The new health care law is neither feast nor famine. But is does promise to

change the “health care recipe” in important ways. There are some areas of

importance that we, as nurses, need to not only understand, but to incorpo-

rate into our educational, research and clinical programs.

Clinically - There will be increased emphasis on access to care, preven-

tion, primary care services, the patient health care home, the integration

of mental health and physical health services, chronic care management, care coordination,

patient safety, and community engagement and empowerment.

Research – There will be a growing focus on genetics, comparative effectiveness, cost-anal-

yses, implementation and team science, translational research, community based participatory

research, and research dissemination.

Workforce – There will be an unbelievable challenge ahead of us in preparing the right

number of health care providers, the right type of providers, the right competencies among pro-

viders for the new clinical challenges they will

face, and the right geographical distribution of

the existing and future health care workforce.

Which brings me to the heart of the matter

for us as nurses – if we are not at the table,

then we will be on the menu. It is clear that

major decisions will be made in all of these

areas, and never has the need for a nursing

voice and a nursing seat at the banquet been

more needed. In the days ahead there will be

opportunities for us to provide evidence, relate

stories, demonstrate competencies and make visible how we, as nurses, are the backbone and

glue of the health care system. So I encourage you to seize every opportunity, every invitation,

every forum to gain a seat at the table as a nurse. If we miss this opportunity, it may not come

again…Gail

InSIde If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menuBy Dean Gail Stuart, PhD, RN, FAAN

Volume 7 | SepTemBer | 2010

eCONnectionsmedIcal unIVerSITy of SouTh carolIna

colleGe of nurSInG

Published by:Medical university of south Carolina College of Nursing

send inquiries to:beth KhanMusC College of Nursing99 Jonathan lucas st., MsC 160Charleston, sC 29425

InvestIgateCollaboRateeduCate advoCate

MusC nurses change lives!

College Briefs .........................p. 2

Calendar of events ................p. 3

getting to Know .....................p. 3 phyllis Bonham

offiCe of aCademiCs ...............p. 4

offiCe of researCh .................p. 5

offiCe of praCtiCe ..................p. 6

faCulty news............................p. 7

student news ..........................p. 8

2eCONnections SepTemBer 2010

College Briefs

Writing Center to host nurse-poetmuSc’s Writing center is bringing nurse-writer Veneta masson to charleston to lead two programs under the umbrella “Writing and healing: conversations about the humanities and health care.”

Thursday, September 2, 6 - 7:30 p.m.“creative responses to Illness and healing”

Veneta masson will facilitate a discussion about the importance of storytelling in health care, focusing on how

stories of both patients and caregivers improve patient-caregiver relationships and foster healing.

Venue: charleston county public library

friday, September 3, 12 - 2 p.m.“The poetry of caretaking”

Veneta masson will share her story about how creative writing, particularly poetry, has influenced her professional

work in health care. Venue: 2 West amphitheater, muSc university hospital

for more information, contact lisa Kerr, phd at kerli@musc.edu.

This program is sponsored by The humanities council Sc, a state program of the national endowment for the humanities; inspiring, engaging and enriching South carolinians with programs on literature, history, culture and heritage.

CON continues MUSC Excellence initiativeonce again, the college of nursing is a leader on the muSc campus with amazing pillar goal results in year two of muSc excellence. faculty and staff report continued overall job sat-isfaction – 95 percent for faculty and 94 percent for staff. and 98 percent of both graduating and current students believe they made the right choice in selecting the muSc con for a high quality educational experience. Stellar service satisfaction was achieved within the support services/staff of the college. The overall average was 99.6

percent – with many offices receiving perfect service satisfac-tion scores. Quality remains high as well. This is reflected in 100 percent ncleX pass rates, 94 percent overall graduation rate, steady faculty e-Value scores (over 4.2) and unprecedent-ed growth in research ranking, dollars and submissions. last, but certainly not least, the college also operated with an overall balanced budget for the year. during year three of muSc excellence, the college will focus on improving on its current diversity efforts, as well as expanding the measurement of service satisfaction across all aspects of the college. Well done!

CES announces 2010 teamsThe center for community health partnerships has announced the five teams selected for the 2010-11 community engaged Schol-ars program. The yearlong fellowship program provides training, pilot funds, and mentorship for teams consisting of an academic and community partner(s) who have interests in community-based participatory research. The goal of this program is to increase the capacity of academic-community partnerships to conduct research with mutual ownership of the processes and products, and ulti-mately, improve the health of our communities in South carolina and beyond. five teams have been selected to participate in the second year of the program. These teams represent academic disciplines from across the muSc campus and partners from various community sectors. The teams that have been selected to participate are:

Team 1: “addressing the needs of incarcerated persons living with hIV/aIdS as they prepare for community re-entry” - elisabeth pickelsimer, muSc Biostatistics & epidemiology - linda phillips, disability resource center - patricia Kelly, a family affair hIV ministry

Team 2: “addressing childhood obesity in Title I schools in charleston county” - roger newman, muSc dept. of obstetrics & Gynecology - Jermel president, The dae foundation

Team 3: “addressing quality improvement in a rural, federally qualified community health center” - carol lambourne, muSc department of family medicine - myra pinckney, St. James-Santee family health center Team 4: “prevention of hIV/aIdS among lowcountry Veterans” - amy painter, muSc college of nursing - Stacy Gaillard, ralph h. Johnson Va medical center - Vanessa Gant-clark, ralph h. Johnson Va medical center - Virginia King, lowcountry aIdS Services

Team 5: “addressing the needs of persons with dementia and their caregivers” - elaine amella, muSc college of nursing - laura Stefanelli, respite care ministries

for more information, contact melissa cox, cchp program coordinator at coxme@musc.edu or (843) 792-2215.

septeMbeR1-2 wednesday - thursdayvisit from nInR deputy director, Mary Kerr

2 thursdayveneta Masson, nurse poet“Creative Responses to Illness and Healing”6 - 7:30 p.m.charleston county public library

3 fridayveneta Masson, nurse poet

“The Poetry of Caretaking” 12 - 2 p.m.2 West amphitheater, university hospital

6 mondaylabor daycollege closed

23 thursdayeducation Committee of dean’s advisory board1 - 3 p.m.historical library

oCtobeR7-8 thursday-fridayboard of trustees

15 fridaydean’s advisory board12 - 4 p.m.historical library

18-20 monday-wednesdayCCne campus visit for dnp accreditation

Getting to know...Phyllis BonhamPosition: associate professor, director of the Wound care education programHow many years at MUSC? 18How many years at CON? 18Hometown: malden, mo (southeast missouri - referred to as the boot heal of the state)Alma Mater: St. louis university (BSn), marquette

university (mSn), muSc (phd)Family/Pets: husband, carl; cat, Jasmine (a shorthair, tortoise shell—honey and sable color with green eyes)Worst habit? chocolateWhat time did you get up this morning? 5:00 a.m.What music are you currently into? all types of music: classical, celtic, native american, jazz, bluegrass, country & westernWhat did you want to be growing up? a nurseWhat book is on your night stand? pillars of the earth by Ken follett and a book on fundraising for non-profit boardsLast movie you saw? Something on cable TVWebpage booksmarks? Wocn, WocncB and WQXr-fm to listen to classical musicIf you could attend any event what would it be? a Broadway play or a concert at carnegie hallFirst concert ever attended? dolly parton in the ‘60sIn your opinion, what is the world’s greatest problem? IntoleranceTalent I’d most like to have: musical talent to play the piano and

guitar or painting with watercolorsCoke or Pepsi? diet cokeMy very first job was... picking cottonBiggest pet peeve: rude behaviorThree adjectives your friends would use to describe you: persistent and I hope they would say that I am kind, thoughtful and respectful of othersLast item you bought and experienced buyers remorse: a beautiful long, black formal gown that is now too big to wear and has never been wornThree things in your bucket list: 1) Travel to france, Italy, and Greece 2) Travel across the u.S. from coast to coast 3) Become a mission volunteer

FAVORITES:Flower: roses, calla lillies and iris TV Show: le femme nikitaAnimal: cat Cookie: doubletree hotel’s chocolate chipMagazine: Journal of Wound ostomy continence nursingMovie: The Bourne series, Twister, cast awayPlace you’ve traveled to: IrelandThing to do on a Saturday night: dining out and attend a play or concert or dining and dancing with my husbandThing to do on a Sunday afternoon: relax on the screened porch with a good book and have an early dinner with friendsThing about living in Charleston: The charming, gracious people, proximity to the ocean and warm weather.

CalendaR of events

3eCONnections SepTemBer 2010

CON’s Annual ReportThe college of nursing

2009-2010 annual report is now posted on the intranet.

please take a moment to look at it and read about the amazing

accomplishments of the college over the last year.

CON Closeddecember 22 - January 4

PhD student accomplishments 2010Jill Marie Monfre - funded research• Wound ostomy continence nurses Society center for clinical Investigationfunded By: molnlycke health careTITled: Intrusiveness of pain associated with chronic Infected Woundsfunded amounT: $10,000

Collette Renee loftin - awards• Texas a&m university System 2010 chancellor’s Teaching excellence awards aWard amounT: $5,000

Ruth stockdell Conner - poster presentation• The Gerontological Society of america’s 63rd annual Scientific meeting, new orleans, la, november 19-23, 2009TITled: an examination of community and faith-Based resources for persons with de-mentia and Their caregivers

Robin Matutina - publication• matutina, r. (2010). The concept analysis of therapeutic misconception. nurse researcher, 17(4), 86-93

Melissa aselage - dissertation defense• Successfully defended her dissertation proposal on august 19, 2010

office of aCadeMICs

4eCONnections SepTemBer 2010

Outstanding CON facultycongratulations to elaine amella, Robin bissinger, vanessa Clark, gail gilden, erica grate-simmons, lee Horton, Mary lee lavelle, Carol Mcdougall, Cathy Mulloy,

Charlene pope, sheila smith, Ruthie stockdell, and tiffany Williams who all received outstanding e-value scores of 4.5 or greater for the summer semester. Way to go!

Amella Bissinger Clark Gilden Grate-Simmons

Horton Lavelle McDougall Mulloy Pope

Smith Stockdell Williams

Record-Setting Student Satisfactioneducational quality is our highest priority here in the college of nursing, therefore, we are delighted to report that in the 2010 muSc excellence Survey:• 97.8 percent of our current students reported that they are

receiving a high quality education.

• 97.6 percent of our graduating students reported that they had made the right choice in selecting MusC.

Please contribute to CON’sRecognition Fund

Contribution amounts:Faculty - $50Staff - $25

Please drop off a check to Peggy Spain in room 502. Make checks

payable to CON Recognition Fund.

To join the muSc college of nursing (con) Group click on MusC Con Facebook group.

Funded projectscongratulations to deborah Williamson,

dHa, Rn, CnM for receiv-ing funding from the new morning foundation for the project titled “Salud” in

the amount of $5,000. The study will utilize a nurse-midwife to provide contraceptive services and STd screening and treatment to a minority population, (primarily Span-ish speaking) at franklin c. fetter family health center.

congratulations to elaine amella, phd, Cnp-bC,

Faan, co-pI and Martina

Mueller, phd, co-pI for receiving funding from a subcontract with clemson university. This uSda grant award titled, “nutrition and food safety educa-tion targeting rural older adults: a volunteer-based train-the-team approach,” will examine the feasibility

of using a volunteer-based, train-the-team approach to reach rural older adults with information about how to make safe and healthy food choices and to use safe and healthy preparation practices. Two pre-existing volunteer groups will serve as the model for the train-the-team approach – the Sc family and community leaders, and the South carolina chapter of the american association of retired persons. The study will build on current evidence, capitalize on the potential contribution of pre-existing community-based groups as a source of volunteers to reach older adults with information about food safety and nutrition, and extend the focus to minority populations in an effort to eliminate health disparities.

office of ReseaRCH

5eCONnections SepTemBer 2010

Mueller

Amella

PublicationsKrause, J. S., Saunders, l. l., newman, s. (2010). post-traumatic stress disorder and spinal cord injury. archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation. 9(8),1182-1187.

Matutina, R. e., newman, s .d., Jenkins, C. M. (2010). profeSSIon and SocIeTy: measurement of students’ perceptions of nursing as a career. Journal of nursing Scholarship, doi: 10.1111/j.1547-5069.2010.01358.x.

MUSC establishes cooperative agreement to aid in eliminating health disparitiesrecent advances in medicine have led to significant improvements in the overall health status of americans, yet members of racial, ethnic and socioeconomic minor-ity groups continue to lag behind in health status and access to care. South carolina and many other states in the southeast share a disproportionate burden of chronic maladies–such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, many types of cancer, metabolic syndrome and periodontal disease. ethnic and socioeconomic disparities amplify the prevalence and complications associated with these diagnoses. muSc plans to address these burdens in South carolina, and ultimately other states in the Southeast, by establishing the Southeastern Virtual Institute for health equity and Wellness (Se VIeW). Se VIeW investigators will implement a series of community-based research and service outreach programs designed to reduce the burden of health disparities in these ways: 1. Increase awareness of the underlying causes of chronic diseases in the region by establishing education programs, with particular focus on young people 2. establish a preventative medicine, health and wellness program to reduce health disparities 3. develop community-based services, partnerships and outreach programs muSc announced the establishment of a cooperative agreement with the u.S. department of defense to develop educational and outreach programs and conduct community-based research on health disparities. This three-year, $12.7 million award was secured by u.S. rep. James e. clyburn to address the high rates of disease oc-currence, disability and mortality in rural, low-income or minority communities.

pRIMaRy InvestIgatoRs:

- Sabra Slaughter, phd- robert J adams, mS, md- Jeannette andrews, phd, apRn-bC,

Fnp

- anthony alberg, phd, mph- marvella ford, phd- melissa henshaw, md, mS, faap- Janice Key, md- daniel lackland, drph

- david rivers, ma- deborah Williamson, dHa, Rn, CnM

- dee ford, md- Jacobo mintzer, md- Brent egan, md- Marilyn laken, phd, Rn, Faan

- leonard egede, md, mS

Good-bye to Rachel Rohanrachel worked as a federally funded work-study student in the office of practice since august ’09. We will miss rachel, but wish the very best to her - with her future studies.

Greetings from Chinaformer office of practice volunteer and muSc muha foreign exchange nursing Intern hao Zheng emailed to let us know that she recently graduated from Guilin medical university in china with a degree in nursing. She sends warm wishes and is looking forward to returning to muSc medical center in the fall.

New bundle of joy arrives congratulations to Judith Rundbaken and her family on the birth of a baby boy. daniel Simja rundbaken was born June 29 weighing 7 pounds, 12 ounces. Judith is a patient navi-gator with the hispanic health Initiative. congratulations on the new arrival.

office of pRaCtICe

6eCONnections SepTemBer 2010

Third semester accelerated BSN students participating in the Hispanic Health Initiative: Front row (left to right): Christina

Chapman, Stacy Sanders, Emily Andrews, Annie Chalmers, Rachel Philpot. Back row (left to right): Lori Robinson, Jacob Wiegand,

Natalia Olmstread, Caitlin Miller, Chapman Whitlock.

Hispanic Health Initiative news Students participating in the hispanic health Initiative (hhI) had a busy summer. Students planned and organized a health fair for the hispanic migrant workers of John’s Island and their families. The students at the health fair, held on July 16, educated migrant families about the importance of oral health and showed how poor oral hygiene can have disastrous systemic effects on the body. In addition, the hhI students provided participants with new toothbrushes and tooth-paste from donations re-ceived from local dentists. lowcountry aIdS Services was also on hand to give hIV/aIdS tests to any parent interested. as part of their community clinical, the students worked with the children of migrant workers throughout their third semester at two different clinical sites on Johns Island.

McCandless joins HHI staffThe hispanic health Initiatives (hhI) would like to welcome Romina McCandless, MpH to the team. romina will be the project coordinator for a new program called paSos. This program will provide perinatal education in Spanish to the latino community, as well as connect latino

families to available community resources. romina initially came to work with hhI as a graduate as-sistant in the summer of 2009. during that time, she helped plan and implement a program aimed at improving parent-teen communication about reproductive health in the latino commu-nity, while working on her master in public health degree at the university of South carolina. She completed her mph degree in July. romina is a native of argentina and has over three years of medical interpreting experience. “The charleston latino com-munity really needs access to accurate and culturally appropriate perinatal health information, and I feel honored to be a part of a program that will be able to provide just that” said romina.

CON student Stacy Sandersgoes over how proper dental health

affects pregnancy.

CON welcomes new facultyamy Williams, Msn, Rn is an instructor in the pediatric nurse practitioner program at muSc. She received both her Bachelor of Science nursing degree and master of Science nursing degree at muSc college of nursing. amy is certified by the pediatric nursing certification Board. She is a member of the american nurses associa-

tion, the South carolina nurses association and the national association of pediatric nurse practitioners. She also serves on the board of the charleston area children’s Garden project. amy has experience in pediatric pulmonology and pediatric primary care. She currently provides primary care for pediatric patients at muSc children’s care in north charleston, South carolina. The clinic has a large Spanish-speaking population and amy speaks Spanish in her practice. her research interests include childhood obesity, childhood asthma, and promot-ing culturally competent healthcare. She is a recipient of the daISy award for extraordinary nurses.

FaCulty news

7eCONnections SepTemBer 2010

Need a new faculty photo taken?Call digital imaging

at 792-3000 to set up an appointment today.

Writers GuildThe first Writers Guild gathering was held august 19 and the group will meet again on Tuesday, September 14 at 2 p.m. in the historic library. The Writing center faculty will join the group to develop a collaboration plan. for those who attended the first meeting and/or who plan to attend in September, please develop a 350 word “abstract” on a topic or area of interest that you would like to pursue. Send the abstract to Teresa Kelechi by September 7 so that she can pass it along to the Writing center. The intent is to devel-op an idea for an article to share with the Writing center faculty before we meet. The Writing center faculty will be co-authors on any publications as they will contribute much to the overall development of the article. This is an interprofessional faculty col-laboration opportunity. If you have any questions, contact Teresa at kelechtj@musc.edu or 792-4602.

VA Nursing AcademyThe college of nursing has a unique partnership with the ralph h Johnson charleston Va in the form of the Va nursing academy. one of 15 national partnerships, the Va nursing academy aims to en-able stronger, mutually beneficial relationships be-tween the two entities. It provides innovative clinical training for muSc BSn students at the Va, serving veterans from past and present conflicts. Through the opportunity to serve these veterans, our BSn students learn about their unique needs including but not limited to: post traumatic stress disorder, risk for suicide, and traumatic brain injuries. Students are also able to care for female and homeless veterans through a variety of clinical experiences throughout their four semester accelerated program. as a result of the partnership, muSc con has begun to give points to nursing school applicants who are veterans. The partnership faculty have recently submitted four proposals to the robert Wood Johnson foundation, presented about their work at a national nursing conference, and will be conducting a variety of research projects over the coming year.

Barbeque Benefitfor the

MUSC College of nUrSing

Sponsored by:The Hilton Head Island Regional Advisory Board of the

Medical University of South Carolina - College of Nursing

Sunday, November 7, 20101 - 4 p.m.

Jarvis Creek Park, William Hilton Parkway

Save the Date

student news

8eCONnections SepTemBer 2010

White receives AHEC Scholarship Megan White, a third semester student enrolled in the accelerated BSn degree program has been selected to receive the Sc ahec Scholarship. This scholarship is designed to assist underrepresent-ed minority residents of South carolina interested in pursuing a nursing career. megan, an orangeburg native, has a passion for providing care in rural areas. at the college of charleston, megan served as a peer health educator and assisted with the preparation and execution of health fairs and health information fairs. She promot-ed wellness in the “college community” and served as a valuable resource between the students and local health providers. addi-tionally, she volunteered at muha in the emergency department. She is also the recipient of a scholarship from roper-St. francis foundation. megan is a graduate of the college of charleston with a major in biology. at the college of nursing, she is a dean’s list student and hopes to become a nurse practitioner.

Gates awarded MUHA Patron Scholarship brandon gates, a first semester student enrolled in the accelerated BSn degree program is the sixth recipient of the muha patron Scholarship. Brandon interviewed with college of nursing faculty and muha staff for this scholarship and was selected based on his excellent academic record, previous accomplishments, and career goals. Brandon is a graduate of clemson university, having gradu-ated with a major in microbiology and a 3.93 Gpa. follow-ing graduation, Brandon worked for merck and company and received the award for excellence for participation on the team to redesign an investigation process. he has also volunteered in the emergency center at Spartanburg regional medical center and shadowed nurses at cherokee family medicine in Gaffney, Sc. as a muha patron Scholarship recipient, Brandon will be mentored by a nurse administrator at muha and placed at the hospital following completion of his baccalaureate degree. This $25,000 scholarship has a two year employment pay-back requirement.

2nd Roper-Saint Francis Patron Scholarship recipient announcedlisa Cherry beatty is first semester student enrolled in the acceler-ated BSn degree program. lisa earned a 3.92 from the university of florida while receiving a Bachelor of Science in psychology. She has worked as a project coordinator for the South carolina

employment Securities commission in a temporary role, and as a guest services administrative specialist for the volunteer services at muSc. She has also volunteered in the muSc emergency room, as well as other areas. This $25,000 scholarship requires a one year work com-mitment to roper-St. francis healthcare. Winnie hennessy, phd, rn, ‘06 will mentor lisa as part of her role as the direc-tor of professional development and research at the hospital.

RWJF New Careers in Nursing recipients selected for fall 2010 The robert Wood Johnson foundation (rWJf) new careers in nursing scholarship program has awarded the college of nursing 10 scholarships in the amount of $10,000 each to selected accelerated BSn students. The students must have an earned baccalaureate degree and be from an underrepre-sented population or disadvantaged background. five students have been selected from the cohort beginning the accelerated BSn degree program this fall, and five additional students will be selected from the cohort admitted for spring 2011 semester. The students who have been selected for the fall 2010 semester are: ashleigh McCall, altonya McMillan, deana

phouksouvath, Jerrod Quinn-Fenwick, and William torres. The rWJf new careers in nursing scholarship program is a national program of rWJf and the american association of colleges of nursing. The program is designed to help alleviate the national nursing shortage, increase the diversity of nursing professionals, expand capacity in baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs, and enhance the pipeline of potential nurse faculty.

Rotary Sunset Club awards scholarshipThe rotary Sunset club of hilton head, Sc has awarded a $2,500 scholarship to ashley Hergenroeder. ashley is a graduate of clemson university with a Bachelor of Science in business management. She has a minor in Spanish and stud-ied at universidad de menendez pelayo in Seville, Spain. ashley will be a second generation nurse. her mother is a nurse and ashley shares that she taught her caring for others transcends differences.

Creative Responses toIllness and Healing

Presentation & Discussion

Charleston County Public Library

September 2, 2010

6:00 pm - 7:30 pm

The Poetry of Caregiving

Presentation & Discussion

2 West AmphitheatreMUSC University Hospital

September 3, 2010

Noon - 2:00 pm

This program is sponsored by The Humanities CouncilSC, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities; inspiring, engaging and enrichingSouth Carolinians with programs on literature, history, culture and heritage.

Nurse and PoetVeneta Masson,

author of Clinician’s Guideto the Soul (2008)

“The poem is strong medicine,” writes poet Veneta Masson in her collection of poetry titled Clinician’s Guide to the Soul: Poems on Nursing, Medicine, Illness and Life.

As a nurse and poet, Veneta Masson is regularly invited to participate in similar programs around the country.

Asked why she values the use of the humanities in health care, Ms. Masson replied, “Our full humanity often remains untouched by what science and technology can offer. Sometimes they can cure, but they do not heal.”