National Nurses Week

National Nurses Week is a celebration of the immeasurable contribution nurses make to the care and health of all people. The celebration occurs from National Nurses Day (May 6) to Florence Nightingale’s birthday (May 12). National Student Nurses Day is celebrated on May 8, and National School Nurse Day falls on the Wednesday during the week (May 9 in 2012). As direct care providers, counselors, advocates, educators, and leaders, nurses affect the lives of all Americans. Every year during National Nurses Week, individuals, communities, and institutions recognize nurses through celebrations, awards, media releases, and special events.

National Teacher Appreciation Week

National Teacher Appreciation Week is a celebration of the teachers who educate and prepare us to live capable and fulfilling lives. This year, National Teacher Appreciation Week will run from May 7 to May 11, with Teacher Appreciation Day occurring on May 8.

Nurse Educators

Nurse educators are nurses who possess significant clinical practice experience and endeavor to share their skills and knowledge with other nurses. Most nurse educators continue to practice while they teach, which ensures that they maintain clinical competence and remain aware of developments in the field. Universities, hospitals, and other health care facilities all employ nurse educators. Most nurse educator positions require a master’s or doctoral degree. The nurse educator role also requires the ability to accurately relay information to others and evaluate student progress.

Many nurses choose their profession out of a desire to help and care for others. Similarly, many teachers choose their profession out of a desire to share their passion for knowledge and learning. The exceptional individuals who pursue these paths simultaneously are worth celebrating.

We invite you to learn more about the Nursing@Georgetown program, or call our admissions team at 1-877-910-HOYA (4692).

In addition to celebrating the contributions of nurses, National Nurses Week highlights nursing as a highly trusted profession. The ANA reports that a 2011 Gallup Poll voted nursing as the most trusted profession in the nation for the 12th time in 13 years.

National Nurses Day was conceived in 1953 by Dorothy Sutherland, an official with then — U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. It was first observed in October of 1954 and marked the 100th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s mission to Crimea to treat wounded soldiers.

In 1982, the ANA formally designated May 6 as National Nurses Day and the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution establishing the day as National Recognition Day for Nurses. In 1990, the ANA expanded the recognition of nurses to National Nurses Week, a week-long celebration of the nursing profession. The dates of National Nurses Week do not change from year to year and have been chosen to align with the birthday of Florence Nightingale on May 12.

The theme of National Nurses Week 2012 is “Nurses: Advocating, Leading, Caring,” emphasizing the important roles that nurses play in the nation’s health care system. During National Nurses Week, the ANA encourages all registered nurses to wear an official “RN” pin or another pin that identifies them as a registered nurse.

Here are a few of the ANA’s suggestions for celebrating National Nurses Week:

• Publish articles in local newspapers that promote National Nurses Week and illustrate the value of the nursing profession;
• Work with hospitals, schools, and other community organizations to set up National Nurses Week displays;
• Host a fundraiser, such as a walk-a-thon, and donate the proceeds to a local charity; make nurse recognition a focus of the event;
• Hold a reception to honor one or more nurses in the community for their courage, dedication, heroic acts, years of service, or exemplary commitment to the nursing profession;
• Request a proclamation from a mayor or governor declaring May 6 to 12 as National Nurses Week.

For additional suggestions on how to celebrate National Nurses Week, visit the American Nurses Association Web site. You’ll find additional resources, including sample news articles, press releases, and proclamations, as well as a catalog of promotional items. RN pins can also be purchased from the ANA.

This post was written by Nursing@Georgetown Clinical Placement Specialist Allison Hayden.

Clinical and practicum placements are an integral part of Nursing@Georgetown. Combined with each program’s rigorous curriculum, these hands-on experiences prepare students to become excellent advanced practice nurses or nurse educators. To ensure that all Nursing@Georgetown students engage in a fulfilling placement, our staff locates faculty-approved site and preceptor options in close proximity to each student’s community. Each student is also assigned a Georgetown University clinical faculty advisor that oversees the placement experience.

For the Family Nurse Practitioner Program, students complete rotations that care for the entire family – from newborns to the elderly. Typical settings include outpatient sites at community health centers, wellness centers, and private or hospital-owned family practices. A total of 650 clinical hours are needed to complete this program’s placement requirement. During the first rotation, students complete a minimum of 100 hours. During their second and third rotations, students complete a minimum of 150 hours. In the last rotation, students complete a minimum of 250 hours.

For the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner/Adult Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist Program, students complete their rotations in high acuity complex care settings. The nature of this role means that students can complete their rotations at a variety of sites, including cardiology offices, internal medicine offices, emergency units, telemetry units, and intensive-care units. This program requires a minimum of 1,000 clinical hours. Students complete these hours across four rotations, each with a minimum of 250 clinical hours.

For the Nurse Midwifery/Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Program, the location of a student’s clinical site varies based upon each rotation’s focus. Clinical sites include women’s health centers, birthing clinics, family practices, private practices and hospitals. This program requires a minimum of 900 clinical hours. For rotations one and two, students’ sites focus on women’s health. During these rotations, students should be available for 16 hours per week. During the third rotation, students should be available for 24 hours per week and expect to be on call. In the last rotation of their clinical placement, students assume the role of a certified midwife, and will therefore be following the exact schedule of a midwife. Students should be available between 40-48 hours per week.

For the Nurse Educator program, students complete their practicum at a university, Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, Associate degree program, or in a hospital’s nursing education unit. Depending upon their focus, students will work with the placement team to decide on an appropriate placement. This program requires 250 clinical hours, and most of these hours are completed during the student’s last semester.

Our highly qualified clinical placement department makes every effort to find a site in close proximity to where students live or work. If students know of a site or preceptor that meets Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies’ requirements, they should discuss this directly with the clinical placement department.

We invite you to learn more about the Nursing@Georgetown program, or call our admissions team at 1-877-910-HOYA (4692).

So what’s been her secret to success throughout her 45-year career?

“Lots of things will come to you if you are open to looking at them,” she said. “Nursing has always set me up for my next thing.”

‘An Open Ticket to the World’

Conway-Welch admits she was “very green” upon arriving at Georgetown, but that her experience there “stretched” her, even outside the classroom.

“It was academically rigorous, but also socially rigorous. Georgetown added a depth of social and emotional intelligence,” she said.

Her Washington, D.C., experience also helped prepare her for future political endeavors. Not only is her husband, Ted Welch, a well-known force in political fundraising, but Conway-Welch herself has served on several federal health care commissions and has testified before Congress.

Conway-Welch completed her undergraduate degree at NHS on a full scholarship, launching an adventurous career that would take her all around the world, including cities like Honolulu, San Francisco, Santa Fe, New York City, and Denver.

She settled in Nashville upon starting as dean of the Vanderbilt School of Nursing in 1984.

“Nursing is an open ticket to the world. On just one license, you can do hundreds of things,” said Conway-Welch. “I never could have dreamed I would get my master’s, or my Ph.D., and I certainly never dreamed I’d become a dean,” she said.

Time for Reflection

Conway-Welch believes she is more resilient and confident in her choices now as a result of her constant movement and openness to change in her early career.

“I can look at any situation and say: ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ If I can tolerate the possible risk or negative consequences, then I do it,” she said.

Now one of the longest-sitting deans of a nursing school in the country, Conway-Welch is still not ruling anything out for her future. While she says she has no plans to retire, she conceded a year or so off to pursue recreational interests such as reading, traveling, snow skiing, and scuba diving would be “intriguing.”

“But I can’t imagine [waking up] without something to do,” she said.

Adapted from a longer profile that appeared on the Web site of Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies. We invite you to learn more about the Nursing@Georgetown program, or call our admissions team at 1-877-910-HOYA (4692).

Oklahoma residents Ross Williamson (G’14) and Aubrey Williamson (G’14) started in the January 2012 cohort of the Nursing@Georgetown part-time Family Nurse Practitioner program. They’re the first married couple to tackle the program together, and the path that led them to Georgetown is one of dedication and service to others.

Starting a Life Together

The Williamsons met in college on the cross-country team and became friends as they studied together in nursing school. Both of them earned their BSN degrees in 2011, Aubrey with a background in medical-surgical and the emergency room, and Ross with experience as a tech in an ICU and then also in the emergency department. They are currently working full time.

So why nursing?

“We’ve both been blessed to be a part of several overseas missions trips, and we really want to be able to do that on a more regular basis,” Aubrey said. “We also want to have the knowledge to contribute to the teams we work with while we’re there. Additionally, my dad and my sister are both doctors, so I would love to be able to work more closely with them in a clinic setting one day.”

“I want to maximize the potential I have in providing holistic patient care,” Ross said.

After earning their bachelor’s degrees, the Williamsons hopped on a plane the following day on a mission trip to Haiti. Four days after returning home, they said their “I do’s” and were back to working full time after a few days.

“It was a beautiful two weeks,” Aubrey said.

Advancing Their Careers

The Williamsons share a common goal to become APRNs in order to provide holistic care to people in hospitals, and also on the domestic and international mission field. “After driving through Haiti on a mission trip, I felt compelled to bring health care to people who have not had access to medicine or medical care,” Ross said.

Because of the time and energy involved in this type of program, the two opted to pursue an advanced degree at the same time — and they both decided on Nursing@Georgetown.

“We loved the live class sessions, that we would actually be required to ‘go to class,’” Aubrey said. “The mission statement of the school was also incredibly beautiful and really summed up what I believe we should be about. And, of course, the Georgetown name was attractive.”

According to Ross: “The design of the program with interactive lectures and the prestige of a degree from Georgetown University were my main reasons. I wanted to be challenged in school, hoping that would develop me into a better practitioner, and Georgetown is the school that can do that.”

Both agree that the experience with Nursing@Georgetown’s cutting-edge Learning Management System, 2GU, has been great.

“It has an easy-to-use interface that lets us know what is going on in our classes and what the professor wants us to know,” Ross said. “There is so much that can be taken from 2GU; it is a wonderful tool for school.”

Being newlyweds, Aubrey and Ross must balance a full-time work schedule with a part-time school schedule — as well as time for each other.

The couple says their strong Christian faith, active involvement in their church’s activities, and the fact they are doing the program together provides support.

Advice for Their Peers

When it comes to skills the Williamsons think every nurse should possess, it’s about treating the whole person.

Compassion and humility are at the top of the list, Aubrey said.

“If you don’t have compassion, you’ve missed the point. You can have all the knowledge in the world, but ultimately, if you don’t have compassion and you aren’t able to humble yourself before your patients, you’re not really helping anybody,” she said.

According to Ross: “I believe one skill important for all nurses to possess is the ability to listen to patients. I know it is easy to hear what they are saying, but listening to their problems and circumstances in life will help you provide holistic care in the best way possible.”

We invite you to learn more about the Nursing@Georgetown program, or call our admissions team at 1-877-910-HOYA (4692).

Alumna Maria Gomez (NHS'77), MPH, RN, pictured at center, founded Mary's Center, where she serves as president and CEO. Here, she posed with students and staff from the NHS Minority Health Initiative Group before her keynote address at the School of Nursing & Health Studies' annual values-based health care lecture.

Providing education, health care, and social services is essential in eliminating health disparities, said Maria Gomez (NHS’77), MPH, RN, president and CEO of Mary’s Center.

“One relates to the other,” Gomez said. “The three are really what we feel are the pillars of how one should deal with health disparities.”

Gomez spoke March 29 on Georgetown’s campus for the School of Nursing & Health Studies’ annual values-based health care lecture.

Approximately 130 students, faculty, staff, alumni, and parents attended the event, which was organized by the school’s Robert and Kathleen Scanlon Chair in Values Based Health Care, Minority Health Initiative Group (MHIG), and Committee on Mission and Values.

Giving Back

Scanlon chairholder Laura Anderko, Ph.D., RN, welcomed the audience, and MHIG chair Justin Jones (NHS’13), an international health major, introduced Gomez.

Gomez said her desire to start Mary’s Center – which opened its doors in 1988 to provide prenatal and postpartum care to Latino women living in the city’s Ward 1 – came from personal experience.

She immigrated to the United States from Colombia at age 13 and learned English at school. Her father had been killed before she was born, and her mother worked 16 hours each day to support the family.

Later, as an undergraduate at Georgetown, the Jesuit value of service inspired her.

“The Jesuit education of serving others without expecting much back … is amazing,” she said. “You have been given so much, you have to give back.”

Making Meaning

Gomez has employed that philosophy during the course of her career.

She began as a nurse in a hospital, but eventually realized that her true calling involved community-based public health work.

“The part that is more difficult is to get to know the social and economic environment your patient is in,” she said. “That’s hard to learn in the hospital.”

During this period, Gomez began noticing a large influx of immigrants from Central America who were coming to the United States to escape war.

These individuals ultimately faced many challenges in the District, such as lack of health insurance, financial instability, language and cultural barriers, and housing and employment issues.

Mary’s Center – through its “social change model” of education, health care, and social services – has worked to better this situation.

The organization, which began in a basement in Adams Morgan, has grown to three sites that serve more than 24,000 socially and medically vulnerable individuals.

“Your life should be meaningful to others and not just yourself,” she said.

Getting Involved

A number of students and faculty currently work with Mary’s Center on a variety of projects. Gomez invited more to participate in areas such as strategic planning, tutoring, and health education activities.

“It’s really important that you leave the walls of this wonderful institution [with] your love of learning and share it with the community,” she said.

This article originally appeared on the Web site of Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies. We invite you to learn more about the Nursing@Georgetown program, or call our admissions team at 1-877-910-HOYA (4692).

Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies (NHS) supports the university’s goals by preparing morally reflective health care leaders and scholars with a sensitivity to cultural differences and issues of justice. Within NHS, the Department of Nursing encourages faculty and students to support human flourishing through evidence-based nursing practice and a focus on caring for the whole person — mind,body, and spirit.

Nurses who have completed their education and started their professional careers may wonder how they can use their education and skills for the common good. A passion for social justice led two nurses to found One Nurse at a Time (ONAAT), a nonprofit organization based in Seattle, Washington. ONAAT helps nurses and nurse practitioners find local, national, and international volunteer opportunities. Co-founders Sue Averill, BSN, MBA, and Staci Kelley, BSN, created ONAAT in 2007 with the goal of encouraging and supporting nurses who undertake humanitarian medical projects at home and abroad. ONAAT is a non-political and non-sectarian organization that is staffed entirely by volunteers.

ONAAT provides four main services for volunteer nurses: 1. access to a database of national and international volunteer medical opportunities; 2. scholarships for nurses who volunteer abroad; 3. social networking opportunities between nurses and the general public; and 4. educational modules to help nurses understand diseases that they may encounter in developing countries.

ONAAT’s social networking efforts include the use of Facebook, Twitter, blogging, speaking events, and published articles that spread the word about humanitarian nursing opportunities and help raise money for scholarships. ONAAT scholarships help send nurses to places where their services are most needed. In 2011, ONAAT provided nine scholarships for nurses working in Nicaragua, Guatemala, Belize, Bangladesh, Haiti, Kenya, and Niger. The foundation is committed to channeling at least 90 percent of its funds toward volunteer scholarships. Funding sources include fundraisers, grants, and donations.

We invite you to learn more about the Nursing@Georgetown program, or call our admissions team at 1-877-910-HOYA (4692).

We are excited to share with you our new video that will give you a first-hand view of Nursing@Georgetown’s dynamic virtual campus experience that brings the excellence of on-campus online.

In our new video, you’ll learn more about our program and experience our cutting-edge Learning Management System, 2GU, that includes dynamic coursework and a highly interactive social networking platform.

Nursing@Georgetown brings the excellence of a Georgetown education to you in your own community. You will experience:

• An academically rigorous, values-based program that includes the same selective admissions standards as the on-campus program and offers the same Master of Science Degree in Nursing;
• A dynamic virtual campus experience where you participate in live online classes with a student-to-faculty ratio of approximately 10 to 1, access self-paced coursework 24/7, and use the latest social networking tools;
• Carefully selected clinical experiences in or close to your own community, personally arranged for you by Nursing@Georgetown;
• The ability to immerse yourself in Georgetown through campus visits to utilize state-of-the-art patient simulation technology.

We invite you to learn more about this innovative nursing program, or call our admissions team at 1-877-910-HOYA (4692).

* The program is not yet approved in all states. Please contact 877-910-HOYA (4692) or click here to determine if you are located in a state in which Georgetown can offer the program.

The Institute recently published an essay by Laura Anderko, Ph.D., RN, the Robert and Kathleen Scanlon Chair in Values Based Health Care at Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies. It addresses the question: How can our regulatory system more effectively protect the health of the developing fetus? Anderko discusses the impact of a heavy metal toxin called methylmercury and examines the role of government regulations in protecting parents and their unborn children from this substance.

Methylmercury, which is found in varying concentrations in fish, is a common but unregulated neurotoxin. Prenatal exposure, which can occur through a mother’s fish consumption, has been shown to impact fine motor functions, language skills, and attention. Research has also found evidence that exposure in early life affects the cardiovascular and reproductive systems, as well as immunity. With high levels of exposure, severe health problems such as cerebral palsy, deafness, blindness, and mental retardation can occur.

Anderko cites estimates that more that 600,000 children in the United States may be exposed to dangerous amounts of methylmercury in utero. Despite these statistics and other troubling findings, little has been done until now to regulate prenatal exposure to methylmercury.

The situation is not entirely hopeless. Anderko mentions the Mercury and Air Toxic Standards, a landmark piece of legislation that will limit toxic emissions (including mercury) from power plants. There are estimates that the new emission regulations could prevent asthma in 130,000 children each year.

Another hopeful sign is work being done by the Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee under the guidance of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 2011, the Committee developed guidelines for identifying chemicals that are hazardous for children and recommended actions that the EPA can take to protect children’s health.

Anderko calls on the government to focus on prenatal health. Many preconceptual and prenatal threats from the environment have the potential to cause serious life-long health problems. By implementing strategies for expanding preconceptual and prenatal research, and implementing preventative regulations, the health and well-being of unborn future generations can be protected.

Read the full text of Dr. Anderko’s essay on the Environmental Health Policy Institute website.

Nursing@Georgetown — the online program of Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies — is now accepting applications for the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner/Adult Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist (AG-ACNP/CNS) Program. The inaugural cohort will start in August 2012.

The AG-ACNP/CNS Program prepares advanced practice nurses to be clinical experts and exceptional caregivers in diverse, high acuity settings. In support of our long-standing commitment to care for the whole person — mind, body, and spirit — this program fosters nursing excellence in holistic care across a patient’s adult life. The program:

• Empowers students to achieve optimal patient outcomes with assessment, diagnosis, and management using evidence-based best practices;
• Emphasizes the roles of clinical expert, practitioner, consultant, educator, researcher, and leader;
• Prepares graduates to champion evidence-based best practices, alleviate patient and family suffering, and promote ethical decision-making and quality care;
• Provides the academic knowledge and specialized clinical skills necessary to facilitate safe passage of patients through acute care;
• Exposes students to specialists in a wide range of practice settings that focus on both the AG-ACNP and AG-CNS roles;
• Positions graduates to take both the Adult Gerontology CNS exam and the Adult Gerontology ACNP exam for board credentialing by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses or the American Nurses Credentialing Center for both board certifications.

Why Nursing@Georgetown?

Nursing@Georgetown brings the excellence of a Georgetown education to you in your own community. You will experience a unique blend of highly interactive online learning and hands-on nursing experience through:

• An academically rigorous, values-based curriculum that meets the same selective admissions standards as the on-campus program and offers the same Master’s in Nursing degree;
• A dynamic virtual campus experience where you participate in live online classes with a student-to-faculty ratio of approximately 10 to 1, access self-paced coursework 24/7, and use the latest social networking tools;
• Carefully selected clinical experiences in or close to your own community, personally arranged for you by Nursing@Georgetown;
• The ability to immerse yourself in Georgetown through campus visits to utilize state-of-the-art patient simulation.

You can earn your Master of Science in Nursing degree in about 18 months as a full-time student, or in about 24 months as a part-time student. Students are required to have a minimum of one year of experience in acute care settings such as an ER, ICU, IMCU, Tele, PACU or Step-Down. Prior to beginning clinical rotations, students are required to be certified in their specialty area (CCRN, PCCN, CEN).

We invite you to learn more about this innovative nursing program, or call our admissions team at 1-877-910-HOYA (4692).