Nov./Dec. 2022 Newsletter

The holiday season is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November to early January. It is defined as incorporating various holidays and festivals. It also is associated with a period of shopping which comprises a peak season for the retail sector and a period of sales at the end of the season.

Tis the season when lots of people are saying "Tis the season!" But why? The simple answer is that it is the season, as in, it is the time of the year that is also known broadly as the holiday season. The statement "Tis the season" is simply a way of drawing focus to the festive time of year when it's currently underway.

What does the Holiday Season mean to you? For many people the holidays are a time of joy. It is a time of celebration and a time of family. You feel good inside and energized. You revel in the abundance of the year. For many, they look forward to Christmas and the Holidays.

Appreciative Reflection of the Day

“Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.”

Henry Van Dyke

We celebrated NP Week in November. Meet a few of our faculty who are also practicing NP’s. Let’s always show our gratitude to the amazing NPs who rise to meet the needs of patients everyday.

Ken Peterson, PhD, FNP Assistant Professor in the DNP Program at the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing.

Ken is also an NP at the Family Health Center of Worcester. Family Health Center of Worcester is dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of all residents in the Greater Worcester area, especially culturally diverse populations, by providing access to affordable, high quality, integrated, comprehensive, and respectful primary health care and social services, regardless of patients’ ability to pay. Ken was inspired by a geriatric nurse practitioner faculty and the experiences he had visiting an older adult couple in by baccalaureate nursing program. He believes that everyone has a right to health and everyone is deserving of respect and human dignity. He practices nursing with compassion for others and through a relationship-based care model.

Nancy Morris, PhD, RN, ANP-BC Professor/Director of the PhD Program at the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing.

Nancy is also an NP at the Diabetes Center of Excellence and Geriatric Medicine Clinic at UMass Memorial Health, Worcester, MA serving Adults of any age with diabetes and all adults aged 70 years and older. Nancy became an NP after looking for an opportunity to promote health for adults in the community in a more autonomous nursing role.

Dani Hebert, DNP, MBA, MSN, ANP-BC Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Adult-Gerontology NP Primary Care Track at the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing.

Dani is also an NP at UMMHC CMG serving adults to older adults in primary care. She felt as if she wanted to do more with patient care and be involved as a primary care provider. After being a VNA nurse for 10 years she wanted to transition to primary care and have been there for the past 15 years. The healthcare system is hard to navigate and there are a lot of areas that need improvement. She really enjoys helping her patients to understand their health and what they can do to help themselves be healthier. A lot of her role involves advocating and collaboration to help connect her patients to the resources they need so they don't become lost in the system. She feels her training and experience as an NP allows her to view the 'whole picture' of the patient versus addressing the illness there are many facets to our lives that contribute to their health, and each has to be addressed or the system is not in balance.

Professor of Nursing and Medicine & Associate Dean Interprofessional & Community Partnerships for the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing. Jill is also an NP at Worcester State University, Student health services serving patients 18 to 25 in a college health setting. Her best friend and work partner Robin Sommers DNP, ANP-BC talked her into becoming an NP and it was a great decision! The patients motivate her to continue providing high-quality, person-centered health care. They deserve an NP!

Jill Terrien, PhD, ANP-BC

Associate

Faculty Spotlight

Dr. Siefert brings with her a successful career in academia, clinical practice, and nursing scholarship with significant contributions to the nursing profession for over 40 years. Dr. Siefert’s nursing practice has focused on oncology and palliative care including nursing research and scholarship. She is an accomplished advanced practice clinical nurse specialist with contributions in teaching and clinical expertise for quality patient care outcomes including advocacy for evidence-based practice (EBP), quality improvement, and ongoing education of doctoral graduate nursing students and oncology nurses. Dr. Siefert’s dossier also reflects excellence in teaching coursework in academic nursing and hospital settings including current work focused on cancer symptom management at the Phyllis F. Cantor Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Her contributions to nursing science and practice are reflected by impressive teamwork with distinguished oncology nurse researchers including Drs. Berry, Cooley, Knobf, McCorkle, and presently working with Dr. Marilyn Hammer.

Mallory Shelly, Staff Accountant; Danielle Bloh, Executive Assistant; a GEP student and a PhD student volunteered at the Queen Street Shelter serving meals to one of the most vulnerable populations.

UMass Chan and partners launch New England Nursing Clinical Faculty and Preceptor Academy Goal of new initiative is to ‘build capacity’ for nurse preceptors to address nursing shortage

Jill Terrien, PhD, ANP-BC, is principal investigator on a $4 million, fouryear Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSAgov). Read more here: https://bit.ly/3GXkRjP

Nursing residencies strengthen practice. New nurse practitioners benefit form continued training as they transition into professional practice. The family nurse practitioner residency partnership was established at five sites with a four-year, $3 million grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. Read more about the program here: https://bit.ly/3W8Dh5V

Join us in welcoming our newest DNP faculty member, Mary Lou Siefert, DNSc, MBA, AOCN®, Associate Professor.

@Umasschan, The Umass Chan Medical School Magazine | Fall 2022

Faculty Spotlight

Congratulations on your retirement: We will miss Gayle Gravlin and the dedication she gave to her students. Good luck in your future adventures.

Congratulations

Rachel Niemiec DNP, FNP-C, Coordinator of Family Nurse Practitioner Track. She is one of honorees of the 2022 “29 Who Shine”

Congratulations on your promotion.

Fixon is a past student of GEP and we are very proud of the impact she has on the GEP students. She is very devoted and spend extra time to ensure the students success. It is such a privilege to mentor her.

Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing had a lot to celebrate Monday December 12 during our holiday party.

Dr. Boucher to Professor Dr. Harding to Associate Professor

Dr. Pagano-Therrien to Associate Professor Dr. Perry to Professor

Rose Kronziah-Seme would like to say thank you to her wonderful lab instructors Heather Shaw and Sarah Fixon-Owoo for their hard work from August thru December 2022.

Faculty Spotlight

Gerontological Society of America (GSA) Annual Scientific Conference, Nov 2-6, 2022, Indianapolis, IN Mary Antonelli, PhD, RN, MPH co-established the GSA’s Family Caregiving Interest Group in 2018 and transitioned the position to new co-chairs this past November with 518 US and International interest group members. Dr. Antonelli also was the discussant for the symposium at the conference, Policy Series: The RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council: Strategies to Bolster Caregivers’ Financial Security.

The Nurses Special Interest Group, part of the UMass Center For Clinical & Translational Science

a webinar December 15th.

Teri Aronowitz, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, FAAN presented Circle Tied to Mother Earth: A Culturally & Developmentally Appropriate Substance Use Prevention Intervention for Native Youth.

American Association of Colleges Nursing (AACN), Transform 2022 Conference, Dec.2-5, Chicago, IL. Drs. Mary Antonelli (presenter), Rachel Richards, Donna J. Perry, Jes Therrien-Pagano, Joan Vitello & Mr. Ricardo Poza, M. Ed had their abstract presented at the conference, Development of an Interprofessional Leadership Master of Science Nursing Program: AACN New Essentials in Action.

hosted

Dr. Susan Feeney and Dr. Jill Terrien presented on Menopause Updated guidelines, moderated by Dr. Frank Domino.

Jenna Liziewski, Alicia Cooksey, Jill Terrien, Susan Feeney, Cara Simpson, & Joana Sun-White

Alicia Cooksey, Jill Terrien & Joana Sun-White.

Several Faculty and Alumni attended Pri-Med December 8-10 at the Boston Convention Center.

Faculty Spotlight

Congratulations! Cathy Violette, DNP, WHNP-BC, AWHC-RNC Assistant Professor received the Advance Practice Council Paulette Seymour-Route Exemplar Award. The award ceremony was held in October.

The Paulette Seymour-Route Exemplar Award is presented yearly to an Advanced Practice Practitioner individual in recognition of outstanding contribution to the role. This award is to honor a colleague who excels in their field as an Advanced Practice Practitioner.

Shari Harding, DNP, PMHNP-BC, CPRP, Associate Professor of Nursing and Psychiatry Coordinator of the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Track had an article published on “Supported Decision Making Skills and Tools for Clinical Practice” which centers around psychiatric medications geared toward primary care practice. The link gives free access to anyone for 50 days: https://bit.ly/3jzJQ2W

Student Spotlight

I knew the Doctor of Nursing Practice program would allow me to have a family life and take care of patients the way that I wanted.” Learn why palliative care nurse Shawna Steadman, MSN’09, ACNP, ACHPN, returned to UMass Chan Medical School Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing after earning her master's degree: https://bit.ly/3UzEKRr

The GEP program had their first escape room experience. The theme was "Escape a Night of Rapids" where students had to complete puzzles with 2 patients in distress.

We celebrated the end of the first semester for our GEP class. Thank you to the faculty and staff for their commitment & dedication to our students. The students worked hard these past 5 months and will now enjoy a well-deserved break over the holidays.

Student Spotlight

Romain, Sarah. (2022). Keeping the focus on the patient & their EHR: A nurse’s perspective. Worcester Medicine, Worcester District Medical Society, 91(5),page 17-18. https://bit.ly/3hXq6pw

UMass Chan medical and nursing students in the Rural Scholars Program have made recommendations about how to improve services for homebound elderly Islanders, as reported by The Vineyard Gazette: https://bit.ly/3I2ZvSi

Congratulations to Ian Lan, PhD student who just submitted his first ever 94-page NRSA F31 grant through the NIH/National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR). The topic "Factors affecting migraine frequency and self-management in sexual and gender minority emerging adults".

It's a training fellowship grant for predoctoral investigators seeking to become independent nurse scientists. I worked on this grant with my core mentors: Teri Aronowitz (Nursing), James Fain (Nursing), Maryann Davis (Psychiatry), Kathryn Sabella (Psychiatry), and Sybil Crawford (Nursing), as well as with support or guidance from: Nancy Morris, Dean Vitello, Akwasi Duah, Rosemary Taylor, Mary Antonelli, Ken Peterson, Susan Sullivan-Bolyai, Saisha Cintron, and Carol Bova.

Let’s keep our fingers cross, we will keep you posted on his progress.

Ashley Rotell, BSN, MSN current DNP student wrote and article for Worcester Medicine May/June 2022 titled “Formalizing a Palliative Approach to Dialysis Care”. Go to page 13 to read the whole article: https://bit.ly/3PZFcHA

Jenga GI review game in the Primary Care & Family Track Class. Things got pretty intense.

Student Spotlight

Fresh off her performance in "The Nutcracker," Melanie Ostiguy, RN, is back to studying to be an advanced practice nurse at UMass Chan. Learn how this ballerina became a nurse through the Graduate Entry Pathway: https://bit.ly/3YygtxS

Correction: In the Sept/Oct issue this photo was incorrectly tagged. This photo is Chikodiri Ebe (Chichi) receiving her white coat in the Psychiatric Mental Health NP Track.

November 28 IM injection training with nursing and SOM students.

Alumni Spotlight

Alumni DNP Class of 2022 got their Doctoral Quality project published in a major Cancer Nursing Journal-Oncology Nursing Society (ONS). Titled “A Nursing Educational Intervention to Improve Antiestrogen Adherence and SelfManagement of Side Effects”. Congratulations Kaitlyn Fishman, Brittany Rosenthal, Mimi Oupravanh and Emily L. Davenport Alonso. Read the full paper here: https://bit.ly/3YJAkug

Read more about the FNP residency grant in the Berkshire Eagle. Our alumni Molly Rivest, DNP class of 2015 is the residency director at CHP, and Jennifer Rubino is one the FNP residents at the site. Article: https://bit.ly/3VjuexN

Alumni Cheryl Hersperger (pictured) '20 and Rosemary Theroux ‘00 have coauthored a publication entitled "Managing broken expectations after a diagnosis of fetal anomaly" a grounded theory in SSM Qualitative Research 2022 (2, 100188). This is available as an open access article on the journal website.

Rosemary worked with Cheryl on her dissertation when she was a member of the faculty. Read full publication here: https://bit.ly/3FRkYLo

Molly Rivest, right, the director of Community Health Programs’ Family Nurse Practitioner Residency Program, meets with residents Jennifer Rubino, left, and Lauren Young, center, to discuss their patients at CHP Health Center in Great Barrington.

Alumni Spotlight

Congratulations on the HRSA Rural Workforce Training Network Grant.

Aisling Ryan, class of 2022 helped with the proposal and will be helping through a contract at the New England Rural Health Association to assist with program coordination. She is working closely with Andy Lowe on this HRSA funded workforce project. This began with her Population Health Clerkship, which subsequently evolved into her DNP project.

Dr. Stephanie Griggs graduated with her PhD in Nursing in 2017 after which she engaged in a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship in selfmanagement of chronic conditions at Yale School of Nursing with the internationally renowned and authority in pediatric diabetes selfmanagement, Dr. Margaret Grey. She subsequently accepted a tenure -track academic position at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case West-ern Reserve University in Ohio.

"UMass prepared me well, methodologically. I had a strong PhD Dissertation Committee. Having good mentorship is important. However, I don't think I was aware at the time of NIH mechanisms, you know, the lived experience of managing a grant that go along with NIH funding.”

Dr. Edwin Aroke graduated with his PhD in Nursing in 2016 after which he accepted a tenure-track position at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He was awarded tenure and rank of Associate Professor and is currently the Director of the PhD Program and the Dual DNPPhD Pathway. Dr. Aroke spends the majority of his time focused on his program of research while balancing his administrative and teaching responsibilities.

For the person on-the-road to post-doc: “Bear in mind, you have to charge your own path. Do not be afraid. It’s easy to ask the simple questions. I came to UMass thinking I was going study one thing, but mentors challenged me to think outside the box.”

”. Read the full article here: https:// bit.ly/3VsQTrw

Meredith Welsh, DNP, MPH, FNP-C & Kelly Cutting, DNP, FNP-C 2021 alumni along with Wendy Wright, DNP, ANP-BC, FNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, FNAP (Adult/Family Nurse Practitioner and Owner) & Patricia White published an article in Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners titled “Evaluating the effect of COVID-19 on quality measures of patients with type 2 diabetes in two family nurse practitioner–owned clinics

Announcements

Watch: 2022 news in review at UMass Chan. The year 2022 saw impactful research, a growing campus, student accomplishment, community service and employee appreciation at UMass Chan Medical School. Watch here: https://bit.ly/3hYsnR6

Katie Couric to deliver address at UMass Chan Medical School’s 50th Commencement

Katie Couric, award-winning journalist and trailblazing advocate and fundraiser for cancer research and care, will deliver the Commencement address at UMass Chan Medical School on June 4, 2023, as UMass Chan celebrates its 50th Commencement Exercises.

DRIVE: Diversity, Representation, and Inclusion for Value in Education

DRIVE is a shared effort across the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing, T.H. Chan School of Medicine, Diversity and Inclusion Office, Lamar Soutter Library, Continuing Medical Education,  and Graduate Medical Education.

• To promote a representative and bias-free curriculum across our learning environments

• To enhance the accuracy, representation, and inclusion of diverse populations in all our educational activities

To make space for critical conversations about diversity in teaching and learning across our community. Learn more: DRIVE (umassmed.edu)

Register now for a DRIVE Virtual Core Skills Workshop. We’ll review all six sections of the new and improved Curriculum Appraisal Tool and discuss their application to your own teaching materials. Register here: Events (umassmed.edu)

Announcements

November 1, 2022 - November 2, 2022 Day of the Dead, also known as “Día de los Muertos,” is a Mexican holiday that honors loved ones who are no longer alive. The festivities center around remembrance and celebration. The history of Día de los Muertos dates back thousands of years, originating in Mesoamerica (now Mexico). In ancient Mexico, the Indigenous Nahua group believed that life, death, and the world was cyclical. Their unique view of the universe placed immense value and significance on death.

November 11, 2022

Veterans are people who have served in the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps. They are all honored for their bravery during this special day. Veterans Day began as Armistice Day, an observance that President Calvin Coolidge started in 1938, as "a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated." He suggested that November 11th be the day to observe Armistice festivities. The original purpose of the day was to honor soldiers who died in WWI, but soon after, WWII began, so it was suggested that it become a day to honor all veterans. In 1954, a bill was signed that changed "Armistice Day" to "Veterans Day." It then became a federal holiday. Now, every November 11th we show our thanks to our veterans.

November 24, 2022

Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November. As an annual celebration of the harvest and its bounty, moreover, Thanksgiving falls under a category of festivals that spans cultures, continents and millennia.

December 8, 2022

Buddhists celebrate the day that Siddhartha Gautama achieved enlightenment through meditation. The word Bodhi means awakening or enlightenment.

Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, is popularly known as the Buddha. Siddhartha, once an Indian Prince, eventually abandoned his life of luxury for a much simpler one. Many believe that Siddhartha resolved to sit underneath a Bodhi tree and meditate until he found the root of suffering and how to free himself from it.

It took 49 days of unbroken meditation. After becoming enlightened and experiencing Nirvana, Siddhartha became a Buddha, or “Awakened One.” For 2,500 years, Buddha’s enlightenment has served as the central tenant of the Buddhist faith. The Bodhi tree grows near the banks of the Falgu River in Gaya, India. Also located there is a Buddhist temple. Buddhists consider it their most sacred site of pilgrimage.

The below communication is part of our ongoing strategy to educate our community on cultures and the multifaith sharing of holidays and events that hold meaning with members of our community.

December 8, 2022

There is a popular idea that the day refers to the conception of Jesus by the Virgin Mary. It doesn’t. As a matter of fact, it is actually the conception of Mary herself that is referred to here. Although she was born in the natural biological manner, her conception is believed to be ‘immaculate’ by Catholics because God intervened, relieving Mary of original sin. For centuries, theological dispute surrounded the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The argument followed the context of the word ‘immaculate,’ which refers to the belief that Mary –the mother of Jesus Christ, was herself conceived without original sin.

December 18-26, 2022

Hanukkah, (Hebrew: “Dedication”) also spelled Ḥanukka, Chanukah, or Chanukkah, also called Feast of Dedication, Festival of Lights, or Feast of the Maccabees, Jewish festival that begins on Kislev 25 (usually in December, according to the Gregorian calendar) and is celebrated for eight days. Hanukkah reaffirms the ideals of Judaism and commemorates in particular the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem by the lighting of candles on each day of the festival. Although not mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures, Hanukkah came to be widely celebrated and remains one of the most popular Jewish religious observances.

December 21, 2022

Regardless of what the weather is doing outside your window, the solstice marks the official start of winter. It’s the astronomical moment when the Sun reaches the Tropic of Capricorn, we have our shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere in terms of daylight. Regardless of what the weather is doing outside your window, the solstice marks the official start of winter. The term “solstice” comes from the Latin words sol (Sun) and sistere (to stand still) because, during the solstice, the angle between the Sun’s rays and the plane of the Earth’s equator (called declination) appears to stand still.

December 25, 2022

Christmas is both a sacred religious holiday and a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon. For two millennia, people around the world have been observing it with traditions and practices that are both religious and secular in nature. Christians celebrate Christmas Day as the anniversary of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, a spiritual leader whose teachings form the basis of their religion. Popular customs include exchanging gifts, decorating Christmas trees, attending church, sharing meals with family and friends and, of course, waiting for Santa Claus to arrive. Christmas Day has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1870.

December 26-January 1, 2022

Professor and chairman of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach, Dr. Maulana Karenga, created Kwanzaa in 1966 in the midst of the Black Freedom Movement, reflecting concerns for cultural grounding in thought and practice. After the Watts riots in L.A., Dr. Karenga looked for ways to strengthen the AfricanAmerican community. The name Kwanzaa comes from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” meaning “first fruits” in Swahili.

The below communication is part of our ongoing strategy to educate our community on cultures and the multifaith sharing of holidays and events that hold meaning with members of our community.

Recipe of the Month

Melanzane caponata

An ‘agrodolce’ (sweet and sour) eggplant salad that is good hot or cold. Served traditionally with a crusty bread or I like to eat it cold on jicama wraps for a refreshing gluten-free twist.

Ingredients:

1 medium to large sized eggplant, cubed, leave the skin on

green bell pepper, diced

yellow or orange bell pepper, diced

medium yellow onion, diced

to 6 cloves of garlic, minced

Tbsp of capers

cup of kalamata or your favorite olive, diced

cup olive oil

six ounce can of tomato paste

Tbsp red wine or sherry vinegar

Fresh basil leaves torn and stirred in to serve, optional

Heat the olive oil over medium/medium-high heat in a large pot or Dutch oven (lower the heat if the bottom of your pot is not thick). Whisk the tomato paste, vinegar, and sugar in a small bowl and set aside. Add the eggplant, peppers, onions, and garlic, stir, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft and the eggplant is starting to brown. Lower the heat to low, stir, and add the tomato paste, vinegar, and sugar, stirring to coat the vegetables evenly. Add the oregano, basil, salt, and pepper, cover, and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Stir regularly to ensure the bottom does not burn, add more olive oil if needed (the eggplant really soaks up oil). Serve warm or let it cool, it is even nicer the next day when the flavors really meld together. (Thank you Shari Harding for