school of nursing looks to the future - fairfield university

TABLE OF CONTENTS

School of Nursing looks to the future ..........1

Meet our Advisory Board ..............................2

Learning Resource Center slated

for upgrade ..................................................4

Spotlight on students....................................4

Doris Troth Lippman: Highest honors for

a job well done ............................................5

Gifts and grants............................................6

Sr. Mary Elizabeth O’Brien on spirituality

and nursing ..................................................8

Partnerships: local, national, international ....9

Our alumni speak ......................................10

SON proudly welcomes our new staff ........11

Message from the dean ..............................12

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Jesuit. Personal. Powerful.Fairfield University

Founded in 1970 with only 19 students, Fairfield University’s Schoolof Nursing (SON) today serves an

annual enrollment of more than 300undergraduate and graduate students. Infact, the School welcomed its largest-everfreshman class of 64 students thisSeptember.

Dean Jeanne Novotny, Ph.D, RN,FAAN, likes to say the School “is 35 yearsyoung,” and constantly evolving to meetthe diverse needs of healthcare profession-als. This year, as the School celebrates its35th anniversary,“the need for nursesnationwide is greater than ever, and we’veestablished an aggressive four-year plan torespond to that demand,” she says.“We’reupdating the School’s skills laboratory,establishing a new multimedia classroomand a demonstration classroom, upgradingour wireless classrooms, and enhancing ourcurriculum.” The School recently formedan Advisory Board that will focus onstrategic planning and fundraising toaccomplish these initiatives and pursuecontinued development.

It’s a daunting game plan, but one thathas already gotten a tremendous boostwith two generous grants from theMcKeen Fund, totaling $51,000.The

School had been working to create anAdvisory Board to guide it in strategicplanning and development, when JamesDaly, former Fairfield University Trustee,parent of three Fairfield graduates, andtrustee of the McKeen Fund, expressedinterest in helping. Besides allowing for theestablishment of the Advisory Board, thegrant has funded the launch of the nursinglecture series which will kick off on Oct.26 with celebrated neurologist and authorOliver Sacks, whose books includeAwakenings and The Man who Mistook hisWife for a Hat.

The Board has already secured 10members (see article p. 2) but expects toexpand to twice that number. Chairing itis Nancy Lynch, P’95, a volunteer in thedevelopment field for 30 years. Both theAdvisory Board and the lecture series will help the School address many of thechallenges facing the nursing field, includ-ing the nursing shortage, the nursing faculty shortage, and the evolving role of the nurse.The American Association ofColleges of Nursing estimates that 32,000qualified nursing candidates have beenturned away from nursing programsbecause of a critical shortage of nursingfaculty, a bitter pill to swallow because theneed for nurses is so great.

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The SON’s new Advisory Boardwill address specific projects andobjectives aligned with the

School’s long-range plan, with a focus on gaining support and funding.

Moreen Donahue, N.D. Greenwich Hospital

Moreen Donahue is senior vice president of Patient Care Services andchief nursing officer at GreenwichHospital. She is a member of the YaleNew Haven Health System SeniorExecutive Management Group, QualityCouncil Steering Committee, and thePatient Safety Steering CommitteeTaskforce, and has more than 30 yearsof experience as a nurse leader in hospitals and home care. Dr. Donahue is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, theInternational Nursing Honor Society.She received her bachelor of sciencedegree in nursing from Boston College, amaster of science degree in educationfrom the State University of New York, amaster of science in nursing from CaseWestern Reserve University’s (CWRU)Frances Payne Bolton School ofNursing, and has completed her doctorate in nursing at CWRU.

Daniel Hayes ’68, M.D.Maine Center for Cancer

Daniel Hayes is the president andmanaging partner of the Maine Centerfor Cancer Medicine and BloodDisorders, where he has been practicingmedical oncology since 1976, focusingon adult cancers with a concentration inlung cancer and palliative care. He is cur-rently president elect of the NorthernNew England Clinical OncologySociety, and a member of the CarrierAdvisory Committee, Center forMedicare and Medicaid Services, theSpring Harbor Hospital Board ofTrustees, and the Hospice of SouthernMaine Board of Trustees. Dr. Hayes isboard certified in both internal medicineand in medical oncology. He received his

bachelor of science degree from FairfieldUniversity and his doctorate fromCornell University Medical College in1972. Married to Phyllis Bernet withfour adult children, he is currently acommunicant at Holy Martyrs Church(the patrons are the Jesuit NorthAmerican martyrs), in Falmouth, Maine.

Robin Bennett Kanarek, BSN’96A registered nurse since 1979,

Kanarek has worked in the fields of cardiology, spinal cord injury, insurancereview and, most recently, as a certifieddiabetes educator at Stamford Hospital.She received her BSN at FairfieldUniversity in 1996, summa cum laude. In2000, Kanarek lost her 15-year old son,David, to lymphocytic leukemia after afive-year battle with the disease. SinceDavid’s passing, Kanarek has becomeinvolved in fundraising activities for TheTeenage Cancer Trust, a foundation thatraises funds to build in-patient cancercenters for teenagers and young adultssuffering from the disease. She recentlyhad a chapter published in the medicaltextbook Cancer and the Adolescent, andco-wrote a chapter in The Parent’sPerspective of Adolescent Oncology.In March 2004, she was invited to be alecturer at the International Conferenceon Adolescent Oncology at the RoyalCollege of Physicians in London; shepresented “The Parents Perspective ofTeenage Cancer.” Kanarek serves on theboard of The Thumbelina Fund inStamford and on the board of the Carland Dorothy Bennett Foundation inGreenwich. She lives in Hampstead,London with her husband, Joe, and their15-year-old daughter, Sarah.

Nancy P. Lynch, P’95, board chairAs a volunteer in the field of devel-

opment for nearly 30 years, Lynch hasfocused her efforts largely on healthcare.She sits on the Board of Trustees atGreenwich Hospital and the VANHospice Foundation in Vero Beach, Fla.

For the past three years, she has led thecapital campaign for Greenwich Hospitalas its chairman, having raised $58 millionof its $67 million goal to date.At EagleHill School, she served on the Board ofTrustees for 11 years and started theirfirst annual giving program.The cam-paign was completed in three years andthe library was named after her. Lynchalso sat on the boards and led the development committees of the BruceMuseum, the Family Centers ofGreenwich, and The Convent of theSacred Heart.

A graduate of Centenary College,she lives with her husband, Roger Lynch’63, a retired General Partner ofGoldman Sachs, in Greenwich, Conn.,and Vero Beach.They are the parents ofthree grown children: Roger, Stephen ’95,and Aimee.

Elner L. Morrell BSN’81, M.A.United Health Group

A senior information systems projectmanager at United Health Group, adiversified Fortune 100 company thatprovides a broad spectrum of resourcesand services to help people achieveimproved health through all stages of life,Elner Morell is also an invited memberof the Connecticut HealthcareInformatics Network, a member of theFairfield University Board of Trustees,and the Project Management Institute.She received her bachelor of science in nursing at Fairfield University, and hermaster’s certificate in IT ProjectManagement from George WashingtonUniversity. She currently volunteers forthe Vital Life Stories project sponsoredby United Methodist Homes in WesleyVillage in Shelton, Conn. Her areas ofspecial interest include public healthinformatics, predictive modeling, healthpolicy development, and administration.

Aimee Mueller ’93, BSN’98After graduating from Fairfield

University in 1993, Mueller was

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employed by SmithKline Beecham inPhiladelphia, Penn. and then by Pfizer,Inc. in New York City. She worked inthe field of toxicology, compiling infor-mation on the health and safety effects offinal drug products as well as raw materi-als used in pharmaceuticals. She laterreturned to Fairfield University in thesecond-degree nursing program, andupon graduation worked as a staff nursein cardio-thoracic surgery, then as aresearch assistant before taking a hiatus toraise a family. She is currently a memberof Sigma Theta Tau International, theHonor Society of Nursing, and was editor of Fairfield’s Mu Chi Chapternewsletter from 2000 to 2002.A full-time mother to three sons, she remains actively involved in various volunteeropportunities within the New Canaanschool system.

Jeffrey F. Otis, Paul L. Jones Fund

Jeffrey F. Otis is currently a vice pres-ident at Webster Bank in the area of trustand estate administration in which he has37 years of experience. Webster Bankmanages the Paul L. Jones Fund whichprovides scholarship support to assist stu-dents in medical and health-related fields.For more than two decades, the Paul L.Jones Fund has underwritten a scholar-ship in support of students in FairfieldUniversity’s School of Nursing. Otis ismarried with four children, and has livedin Southington, Conn., for the past 30 years.

Kathy Russo, R.T.R.Kathy Russo graduated from Yale-

New Haven School of RadiologicalTechnology in 1968. She was a stafftechnologist at Yale-New Haven Hospitalfrom 1968 to 1975, and the supervisor ofthe Emergency and Out PatientRadiology Department at Yale NewHaven from 1975 to 1984. Russo is thepast president of St.Vincent’s MedicalCenter Auxiliary, past president ofBellarmine Guild at Fairfield Prep, and apast member of the University’s Trustees

Advisory Council. She has four childrenand is a eucharistic minister at St. Pius XChurch in Fairfield.

Claudia Schechter, Schechter Foundation

Claudia Schechter is the vice president of The Schechter Foundation,which offers educational grants to stu-dents pursuing advanced degrees in thenursing, occupational, and physical therapy disciplines.The SchechterFoundation supports a scholarship forsecond degree students.

A professional photographer,Schechter has a degree from theRochester Institute of Technology in biomedical communications and biomedical photography. She has sold professional film and cameras for FUJIand Polaroid, and pharmaceuticals for theSmithKline Beecham and Johnson &Johnson companies. Currently, Schechteris working as a freelance internationaldocumentary photographer, traveling allover the world recording other culturesand lifestyles.

Olivia Weeks BSN ’05Olivia Weeks graduated from Lake

Forest College with a degree in art his-tory. She began volunteering at WestportEmergency Medical Service 10 yearsago, and it was shortly thereafter that shedecided to pursue her studies in nursing.She is a 2005 graduate of the FairfieldUniversity second degree nursing program, has recently passed herNCLEX exams, and is in the process of deciding where she would like tobegin her formal career as a nurse. Shehas lived in Southport with her husband,Bill, for 24 years.They have four children,Alexa,William,Whitney, and Olivia.

SON ADVISORY BOARD

Members of the new SON Advisory Board met in June for a weekend-long meeting andretreat. Front row (l-r): Dr. Sheila Grossman, Nancy Lynch, chairman of the board, Dr. JeanneNovotny, dean, and Claudia Schechter. Second row (l-r): Kathy Russo, Elner Morrell, MoreenDonahue, Aimee Mueller, and Robin Kanarek. Third row: Jeff Otis and Daniel Hayes. Not pictured: Olivia Weeks, Dr. Suzanne Campbell.

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Learning Resource Center slated for upgrade

One of the priorities identifiedby Dr. Novotny and the SONAdvisory Board this past year is

the need to upgrade the LearningResource Center, making it currentwith state-of-the-art technologies andgetting graduates ready for the high levelof practice they will soon experience inthe hospitals.The upgraded ResourceCenter will include a health assessmentlab in which students can practice skillssuch as catheterizations; a multimediaclassroom; a demonstration classroomwhere students can use simulation mod-els to reach high levels of competencynecessary for clinical practice; and wire-less classrooms that will enable studentsto have up-to-date didactic instructionand access to current knowledge.

“Students would be able to performa procedure in one room, for example,while their classmates observe fromanother.They could then critique theprocedure and write care plans as theyare observing,” explains Dr. SuzanneCampbell, Learning Resource Centerproject director.“We’ll be able to use the technology in simulation models,computers, and various programs to supplement our teaching.”

Indeed, the Center got a surpriseshot in the arm on graduation day thispast May, when new graduate OliviaWeeks handed Dr. Novotny an enve-lope. Inside: a check for $35,000 for theSON to purchase a patient simulationmannequin, a life-like model patient thatcomes complete with a heartbeat, pulse,and chest movements. (See article, p 6.)

The model has arrived and shouldbe available for students to begin usingby spring 2006, after faculty pilot variousscenarios for different nursing courses.In the meantime, consultants have begunwork to assess the particular needs of theSchool and design a lab that would bestmeet those needs.This is a four-year ini-tiative with a projected cost of $570,000,including lab equipment, faculty devel-opment and curriculum, but excludingthe cost of construction. Gifts are beingsought from corporations, private foun-dations, individuals, and governmentsources.Anyone interested in learningmore about this project should contactDr. Suzanne Campbell at (203) 254-4000,ext. 2578, or by e-mail at

[email protected]

Spotlight on StudentsConnecticut Post profiles senior

Readers of the Connecticut Post gotto know Kara Rovelli ’05 fairlywell before she graduated in

May. That’s because the 21-year-oldMassachusetts native was profiled fourtimes throughout the year, in articles thatshowcased her demanding course load,long hours of clinical work, and timespent singing with the Glee Club.

At graduation, Rovelli was honoredwith a coveted award: the Elizabeth K.Dolan Award for the senior with a 3.25GPA or better, who exhibits the profes-sional attributes of caring, sensibility,

leadership,and clinicalproficiency.Rovelli, whois interestedin pediatricnursing,recently

began working at Connecticut Children’sMedical Center in Hartford as a nurseon the oncology and hematology floor.

To read the four Connecticut Postinstallments, log on to

www.fairfield.edu/nursing

Nurse and playwrightSenior Lauren Satos is a nursing

student with a creative flair and a love of the theatre.Taking the Creative Mindsseminar in her freshman year was a welcome break from her rigorous corecourse load…but never did she imaginethat the seminar would lead her to writea play.

Satos’s play, Let it Be, concerns a mandying of AIDS and his overbearingmother as they struggle to accept hisimpending death. Satos began the one-act play during the seminar, drawingupon her background as a nurse-in-training and her personal experience of

having a relativewith AIDS. Sheexpanded the playlast summer, andwas delightedwhen it wasselected to be readat FairfieldUniversity’s NewWorks Festival last March.

“I never thought an English classcould offer this range of creativity,” saysSatos.“I draw from my experiences ofseeing pain and anxiety in a hospital andinfuse that into the plays I write.”

The Creative Minds seminar wascreated in 2001 as a way to bridge thediscipline of writing with that of the arts,says Dr. Kim Bridgford, professor ofEnglish, who designed the seminar.

Lauren Satos ‘06

Kara Rovelli ’05

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Doris Troth Lippman, Ed.D,APRN, C.S.:Highest honors for a job well done

When Dee Lippman joined theArmy Nurses Corps in 1967,she had no idea the next two

years would not only shape her life, buther career as well. Now, almost 40 yearslater, her continued work with veteranshas earned her the nursing profession’shighest award – fellowship in theAmerican Academy of Nursing.

Lippman, then just out of nursingschool, joined the Army on the condi-tion she and her husband Kenneth, anewly minted physician, could servetogether.They were assigned to aM.A.S.H. hospital for surgical orthopedicinjuries in Japan, where soldiers wereflown from Vietnam and stabilized beforebeing sent home … or back to the front.“During the Tet Offensive in 1968, therewere so many casualties, and most ofthese soldiers had not been in a placewhere they were not under attack sincegoing to Vietnam,” she remembers.“Asthey were recovering, they tended toopen up, especially to the nurses, talkingto us as if we were their moms or sistersor girlfriends. It’s hard to find a place toput that.” Some of the men would besent home if their tour of duty wasalmost over, but many had to be sentback to Vietnam – a task that was partic-ularly difficult for the people who hadnursed them back to health.“When wecame back home in ’69, the country wasso against the war that we never talkedabout our experiences there,” Dr.Lippman says.“We didn’t even discussthem with our families.”

Fast forward 11 years. Dr. Lippman,now with three children plus master’sand doctoral degrees from Columbia,landed one of two teaching positions atFairfield’s School of Nursing.“I wasteaching a class and went to a veteran’shospital with my nursing students, and itwas there that I first saw Vietnam vetswith post-traumatic stress syndrome,something that was not recognized inthe’60s.” It struck her that the men shehad patched up and sent home years ago

were still suffering, and Dr. Lippman —who had specialized in psychiatric nursing in school — promised she’d dowhatever she could to help. She beganvolunteering at outreach centers, wherethe vets tended to go for their emotionalcare, and she joined the board of Homesfor the Brave, which provides vets withtransitional housing.

In 1985, Dr. Lippman heard aboutthe Vietnam Women’s Memorial Project,a group dedicated to honoring thewomen who had served in Vietnam.“Since only military personnel are listedon The Wall in Washington, D.C., thereare just eight women noted there,” shesays. She became actively involved withthe group, trying for nine years to get asculpture approved to honor the nurseswho had served in Vietnam.The chal-lenge was daunting for its endlessbureaucracy, but when the sculpture wasfinally approved in 1993, a caravan ofveterans escorted it from Santa Fe, whereit was cast, to Washington. Dr. Lippmanwas in Santa Fe for the unveiling, and inD.C. when it was brought “home.”

In 2003, Dr. Lippman was awardedan honorary Military Order of thePurple Heart. She is currently presidentof the Connecticut Nurses’Association(CNA), and lectures frequently on theemotional toll placed on soldiers and

nurses during war.“The psychologicalwounds of war are not recognizable theway wounds to the body are,” she says.Her work has led her to focus not juston older veterans, but on the geriatricpopulation in general. She has been hon-ored by the CNA with its highest award— the Diamond Jubilarian AgnesOhlson Award — for her contributionsto nursing through political action.Through it all, Dr. Lippman has juggleda full teaching schedule in the School ofNursing, and even managed to completea second master’s degree (in marriageand family therapy) through Fairfield’sGraduate School of Education and AlliedProfessions.“Dee is one of the mostinfluential nursing professionals in thecountry,” says Dean Novotny.“The roleshe played in establishing the VietnamWomen’s Memorial is a tribute to herpersonally and to the University.”

In November, her fellow nurses will honor Dr. Lippman when she isinducted as a Fellow into the AmericanAcademy of Nursing at a ceremony inArizona.“Only 38 percent of all thosewho applied this year were actuallyselected,” says Dr. Novotny.The Academyhonors those who have done work wellabove and beyond their normal duties.

Dr. Lippman is pleased and honoredto be receiving the award, though she’snot entirely sure how being a Fellow inthe Academy will affect her work.“I’llstill serve on various boards for veterans’issues, and I’d like to focus my workmore on post-traumatic stress and thecare of vets now coming home fromIraq,” she says.“The sooner they gettreatment for mental health issues, theless likely those issues are to becomechronic.” As for nurses, the landscape for those serving in Iraq is quite similarto those who served in Vietnam.“They’re under fire almost all the time,”Dr. Lippman said.“The work hasn’tchanged. It’s saving as many people asyou can save and comforting those who lay dying.”

Dr. Doris Troth Lippman


Gifts and Grants$25,000 to train graduate student nurses

Local community health centers often provide society’ssafety net of care for underserved populations.TheHealth Resources and Services Administration of

the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services hasawarded Fairfield University’s School of Nursing $25,000 for aproject to prepare advanced practice registered nurse candidatesto work at those centers.

Fairfield has teamed with Sacred Heart University’s Collegeof Education and Health Professions and the two federallyqualified health centers located in Bridgeport –– SouthwestCommunity Health Center and Bridgeport CommunityHealth Center –– for the project.

The one-year grant will provide funding to allow advancedpractice nursing students to train at local health centers andwork with doctors and nurses there.The goal is to familiarizestudents with working in those settings and help them todevelop culturally appropriate, community-based primary careinterventions.

Ultimately, the project will encourage more nurses to takejobs at federally qualified health centers, said Dr. Jean Lange,associate professor of nursing.

Barcklow Grant allows SON to incorporate spirituality into geriatric curriculum

The John J. Barcklow Foundation awarded FairfieldUniversity’s School of Nursing $5,000 to consider new ways ofintegrating spirituality into its geriatric nursing curriculum.Anadditional $10,000 has been awarded for the fiscal year 2006.

Spirituality can be an essential aspect of care for olderadults with medical problems, particularly those in long-termcare situations, says Dr. Meredith Wallace, associate professor ofnursing. However, as a secular society we often shun thoseneeds, Dr.Wallace says, noting that Fairfield’s Jesuit missionmakes it even more important that the School address the issue.

The grant project will design a clinical rotation withinFairfield University’s current geriatric course for Spring 2005,with a substantial emphasis on spirituality.Ten selected studentsand faculty members will be educated in faith-based nursingcare through consultation with nursing experts specializing inthis area.

The grant also funded the free lecture on spirituality andnursing given by Sr. Mary Elizabeth O’Brien of the CatholicUniversity of America last December (see article, page 8).

The John J. Barcklow Foundation provides a wide range ofservices and products to promote compassion and quality of lifefor older adults.

$25,000 grant to take geriatric nursing certificate program to the web

The success of a geriatric nursing certificate programlaunched by Fairfield University’s School of Nursing last fall hasenabled Dr. Meredith Wallace, associate professor of nursing andthe Elizabeth DeCamp McInerny Endowed Chair in HealthSciences, to garner a second $10,000 grant from The DaphneSeybolt Culpeper Memorial Foundation, to develop anonline version of the program. In addition, $15,000 was award-ed from The Adrian & Jessie Archbold Charitable Trustover a two-year period for the same project.

Last year,The Daphne Seybolt Culpeper MemorialFoundation awarded the SON $10,000 to develop a GeriatricNursing Certificate Program for nurses who are seeking toincrease their skills in working with older adults.The courseran last fall and graduated 18 students.

The Daphne Seybolt Culpeper Foundation was establishedin 1983 and focuses its giving on education, health care, andhuman services.The Adrian & Jessie Archbold Charitable Trustwas established in 1976 and provides grants in support of med-ical sciences, hospitals, and other health-related organizations.

The certificate program provides students with 24 contacthours of work.With six more hours, registered nurses with twoyears of experience working with older adults can sit for theGerontological Specialty Nursing Certification examinationprovided by the American Nurse Credentialing Center.Thecredential is a nationally recognized benchmark for excellencein geriatric nursing care, Dr.Wallace says.The School will beginoffering the online course this fall.

A graduate’s surprise giftMost students breathe a sigh of relief when that last tuition

bill is paid, but recent SON graduate Olivia Weeks ’05 turnedthe tables on her alma mater by presenting the School with acheck for $35,000 for new technology in the School ofNursing lab.Thanks to her generosity, future students will have


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$255,000 to prevent lead poisoning in childrenThe School of Nursing has received a three-year subcontract totaling $255,000 fromthe city of Bridgeport as part of theBridgeport Lead Free Families Programfunded by the U.S. Department of Housingand Urban Development (HUD). The sub-contract, directed by Dr. Philip Greiner,associate professor of nursing, will providelead screenings in targeted neighborhoods,case management services to families witha child who has a blood lead level of 10µg/dl or higher, and education for parentsabout lead poisoning hazards and forproviders about the Bridgeport Lead FreeFamilies Project. Other partners include theBridgeport Office of Planning andEconomic Development, Bridgeport HealthDepartment’s Childhood Lead PoisoningPrevention Program, the BridgeportNeighborhood Trust, and Matrix PublicHealth Consultants.

The subcontract is administered throughthe Health Promotion Center by LydiaGreiner, MSN, manager of CommunityServices for the School of Nursing, and out-reach worker Grace Jordan-Kearney.Students will contribute to this workthrough various academic nursing courses.

Additional government funding• A $14,000 grant from the Southwestern

Connecticut Agency on Aging will pro-vide a combination of cardiovascular andmental health screening, plus education,for at-risk elderly.

• The U.S. Department of Health andHuman Services, Health ResourcesServices Administration has provided theSON with a $30,477 Advanced EducationNursing Traineeship grant.

• The City of Bridgeport’s Department ofYouth Services has awarded the SON’sHealth Promotion Center $90,000 tooversee recreational programs atBlackham school after school hours. The goal of the program is to bolsteracademic performance and thus lowerthe drop-out, teen pregnancy, substanceabuse, and crime rates.

Government Fundingthe benefit ofhands-on practiceusing “SimMan,” ahuman patientsimulator byLaerdal Medical.

The newtechnology makesit possible to havehands-on practiceon a computer-activated, life-likepatient, completewith a heartbeat,pulse, and chestmovements.Whilea student atFairfield,Weeksworked as a labassistant to DianeMager, director ofthe LearningResource lab,where students get lab experience before heading off to clinical assignments. She sawthen how technology could enhance students’ educational experience.

Weeks worked with the Westport EMS for nine years and said the experiencesparked her interest in the medical field. She completed most of her clinical work inpediatrics at Yale-New Haven Hospital and hopes to continue working in that field.

Scholarship moneyThe Paul L. Jones Fund has generously renewed the scholarship it has supported

for more than a dozen years, providing $50,000 in tuition assistance to Connecticutstudents enrolled in the School of Nursing.

Stepping up to the challengeGeneral Re Corporation has been extremely supportive of the School of

Nursing over the years.This year, their $5,000 gift was the first supporting theMcKeen Fund’s challenge to develop an annual lecture that will spotlight the impor-tance of nursing and the healthcare profession.This year’s inaugural event will featureDr. Oliver Sacks.

THE SCHECHTER FOUNDATION

The Schechter Foundation has provided $26,000 in scholarshipmonies to deserving second-degree nursing students for the 2004-05 and 2005-06 academic years. In May, the School of Nursinginvited students in the 15-month program receiving scholarships in2004-05 to a dinner with Claudia Schechter. Pictured here (l-r):Stephen Roberts, Sherry Lucke, Carrie Guttman, Carole Pomarico,director of the Second Degree Program, Claudia Schechter, TsedronNormatsang, and Richard Arriaga. Not pictured is Thu-Hong Vu.

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THE SCHOOL OFNURSING PUBLISHES

Our faculty has been busy over

the last two years! Besides their

normal course loads, most have

found time to publish. Check out

their impressive list of articles,

books, and presentations on

our website:



When we as nurses standbehind patients and theirfamilies, God is also present,”

said Sr. Mary Elizabeth O’Brien, Ph.D.,FAAN, of the Catholic University ofAmerica during her talk on spiritualityand nursing last winter. Her presentationwas funded by the John J. BarcklowFoundation, as part of a $5,000 grant tothe School of Nursing with the aim offinding ways to integrate spirituality intothe geriatric nursing curriculum.

Traditionally, nurses have turned theirpatient’s spiritual needs over to the min-ister, priest, or rabbi, said Sr. O’Brien. Itwasn’t until the ’70s and ’80s that themedical profession began to emphasizeholistic care, assessing the patient’s spiritand determining how that might impacthis or her health.Today, she sees a newrole for nursing,“not to take over thework of ministry, but to work hand inhand with chaplaincy,” she said. She citeda study of 45 chronically ill older adultswhose ailments left them marginalizedfrom their church.After several weeks ofpastoral care nursing,“they noted signifi-cant increases in their level of satisfactionand hope,” said Sr. O’Brien.

A noted expert on the subject ofnursing and spirituality, Sr. O’Brien’smany books explore the topic in greaterdepth.“When the nurse takes the handof a frail elderly who is trying to adjustto life in a nursing home, she is standingon Holy Ground,” she said.“All nursesshould be comfortable enough to assess aperson’s spiritual needs.”

Spirituality can be an essential aspectof care for older adults with medicalproblems, particularly those in long-termcare situations, said Dr. Meredith Wallace,

ElizabethDeCampMcInerneyProfessor ofHealth Sciencesand associateprofessor ofnursing, whoteaches primarilyon long-termcare and theelderly.However, as asecular society we often shun thoseneeds, Dr.Wallace said.

“We’re in a culture that is afraid toaddress patients’ spiritual needs becausethey may be in conflict with our own,”Dr.Wallace said. Including spirituality in nursing care may be as simple as facilitating relationships between patientsand their spiritual leaders; praying withpatients; escorting them to religious services; watching a televised service;or responding in other ways to their spiritual needs.

She added that the Barcklow grantwill allow 10 selected students and facultymembers to be educated in faith-basednursing care with experts in the field.

Sr. Mary Elizabeth O’Brien onSpirituality and Nursing

Sr. Mary Elizabeth O’Brien

Fortunately for Fairfield University’sSchool of Nursing,“There has beentremendous growth in the School sinceits inception,” Lynch said.“[The creationof the Advisory Board] is only going toenhance it and make it stronger.”

The SON’s Partnership Council, adedicated group of professionals whoprovide professional and educationexpertise, continues to be an effectivesource of communication between facul-ty, community representatives, and clinicalagencies.Their role, separate from that of the Advisory Board, is to help createappropriate clinical experiences for students and to identify resources in thecommunity that will benefit the School and its students.

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Fairfield University, NorwalkCommunity College expandpartnership

This year, the Fairfield UniversitySchool of Nursing and NorwalkCommunity College (NCC)

Department of Nursing have joinedforces to pave the way for graduates of NCC’s two-year nursing school pro-gram to transfer to Fairfield Universityto complete studies toward a bachelor of science degree in nursing.The collaborative agreement between public(NCC) and private (Fairfield) institu-tions provides a seamless transition to further the education of nursesthroughout the state of Connecticut.

The partnership allows NCC nursing graduates to transfer 67 creditsfrom NCC to Fairfield toward a BSNdegree. Fairfield University will thendecrease NCC students’ elective requirements from three to two.

Award for FairfieldUniversity and Sacred Heartgraduate nursing students

Two local graduate nursing students,Sharon Benard of Fairfield Universityand Jennifer Nelson of Sacred HeartUniversity, have become the first nursepractitioners to win the MostCollaborative National Primary CareWeek Project (NPCW) award.

The students werehonored for a 2004project in which theyjoined forces with theBridgeport CommunityHealth Center to hostthree free health lecturesduring Connecticut’sNational Primary CareWeek.The AmericanMedical StudentAssociation Foundationoffered a grant to defray the costs of providing the lectures;Connecticut’sSouthwestern AreaHealth EducationCenter made additionalsupport available.

The project created by Benard andNelson was selected from a pool thatrepresented more than 230 schools thatplanned events for NPCW. Generallythe honor has gone to a medical school.Benard was “quite shocked and reallyexcited at having been the first nursepractitioners to ever participate and win.”

Recruiting nursing studentswith scholarship aid

The School of Nursing is creatingpartnerships with local hospitals andhealthcare agencies that wish to attractnursing candidates to employment viascholarships that help pay some tuition costs.

Tsedron Normatsang of Woodbridgeand Paula Scotti Shevlin of Darien wereeach selected for a $10,000 scholarshipawarded by Stamford Hospital forFairfield University accelerated degreenursing students, in exchange for apromise to work at the hospital for atleast one year.

TransCon Builders, which owns several local rehabilitation, skilled care,and assisted living facilities, offers undergraduate and graduate nursing

scholarships of $7,500 for one year and$15,000 for two years of employment.White Plains Hospital offers scholarshipsof $5,000 a year for up to two years of service.

Fairfield University is working oneven more partnerships with healthcareemployers, says Dr. Novotny.“This istruly a win-win for our students and thelocal hospitals and healthcare agencieslooking to employ them,” she says.

Study overseasNursing students have two study

abroad options, thanks to collaborativerelationships with two respectedEuropean universities.The University of Padova in Italy offers an intensive 2-week nursing research course, taughtby Fairfield University’s Dr. Jean Lange.Students can also opt to spend thespring semester of junior year at theNational University of Galway onIreland’s west coast, a project coordinat-ed by Dr. Meredith Wallace. For moreinformation, log on to

www.fairfield/edu/studyabroad

At the NPCW award ceremony (l-r): Jennifer Nelson; SusanDeNisco, coordinator of the Family Nurse Practitioners program at Sacred Heart; Sharon Benard; Dr. Jean Lange of the Fairfield University School of Nursing.

Partnerships: Local, National, and International

Pictured (l-r) are Dr. Jeanne M. Novotny,dean of Fairfield University’s School ofNursing; NCC President Dr. David L.Levinson, and Dr. Mary Schuler, director of the Norwalk Community CollegeDivision of Nursing and Allied Health.


Last December, we wrote to you andasked you to respond to our 35thAnniversary School of Nursing

Alumni Survey. More than 100 of youwrote back, and we are pleased andproud to confirm – through your com-ments — that nursing continues to be ahighly flexible and rewarding profession.Here, just a few of the responses wereceived:

“Extreme satisfaction in my Fairfieldeducation has led me to my career as anextremely satisfied nurse practitioner inWomen’s Health.”

– Kathy Scannell Flynn ’94

“I can’t tell you how thankful I amfor my education in nursing at Fairfield. Iam constantly reminding students of the

three core values I took away with mefrom Fairfield – knowledge, communica-tion & understanding.You definitely need all three!”

– Maria Ricciardi Hines ’83, Ft.Wayne, Ind.

“I really feel my Fairfield educationprepared me both clinically as well asprofessionally. Mentors like Dr. Lippmanand Dr. Grossman still influence me even14 years after graduation.”

– Lisa Dittami Bradshaw,Andover, Mass.

“I would be happy to be a contact forstudents and/or faculty. Fairfield definite-ly prepared me for my role as a registerednurse and my education eased my transi-tion into a master’s program for my nursepractitioner degree. In addition, theinternship I completed at Greenwich

Hospital through Fairfield gave me quitean advantage when I began to look for ajob as an RN. I recommend students tocomplete such an internship in additionto their clinicals.”

– Rachael Rowley McQuillan ’96, Boston, Mass.

“I try to contribute to mentoring andteaching new ICU staff. I started a unitjournal club to encourage critical thinkingand education within the unit.Also, weneed more RNs to become certifiedCCRNs. I would be interested in yourlecture series.”

– Charlene Reilly, Shelton, Conn.

Please, keep in touch! To fill out asurvey, log on to our website:


Your Name Class Degree

Address Home Phone ( )

City, State, Zip Work or cell phone ( )

Check if this is a new address nn E-mail

Comments?

Spouse Children, ages

Signature Date

!

FIRST (MAIDEN) LAST (IF APPLICABLE)

Our alumni speak…

We love to hear from our alums and friends! We also want to do our best to keep you informed of events andplans at the School of Nursing. Please help us by filling out the form below. Send to: Maggie McCaffery, FairfieldUniversity School of Nursing, 1073 North Benson Road, Fairfield, CT 06824.

Please detach and send

Let’s Stay Connected! Fall 2005Fall 2005

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5

. , . • . , . •

SON proudly welcomes our new staffJoyce Shea, DNSc, APRN

For two years, Joyce Shea ’79 has been an adjunct in theSchool of Nursing. Last September 2004, this FairfieldUniversity graduate joined the faculty full time as assistant

professor. Her responsibilities include providing clinical super-vision for the undergraduate students in their psychiatric nursing rotation and teaching an undergraduate and graduatelevel nursing research course at Greenwich Hospital.

Dr. Shea is a nationally certified clinical nurse specialist inadult psychiatric-mental health nursing, with a special interestin those with schizophrenia.“The geriatric population is espe-cially interesting, because it’s a group about whom not much isknown,” she says.“I’m looking forward to doing someexploratory research with Bridgeport Hospital on the needs of

elderly individuals with severe mentalillness, and whether or not those needsare being met.”

Prior to her arrival at Fairfield, Dr.Shea taught at Quinnipiac and Yale,where she received both her MSN andDNSc degrees. In 2002, she receivedthe Podium Presentation award fromthe Eastern Nursing Research Societyfor her dissertation study,“ComingBack Normal:The Struggle for Self inThose with Schizophrenia.” Sheworked as a clinical nurse specialist atDanbury Hospital for seven years.

Sally Gerard, MSN, CCRN, CDE

Sally Gerard comes to Fairfield University from StamfordHospital, where she was a critical care nurse and the coordinator of nursing education. She specialized in acute

care education, with a focus on diabetes education. Prior tothat, she was a diabetes educator at Bridgeport’s St.Vincent’sMedical Center from 1999 to 2003. She has lectured extensivelyat various hospitals and in the community on issues surround-ing diabetes.

Professor Gerard has been an adjunct in the SON for threeyears and this year joins the faculty full time. She received her

BSN at Pace University, and her M.S.from the College of New Rochelle in1993. Currently, she is enrolled in aclinical doctorate program throughCase Western University, where she isconcentrating on educational leader-ship. Her research focus is on diabeteseducation. For the past five years,Professor Gerard has been a mentorto a young girl in foster care.

Carol Fackler, MS

After years in Boston as an emergency nurse, CarolFackler moved to Connecticut in 2003 to begin studiesfor her doctor of nursing science degree in health policy

at Yale. She has been an adjunct professor in the School ofNursing for two years, teaching medical/surgical nursing andhealth care delivery systems to both undergraduates and second-degree students.

Professor Fackler received her BSN from the University ofRhode Island and her M.S. from the School of Nursing atUMass/Boston, where she later taught. She worked as a clinicalnurse and manager in the Emergency Department of BostonMedical Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and in the

urgent care department of the EastBoston Neighborhood HealthCenter. In 1989, she was nominatedby the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for OutstandingAchievement in Emergency MedicalServices. Her dissertation topic willfocus on nurses’ perception of powerand their professional roles. ProfessorFackler has written for EmergencyNursing Core Curriculum, fourth edi-tion (C.V. Mosby) and CEN ReviewManual, 2nd edition (EmergencyNurses Association).

Joyce Shea

Sally Gerard

Carol Fackler


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2 www.fairf ie ld.edu/nursing12

Message From the Dean:

This is an amazingly exciting year as we celebrate two seminal events in the history of the School of Nursing: the celebration of our 35th year and the formation of the Schoolof Nursing Advisory Board! We are blessed to have Nancy P. Lynch, P’95, a volunteer

in the field of development for a number of years, as Advisory Board chair. I feel fortunate to be the dean of the School at this point in time and to have the unprecedented opportunity to work with the individuals who have agreed to share their outstanding talents with us.

The School of Nursing currently serves more than 300 graduate and undergraduate students.As a testament to the reputation and high standards of the School, the Commission on Collegiate NursingEducation granted accreditation in 2002. In congruence with the mission of Fairfield University, our goal is to provide our students with a Jesuit educational experience and teach them to become men and womenfor others.This experience takes place in a caring, diverse, academic learning environment that reflects professional nursing standards and provides our students with the highest level of education, one that is recognized at the local, national, and international levels.

Our goals for the future are based upon a foundation that reflects three key features of organizations inthe 21st century: care of older adults, community, and partnerships.These themes, in conjunction with ourJesuit mission, are an integral part of all of our work.

In 1914, Florence Nightingale said,“Unless we are making progress in our nursing every year, everymonth, every week, take my word for it — we are going back.” We invite you to join us in moving forward.

Please stay in touch.You can help us by filling out the form on page 10. We look forward to hearingfrom you.

Jeanne M. Novotny, Ph.D., RN, FAANDean and Professor

UPCOMING EVENTS

GRADUATEINFORMATION SESSION

Interested in going back to school? Join us for ournext graduate informationsession. Wed., Nov. 9, from5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at theCharles F. Dolan School of Business.

Register online atwww.fairfield.edu/grador call (203) 254-4184 or

(888) 488-6840.

PROFESSIONALDEVELOPMENT DAY

Mark your calendars for June17, 2006 when the SON willhold a professional develop-ment day here on campus. All are welcome! For moreinformation, call Dr. JoyceShea at (203) 254-4000, ext. 2575.

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDFAIRFIELD

UNIVERSITY

School of Nursing1073 North Benson RoadFairfield, CT 06824-5195

THE PULSE EDITORIAL BOARDThe Pulse is published twice a yearby Fairfield University for alumni,students, parents, benefactors andfriends of the School of Nursing, aswell as selected health care agenciesand nursing schools. Editorial officesare located at:

Fairfield University1073 North Benson Rd.

Dolan WestFairfield, CT 06824-5195

EDITORIAL BOARD

Dr. Jeanne NovotnyDean, The School of Nursing

Nina M. RiccioThe Pulse editor andpublications writer

Nöel Appel ’80School of Nursing

Advancement liaison

Jean SantopatreUniversity photojournalist

Kim SzaboDesigner,

Printing & Graphics Services

Dana Ambrosini ’99Contributing writer

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school of nursing looks to the future - fairfield university

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