providing state matching funds annually through the Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust

Fund. Started to encourage the creation of endowed chairs, the trust has provided matching funds for more than 300 professorships in the UNC system. Previously, Spangler and his family foundation have made donations to endow or complete 37 distinguished professorships across the system. A successful Charlotte businessman and advocate for public education at all levels, Spangler served as UNC President from 1986 to 1997. n

Adult Nurse Practitioner - 45 Nursing Education - 72 Nurse Anesthesia - 37 Nurse Midwifery - 26 Alternate Entry MSN - 22

Clinical Nurse Specialist - 33 Family Nurse Practitioner - 103 Nursing Leadership - 47 Neonatal Nurse Practitioner - 69 PhD - 22

Females/males ratio for Spring 2008: BSN – 421 females, 54 males (475) RN-BSN – 82 females, 7 males (89) MSN – 364 females, 40 males (404) PhD – 20 females, 2 males (22)

Other degrees held by graduate students in the alternate entry MSN option: Biological sciences, education, exercise physiology, humanities, kinesiology, business administration, physiology, political science, divinity, public health, microbiology, classical studies, psychology, textile and apparel management, art history Average GPA admitted into undergraduate program 3.53

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Dr. Sylvia Brown dontated $10 in the name of each first semester nursing student. Following Brown’s lead, the 2008 graduating class gave $475 to the college’s emergency needs fund as their class gift. Brown, left, congratulates Hope Freeman who was named outstanding student in her class at convocation.

Giving back ECU College of Nursing establishes emergency needs fund By Crystal Baity The 2008 graduating class followed the lead of Acting Dean of Nursing Dr. Sylvia Brown. As their class gift, senior nursing students gave $475 to the College of Nursing’s emergency needs fund. The fund was established last fall to help nursing students with financial crises. Brown donated $10 in the name of each first semester nursing student to implement the emergency needs fund. With 130 new nursing

students, the fund began with $1,300. The goal is two-fold. Awards will be available to assist students during times of financial hardship, while the college develops a philanthropic environment to introduce and encourage a lifetime of giving by students. “This is an innovative way to meet an immediate emergency need while looking ahead to create a sustainable trend of giving back among our graduates,” Brown said. “We will develop student loyalty to this fund through trans-

parency and frequent updates to the students regarding the types of emergencies that are funded. When they graduate in two years, they will want to contribute in order to offset emergency needs encountered by future students.” Erika W. Best, president of the East Carolina Association of Nursing Students, said the fund is greatly needed because nursing students, besides typical costs for books and student fees, also pay for uniforms, stethoscopes and other fees and transportation to and from clinical sites.

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When a financial emergency arises, it quickly can become a crisis and interfere with learning. “This fund is the nursing school’s way of reaching their hand out to a student in need and pulling them up,” said Best of Goldsboro. “Some students are fortunate to have additional help from family to offset these expenses, but others are self-sufficient and must take care of these on their own. Our course load makes it difficult to hold a job outside of school. For those students who have no other

option, this is an increased burden. This fund will be greatly beneficial to those students that are working hard for their success and need a helping hand.” Mark Alexander, director of development for the College of Nursing, said the gift will encourage nursing alumni to give back to their college following graduation. “The emergency relief fund is a project that directly effects and supports all of us. We will be able to reap the benefits of this project now and by doing so we should be encouraged to

give back so that other students will have the same benefits in the future,” Best said. University leaders anticipate that other colleges will follow suit in establishing a similar annual dean’s gift, Alexander said. “This is a great example of an initiative designed to establish a culture of giving within the College of Nursing,” said Michael B. Dowdy, ECU’s vice chancellor for university advancement. “It is very generous on the part of Dr. Brown to make a gift in honor of each new student.” n

Inaugural fundraisers The College of Nursing Advancement Council is the primary fundraising organization for the college. The council’s role is to create philanthropic awareness of the college and to aid in fundraising activities in the community. Council members are, front row, left to right: Laurie Evans, College of Nursing marketing director; Dr. Mary Ann Rose, chair of graduate nursing science; Dr. Sylvia Brown, acting dean of the college; Valentine Howell-Melton, ECU Medical & Health Sciences Foundation Board member. Back row, left to right: Dr. Donna Roberson, nurse faculty; Brenda Jarman, owner of JA’s Uniform Shop; Dr. Terri Lawler, nurse faculty; Dan Drake, Pitt County Memorial Hospital; Chris Sutton, owner of CarePartners; Mark Alexander, development director for the college. Not pictured: Brenda Myrick, PCMH; Gina Woody, nurse faculty; Diane Marshburn, PCMH; Erica Best, nursing student; Carole Novick, president of the ECU Medical & Health Sciences Foundation.

The Golden Lamp Society has been created to recognize individuals who give year after year to ECU’s College of Nursing. Any donor who gives a minimum of $100 for two or more consecutive years will become a member of the society. Recent graduates also will be included for membership into a sub-group of the society by giving consistently after graduation. “The purpose is to encourage consecutive giving to the College of Nursing while promoting the importance of any gift, large or small,” said Mark Alexander, director of development for the College of Nursing. “Subsequently, the loyalty society will act as an incentive for donors to continue their donations annually. In addition, creating a subdivision of the society for recent graduates will create and reinforce philanthropic awareness for young alumni.” Golden Lamp Society members will be recognized with their names on a plaque in the nursing building, in an alumni publication and on the College of Nursing Web site. For more information, call Alexander at 252-744-2238 or e-mail at alexanderma@ ecu.edu. n

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161 N.C. Nurse Scholars students receive

Awards

A total of 161 students at East Carolina University are recipients of the 2007-2008 North Carolina Nurse Scholars Award. Upon graduation, recipients of this competitive program commit to working for at least one year, per each year funded, as a registered nurse in North Carolina. The program was created to address the shortage of nurses practicing in North Carolina

ECU honors

withstudents scholarships The College of Nursing held its annual scholarship awards program Nov. 9. A total of 72 students were presented scholarships. Below is a listing of scholarships and recipients: Undergraduate scholarships Alice Etheridge Liles Scholarship – Cinthia Lopez American Legion Post #39 Nursing Scholarship – Kristy Barnes, Dawn Espinoza, Caroline Forbes, Tavia Gilbert, India Green, Daniel Hines, Teresa

and approved by the N.C. General Assembly in 1989. The first recipients were funded for the 1990-91 academic year. Award recipients are chosen on the basis of academics, leadership potential and desire to practice nursing in North Carolina. Awards range from $3,000 to $5,000 a year for undergraduate students and from $3,000 to $6,000 a year for graduate students.

Lanier, Ashley Pollard, and Monika Worthington College of Nursing General Scholarship Fund – Sandra Knight Demaree-McGinnis Memorial Scholarship - Nicholas Pirrone Dorothy Bennett Harrell Scholarship – Ellen Ashley Dickens Eunive Mann Garner Memorial Scholarship – Danielle Finlay Eva Woosley Warren Scholarship – Suzanne GablerSchmid, Sequoya Hatcher, Samantha Hollen, and Stacy White Smith Gertrude E. Skelly Charitable Foundation – Maria Coll-Perez,

Scholars are Justin Andrews, Yosr Baianonie, Kristy Barnes, Jenna Barnes, Brandy Barnette, Melissa Belcher, Brystol Benner, Ashley Bennett, Karen Benton, Erika Best, Jessica Bland, Mary Boone, Elizabeth Bost, Kathryn Boswell, Anna Boulware, Brigette Bowman, Karen Braddy, Courtney Bradford, Laura Bradsher, Margo Braxton, Melanie Briggs, Rachel Brinkley, Melissa Britt, Kaitlin Brown, Liza Brunner, Leslie Bullock, Regina Burgin,

Brittany Core, Blake Edwards, Wendy Edwards, Cynthia Ferry, Hope Freeman, Christina Jackson, Janice Jordan, Amanda Lowry, and Michelle Wall Hal and Eldean Pierce Beta Nu Scholarship – Brittany Casstevens Hospice of Tar Heel Scholarship – Teresa Crandol JA’s Uniform Shop Scholarship – Michael Allen and Michelle Houghton Catherine & Max Ray Joyner Scholarship – Susan Branch Mabel Cooper Hayden Memorial Fund – Christina Dixon

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Stephanie Burnett, Lauren Campbell, Chelsea Cannon, Kayla Carr, Victoria Carraway, Hannah Carroll, Sydney Carter, Crystal Cary, Tyler Cash, Brittany Casstevens, Bryan Chalk, Brittney Chichester, Amy Conner, Mallory Conway, Brittany Creasy, Morgan Davis, Margaret Derrickson, Pamela Dollar, Mary Doster, Emily Edwards, Christopher Elkins, Rebecca Emerson, Brenna Evans, Jessica Farmer, Wendy Fletcher, Jordan Flint, Kerri-Lynn Flynn, Caroline Forbes, Mary Futrell, Brittany Gibbs, Nicole Griffin, Christy Hall, Morgan Harris, Marquita Harris, Alexandria Harrison, Avery Harrison, Sequoya Hatcher, Ashley Hedspeth,

Meagan Henning, Darus Henson, Casey Hill, Jacob Hines, Samantha Hollen, Haley Holman, Mandy Houck, Tiffany Hudson, Jennifer Hudson James, Tamesha James, Brooke Jenkins, Jacqueline Jernigan, Corrie Johnson, Sarah Jolley, Freda Kerr, Bryan King, Mitzi Kukahiko, Iris Lassiter, Diana Leary, Crystal Locklear, Sara Lumston, Lindsay Martin, Gregory Maruzzella, Sara McClure, Jessica McCullen, Tara McLamb, Lauren Mercer, Meredith Miller, Ashley Miller, Sparkle Moore, Lakeisha Moore, Kelly Morris, Tina Morrison, Lindsay Morton, Kristen Mullins, Tara Nance, Benjamin Newton, Kathleen Nolan, Ginger Norris, Bethany

Norris, Michelle Norris, Elizabeth O’Neal, Jessica Parker, Morgan Parks, Sara Peaden, Angel Peele, Nicole Pettine, Ashley Pollard, Mitzi Polochak, Rebecca Pritchett, Amy PuckettLawson, Leah Quinn, Paige Ray, Stephanie Rayl, Victoria Respess, Meghan Rhodes, Traci Rich, Mary Rogerson, Victoria Runyon, Malissa Sampson, Melony Sanders, Lindsay Sauls, Annah Schwartz, Alana Scott, Shannon Shaw, Jessica Shearin, Jennifer Shojaei-arani, Catherine Sizemore, Kaleigh Slade, Rachel Smith, Kristina Smith, Elizabeth Smith, Tiffany Snody, Rachel Steeb, Kaitlin Stock, Ashleigh Strickland, Leslie Sugg, Amandy Summers, Joan Taylor, Stacie Terry, Kaitlinn Thomas, Georgia

Patricia Ann Yow Memorial Scholarship – Riley Barwick

E.G. Barlow Scholarship – Cynthia Chapman

Patricia Perry Womble Scholarship – Allison Howell

Eunice Mann Garner Memorial – Lori Ashley Smith Daniels and Angela Plummer

Norma Miller Daffin Neonatal/Parent Child Nursing Scholarship – Amy Jnah and Candace Steelman

Perry-Oyler Scholarship – Kristen Easley and Katherine Ormont Sherry Hawkins Scholarship – Anna Chapman University Book Exchange Scholarship – Mary Gore Vickie & Steven Whitehurst Scholarship – Cierra Pittman Graduate scholarships Alice Etheridge Liles Scholarship – Scott MacLean Annie Dixon Wilson Memorial Endowment – April Matthias

Gertrude E. Skelly Charitable Foundation – Lindsay Brown, Lauren Nicole Browne, Mistee Caldwell, Wendy Chavez, Stephanie Ellis, Heather Hinson, Jeanne Hutson, Kevin Roark, Carol Rose, Tiffany Scott, and David Scott Walker Catherine & Max Ray Joyner Scholarship – Jessie Smiley Mabel Cooper Hayden Memorial Fund – William Beatty, Laura Edwards, William Little, and Cheryl Rogers

Patricia Ann Yow Memorial Scholarship – Karen Szuba Perry Oyler Scholarship – Jean Conlin, Meka Douthit, and Sandra Pierce Wilusz Raleigh-Durham Chapter of Executive Women International Scholarship – Carol Anne Thompson Roccapriore-Tschetter Fellowship – William Neil Boykin and Tara M. Howry Ruth Glass Bunting Scholarship – Marlene Heggie ■

Thornton, Janette Tillman, Lindsey Tingle, Kelly Traylor, Gladwyn Uzzell, Kristin Wainwright, Meagan Wallace, Stephanie Walls, Heather Ward, Brittany Webster, Elaine Whitaker, Jenna Whitehurst, Esther Willcox, Allison Winslow, and Kelsey Yancy. n

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Beta Nu challenged to think, act globally By Karen Krupa

Karen Krupa, RN, MS, MPH President, Beta Nu Chapter, Sigma Theta Tau International

Beta Nu Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, the international honor society of nursing, enjoyed another productive year. We had our second Clothesline Art Show and Sale coupled with our Beta Nu Silent Auction last October at Rock Springs Center. Dr. Lou Everett, Beta Nu member and president of the Greenville Brushstrokes, coordinated the event again this year. We raised $1,151 for nursing scholarships and research. Dr. Sandra Walsh, our guest speaker, made a wonderful presentation entitled “Making Connections through Art.” We inducted 99 new members. Dr. Martha Alligood was our fall induction speaker.

She inspired all who attended with her comments and examples about the meaning of honor. Congratulations to all our new members. The 17th annual Collaborative Research Day was held in February. This partnership between Beta Nu, Eastern Area Health Education Center, University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina and the College of Nursing continues to grow each year. Twenty-three research posters were presented. Dr. Nancy Dunton from the University of Kansas Medical Center School of Nursing spoke about “Practice-Based Evidence: Finding Meaning in Clinical Data.”

Beta Nu Chapter inducts Karri Bullock

new members Undergraduate students

Bethany Bartholomew Ashley Bennett Lauren Bennett Mary Boone Kathryn Boswell James Braley Margo Braxton Liza Brunner Lindsay Bruton

Trudy Bundy Hannah Carroll Brittany Casstevens Maria Coll-Perez Amy Conner Mallory Conway Whitney Davis Ashley Dickens Brenna Evans Jessica Farmer Ryan Ford Trent Gass Nicole Griffin

Our spring banquet was highlighted by guest speaker Dr. Carol Huston, Sigma Theta Tau International president. She spoke about Sigma Theta Tau’s vision for 2020. She challenged us all to think, and act, more globally. ■

Sigma Theta Tau Excellence Awards Leadership: Dr. Sylvia Brown Research: Dr. Elizabeth Jesse Mentorship: Dr. Marie Pokorny Education: Dr. France Eason Practice: Valarie Gatlin

Marquita Hall Meagan Henning Kathryn Henzler Maryelle Herndon Jennifer Jacobs Whttney Jordan Caroline Keeton Kristen Kinney Jennifer Kirlauski Lindsay Martin Gregory Maruzzella Kelly Morris Elizabeth O’Neal Erin Oneglia

The second annual Clothesline Art Show and Sale and Beta Nu Silent Auction held at Rock Springs Center in Greenville raised $1,151 for nursing scholarships and research.

Rose Parker Shannon Puls Barbara Renchen Mary Rogerson Sarah Rushnov Melony Sanders Jennifer Shojaei-Arani Kaleigh Slade Ashley Smetanka Daniel Spencer Amber Stephens Roslyn Stewart Lindsay Stone Ashleigh Strickland Kristen Surritte Kaitlin Thomas

Lindsay Tingle Stephanie Walls Jennifer Warren Allison Winslow Graduate students

Lydia Apollo Vicki Barker Diana Brewer Amy Campbell Cynthia Chandler Renee Ellis Kimberly Fine Sara Griffin Brandon Hill Heather Hinson

Kelly Jernigan Diana Layne Crystal Leggett Donna Lo Karen MacLean Michelle Masson Jennifer May Lindy McClure Krsten McKelvie Doris Jean McMillan Lakeisha Moore Heather Morrison Rosa Myers Janice Page Tracy Paterson Hettie Peele

Eva Pittman Deborah Pressley Allison Priest Jean Smolkowicz Candice Steelman Christy Swinson Kimberly Taylor Christina Thompson David Walker Jennifer Warren Susan Whitley Sandra Wilusz Nell Woodroffe Diedre Renstrom Anna Sams Tiffany Scott â&#x2013;

Class Notes

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1969 Sharon Cooney (BSN) is lab coordinator with the nursing faculty at Brunswick Community College in Supply.

1973

received the nurse excellence award at Shands UF in 2004.

1999 Kelley Jeanne Kormanik Mathews (BSN) celebrated the birth of Lily Jeanne Mathews on Aug. 2, 2007.

Lana F. Chang (BSN) is a researcher for the School of Public Health at the University 2000 Suzanne Kontrabecki Taylor of Michigan. She is studying the efficacy of flu vaccine versus (BSN) married her high school sweetheart, Michael Taylor, in nasal flu mist. August 2000 after graduating from ECU. She is a labor and 1979 delivery nurse at Franklin Beth Ann Kimball Mahar Square Hospital Center in (BSN) is a colonel in the Baltimore, where she won Nurse United States Air Force of the Year in 2006 for the Reserves and recently moved back to the United States after women’s and children’s service line. She was diagnosed in three years in Australia. November 2006 with Hodgkin’s Sandra Carraway Swanson Lymphoma and after six months (BSN) is an education and staff of chemotherapy has been cancer development coordinator and free for more than 15 months. adjunct faculty in the baccalaureate nursing program at Wright 2001 State University. She is married Cynthia Louise Berdeau (BSN) to Steve Swanson and has one passed the certified emergency son, John Burnette, who is a nurse boards. student at Ohio State University. Stephanie Carol Hammer Burnside (BSN) has worked in 1980 the intensive care unit nursery Kathleen M. Pierce (BSN) is a captain in the U.S. Navy and at WakeMed in Raleigh since graduation and was recently has served since 1981. In April promoted to supervisor/clinical 2007, she reported to U.S. educator. Navy Medical Headquarters Command Bureau of Medicine Chrissy Gayle Parsons (BSN) and Surgery as deputy director married in March and is completing her master’s degree of the Navy Nurse Corps. as an adult nurse practitioner 1983 at the University of North Kelly Holton Feimster (BSN) Carolina at Charlotte. is a school nurse in Iredell Phyllis Quinn Pigford (BSN) County and has two children, married in September 2001 Logan and Winnie. and has two girls, ages 2 and 4. She started her own business as 1984 an independent certified childBetsy Green Gjertsen (BSN) birth educator. recently returned with her Nicole Ervin Plummer (BSN) husband, Bill, to Wake Forest works in cardiopulmonary at from Buchanan, Mich., where Gaston Memorial Hospital in they served four years as hosts Gastonia. for Pastor’s Retreat Lodge.

1990 Michelle Cornatzer Doran (BSN) is a patient educator in adult and pediatric oncology at Shands Hospital at the University of Florida. She is an oncology certified nurse and

2002 Angela Louis Allen (BSN) is a student in the family nurse practitioner master’s program at ECU. Brandi Leigh Burroughs-Hamm (BSN) works for the Department of Corrections.

Tina Vandiford is surrounded by fellow nursing students who helped organize the college’s first Unity Day on April 25. Students, faculty and staff sold barbecue plates and threw whipped cream pies to raise money for Vandiford, who was diagnosed in February with a rare cancer, clear cell sarcoma with subtype melanoma. She married her fiancé, Mike Roberson, on June 11 while she was a patient at Pitt County Memorial Hospital. Following a hard-fought battle, Tina Vandiford-Roberson died June 24 at age 29. She is survived by her husband and parents, Charlie and Judy Vandiford of Greenville.

Anna Lynn Asbell Clark (BSN) has worked in labor and delivery since becoming a nurse. She was a travel nurse for the last three years, and worked five years in Phoenix. She settled in Charleston, S.C., in January. Holly Ann Hall (BSN, MSN’07) will begin a new job as a nurse practitioner at Raleigh Neurology after completing her nurse practitioner boards in the fall. Courtney Casey Hinnant (BSN) is staff development assistant for the cardiac intensive care and cardiac intermediate care units at Pitt County Memorial Hospital. She was a staff nurse in the cardiac intensive care unit from August 2002 until October 2006. Tiffany Elayne Radford (BSN) is enrolled in the nurse anesthesia master’s program at ECU.

2003 Michael Padrick Norman (BSN) earned a master’s degree in nurse anesthesia from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro/ Raleigh School of Nurse Anesthesia in 2007. He is a certified registered nurse anesthetist at Pitt County Anesthesia Associates in Greenville.

2004 Garrett Hart Brooks (BSN) works in labor and delivery at Rex Hospital in Raleigh. Jaimisson Clark Jackson McPhail is a nurse case manager in Winterville. She and her husband celebrated the birth of their first child, Jackson Parker, in August 2007. Erica Renee Mee (BSN) has worked at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington for two years.

2005 Jason Paul Annis (MSN) is a certified registered nurse anesthetist with East Carolina Anesthesia Associates in Greenville. He married Oct. 20, 2007. Michelle Lynn Carawon (BSN) of Greenville works in the medical intensive care unit at PCMH after two years in the medical intermediate unit. Kimberly Ann Chalot (MSN) started the post-master’s certification family nurse practitioner’s program at ECU. Tracy Stickland Cox (BSN) is pursuing a master’s degree in adult nurse practitioner at ECU. Jonathan Daniel Hancock (BSN) is pursuing a master’s degree in adult nurse practitioner. He married Dana

Class Notes

Pulse 2008

Jenkins in 2006 and they had a son, Mason, in July 2007. Natalie Wynn Spence (BSN) is a critical care float nurse at Naticoke Memorial Hospital in Seaford, Del. She has a 9-month-old daughter.

2006

Karen Vinesett Freeman (BSN) was nominated as a Great 100 nurse in 2007. Rebecca Anne Johnson (BSN) is an intensive care nurse at WakeMed in Raleigh. Debra Johnson Marshall (BSN) began working at Rex Healthcare in Raleigh in January where she hopes to get experience in cardiology. She plans to apply for the nurse specialist program at ECU. Linda Sue Patton Hammonds (MSN) is a nurse practitioner in dermatology at Jefferson City Medical Group in Jefferson City, Mo. Her husband, Rev. Jeffery Hammonds is senior pastor at the United Church of Christ in California, Mo. Marquita Corbett Singleton (BSN) is clinical manager at a home health agency. Karla Renee Stemple (BSN) is a mother/baby nurse at Cape Fear Valley.

2007 Tess Webster Engleson (BSN) works on a neuroscience unit at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill. Christopher Michael Erickson (MSN) graduated from the ECU nurse anesthesia program. Melonie Norman Fleshman (BSN) married and works at Mission Hospitals in Asheville. Anthony Huang (BSN) works on the cardiac intensive care unit at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill. Laura Tilley Keaton (MSN) works at Southern Clinics and Urgent Care. Sara Noelle Girmus Thorsby (BSN) married Michael Thorsby on May 26, 2007, and works on an oncology unit at Craven Regional Medical Center. n

Caryl Holoman

Alumna receives Brody School of Medicine nurse of the year award A nurse with 22 years of experience in caring for patients and leading others was named the best in her field for 2008 at the Brody School of Medicine. Caryl Holoman, pulmonary nurse manager in the Department of Internal Medicine, is the 2008 Brody School of Medicine nurse of the year. She has worked at East Carolina University since 1997 and is a 1986 graduate of ECU. She said she was surprised her co-workers, who knew she had received the award before the May 8 nurses’ banquet, were able to keep it a secret. “I’m very honored being the people I work so closely with nominated me,” Holoman said. “To be picked among other people who you know work just as hard as you do makes it special.” One of Holoman’s co-workers described her as a dedicated nurse, wife, mother and friend. “Caryl is the heart and soul of the pulmonary department,” said Alice Hyatt, a nurse specialist in the department and the one who nominated Holoman. “She is an incredible nurse that goes above and beyond her duties on a daily basis.” Other nurses nominated were Rita Bowden, nurse manager for bariatric research in the Metabolic Institute; Diane Boyce, staff nurse for sports medicine in the Department of Family Medicine; Susan DeAntonio and Kelly Harper, nurse managers in the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences; Shelby Gardner, nurse specialist in the Department of Internal Medicine; and Beatrice White, nurse administrator of clinical operations in the Department of Pediatrics. —By Doug Boyd

Pulse 2008

Faculty publications

& grants

In print July 1, 2007-June 30, 2008

Published articles in reference journals

Sorrow. Accepted, In M.R. Alligood (Ed.) “Nursing Theorists and Their Work,” 7th edition, Mosby, 2008.

Engelke, M., Rose, M., Drake, D.J., & Marshburn, D. (2007). Building and sustaining the Bariatric Nursing Research Consortium. Journal of Bariatric Nursing and Surgical Patient Care, 2(4), 285-290.

Steele, L.L. Assessment of the endocrine system. In Kaplow, R. and Hardin, S. (Ed.) “Critical care nursing: Synergy for optimal outcomes.” Jones and Bartlett, 2007. Steele, J.R. & Steele, L.L. Symptom management. In press, In Lubkin and Larsen (Ed.) “Symptom Management.” Jones and Bartlett, 2008.

Gantt, L.T. (2007). Human simulation in emergency nursing: Current status. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 33 (1), 69-71.

Grants

Horns, P.N., Czaplijski, T.J., Engelke, M.K., Marshburn, D., McAuliffe, M.S., Baker, S. (2007). Leading through collaboration: A regional academic/service partnership that works. Nursing Outlook, 55 (2), 74-78.

McWilliam, P. (2007). Evaluation of undergraduate students: Using Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation (OSCE), Journal of Nursing Education, 46 (3), 140-145.

Jesse, D.E., Schoneboom, C., & Blanchard, A. (2007). The effect of faith or spirituality in pregnancy: A content analysis. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 25, 151-158.

Roberson, D.W. (2007). Inequities in screening for sexually transmitted infections in African American adolescents: Can health policy help? Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 18, (3), 286-291.

Jesse D.E. & Swanson, M.S. (2007). Risks and resources associated with antepartum risk for depression among rural southern women. Nursing Research, 56 (6), 378-386. Jesse, D., Taleff, J., Payne, P., Cox, R., & Steele, L. (2007). Reusable learning units: An innovative teaching strategy for online nursing education. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship 3 (1), 1-8. Koldjeski, D., Kirkpatrick, M.K., Everett, L.W., Brown, S., & Swanson, M. (2007). The ovarian cancer journey of families the first post diagnostic year. Cancer Nursing, 30 (3), 232-242.

Rose, M.A., Baker, G., Drake, D.J., Engelke, M., McAuliffe, M.S., Pokorny, M., Pozzuto, S., Swanson, M., Waters, W., and Watkins, F. (2007). A comparison of nurse staffing requirements for the care of morbidly obese and non-obese patients in the acute care setting. Journal of Bariatric Nursing and Surgical Patient Care, 2 (1), 53-56. Schwartz, M.R. (2007). When closeness breeds cruelty: Helping victims of intimate partner violence. American Nurse Today, 2 (6), 42-47. Schwartz, M.R. (2007). My son has Tourette Syndrome. American Nurse Today, 2 (1), 31-32.

Larson, K.L. & McQuiston, C. (2008). Walking out of one culture into another: Health concerns of Latino adolescents. The Journal of School Nursing, 24 (2), 88-94.

Scott, E.S. (2007). A comparative analysis of nursing administration education. Journal of Nursing Administration, 37 (11), 517-522.

Loury, S.D. & Kulbok, P. (2007). Correlates of alcohol and tobacco use among Mexican Americans in rural North Carolina. Family & Community Health, 30 (3), 247-256.

Scott, E.S. & Cleary, B.L. (2007). Professional polarities in nursing. Nursing Outlook, 55 (5), 250-256.

Neil, J.A. (2007). Perioperative care of the immunocompromised patient. AORN Journal, 85 (3), 544-564.

Stephenson, N.L., Swanson, M., Dalton, J., Keefe, F.J., & Engelke, M.K. (2007). Partner-delivered reflexology: effects on cancer pain and anxiety. Oncology Nursing Forum, 34 (1), 127-132.

Rentschler, D.D., Eaton, J., Cappiello, J., Fenn-McNally, S., &

Stephenson, N.L., Brown, S.T., Handron, D. & Faser, K.

(2007). Offering an online course: Complementary and alternative therapies in nursing practice. Holistic Nursing Practice, 21 (6), 299-302. Tutor, R., Zarate, M. & Loury, S. (2008). Pesticide exposure surveillance and prevention skills of staff in eastern North Carolina Health Departments. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 14 (3), 299-310. Zekonis, D. & Gantt, L.T. (2007). New graduate nurse orientation in the emergency department: Use of a simulation scenario. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 33 (3), 283-285.

Book chapters Engelke, M.K. Research in community health nursing. In L. Louise Ivanov & Carolyn L. Blue (Ed.) “Public Health Nursing: Leadership, Policy and Practice,” CENGAGE Delmar Learning, 2007. McAuliffe, M.S., Gambrell, P.G. & Edge, M.J. Obesity and anesthesia practice. In press, “Nurse Anesthesia,” 4th edition, 2008. Neil, J.A. Chapter 12: Surgery of the liver, biliary tract, pancreas and spleen. In Rothrock, J.C. & McEwen, D.R. (Ed.) “Alexander’s Care of the Patient in Surgery,” 13th edition, Mosby Elsevier, 2007. Neil, J.A. Pre-operative nursing. In Lewis, S.M., Heitkemper, M.M., and Dirksen, S.R. (Ed.) “MedicalSurgical Nursing,” 7th edition, Mosby, 2007. Schreier, A.M. & Droes, N.S. Georgene Gaskill Eakes, Mary Lermann Burke and Margaret A. Hainsworth: Theory of Chronic

Dr. Elaine Scott received a total of $374,796 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Duke Endowment and the Pitt County Memorial Hospital Foundation to support the East Carolina Center for Nursing Leadership. Scott also received $4,000 from the Council for Graduate Education in Administrative Nursing to support her research on how nurse leaders in small rural hospitals, defined as hospitals with less than 100 beds, are addressing the implementation of emerging evidence-based practice and patient safety initiatives. Dr. Sylvia Brown received $97,545 from the Health Resources Service Administration to support traineeships for graduate nursing students. Dr. Martha Engelke, Dr. Alta Andrews and Dr. Nellie Droes received $75,000 from the Bertie County Public Schools to assist in developing a model school health program. Dr. Janet Moye received $35,000 from the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Fellows Program to support a leadership and research project to identify and implement strategies to retain older experienced registered nurses in North Carolina’s workforce. Dr. Maura McAuliffe received $20,418 to support traineeships for nurse anesthetist students. Dr. Kim Larson received $7,952 from Hispanics in Philanthropy for consultation to the Hispanic Development Board in Goldsboro. Dr. Linda Mayne received $6,300 from the National League for Nursing to support her research on social presence in online education. n

ECU welcomes

SIX new faculty

Pulse 2008

Linda P. Bolin, RN, BSN, MSN, ANP, has joined the faculty as a clinical associate professor. She comes to the College of Nursing from ECU Student Health Service where she worked as an adult nurse practitioner physician extender. She also served as an adjunct faculty member in the College of Nursing. Bolin has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a master’s degree from Medical University of South Carolina and certification as an adult nurse practitioner from Duke University.

Joyce M. Buck, RN, BSN, MSN, has joined the faculty as a clinical assistant professor. She previously taught at Beaufort County Community College. Buck has a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a master’s of science and certification as a family nurse practitioner from East Carolina University.

Stuart James, MBA, has joined the faculty as a clinical instructor in the Department of Graduate Nursing Science. He is vice president of information systems at Pitt County Memorial Hospital. He has a master’s of business administration from Oklahoma City University.

Susan Kidd, RN, BSN, MSN, is a clinical associate professor in the College of Nursing. Before coming to ECU, she was a nursing instructor at Wilson Community College. She has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Barton College and a master’s degree in nursing from ECU.

Janet Moye, RN, BSN, MSN, PhD, has joined the faculty as assistant professor and is a Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow. She previously served as director of nursing and quality for the Brody School of Medicine at ECU. She has a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a master’s degree in nursing administration from the University of Maryland at Baltimore. She has a doctorate in nursing science from ECU.

Pamela J. Reis, RN, BSN, MSN, CNM, has joined the faculty as a clinical assistant professor. Before joining the faculty, she was a certified nurse midwife at Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Lumberton and was an online course facilitator in the nurse midwifery and women’s health nurse practitioner program for the University of Cincinnati, and a physician extender at Wake County Human Services in Raleigh. She has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Duke University, a master’s degree in nursing from ECU and is a certified nurse midwife and neonatal nurse practitioner. She is pursuing her doctorate of nursing from ECU.

News Briefs

Pulse 2008

Twenty-two faculty members in the College of Nursing were honored April 2

Bruce Leonard is the College of Nursing’s ScholarTeacher for 2007-2008. The award

for their published works at the third annual Faculty Author Recognition recognizes faculty members who Awards at Laupus Library. integrate research and creative Works recognized included activity in classroom teaching. books, book chapters and peerreviewed journal articles published Annette Peery has between Sept. 1, 2006, and Dec. 31, been inducted into the 2007. A bibliography is available at inaugural ECU Servire Society, www.ecu.edu/laupuslibrary/far.cfm. which honors faculty, staff and Acting Dean of the College of students who volunteer 100 or Nursing, Dr. Sylvia Brown, who more hours of community service also published, recognized Martha Laupus Library bronze medallions were distributed to book authors at the each year. Alligood, Rebecca Benfield, Nellie third annual Faculty Author Recognition Awards.. Droes, Melydia Edge, Martha Mary Ann Rose and Engelke, Laura Gantt, Phyllis Dan Drake received Horns, Darlene Elizabeth Jesse, Bruce Leonard, Martha Libster, the Collaborative Research Award during Sharon Loury, Martha McAuliffe, Connie Mullinix, Janice Neil, the 17th annual Collaborative Nursing Research Day held Feb. Dorothy Rentschler, Mary Ann Rose, Sharon Sarvey, Melissa 29. The $1,000 award supports a research project between a nurse Schwartz, Linda Steele, James Steele and Nancy Stephenson. As faculty member and a Pitt County Memorial Hospital clinician book authors, Alligood and Neil received a medal named for the and is sponsored by the College of Nursing and University Health former dean of ECU’s medical school, William E. Laupus. Systems of Eastern Carolina. Rose is a professor of nursing and past president of the U.S. News & World Report ranked the National Association of Bariatric Nurses. Drake is a perioperative College of Nursing ninth in distance education and bariatric clinical nurse specialist at Pitt County Memorial graduate-level nursing programs earlier this year. Hospital and president of the National Association of Bariatric “This ranking certainly validates the College of Nursing’s Nurses. Rose and Drake and members of the Bariatric Nursing commitment to excellence in delivering nursing education in Consortium will survey nurses on risks inherent in caring for technologically advanced environments,” said Dr. Sylvia Brown, morbidly obese patients and ways to improve safety. dean of the College of Nursing. “One statistic that is not commuAlso, the Bariatric Nursing Consortium, which began in 2004 nicated in this ranking is the quality of education that our online as a collaborative effort between PCMH and the college, received learners receive. Last year, our advanced practice nursing options the American Nursing Credentialing Center Magnet Award for had 100 percent passage rates on national certification examina2007. PCMH is a Magnet hospital, making the consortium tions. This is proof that distance education is an effective way to eligible for the award. Nurse faculty members are Rose, Marie deliver course content, even highly technical material needed by Pokorny, Maura McAuliffe, Martha Engelke, Sharon Sarvey, advanced practice nurses.” Elaine Scott and Mel Swanson.

Mary Kirkpatrick, professor and international coordinator for the College of Nursing, taught four weeks at the Maastricht Center for Transatlantic Studies in Holland at Teipkyo University. She taught nursing, dental and business students from the United States, Spain and Hungary. ECU is one of 11 universities worldwide in partnership with Maastricht, which provides interdisciplinary students an opportunity to learn and travel in Europe while faculty members from participating universities teach there.

Other national awards: Martha Alligood and Frances Eason have been inducted into the National League for Nursing Academy of Nurse Educators. Dorothy Rentschler has been certified as a nurse educator by the National League for Nursing. Janet P. Moye has been selected a Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow for a three-year fellowship through 2010. Maura S. McAuliffe was one of 13 members of the National Quality Forum Safe Practices Maintenance Committee to receive the prestigious Pete Conrad Patient Safety Excellence Award. ■

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Pulse Summer 2008

on the Web

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A 2008 nurse graduate walks toward Wright Auditorium for convocation May 9. There were 153 students receiving bachelor’s degrees, 39 receiving master’s degrees and one doctoral student who joined the ranks of more than 5,000 alumni from ECU nursing.

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