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A critical lifeline
Recognizing that COVID-19 patients likely wouldn’t think to bring their cell phone chargers to the ER with them, UIC Nursing clinical instructor Megan Cairns Tress, MS ’18, FNP, started a fundraising campaign to buy and deliver chargers to area hospitals. “[The patients] can’t have any visitors," Tress says. "If they can’t use their phones, they’ve lost that vital contact point.” She quickly raised enough to buy 700 chargers in three days—more than enough for every bed at UI Hospital and West Suburban Medical Center—and her efforts garnered media attention as she took her initiative national, delivering chargers to hospitals across 10 states.
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DNP PROGRAM RN TO BSN
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Duxbury is flanked by Dean Emerita Mi Ja Kim, left, and former faculty member Karyn Holm, now Vincent de Paul Professor Emerita Nursing at DePaul University. “[Mitzi] was able to stand toe-to-toe with anybody,” says Holm. “That’s what she taught me to do.”
Remembering Dean Duxbury
Fall 2020 brought with it the renovated Arthington Mall and UIC College of Nursing plaza, paved with stones that donors gave to honor alumni, friends, faculty, mentors and family.
Dean Terri Weaver was named to Crain’s Chicago Business’ 2019 list of Notable Women in Health Care. UIC Nursing-Urbana Campus director Krista Jones, DNP ’11, MS ’07, RN, PHNA-BC, was selected to participate in the 2020-2021 cohort of AACN’s Elevating Leaders in Academic Nursing Program. Mitzi Duxbury, PhD, RN, FAAN, who led the UIC College of Nursing as its fifth dean from 1983 to 1988, died in February 2020. She was 87.
Duxbury left her mark on the college in ways that are felt today: She guided UIC Nursing into the burgeoning realm of nurse-led research, cemented an academic-practice collaboration with the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System, and created a fertile environment for new nurse researchers to grow.
“We just lost a giant star in nursing,” said Mi Ja Kim, PhD, RN, FRCN, FAAN, who served in various administrative roles under Duxbury and succeeded her as dean.
Duxbury, an obstetrics nurse who held advanced degrees in educational policy and administration, understood the workings of a university, and in particular, of a health science center. At the time, nursing was not fully embraced as a science-driven discipline, but Duxbury played a vocal role in changing that.
“Nurses have the unique opportunity—indeed, the responsibility—to advance the science of nursing,” she wrote in the January/February 1978 issue of The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing. “No one has the continuous access to the client that nurses have. No one has the opportunity for observation and data collection we have.”
READ MORE about Duxbury’s life and recollections from friends and
APPLAUSE!
colleagues at go.uic.edu/RememberingDeanDuxbury.
UIC Nursing preceptor Norma Rolfsen, MS ’03, FNP-BC, was awarded the 2020 Preceptor Gold Star Award, conferred by the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties.
Associate professor Susan Dunn, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, was selected as the new head of the Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Science.
UIC NURSING CLINIC EXPANDS CARE
A $1.5 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration will expand care at the UIC College of Nursing-managed Mile Square Health Center in Chicago’s underserved Humboldt Park neighborhood.
TRAININGS
Interdisciplinary trainings will be offered on trauma-informed care, domestic violence and implicit bias, among other topics.
SCREENING
Providers will screen universally for substance use and, for those who screen positive, offer therapy and medication-assisted treatment.
TELEHEALTH
Men at Safer Foundation’s Crossroads and North Lawndale Adult Transition Centers who are transitioning back to the community from the Illinois Department of Corrections will be able to access providers at Mile Square Health Center-Humboldt Park via telehealth. Eva Smith, PhD, RN, FAAN, associate professor emerita, was honored at the 32nd annual National Black Nurses Day celebration in February. Clinical professor emerita Martha Dewey Bergren, DNS, RN, NCSN, PHNA-BC, FNASN, FASHA, FAAN, has been named the executive editor of the Journal of School Nursing.
IN-PERSON CARE
A nurse will be on site twice a week at the Crossroads Adult Transition Center to conduct health assessments and offer a public health clinical experience for students.
Legendary alumna
Kathleen (Kitty) Buckwalter, PhD ’80, RN, FAAN, was named a Living Legend this year by the American Academy of Nursing. It’s the academy’s highest honor.
Buckwalter is recognized for her health policy work and spearheading the development of the geropsychiatric nursing subspecialty. She completed her doctoral work while also raising a young family, and she says her classmates, advisors and faculty were thoroughly supportive.
- KITTY BUCKWALTER
“Then-dean Helen Grace [PhD, MS ’65, FAAN] not only taught me in an independent study class, but during my dissertation defense, went beyond her role as a committee member and changed the diaper on my 4-month-old daughter,”
she recalls.
#UICPROUD
Ardith Z. Doorenbos, PhD, RN, FAAN, was formally invested as Nursing Collegiate Professor during a ceremony on Nov. 7, 2019.
Gwyneth Milbrath, PhD, RN, MPH, was named director of the Midwest Nursing History Research Center, housed at UIC Nursing.
A clinic goes to school
The UIC College of Nursing has opened an on-site health clinic at Altus Academy, a nonprofi t, private elementary school in an underserved neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side.
The clinic, which serves students and their families, offers health maintenance visits with a bilingual, family nurse practitioner student supervised, via Zoom, by Susan Walsh, DNP ’14, MS ’00, BSN ’80, CPNP-PC, director of the pediatric nurse practitioner programs. If the Altus student requires immunizations or other services, the family is connected to the college’s Mile Square Health Center in Humboldt Park.
“As Altus is already part of families’ busy days, providing a variety of healthcare services on site is helpful,” says Walsh.
Students who serve
Three UIC College of Nursing Doctor of Nursing Practice students were selected for the distinguished Schweitzer Fellowship, a year-long service-learning program intended to address the unmet health needs of Chicago communities.
Nicole Camardo, MS ’16, RN, nurse-midwifery student, will implement sexual and reproductive education classes for adolescents and young adults in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood.
APPLAUSE!
13 alumni, faculty members and students are among the Illinois Nurses Foundation’s 2020 list of “40 Under 40 Emerging Nurse Leaders.” They are: Hiba Abbas, current DNP student Anna Baboulas, DNP ’20, BSN ’15 Minseung Chu, DNP ’19, assistant professor Kelly Moore, RN, adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner student, will connect with isolated seniors through Little Brothers— Friends of the Elderly to explore health and end-of-life concerns.
Veronica Galvalisi, MS ’15 Christy Gomez, MS ’13 Thao Griffi th, PhD ’17, BSN ’12 Thomas Houchins, DNP ’20 Sara McPherson, clinical assistant professor at our Springfi eld Campus Emma Oanes, DNP ’20 Isis Reyes, BSN ’09 Susan Tracy, current DNP student, visiting clinical instructor Marjorie Remy, RN, family nurse practitioner student, will initiate health information sessions that will include mental, sexual and physical health to adolescent African American girls at Women of Virtue, Chicago.
Bernard Vonderhaar, DNP ’18, visiting clinical nurse practice educator/visiting clinical instructor Rebecca Vortman, DNP ’17, clinical assistant professor In addition, Maura Conlin and Lindsey Menard, both nurses practicing at UI Health, are on the list of honorees.
NICOLE JACKSETICH, BSN ’15
Strong start for Alumni Mentor Program
Eileen Collins, PhD, RN, FAACVPR, FAAN, ATSF, associate dean for research, was the 2020 recipient of the Elizabeth A. Rich Award from the American Thoracic Society. Adjunct faculty member Eileen Moss, MS ’11, RN, PEL-CSN, NCSN, received the 2020 National Certified School Nurse of the Year award from the National Board for Certification of School Nurses. For Nicole Jacksetich, BSN ’15, RN, the UIC College of Nursing Alumni Mentor Program (AMP) could not have come at a better time.
She had been working for four years as a bedside nurse and was starting to feel burned out. But her match with Susan Okuno-Jones, DNP ’10, MS ’06, FACHE, NEA-BC, RNC, RN-BC, vice president and chief nursing officer at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, gave her a much-needed boost.
“Susan lent an empathic ear, provided insightful perspective, and challenged me as I considered the next steps in my nursing career,” Jacksetich says. “In my opinion, no one inspires nurses as much as other nurses.”
Jacksetich and Okuno-Jones were among the first class of matches in AMP, which launched in fall 2019 to connect veteran alumni with early- and mid-career professionals.
“UIC Nursing is committed to creating the next generation of nurse leaders, and that commitment doesn’t end on graduation day,” says Terri Weaver, dean of the UIC College of Nursing. “Our goal is to continue to help our graduates grow their practice knowledge, navigate career paths, build their networks and gain self-confidence, even after they leave our formal academic program.”
Mentored employees have been found to have improved career outcomes, with higher compensation, more promotions, and stronger feelings of satisfaction and commitment. Research shows there’s value in it for the mentors, too, who are more satisfied with their jobs and committed to their organizations, according to a 2013 study published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior.
VISIT go.uic.edu/nursingAMP if you’d like to join the program as either a
mentor or mentee.
#UICPROUD
Clinical assistant professor Robin Shannon, DNP ’17, MS ’09, RN, NCSN, PHNA-BC, was inducted as a fellow in the National Academy of School Nurses.
Donna Calvin, PhD ’09, and clinical instructor Megan Cairns Tress, MS ’18, were named to Crain's 2020 list of Notable Health Care Heroes.
CELEBRATING THE FIRST ZERWIC AWARD RECIPIENT
Charese A. Jackson, assistant director of the UIC Nursing Urban Health Program, was the inaugural winner of the Julie and Mark Zerwic Diversity Award. The annual, endowed award was established by the Zerwics in 2019 to recognize a faculty member, staff member or student who has made a signifi cant contribution to support diversity and foster equity and inclusion within a department, the college, the university and/or the community.
“Living in a world where there is a growing need for diversity, equity and inclusion to be more than just buzzwords, I am grateful to receive an award that seeks to recognize individuals who demonstrate their commitment to these words by exemplifying action,” Jackson says.
Jackson oversees and enhances the recruitment, admission, retention and graduation processes of underrepresented minority students. She also helped students establish the Urban Health Program College of Nursing Student Association, which helps students of all backgrounds to understand health and healthcare disparities experienced by minority populations.
PhD Proud
Two PhD students—both of whom study aspects of health and healthcare in Rwanda—were selected for highly competitive research opportunities. workforce of the country. Lubimbi
Glorieuse Uwizeye, PhD ’20, was awarded a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship with the Dartmouth Society of Fellows, an interdisciplinary community of faculty and postdocs who participate in research, teaching and mentorship.
Uwizeye was one of only six fellows selected from an application pool of 747.
Uwizeye, a survivor of the 1994 genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda, became interested in researching the experiences of survivors and their children while working there as a mental health nurse. Her dissertation, which she successfully defended in February 2020, was “Health Outcomes of Exposure to a cultural ambassador while she is
Extreme Stress Among Rwandan Adults Born of Genocidal Rape.” She’ll expand upon that research during her fellowship.
Associate professor Julienne Rutherford, PhD, Uwizeye’s doctoral advisor, says her selection important work and the caliber of the education she has received here in the college.” Nanyombi Lubimbi, PhD student, has been selected for a 2020-21 Fulbright U.S. Student Award to Rwanda. She’ll study the Human Resources for Health Program, a cooperative, global effort on the part of health colleges—including UIC Nursing—to improve the health will be studying the factors that affect collaborative partnerships and sustain global health nursing leadership.
“After so much investment in the program, leading to gains in nursing education, leadership and practice, it’s important to understand how to sustain those gains and to continue improving future health outcomes,” she says.
The Fulbright Program is the fl agship international educational exchange program of the U.S. Lubimbi will represent the country as refl ects “the great promise of her
overseas, helping to enhance mutual understanding between Americans and the people in Rwanda.
Lubimbi's advisor is Linda McCreary, PhD '00, MS '93, BSN '73, RN, FAAN.
Glorieuse Uwizeye (left) and Nanyombi Lubimbi
Pomp and COVID-19 circumstance
Like thousands of UIC's 2020 graduates, Annette Lopez, BSN ’20, watched virtual graduation from her home on May 18. The recorded ceremony was in place of the usual in-person pomp and circumstance, delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lopez was one of 303 nursing students who graduated in the spring with a bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral degree or certificate.
“We were all sad, but I think our class of students really understands that this is important. We have to break the spread of the disease or else the numbers of cases will keep going up,” Lopez said.
READ MORE about how 2020 graduates felt about the abrupt end to their college career on page 19.
Students earning BSN degrees from the Springfield and Urbana campuses celebrated the annual pinning ceremony, to mark their passage from student to nurse, in two live virtual ceremonies. Here, Urbana grad Mary Kate Mulcahey (left) celebrates with a guest.
BSN GRADUATES
Springfield: 33 | Urbana: 66 | Chicago: 86
You’re getting a degree from an esteemed university and, at this moment, the world appreciates nurses more than ever. We are in demand more than ever. The world sees nurses as heroes, as they should.”
COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER LESLIE MANCUSO, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF JHPIEGO, AN INTERNATIONAL NURSE-RUN NGO
NEW FELLOWS American Academy of Nursing
Associate professor Pamela Martyn-Nemeth, PhD, RN, FAHA, conducts research on reducing cardiovascular disease risk and improving self-management behavior and quality of life in persons with Type 1 diabetes. She is examining the role of sleep and other stressors—such as fear of hypoglycemia—on self-management behavior and glycemic control.
Associate professor Kamal Eldeirawi, PhD, RN, an epidemiologist, focuses his research on chronic conditions, especially asthma in vulnerable and underserved populations. He conducted pioneering studies on the effects of immigration and acculturation on the risk of asthma and atopic conditions in children of Mexican origin. He is currently replicating some of this work with other immigrant populations.
American Association of Nurse Practitioners
Carolyn Dickens, PhD ’17, APRN, ACNP-BC, adjunct clinical assistant professor, and Lauren Diegel-Vacek (pictured), DNP ’10, MS ’02, FNP-BC, CNE, clinical assistant professor and director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, were inducted into the Fellows of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners in June. They were among 71 nurse practitioner leaders chosen for the selective honor in 2020 and the only two from Illinois.
American College of Chest Physicians
Susan Corbridge, PhD ’09, APRN, FAAN, FAANP, executive associate dean, was selected as a fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians. Corbridge is a board-certified acute care nurse practitioner with more than 20 years of experience, specializing in COPD, asthma and smoking cessation.
Giving thanks
The UIC College of Nursing and Dean Terri Weaver celebrated National Nurses Week in May 2020 by sending 2,500 healthy, individually wrapped meals to nurses at University of Illinois Hospital, an initiative made possible through a generous gift from husband and wife donors, Frank Naeymi-Rad, PhD, (pictured) and Theresa Kepic, MD, as well as Leap of Faith Technologies Inc.
“Never have nurses deserved our gratitude more than this year,” says Weaver. “They are risking their own health and safety, and that of their families, as they put patient care first during this [COVID-19] health crisis. We deeply appreciate that donors the stature of Frank and Theresa are stepping up to help us to thank our nurse colleagues.”
Naeymi-Rad is the founder and chairman of Intelligent Medical Objects Inc., and Kepic is a retired obstetrics and gynecology physician. They own health informatics company Leap of Faith Technologies.
“COVID-19 is a wake-up call for humanity and has highlighted the important role our nurses play in our lives,” Naeymi-Rad says. ”While this pandemic is affecting everyone in the world, it is important that we focus on our community and support our frontline soldiers—our nurses— in this war.”
Nurses working at UI Hospital say gifts like this one fortify them to carry on and let them know their work is valued.
“It absolutely is wonderful when you are physically and emotionally tired to not have to think of food; to know someone thought of you,” says clinical associate professor Julie Schwind, DNP ’17, MS ’06, BSN ’00, RN, who worked 12-hour hospital shifts during the pandemic.
More than a dozen cartons of boxed meals were delivered to the hospital once or twice each day throughout the week.
3 questions with “the NP”
In his social media series, “Ask the NP,” James Q. Simmons, DNP, MS ’14, RN, answers publicly fielded questions about health topics such as risk of strokes with COVID-19 or the symptoms of Lyme disease. With a background in broadcast journalism, the proudly Black, queer and doctorally prepared nurse has a knack for lively, humor-filled—but still evidence-based—content, and his audience has grown to more than 60,000 across social media platforms.
Vital Signs: Why did you decide to start the series? JQS: I feel very strongly about the need for more nurses, particularly nurses of color and queer nurses, having our voices in the media. I see no reason why a nurse can’t be chief medical correspondent for CNN when Sanjay Gupta decides he wants a different job, and I would love to be that nurse.
VS: Your "Ask the NP" tagline is, “Everything you’re too scared to ask your MD.” Why? JQS: It’s not because I don’t like MDs. We need physicians, but “white coat syndrome” is a real thing. Mistrust of the medical institution, particularly doctors, by people of color, people who are LGBTQ+, and other marginalized individuals is very real, and it’s rooted in some understandable reasons.
Instead, what people end up doing is Googling their symptoms, or asking a friend of a friend. I felt it sort of my responsibility to merge my media background with my healthcare knowledge to translate the most evidence-based, most practical, most important health information for people using social media.
VS: As a student, you got a scholarship from the Boothroyd Scholars Program. How did that help you on your path? JQS: Getting a scholarship means everything, particularly as a career changer. To be at such a well-regarded institution with a social justice focus, and then to be honored as someone to receive these scholarships, it felt amazing. It felt like I was on the right path.
READ MORE about the life and work of James Q. Simmons at go.uic.edu/MeettheNP.
