Alumna uses art & creativity to support fellow nurses
Fall 2021
NURSING
In this issue
Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing Dean Laurie Badzek, LLM, JD, MS, RN, FNAP, FAAN Editor/Designer Morgann McAfee
Marketing and Creative Services Manager
Writers Kristie Auman-Bauer
Director, Communications Core, SSRI
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Alumna uses art & creativity to support fellow nurses Nursing Alumnus Finds Purpose Supporting Home Island Record number of educational equity scholars among 1st-year cohort at University Park
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Pennsylvania couple makes transformational gift to name the College of Nursing
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Introducing the Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence
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The Teaching Nursing Home Project: A Revival
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Infographic: By the Numbers
Nursing student stays involved to lead with purpose
www.nursing.psu.edu
Brooke Killmon
Public Relations Specialist
Annalise Mara
Marketing and Communications Intern
Morgann McAfee
Marketing and Creative Services Manager
Joslyn Neiderer Freelance writer
Photography Morgann McAfee Marketing and Creative Services Manager
Penn State Cover image: Forrest Fortier iStock Provided by featured individuals
Office of Development and Alumni Relations Susan Kukic Director of Development and Alumni Relations
Lindsey Zapletal
Assistant Director of Alumni Relations and Programs
Julie Conner
Development and Stewardship Coordinator Penn State Nursing is a biannual publication. Articles may be reprinted with permission and proper credit. To make a reprint request email Morgann McAfee at mes44@psu.edu. The University is committed to equal access to programs, facilities, admission and employment for all persons. It is the policy of the University to maintain an environment free of harassment and free of discrimination against any person because of age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, creed, service in the uniformed services (as defined in state and federal law), veteran status, sex, sexual orientation, marital or family status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, physical or mental disability, gender, perceived gender, gender identity, genetic information or political ideas. Discriminatory conduct and harassment, as well as sexual misconduct and relationship violence, violates the dignity of individuals, impedes the realization of the University’s educational mission, and will not be tolerated. Direct all inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policy to the Affirmative Action Office, The Pennsylvania State University, 328 Boucke Building, University Park, PA 16802-5901, Email: aao@psu.edu, Tel (814) 863-0471. This publication is available in alternative media upon request. U.Ed. NUR 21-11.
Dear Alumni and Friends, As we prepare for 2022, we can expect various trends to remain central throughout nursing, some of which are long overdue. Prioritizing our self-care, relentlessly pursuing health care experiences that are inclusive, diverse and accepting, providing adequate resources for long-term care facilities or positioning influential nurse leaders in key roles are all mission critical and integral to the future of our college and the health of the world.
Laurie Badzek,
LLM, JD, MS, RN, FNAP, FAAN
With these critical factors in mind, we are building our strategic plan around the following priorities: 1. Transforming Education - our equitable, student-centered curriculum will prepare nurse leaders for complex healthcare systems 2. Enhancing Health with Research & Innovation - we will lead the development of nurse scientists and translation of research to practice 3. Stewarding our Planet’s Resources - we will prioritize responsible usage with a focus on sustainability in health care 4. Using Arts & Humanities to Further Nursing - we will integrate arts and humanities to address challenges in providing care 5. Service through Outreach & Digital Innovation - through the use of technology and digital solutions, we will serve the Commonwealth Our mission to create nurse leaders who will transform the lives and health around the world will only be realized with bold intentionality and action. And we cannot do it alone, and thankfully, we don’t have to. With the continued support of our tremendous alumni and friends, we are bound to make a great impact. We hope you enjoy this issue and take pride in being a part of the only named nursing school in the Big 10! Be well, Laurie
PENN STATE NURSING MAGAZINE • FALL 2021
Infographic
Below you’ll find a snapshot of the college’s graduate program enrollment growth and our most diverse and inclusive incoming class in college history. Graduate Nursing Students *Fall 2021 Enrollment as of Oct 1st
*Fall 2021 Enrollment as of Oct 1st
300 250
Number of Students
Graduate Nursing Students
200 150 100 50 0
2016
2017
2018
Fal l Enrollment
2019
2020
2021*
New Student Accepts (Calendar Year)
% Multicultural Self-Identified Students All Programs and Campuses *Fall 2021 as of Oct 1st
Percent of Multicultural Self-Identified Students
22% 18% 13%
14%
19%
16%
All programs and campuses *Fall 2021 Enrollment as of Oct 1st
FA16
FA17
FA18
FA19
FA20
FA21*
% Multicultural Self-Identified Students BSN FYR Accepts (All Campuses)
Percent of Multicultural Self-Identified Students
BSN First-Year Accepts, All campuses *Fall 2021 Enrollment as of Oct 1st
32% 23% 16%
17%
2016
2017
2018
26% 22%
2019
Calendar Year
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Alumna uses art & creativity to support fellow nurses Forrest Fortier RN, BSN, MSTD, 1986 BSN graduate, has traveled many paths throughout this life, from a nurse educator to flight nurse, from cancer survivor to artist—her current passion. At the onset of Fortier’s career, she knew she loved creative expression but was worried it would not provide the professional satisfaction she needed. So, she leveraged her empathetic side and pursued nursing instead. Attending Penn State University Park for her undergraduate degree, she began to feel like Happy Valley was her home. A feeling that was recently rekindled when she visited again in August 2021 to attend a ceremony hosted in celebration of the College of Nursing being renamed the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing. After graduating with her BSN, she put her skills to work as a critical care nurse. Shortly after she became a flight nurse at Duke University in North Carolina, where she met her future husband who is also a nurse. Her career’s progression was periodically paused when she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. Despite this unsettling diagnosis, she was committed to persevering and successfully overcame her battle with cancer. Realizing she ultimately wanted to teach, Fortier enrolled in a master’s program and became a nurse educator. Loving her work
teaching fellow nurses how to deliver critical care and engaging with families and patients, she decided to take a management position. It was at this point, over a decade into her nursing career, that she began to struggle with endurance and exhaustion. In 2014, Fortier noticed herself significantly slowing down and being unable to do the work that once brought her tremendous fulfillment. She sought medical care to help identify the cause of her extreme fatigue. Unfortunately, the answers she and her physicians sought would never come. Over the next few years, she persisted and managed to do her job as best she could. She would work at all hours of the day, in spurts to maintain her energy. Then she began to lose her dexterity, struggling to hold writing utensils well enough to write. In 2019, she retired early leaving behind a career and colleagues she truly loved. Struggling to maintain her positive outlook, her mother suggested she reignite her creative passions as a therapeutic outlet. Fortier enrolled in weekly art classes to cope. Ultimately, she mastered a collage technique where she combines a variety of papers, ink, and paints to create a textured, dynamic result. Fortier used her collaging technique to create a series of nursing inspired works reflecting the nursing experience over the course of the pandemic. The series is titled “The Power of Nursing” with collages that reflect that power through learning, prayer, support and, even, despair. Fortier often uses her colleagues and people she knows as models and inspiration, for
example, the “Power of Nursing through Despair” features a colleague and friend of Fortier’s who lost her life to COVID-19. “When nursing became physically difficult for me, I wanted to find a way I could still contribute in a meaningful way. I had started developing my artistic skills as therapy for my own healing. The pandemic occurred and the desire to contribute to nursing increased. This path led me to use my artistic skills to create emotionally charged paintings representing nurses,” she shares. Despite Fortier’s difficulties, she has found a renewed path that allows her to embrace both her passions while helping to illustrate the experience of nursing throughout the coronavirus pandemic for the world. The Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing commissioned Fortier to produce a series of collages that represent the milestone occasion of being renamed, among other unique aspects of the college, the first in the series is displayed as the cover image of this magazine. Check our Fortier’s work at her website: forrestfortier.com
PENN STATE NURSING MAGAZINE • FALL 2021
Nurses Rising
Nursing Alumnus Finds Purpose Supporting Home Island For 18-year-old Sinj Lee, once accepted to Penn State, the interest in returning to his home island, Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, seemed like something of the past. After being admitted to University Park campus in 2004 as an undecided major, Lee began searching for his path and purpose. Unsure of where to start, Lee’s mother suggested that he look into the University’s nursing program as it was a trusted field and a profession that could help others in need. Lee was initially hesitant, as traditional Korean culture views nursing as a female-oriented role. Despite the cultural pressures, Lee met with his adviser about the nursing program and felt the profession suited his personality well. “I felt very lucky to have been accepted into the program and start my nursing journey,” said Lee. “I wasn’t keen on it very much because I grew up in Korean culture and it is still viewed as a very female dominant field. But I was able to talk to an adviser and we talked about what nurses offer, the future of nursing, and it all really piqued my interest.”
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During Lee’s third year, the Penn State Army ROTC program hosted a nursing recruiting event at Walter Reed Medical Center to illustrate for students the role of an Army nurse and the type of hospital environment they worked in. “Naturally, I volunteered! After the trip I was so impressed with military medicine and nursing,” said Lee. “Long story short, I joined the Penn State Army ROTC Program and they even provided me a 2-year scholarship with stipends to finish out my nursing degree.” In May of 2008, during the height of the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, Lee graduated with a BSN and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and an officer in the Army Nurse Corps. His first duty station was in the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany. Lee then received training at the Army’s Critical Care Course in Ft. Lewis, Washington to become a critical care nurse. In 2011, Lee was deployed to Camp Bastion, Afghanistan for 6 months in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and was then stationed in Ft. Campbell, Kentucky at the 86th Combat Support Hospital.
In 2013, after serving 5 years on active duty, Lee felt it was time to leave the Army to go on to continue his education as a nurse anesthetist. He enrolled in the nurse anesthesia program at the Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia in Nashville, Tennessee. Upon receiving his Master of Science in Anesthesia in 2015, Lee began work at Medical Center Health in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was there where Lee met his now-wife, Breanna, who worked as a nurse in telemetry and cardiac cath lab. Breanna graduated with her associate’s nursing degree from Western Kentucky University (WKU) and received her BSN from Lindsey Wilson College. While her clinical nursing experience included telemetry nursing and cardiac cath lab nursing, she was sought out by WKU to help teach nursing students. “After we married, we flew to Saipan, where my parents still reside. To me, it was important for my wife to see where I grew up,” said Lee. “During the visit, my wife explained how much of an impact we could make here with the medical skills we possess. At the time I was hesitant because
I never thought of coming back to the island, but after more discussions, we decided to give it a shot.” Sinj and Breanna moved to Saipan in 2019, and after moving the process of finding a job for Lee turned out to be a long and arduous journey as Saipan had never had a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist prior. Lee was finally hired at the Commonwealth Health Corporation (CHCC), the only hospital on the island, after almost a year and a half of deliberation. He became one of the first CRNA’s to work on Saipan, paving the way for the profession on the island. Breanna was hired as a full-time clinical nursing instructor at the Northern Marianas College (NMC). Before beginning her role, the college’s NCLEX pass rate was less than ideal. Now, after expanding her nursing expertise to her students, Breanna has contributed greatly to increasing the college’s NCLEX pass rate.
preparing the students to become quality nurses and pass the board exam. Technically, she is the skills instructor but she puts in so much additional time to teach med surg and pharmacology to help the students learn more,” said Lee. Sinj and Breanna have now been living in Saipan for close to three years and recently welcomed their first child, a daughter, Ellie. Breanna is currently enrolled in a master’s program in Nursing Education at Baker University, and Sinj, while still working at the local hospital, decided to donate some of his extra time teaching at NMC too. “After watching my wife for the last two and a half years give so much of her time, I decided to jump in and help with the nursing program. I will be teaching pharmacology this semester and hopefully in the future as well,” said Lee. “We are doing our best to give back to the community I grew up in and bringing quality anesthesia and nursing education to Saipan. We’re also enjoying living in paradise!”
“The nursing program is very small with limited faculty, so Breanna has been giving countless hours of her own time in PENN STATE NURSING MAGAZINE • FALL 2021
Nurses Rising
The understanding and appreciation of diversity are fundamental to providing patients with the best quality of care. The Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing is at the forefront of nurturing the next generation of culturally sensitive nurses. Ten students, a record-high number who received competitive educational equity scholarships, were among the fall 2021 1st-year cohort of students at the University Park campus. “Nursing is the largest segment of the healthcare workforce and we have an ethical and moral obligation to produce a future Sheldon Fields workforce for the healthcare industry that is fully prepared to provide culturally appropriate care for all in our society,” said Sheldon Fields, the inaugural associate dean for equity and inclusion and research professor in the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing. “We can only decrease health disparities and achieve health equity with a diverse nursing profession.” Each of the students identifies as multicultural and is affiliated with one of four educational equity scholar programs that are either managed, affiliated with, or overseen by the Penn State Office of Educational Equity.
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The programs include the Milton Hershey Program, the Maguire Scholars Program, the Brook J. Lenfest Trustee Scholarship, and the Bunton-Waller Program. While each of the programs maintains its own merit-based eligibility requirements, all of the programs share the goal to enhance the inclusion efforts at Penn State and provide support to underrepresented and underserved students in higher education. Taleem Moore, a Brook J. Lenfest Trustee Scholarship awardee, was interested in the medical field for as long as he can remember. On-campus, all of the scholarship winners live on the same floor which helped Moore make connections. Moore said that the Penn State program has exceeded his expectations and he is enjoying his newfound social group as well as events hosted on campus. “This world is full of people with different backgrounds and cultural upbringings. Having nurses from multiple backgrounds makes it easier to connect with patients,” said Moore. “It can create a comfortable environment knowing there’s no language barrier. To me, the better a patient is understood, the better they can be treated overall.” Alexandra Reaves, a BuntonWaller Merit Scholarship awardee, was interested in healthcare and aware of the need for reform
within the field to serve all types of people equally; races, genders and identities. She thought she could make an impact by studying nursing at Penn State. Reaves said that mentorship and networking opportunities provided by her scholarship program have helped her transition from high school to college. “Knowing that I have people in my corner supporting me makes Penn State feel a lot more like home. In addition, Alexandra Reaves my scholarship program connected me to a network of many other passionate black nursing students who have become some of my closest friends,” said Reaves. “The support I have received so far in my short time on campus has been overwhelming and makes my heart so full.” According to Fields, the connections that the students forge as a cohort will enable them to support each other through the rigors of Penn State’s nursing program. “We are moving in the right direction to be able to provide the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with a future nursing workforce that more closely mirrors the gender as well as ethnic/racial make-up of the state,” said Fields.
Caring for the Amish Community The pandemic has undoubtedly impacted everyone in countless ways, but the risks associated with the virus have made it especially difficult for isolated communities to seek out the resources they need, and this is no exception for the Amish community. Because the Amish follow a strict set of lifestyle guidelines that include keeping away from many forms of modern technology that other communities and institutions rely on, finding a meeting ground for aiding this community has been a challenge that Joan Humphrey, assistant teaching professor and nursing coordinator in the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing at Penn State Shenango has helped tackle.
Working with Primary Health Network (PHN), Humphrey serves as the “telephone doctor”, as her patients call her. She works closely with community outreach workers to facilitate a connection and provide both telehealth and in-person medical services to isolated communities.
infringement on their beliefs of not having technology, but because it is providing medical care and literacy to a population that should be treated no different than anyone else.”
Despite the isolated nature of the Amish community, Humphrey firmly believes their needs do not need to be unmet given the pandemic. One way PHN has been able to bridge the gap between the community and modern medicine during a time with needed social distancing is through telehealth visits. They have provided company-issued cell phones so as to not breach the Amish’s cultural values and technology usage rules.
Humphrey’s next step is learning more about different culturally responsible approaches to combating vaccine hesitancy and promoting vaccine literacy without political influences to better reach the Amish community.
“I love the idea of reaching an underserved population in this way. Not because it is an
Read more about Humphrey’s work with the Amish at nursing.psu.edu
Hill and Miyamoto inducted as Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing Nikki Hill, associate professor and associate director of education for the Tressa Nese Nikki Hill and Helen Diskevich Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence in the Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing, focuses her research on cognitive decline risk in older adults, reducing dementia-related stigma, and tailoring interventions to meet individual goals. Her contributions to nursing science have advanced understanding of dementia’s earliest symptoms
as well as provided targets for person-centered interventions to maximize cognitive and functional outcomes. Sheridan Miyamoto, associate professor of nursing and Child Maltreatment Solutions Sheridan Miyamoto Network and principal investigator of the Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Telehealth (SAFE-T) Center, focuses her research on innovating care delivery for sexual assault survivors and solutions for child maltreatment. Miyamoto
established the SAFE-T Center to enact her vision of enhancing access and quality of sexual assault care in underserved areas. The center works by providing expert guidance through the use of telehealth technology to onsite clinicians while they deliver sexual assault examinations, resulting in better examination experiences and outcomes. In addition to Miyamoto and Hill, three Penn State Nursing alums join them: Ashley Henneghan, a 2008 graduate of the BSN program; Jean Lucas, a 1992 graduate of the BSN program; Beth Baldwin Tigges, a 1980 graduate of the BSN program.
PENN STATE NURSING MAGAZINE • FALL 2021
Philanthropy Spotlight
Pennsylvania couple makes transformational gift to name the College of Nursing Ross Nese is a founder and board member of Grane Healthcare, which manages long-term care facilities throughout Pennsylvania.
At a moment when the global
COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of skilled and committed frontline healthcare professionals, Ross and Carol Nese, longtime supporters of Penn State’s College of Nursing, have pledged $27.125 million to enhance nursing education at the University. The Neses’ gift — the largest ever for the College of Nursing and the second-largest single commitment to an academic unit in Penn State’s history — will be coupled with $17.9 million in matching funds from Penn State, providing a combination of endowed and outright funding for scholarships, faculty and program support, and facilities and equipment.
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“Penn State is deeply grateful to Ross and Carol for their remarkably generous and timely gift,” said Penn State President Eric J. Barron. “There is no better way for us to fulfill our land-grant mission of serving the public good than to prepare new nurses to join that critical workforce — and the Neses’ gift will allow the College of Nursing to dramatically increase the number of health care professionals who graduate from Penn State each year, prepared to meet the needs of patients and communities. As a leader in Pennsylvania’s healthcare services industry, Ross has seen firsthand our impact on nursing, as well as our potential for future impact on the nursing profession. I am honored that the Neses have chosen Penn State as a partner in achieving their vision of better health care across the nation.”
“The Neses’ gift will be profoundly transformational for the college,” said Laurie Badzek, dean of the College of Nursing. “I know they share our deep concern about the nursing shortage that has been developing in our country for some time and recognize the significant and growing role that nurses with excellent preparation play in the delivery of outstanding health care. Bolstered by their visionary philanthropy, Penn State can really make a difference for the field of nursing — not only because of the number of nurses we graduate, but also because they will be graduating from one of the nation’s finest nursing programs, where the mission is to create nurse leaders. I sincerely thank Ross and Carol for partnering with us to enable such significant and positive changes in nursing education at Penn State.” The Neses’ gift will spur growth and enhance programming across nearly every aspect of the college’s operations. The main elements of the commitment include:
• Undergraduate and graduate scholarships to help attract the most promising students, enable them to focus on their studies with fewer external work commitments, and leave them with less debt upon graduation;
has had on my life. It allowed me to go from four jobs to two almost overnight, I bought a car, and it has allowed me more time with my family. And for that I am eternally grateful.”
• Infrastructure and technology support to increase the college’s physical space and acquire new equipment, especially high-tech equipment in the classroom and for simulation, allowing students to extend clinical learning in novel ways;
The impact of the Neses’ gift will serve to increase the number of bachelor’s-prepared nurses entering the profession over the next decade by a minimum of 20% or more — and a considerably higher increase through strategic investment in the individual strengths of Commonwealth Campus programs. Michael Fleck, junior nursing student, has been extremely appreciative for the funding, stating, “Everyone knows a nurse who helped them or a loved one when they were at their lowest, or when they were hurting, or when they needed to laugh, or when they just needed to talk. Nurses seem to know how to heal with the mind and the heart... Because of your scholarship fund and additional financial support that I have received, my tuition for this school year is completely covered, and I am so, so grateful for that.”
• Innovation funds to provide seed funding for new ideas for teaching, research, outreach and entrepreneurial endeavors for both faculty- and student-driven ideas; and • A program endowment that can be directed by the dean, as needed, to a wide range of priorities for both faculty and students, in areas such as professorships and fellowships, teaching awards, recruitment, research start-up funding, conferences, study abroad, and student leadership programs. On August 28, 2021, the Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing officially celebrated the renaming of the college. The event featured speeches from many including President Eric Barron, Dean Laurie Badzek, Ross Nese, and the recipients of the scholarship funding. Megan Harshbarger, senior nursing student, expressed great appreciation at the naming ceremony dinner, stating, “This is now my third year receiving this scholarship, and I cannot even begin to describe the impact it
In the press announcing the gift from the Neses, Matthew W. Schuyler, chair of the Board of Trustees, welcomed the opportunity to honor the Neses. “Ross and Carol have been strong supporters of the college for many years, and they have always given quietly, refusing public recognition. This speaks to their incredible humility as well as to their generosity,” Schuyler said. “The Board of
Trustees feels strongly a gift of this magnitude, which will provide such tremendous benefit to our University and our students and faculty, deserves to be recognized. The Neses’ gift will advance “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” a focused campaign that seeks to elevate Penn State’s position as a leading public university in a world defined by rapid change and global connections. With the support of alumni and friends, “A Greater Penn State” seeks to fulfill the three key imperatives of a 21st-century public university: keeping the doors to higher education open to hardworking students regardless of financial wellbeing; creating transformative experiences that go beyond the classroom; and impacting the world by serving communities and fueling discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship. To learn more about “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” visit greaterpennstate.psu.edu.
PENN STATE NURSING MAGAZINE • FALL 2021
Preparing Nurse Leaders
Introducing the
Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence
The Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing’s Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence has officially been renamed as the Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence. The name of the center is in memory of both Ross and Carol Neses’ mothers, a commitment that aligns with the center’s dedication to not only to older adults but also to their families who support their health and wellbeing. “After hearing about the Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence and their excellent reputation in the geriatric community, my wife and I began donating to the college anonymously. But, given the pandemic and nursing shortage, we knew we had to dig further into the root cause by recruiting more exceptional nurses and alleviating their debt,” said Ross Nese. “Carol and I believe in the work that will be achieved through this partnership, and that it will create a lot of good. We have taken our time in putting all the right elements into this endeavor, and now it is time
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to help the people that are really in need, which are the geriatric population.” The generous resources provided by the Neses’ will help support student knowledge, interest, and engagement in geriatric nursing and gerontology, improve the quality of care and life of older adults while implementing best practice approaches, and support older adults’ preferences. It will also help the center further advance the science of aging and the unique aspects related to older adulthood, including support for post-doctoral fellows, more research, and innovations. “We have been fortunate to have the Neses’ support for several years before the renaming of the center. We knew of their close relationship with and love of Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich,” stated Donna Fick, Elouise Ross Eberly Professor and director of the center. “Having the center named in honor of these two special women who meant so much to their family and community is one of the highest honors for our center’s team and myself as the center director. We
take this naming as a privilege and a responsibility to live up to their names and work every day to improve the care of older adults.” Through equitable and inclusive education, research, translation of best practice, and service, the center improves health care and quality of life for older adults and their care partners. Overall, the center works to ensure that every older adult experiences the highest quality of life and wellbeing supported by evidencebased practices that respect their individual goals and preferences. “We need more nurse leaders to transform the lives and health of older adults around the world, and the support that has been provided to our center will help us pursue our college’s mission more fully,” said Janice Whitaker, administrator and community liaison for the center. “This support will enable us to develop more specialized clinicians, scientists, and nurse executives to serve the increasing population of older adults in a variety of academic, healthcare, and other settings.” Established in 2007, the center was a thoughtful response to the national nursing faculty shortage—one targeted to prepare faculty members who have broad expertise in the care of our country’s rapidly growing population of older adults and are committed to teaching the next generation of nurses, especially in underserved rural areas. Learn more about the Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich Center for Geriatric Nursing Excellence at www.nursing.psu.edu/cgne/
SAFE-T Center awarded grant to expand training, establish workforce advancement Sexual assault victims have better outcomes when they receive specialized care, yet there is a shortage of trained sexualassault nurses across the country, especially in rural areas. A $1.5 million, three-year grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration will allow the Penn State’s Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Telehealth (SAFE-T) Center to identify and partner with six new rural or underserved community hospital sites in Pennsylvania using innovative telehealth technology to deliver accessible, evidenced based clinical training to local nurse teams in SAFE-T partner communities. Researchers will also implement the Center for SANE Workforce Advancement, which is based on the SAFE-T Center model, to train teams of sexual assault nurses (SANEs) as well as improve the retention rate through workforce growth, retention, and long-term program sustainability. “This will allow us to round out our telehealth training program by creating a sustainable model that will give novice SANEs access to training and live examination precepting in areas
It will also allow new forensic nurses the opportunity to be part of a network of SANEs comprised of all the SAFE-T Center sites to share learning, experiences, and provide support for one another. where little to no expertise exists,” said Sheridan Miyamoto, director of the SAFE-T Center and associate professor of nursing. “It will also allow new forensic nurses the opportunity to be part of a network of SANEs comprised of all the SAFE-T Center sites to share learning, experiences, and provide support for one another. SANEs will know they are not alone in doing difficult work, which will hopefully lead to higher retention rates in this important specialty.”
Along with Miyamoto, Cynthia Bittner, assistant director; Katherine Veerhusen, clinical education program coordinator; Jonathan Essick, IT manager; Marsha Freije, project manager; and the SAFE-T Center TeleSANE team will be responsible for establishing the training institute and launching the program at new sites. About the SAFE-T Center Launched in 2016 with funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime, the SAFE-T Center has trained 73 SANE nurses thus far, ensuring local access to highquality, sexual-assault care for those who need the most help — assault victims — in underserved communities. Additional support for the SAFE-T Center is being provided by the Clinical and Translational Science Institute and the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network, part of the Social Science Research Institute, all at Penn State.
PENN STATE NURSING MAGAZINE • FALL 2021
Nurses in Action
The Teaching Nursing Home Project: A Revival Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, challenges faced by nursing homes were often overlooked. However, now, the plight of long-term care facilities is in the spotlight. With this newfound level of awareness, resources to address these challenges are finding their way into the facilities that need them most. In Pennsylvania, three universities are partnering with locally based long-term care facilities to revive a project from the eighties – the Teaching Nursing Home.
Geriatric nurses are few and far between, with a typical nursing curriculum focusing on treating acute or chronic illnesses without substantial emphasis on treating older adults specifically. The Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Pennsylvania have partnered with the Jewish Healthcare Foundation and The John A. Hartford Foundation aiming to combat this shortcoming by supplementing already stellar curriculums.
Forty years ago, at the prompting of the National Institute on Aging, schools of nursing and other disciplines engaged their students in a nursing home setting. Giving students a hands-on experience and exposure to the complexities around caring for adults at various stages of the aging process. The goal was multi-faceted: teach students how to meet complex caregiving needs, support local nursing homes through studentbased caregiving, and provide rich research opportunities to enhance caregiving bestpractices through evidence-based methodologies.
“As we’ve witnessed on a national stage, nursing homes in this country are faced with a myriad of difficulties. Projects like the Teaching Nursing Home provide the experiential learning students need and a robust research opportunity for innovating our approach to caregiving,” says Laurie Badzek, dean of the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing. “Our college is positioned perfectly for this collaboration, and we are proud to be supporting Pennsylvanians now and for generations to come by improving the quality of life for long-term care residents.”
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For the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing, the opportunity to participate in the project was a natural fit as the college is home to the Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence—the recently renamed center is a hub of geriatric experts. With many of the center’s affiliated faculty playing a role in the program, the Teaching Nursing Home model establishes relationships between universities and care facilities. The relationships are mutually beneficial and built around sharing resources, ultimately creating a two-way pipeline for promoting academic advancement and ongoing evaluation that can be used to inform policies advocating for improved quality of care and life. Each participating university has paired up with a local long-term care facility, partnering with Penn State is Centre Care, formerly Centre Crest, a non-profit skilled nursing facility in Centre County, Pennsylvania. Centre Care offers rehabilitation and wellness services and recently moved into a new space with residents benefiting from state-of-the-art facilities.
Noting a large percentage of Centre Care’s residents are supported through Medicaid, this collaborative project will provide some of the area’s most vulnerable population with enhanced care and opportunities to build connections with nursing students. The potential for these meaningful connections is at the core of the nursing student’s learning experience. The opportunity to engage with patients who often have unique needs, in a supportive learning environment could also lead to an increase in the number of nurses who commit their careers to caring for older adults. Long-term care facilities who participated in the Teaching Nursing Home project in the eighties reported lower turnover amongst staff and leadership while also attracting more qualified caregivers. Today’s partnerships can provide a foundation for educational programs and the development of care facility benchmarks, collectively resulting in nurse retention and improved resident experience.
The potential for continuous improvement of the longterm care experience is found within interdisciplinary research possibilities inherent to these partnerships. Bringing together administrators, nurses, physicians, social workers, faculty, and students—just to name a few—enables the translation of research into practice naturally. Nursing, especially nursing in long-term care facilities, needs novel solutions to create healthy working and living conditions, and the Teaching Nursing Home framework is well positioned to act as a conduit for innovating and refining. If you or an organization you’re connected with is interested in supporting this crucial project, please consider reaching out to Susan Kukic, the Director of Development in the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing. While this work is critical to our future, it exists now on two years of funding. Scan the code below to make a gift and support this project! Scan with your camera!
Thursday, May 12, 2022 8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Hershey Country Club 1000 East Derry Road Hershey, PA 17033 www.nursing.psu.edu/ event/translatingresearch-symposium/ Registration opens in
J A N U A RY 2 0 2 2 !
PENN STATE NURSING MAGAZINE • FALL 2021
Next Generation Nurse Leaders
Nursing student stays involved to
LEAD WITH PURPOSE Junior nursing student Kyle Loose has found many ways to make an impact in a changing world. Separate from his classes and clinicals, Loose is heavily involved with a number of organizations. He serves as the current president of the National Student Nurses’ Association (NSNA) and the vice president of the Student Nurses’ Association at Penn State (SNAPS). Right from the start of his first year, Loose was ready to get involved. He started by becoming the first year representative of his class for SNAPS. In this role, he supported the members of the SNAPS executive board, mainly acting as a liaison between them and his fellow first year classmates. In his second year, he worked to help host the SNAP’s nursing career fair. He became a student ambassador, helping him connect with potential students and giving him the position to showcase how SNAPS has been so influential for him. In his role as vice president, Loose coordinates the mentor-mentee program. Here, he works to pair upper division students with a cohort of lower division mentees. Because first year nursing students typically only have their nursing seminar class, they can feel a bit isolated from their peers until they start getting into more upper-level courses. This program helps socialize the students, allowing them to
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meet their peers and also have a mentor to help guide them in their beginning phases of the program. Another significant experience to Loose is his work at the national level with NSNA, where he began to fully realize his potential as a student nurse leader. In April 2020, he was elected the director of the whole eastern region of the country. A key goal of Loose’s with his role in NSNA is to focus on national health issues, healthcare equity and inequality. This includes focusing on minority populations with race, sexual orientation, gender expression, LGBTQ+ health, and much more. “These topics aren’t often covered in nursing school. It’s been almost 12 years since same sex marriage was legalized in the United States, but being open about identity is not always as well received in healthcare practice,” shares Loose. To work toward his goal of a more inclusive world of healthcare, Loose has taken steps to elevate these voices. In his capacity as vice president with NSNA, he helped write articles highlighting racism as a public health threat. He notes there is not enough of a blend in mental and physical healthcare in the current health sphere. Microaggressions in the patients’ land of care are inexcusable, and working to bridge this gap is of urgent importance.
Loose also contributed to the NSNA’s position statement on COVID-19, highlighting how members of the Black, Latinx, Native American, and Alaskan Native communities were much more likely to contract a fatal case of COVID. These prevalent numbers for underrepresented communities demonstrate a huge gap in the system. Loose also finds importance in encouraging others to pursue student leadership to prepare for future leadership roles professionally. This is a huge responsibility that needs to be taken on, and he has faith that all of his peers would excel in leadership positions “With leadership and getting involved, I want to help guide future nurse leaders. Our goal is to push healthcare in a new light, especially with the new generation,” says Loose. By continuing in his roles, Loose hopes to be hands-on in fostering forward momentum of nationwide equity in healthcare.
IMPACT aims to increase diversity at the doctoral level The Improving Access through Research and Training (IMPACT) program at Penn State aims to expose students of underrepresented backgrounds to the benefits of pursuing research careers related to cardiovascular, pulmonary, hematologic, or sleep-disordered conditions. The program hosted its first cohort of six scholars for an immersive eight-week full-time research experience at University Park over the summer of 2021. “It’s critically important to foster diversity in the healthcare field especially when we look at the doctoral levels and research scientists; we do not have enough diversity there,” said Lisa Kitko, associate professor and Josiah S. Macy Jr. Faculty Scholar in the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing, and co-PI of the IMPACT program. “We did some preliminary surveys and most of the students weren’t aware of what a graduate degree could afford them, and if they were aware, they weren’t aware of how to get into a research lab on their own.” IMPACT is a federally funded program supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The program is jointly administered by the Penn State
College of Health and Human Development and Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing. Kitko serves as the co-principal investigator of the program with Linda Wray, associate professor of biobehavioral health in the College of Health and Human Development. As part of the competitive application process, students were asked to identify a research area they were interested in and a faculty member, who had active federal grants in NHLBI priority areas, that they would like to work with. Students in the inaugural cohort included rising seniors from Penn State, University of Chicago, and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Penn State student Angelina Hin was paired with Ying-Ling Jao, assistant Ying-Ling Jao (L) and Angelina Hin (R) professor of nursing, through the IMPACT program. During her research experience, she was fully integrated into Jao's lab. “When I worked with her in the summer it was extremely handson as we were going to nursing homes, collecting data, doing recordings, etc. It was nice to
have that in-person experience,” said Hin. In addition to hands-on research experience, Hin also gained a better understanding of research in terms of what it means and what it takes, according to Jao. Hin was also exposed to team science and interdisciplinary collaboration. “By the end of the program, Hin expressed that she is considering switching her career path to nursing and plans to pursue a graduate program in nursing,” said Jao. At the end of her IMPACT program experience, Hin wanted to continue to participate in Jao’s research. She was hired as a research assistant. “Dr. Jao is passionate about her research and loves her career in nursing. It inspires me to see someone care so much about what she does. Dr. Jao also places a lot of trust in me which makes me feel determined to work hard,” said Hin. “She is also a really kind and bubbly person. All these aspects about her made me want to continue working with her this semester.” In addition to carefully pairing students with faculty mentors, the IMPACT program provides a stipend to support each student during their full-time research experience. Although the bulk of their time is spent in the lab, the students also participate in professional development activities, including learning how to create a competitive graduate school application, finances and budgeting. IMPACT is currently recruiting for summer 2022, learn more at www.impactprogram.psu.edu/.
PENN STATE NURSING MAGAZINE • FALL 2021
Outreach
Wellness is an ongoing process which involves becoming aware of and taking steps toward a healthier, happier, more successful life. As it has become more apparent throughout the pandemic that nurses and nursing students have been struggling with mental and physical wellness, the Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing is launching a wellness program starting this fall to help promote the health and well-being of current and future nurses, and those who support them. It is increasingly important to recognize that the healthcare industry is challenged with high numbers of providers experiencing burnout, depression, fatigue, and suicidal ideation. Mimicking the program developed at The Ohio State University, the Outreach and Professional Development office within the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing is making plans to implement the MINDSTRONG™/ MINDBODYSTRONG™ program within the college. The MINDSTRONG/ MINDBODYSTRONG cognitive behavioral skill building program provides a theory-based approach to improve mental health, promote healthy lifestyle beliefs and behaviors, and enhance job satisfaction in their
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faculty, staff, and students across all the commonwealth campuses containing nursing programs. The program, created and studied by Dr. Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, was developed through 20 years of research with positive outcomes on mental health, healthy lifestyle behaviors and academic results. Study findings showed high effectiveness in lowering depression, anxiety/ stress and suicidal thoughts, as well as improving healthy lifestyle behaviors.
The Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing is ready to pilot this program and improve wellness for the students and the future of nursing. The first step in the implementation of this program was the hiring of Jane Silver-Hoff as an assistant teaching professor and Coordinator of Academic Wellness in the college. With experience as a perinatal clinical nurse specialist and research interest in perinatal drug use in rural communities, Hoff was ready to hit the ground running.
“There is an urgent need to provide interventions to improve the lifestyle, mental health, and academic outcomes in college youth. During the pandemic, 70% of students reported moderate or serious mental distress and we need to provide them with skills to manage their stress early in their education,” stated Hoff. “It’s not just college youth, studies have shown correlations between higher levels of mental health concerns in nurses and higher risks of making medical errors. If we can provide the nursing students with the tools and skills to manage their stress while in school, we can improve outcomes when these students’ become nurses. The Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing is ready to pilot this program and improve wellness for the students and the future of nursing.” As the program implementation process has progressed, Hoff has identified over 40 faculty and staff members to become Wellness Champions and facilitators. These facilitators will be specially trained in the MINDSTRONG/ MINDBODYSTRONG manualized program beginning in the early Spring 2022 semester at all nursing program campuses in the commonwealth. Then, starting in the Fall 2022 semester, the over 2,000 nursing students in the commonwealth will begin the program as well.
Undergraduate and graduate scholarships that open doors, support recruitment, and reduce student debt.
Innovation in nursing practice, research, and education and translating evidenced-based best practices into clinical settings.
A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence is a university-wide effort to strengthen our commitment to our historic land-grant mission and apply it to the 21st century challenges facing our students, our country, and our world. It takes a significant commitment to develop the next generation of nursing clinical experts, researchers, educators, and leaders. Our students will graduate from the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing and be asked to address complex challenges that will require innovative thinking, a collaborative spirit, and a drive for providing excellent care. We seek always to find the means to advance the already extraordinary culture of the college to an ever-higher level of sustainable excellence in the 21st century. We are asking our alumni and friends to become our partners in this goal by considering the many ways you might help to support these top priorities of the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing. Scan with your phone’s camera and make a gift to the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing!
Transformative experiences that change lives: study abroad programs, lab experiences with ground breaking faculty research, nursing conferences and leadership programs, and “real world” service in non-profit organizations.
Special named endowments that support the advancement of the Nese College of Nursing and engender a nimble and responsive education enterprise.
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