william f. connell school of nursing
year in review 2012–13
Dear Connell School community, The Connell School of Nursing had a fabulous 2012–13 academic year. Alumni, faculty, staff, and students were honored with awards, grants, and leadership positions, and nine of our community members were inducted into the American Academy of Nursing. Four foundations gave the Connell School a total of more than $1.8 million to support financial aid for master’s students, expand the program that welcomes nursing students from communities underrepresented in our field, and bolster international service and learning opportunities. The junior class made significant contributions to our outreach around the world: Nearly two of every five members of the Class of 2014 studied for a semester abroad in locations ranging from Chile and the Philippines to England and South Africa. I’m thrilled to share these achievements—and more—with you and I look forward to another year of growth and exciting possibilities. Sincerely,
Susan Gennaro Dean www.bc.edu/cson2013
connell school of nursing | year in review 2012–13
Faculty The Connell School of Nursing welcomed new faculty members ellen bishop, viola benavente, stewart bond, joyce edmonds, and sandy hannon-engel. Their specialties range from neurobiology to women’s health, palliative care to Latina health, and mental health to family nursing practice. Dean susan gennaro was appointed to a three-year term on the board of directors of the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research and was named to Sigma Theta Tau International’s International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame. Associate Professor jane ashley and patricia underwood, m.s. ’08, ph.d. ’11, are managing a two-year project, “Diabetes Management for Surgical Patients: A Team Approach,” funded by the U.S. Health Resources Service Administration, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services. Underwood is a nurse practitioner and research fellow in the endocrine division of Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Professor ann wolbert burgess was named the inaugural recipient of the Living Legend Award from the New England chapter of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association. Associate Professor jane flanagan was elected to the board of directors of the International Association for Human Caring. Clinical Assistant Professor holly fontenot was named a Distinguished Practitioner and Fellow by the National Academies of Practice. Also, the Massachusetts chapter of the March of Dimes Foundation named Fontenot one of nine 2012 Nurses of the Year, recognizing her work in administration and research. The Massachusetts Association of Registered Nurses presented Assistant Professor kelly stamp with its Excellence in Nursing Education Award. Assistant Professor melissa sutherland was named a Distinguished Practitioner and Fellow by the National Academies of Practice.
Associate Professor patricia tabloski was appointed to the advisory committee for the Doctoral Advancement in Nursing project, cosponsored by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Also, Tabloski was recently inducted into the Hall of Honor at her alma mater, Seton Hall University College of Nursing. Clinical Instructor julianne nemes walsh was appointed to a Massachusetts Action Coalition Advanced Practice Project Team to review the role of the advanced practice nurse in the Commonwealth. Associate Professor danny willis was the keynote speaker for the inaugural meeting of the New England chapter of the American Assembly for Men in Nursing. The Massachusetts Association of Registered Nurses honored Professor barbara wolfe, CSON’s associate dean for research, with the Mary A. Manning Nurse Mentoring Award. Also, Wolfe was elected vice president of the board of trustees of the American Psychiatric Nurses Foundation.
Retired Connell School of Nursing faculty member carol lynn mandle died on April 11 at the age of 65. Mandle joined Boston College in 1978 as an instructor in the Connell School and rose to the rank of associate professor. She retired in 2006.
Students On November 9, 2012, terry bustos ’13 and denice calub ’14 attended the Philippine Nurses Association of America 15th Eastern Regional Convention in Williamsburg, Virginia.
alexis carriere ’14, grace collins ’14, alexandra contino ’14, taylor cwiertniewicz ’14, danielle gautereaux ’14, mary gerardo ’14, and samantha prince ’14 were inducted into Alpha Sigma Nu, the Honor Society of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.
rachel difazio, m.s. ’96, ph.d. ’13, a pediatric nurse
karen daley, m.s. ’04, ph.d. ’10, president of the
practitioner at Boston Children’s Hospital, was inducted into the American Academy of Nursing. DiFazio presented a poster at the 2013 convention of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.
American Nurses Association, received a Massachusetts Health Council award for her contribution to improving and protecting the health of Massachusetts residents.
kelly distefano ’15 and julia melvin ’15 each received one of Boston College’s 2013 advanced study grants. DiStefano traveled to Nepal to study maternal mortality during childbirth and the efforts to improve the conditions for birthing mothers there, in conjunction with the Safe Motherhood Project. Melvin studied social determinants of health in Ghana. Doctoral student nancy dubois and doctoral candidate anna paskausky received a seed grant from the MIT H@cking Medicine Conference in spring 2013. Their project, “CryRx,” was selected for its potential to influence health care through innovation and technology. In July 2012, leyna gomez ’13, yesenia japa ’14, andrea lopez ’14, and kacthary sanclemente ’13 attended the National Association of Hispanic Nurses Conference, titled “Healthcare Reform: Mentoring the Next Generation of Nursing Leaders,” in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Doctoral candidate karen jennings was selected as one of nearly 200 Jonas Nurse Leader Scholars, funded in part by the Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence. The National League for Nursing named doctoral candidate kathleen m. keane as one of five members of the third cohort of Jonas Scholars, funded through the Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence.
kathryn phillips, m.s. ’10, ph.d. ’13, received the Lucy Perry Doctoral Scholarship, one of nine doctoral scholarships from the Nurse Educational Funds, Inc.
Alumni joan bardsley ’75, assistant vice president of Core Scientific Services at MedStar Health Research Institute, was named president-elect of the American Association of Diabetes Educators. She will become president in 2014.
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing honored jeannine m. rivet ’72 with the Nursing Spectrum/ Gannett Foundation Lectureship Award. Rivet is an executive vice president at UnitedHealth Group.
meghan shanahan, m.s. ’12, was named the inaugural Gertrude Stick Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurse Fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. In addition to rachel difazio (see Students), the American Academy of Nursing inducted eight Connell School alumnae to its roster of nearly 2,000 fellows. They are: ë michelle beauchesne, m.s. ’79, an associate professor and coordinator of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program at Northeastern University ë susan chapman, m.s. ’77, assistant adjunct professor at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing ë e lizabeth burgess dowdell, m.s. ’87, a professor of pediatric nursing at Villanova University and daughter of Professor Ann Wolbert Burgess ë jean d’meza leuner, m.s. ’79, ph.d. ’94, founding dean and professor at the University of Central Florida College of Nursing ë sara looby, ph.d. ’08, a nurse practitioner at Massachusetts General Hospital ë k ris mcloughlin ’82, director of nursing education, performance improvement, and research at UCLA’s Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital ë k athleen miller, m.s. ’80, associate dean for advanced practice programs and director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School’s Graduate School of Nursing in Worcester ë jeannine rivet ’72, an executive vice president at UnitedHealth Group
connell school of nursing | year in review 2012–13
International programs A record 38 percent of connell school juniors studied abroad for a semester in 2012–13. Thirty-five students traveled to Australia, Chile, Czech Republic, Ecuador, England, Ireland, Italy, Nepal, Philippines, South Africa, Spain, and Tanzania. A first-of-its-kind elective course offered in June 2012, Global Healthcare: Meeting Challenges and Making Connections, brought together 16 nursing students from the university of applied sciences in switzerland with nine Boston College undergraduates and one graduate student to study global health care issues from policy to patient care. In January 2013 on the nursing school’s third clinical service trip to haiti, 21 faculty, students, and alumni cared for up to 200 patients a day in mobile clinics and in orphanages. Four Connell School students spent a semester—and completed their community health clinical experience—in Ecuador, where they took core and elective courses at the universidad san francisco de quito and worked in a clinic and an elementary school in Tumbaco. Eight undergraduate students completed part of their community health clinical rotation in nicaragua in March 2013. For the first time, a junior completed her psychiatric mental health nursing theory and clinical courses at university college dublin in spring 2013.
Events angela barron mcbride, a distinguished professor and university dean emerita at the Indiana University School of Nursing, gave the Connell School’s fall 2012 Pinnacle lecture, “Orchestrating a Career for Leadership.” The Pinnacle Lecture Series brings recognized nursing leaders to Boston College each semester to address issues at the forefront of health care. Best-selling author, CBS This Morning show contributor, and Bob Woodruff Foundation cofounder lee woodruff gave the spring 2013 Pinnacle lecture, “Family Journey, Recovery, and Resilience: A Caregiver’s Perspective,” about her family’s journey after her husband, journalist Bob Woodruff, suffered a near-fatal traumatic brain injury while on assignment in Iraq in 2006.
At CSON’s 2013 reunion, mimi pomerleau, m.s. ’95, president of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses, accepted the fifth annual Dean Rita P. Kelleher Award and participated in a discussion on maternal and newborn health. Boston College hosted an educational event, “Care of the American Veteran: Palliative Care,” sponsored by the north-
east regional veterans administration nursing alliance, a consortium of VA hospitals in Boston and Bedford and six schools of nursing, including the Connell School. Professors june horowitz and dorothy jones were recognized for their leadership promoting health through nursing science at the Eastern Nursing Research Society’s annual conference, held last April in Boston. Also at the conference, mara renold ’13 presented a research poster, “The Effects of Socioeconomic Status on Cardiovascular Health of Mexican-American Women,” and Ph.D. candidate stacy hutton johnson and kathryn phillips, m.s. ’10, ph.d. ’13, discussed their research projects. Jones and fellow faculty jane flanagan and danny willis worked behind the scenes on the planning committee for the conference. Associate Professor rosanna demarco sits on the society’s board of directors. The Connell School of Nursing participated in the new
england regional black nurses association’s 25th Annual Excellence in Nursing Award Celebration, and three alumnae were honored: ë deborah washington, m.s. ’93, ph.d. ’12, director of diversity for patient care services at Massachusetts General Hospital, gave the keynote address, 25 years after she was the first recipient of the Excellence in Nursing Award ë c lara gona, ph.d. ’10, assistant professor at the MGH Institute of Health Professionals, received the Nursing Education/Teaching Award ë marion winfrey, m.s. ’79, associate dean and associate professor of nursing at the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at University of Massachusetts, Boston, received the Nursing Leadership Award The Connell School hosted a campus rally and workshop to discuss education as a social determinant of health for the YWCA’s national stand against racism day.
connell school of nursing | year in review 2012–13
Research grants Associate Dean m. katherine hutchinson is coprincipal investigator on the study “Maternal Influences of Substance Use among Urban Black Male Adolescents,” funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Doctoral candidate teresa connolly was awarded a research grant from the Neuroscience Nursing Foundation, a national funding arm of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses, to continue her study, “The Transitional Experience of Post-Stroke Survivors in the First 48 Hours after Going Home: A Pilot Study.” Doctoral candidate nick dionne-odom received the 2013 AACN Sigma Theta Tau critical care grant for his study, “Generating a Theoretical Model of the Psychological Processes of Surrogate Decision-Making at Adult Endof-Life in the ICU Using Cognitive Task Analysis.” The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and Sigma Theta Tau International are cosponsors.
By the numbers 2012–13 students 389 undergraduates 97 percent female 23 percent ahana 86 incoming freshmen 289 master’s students 29 Ph.D. students and candidates 31 states and U.S. territories 4 countries
Philanthropic gifts The helene fuld health trust provided $960,000 to create a financial aid endowment and support existing financial aid for students holding non-nursing baccalaureate degrees who wish to pursue careers as advanced practice nurses. The price family foundation pledged $540,000 to help the Connell School expand and enhance Keys to Inclusive Leadership in Nursing, a four-year-old program that recruits and prepares students from backgrounds that are traditionally underrepresented in the profession to become future nurse leaders. A gift of $250,000 established the elizabeth and kevin weiss fund for global service to support ongoing international service and learning experiences for Connell School students and new opportunities around critical global health issues.
The robert wood johnson foundation gave Boston College $80,000 to award new fellowships of $10,000 apiece to eight students from backgrounds underrepresented in nursing, in the accelerated Master’s Entry into Nursing program.
faculty 100 full time 4 part time 95 percent female
alumni 9,743 alumni 52 U.S. states and territories 17 countries
About us degrees, programs, certificates
clinical specialties
b.s.
Adult-Gerontological health
m.s.
Community health
m.s./ph.d.
Family health Forensic nursing
m.s./m.b.a.
Nurse anesthesia
(joint degree program with the
Palliative care
Carroll School of Management)
Pediatric health
m.s./m.a. in Pastoral Ministry
Psychiatric mental health
(joint degree program with the
Women’s health
School of Theology and Ministry) Three routes of entry to master’s degree programs in advanced nursing practice: traditional, master’s entry, RN to M.S. Two post-master’s certificates
dean susan gennaro 617–552–1710 susan.gennaro@bc.edu cushing hall 140 commonwealth avenue chestnut hill, ma 02467 www.bc.edu/cson CSON 0713 2802154