xt7xks6j471q https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7xks6j471q/data/mets.xml University of Kentucky College of Nursing Kentucky -- Lexington University of Kentucky College of Nursing 2015 newsletters English University of Kentucky College of Nursing Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. University of Kentucky College of Nursing publications Nursing Engagement, Fall 2015 text Engagement, Fall 2015 2015 2015 2019 true xt7xks6j471q section xt7xks6j471q ENGAGEM

/Fall 2015
UKCON RESEARCH // THREE-PART SERIES

Nursing Researchers

ADVANCING
SCIENCE,
IMPACTING
HEALTH

* dean’s

2015-2016

LETTER

Welcome

to Engagement
Welcome to Engagement, our newly renamed magazine! Reflective
of our previous College of Nursing magazine names, Connections and
Opportunities, we are now embarking on a time to even more fully
engage, envision and empower the next generation of nurses, leaders
and scholars.
In the nearly 60 years since the College first started forging its path of excellence, our roots
have grown deeper and our aspirations have grown bolder. It is during this era of transformational
change in the ways we teach, learn, practice, innovate and discover new science that we will
crystalize our position as the choice program for nursing education in Kentucky and beyond.
While our priorities remain clear to become a nationwide top-10 nursing program in an academic
health center, we will continue to emphasize our current and emerging strengths to propel new ways
of teaching, engage more opportunities for faculty practice and drive more collaborative, crossdisciplinary research initiatives.
Targeting the most promising students, as well as recruiting and retaining innovative faculty,
requires us to respond quickly to the needs of our communities of interest. Whether it’s students or
faculty, we are building one relationship at a time in order to empower the extraordinary
possibilities that only the UK journey can offer.
As we work hard over the 2015-2016 academic year to align our priorities with the university’s
new strategic vision, and as our research excels in addressing our most pressing health problems,
we will also be on the forefront of strengthening the nursing workforce through more accessible
online learning, with expanded academic-clinical partnerships and by increasing the enrollment of
our BSN program by 25 percent.
Our bold new era will include a more vibrant community of nurse scientists, educators and
practitioners who will collaborate to envision how we can collectively produce even more outstanding
leaders and scholars to improve the health and health care of individuals and communities
throughout the world.
Stay tuned! Our future points of pride will not disappoint as we redesign work spaces to better
support our research teams, restructure budget models to reward and incentivize academic program
growth and innovation, create a totally online learning platform for our RN-BSN Option, reactivate
the MSN degree and expand DNP and PhD online learning options.
Let me hear how you think we are doing at making a difference in the lives of our students,
our College, our community and beyond.
Health and Happiness Always,
Janie

* Fall 2015

table of

CONTENTS

page

Feature

{ Three-part series on Research }

Advancing Science, Impacting Health | Research Areas | Next Generation Nurses

page

A New Professorship

Patricia B. Howard: The First Recipient of the McKenna Professorship

page

Veterans

Answering a New Call to Serve

page

Leadership

Nursing Advocacy: The Best Policy

page

Practice

Starting Small: BSN Curriculum

page

Practice

Hometown Feel: College Opens Community Health Center

2
4
6
36
38
41

Grant Productivity
Awards
Faculty/Staff Appointments & Transitions
Events
Donors
Donor Profile

* grant
T

FUNDED

RESEARCH

Grants A a

april 2014 to present

EMPOWR: Efforts to Maximize
Perinatal Outcomes in Women at Risk,
Administrative Supplement
Kristin Ashford, PhD, APRN, women’s health nurse practitioner,
associate professor and assistant dean of research, received $173,669
in supplemental funding from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services. EMPOWR integrates high-risk prenatal women into
specialized centering-arms with speciﬁc attention on modiﬁable riskreduction interventions.

Pilotin a Social Media ntervention to
Reduce ardiovascular Risk e aviors in
Mot ers it
estational ia etes
r, PhD, APRN, assistant professor, received a
O ce of the ice President
one- ear, $19,71 award from the
for Research. is pilot stud will develop and test the feasibilit
of a patient-centered, social-media-based intervention to reduce
cardiovascular risk behaviors in mothers with gestational diabetes.

iomarkers of enotoxicit , o acco Smoke
and Radon Exposure
n hn, PhD, RN, AAN, professor and director, entuck
Center for Smoke-free Polic
CSP Research Program, and
id rr n, PhD,
Marcia A. Dake Professor of Nursing, and
associate professor, raduate Center for o icolog ,
College of
award from the
Marke
Medicine, received a one- ear, $ ,
Cancer Center Support rant program. e overarching goal of this
stud is to better understand radon-induced lung cancer from an
epidemiological as well as a molecular and cellular perspective.

e
earnin nnovation nitiative
acult
evelopment A ards
o i A shir , DNP, RN, NP- C, PNP- C, assistant professor
r And rson, PhD, RN, P CNS- C, associate professor
rth idd , PhD, RN, APRN, CCNS, A A, assistant
professor and DNP Adult- erontolog Clinical Nurse Specialist
ro ho son, PhD, DNP, RN, CCRN,
specialt coordinator
ssi
ACNP- C, NP- C, CCM, AANP, AAN, professor
i son, PhD, APRN, assistant professor as well as A nd
o h , MSN, APRN, NP- C, PhD student and instructor and
nd o it , MSN, APRN, instructor, received funding from this
initiative. ese one- ear awards ranged from $ ,
to $3 ,936.

uture of

ursin Sc olars

rr
nni , PhD, RN, A A, AAN, professor and associate dean
for graduate facult a airs, received funding from the Robert Wood
ohnson oundation RW to fund two PhD students to complete
their doctoral degrees in three ears. RW will provide $7 ,
per student over three ears the College of Nursing will provide an
per student for a total of $1 ,
per student.
additional $ ,

Pain Sensitivit and m ealt
erap in
Acute to
ronic ack Pain ransition
i
th
t, PhD, APRN, nurse practitioner and assistant
CC S
Career
professor, received funding from the
Development award. is pilot feasibilit stud will e amine the
e ects of cognitive behavior therap and pain sensitivit on the
transition from acute to chronic pain states.

niversit of entuck olle e of ursin
iomarkers of enotoxicit , o acco Smoke
arnsta le ro n ia etes Education
and Radon Exposure
Pro ram
n hn, PhD, RN, AAN, professor and director, CSP
Research Program and Marcia A. Dake Professor of Nursing, and
id rr n, PhD, associate professor, raduate Center for
o icolog ,
College of Medicine, received a two- ear, $ ,
award from the
Center for Clinical and ranslational Science
CC S . is pilot stud seeks to better understand the molecular
and cellular basis of radon-induced lung cancer as well as ultimatel
develop and test interventions to lower lung cancer risk.

Smoke free: Small alks

ision

n hn, PhD, RN, AAN, professor and director, CSP
Research Program and Marcia A. Dake Professor of Nursing, received
from the oundation for a ealth entuck to hold the
$1,
annual CSP conference.

ENGAGEMENT / Fall 2015

Kristin Ashford, PhD, APRN, women’s health nurse
practitioner, associate professor and assistant dean of research, and
r i ron
s, DNP, MSEd, RN, M DE, C-ADM, CDE,
AADE, diabetes clinical specialist, received a si -month, $16,
award from the American Association of Diabetes Educators Diabetes
Prevention Program AADE DPP , funded b the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention under cooperative agreement number
6 DP
19- 3. unding will be used to develop, implement and
evaluate a Diabetes Prevention Program as an American Association of
Diabetes Educators grant-funded site.

* FUNDED

RESEARCH

Grant Spotlight

grant

PRODUCTIVITY

in the

Spotlight
MISOOK CHUNG
Misook Lee Chung,
PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN,
associate professor
Caregivers of patients
with chronic illness are
at substantial risk for
a variety of illnesses,
associated in part with
their caregiver roles.
Dr. Chung has recognized
this disparate, at-risk
group and is developing
innovative strategies for
delivering evidencebased prevention and
treatment interventions
that are easily accessible using mobile technology. Her five year,
$2.4 million National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)funded R01 study, The Effects of Family Sodium Watchers
Program (Family SWaP) on Outcomes in Heart Failure PatientFamily Caregiver Dyads, teaches heart failure patients and
their family members how to address risk factors, including
adherence to self-care interventions and reductions in dietary
salt consumption.
Family SWaP incorporates the use of a unique electronic salt
monitoring device that easily measures salt content in food—the
major source of sodium. This intervention is designed to improve
adherence to a sodium-restricted diet by both patients and family
caregivers through education and strategies for gradual taste
adaptation to low-salt foods. Chung helps patients gradually
retrain their taste buds to enjoy low-sodium foods. Through this
gradual process of learning to cook and eat with smaller portions
of sodium, patients are more likely to change eating habits for the
long term. A video explaining this fascinating research has been
posted on YouTube: bit.ly/misook.

JENNIFER HATCHER
Jennifer Hatcher,
PhD, RN, associate
professor
Dr. Hatcher’s research
focuses on improving
the health of vulnerable
populations. Her three-year,
$375,000 National Institute
of Diabetes and Digestive
and Kidney Diseasesfunded study, Reducing
Diabetes Risk for Rural
Appalachian GrandparentHeaded Households (GHH),
holistically examines the
socio-ecological context
of the health of GHH in rural Appalachian Kentucky in order
to implement a culturally and contextually appropriate family
intervention to reduce diabetes risk. Dr. Hatcher and her team
plan to conduct a two-phase mixed methods study that will
culminate in a feasibility trial of such an intervention in rural
Appalachian Kentucky.
She is also looking at the disproportionate incidence and
mortality from colorectal cancer among citizens living in rural
Appalachia via Promoting Colorectal Cancer Screening in Rural
Emergency Departments (EDs), a two-year, $359,529 grant
from the National Cancer Institute. The study uses motivational
interviewing—administered by carefully selected community
members to promote colorectal cancer screenings in an ED
serving rural Appalachian Kentucky. Participants work with
community members to identify barriers and to develop plans for
completing health-screening activities.

University of Kentucky College of Nursing

* awards
N

AWARDS

Recipient

CONGRATULATIONS

2014-2015

2015

2014-2015

College of Nursing Faculty Award
RECIPIENT: Corinna Hughes

Employee of the ear Award
RECIPIENT: errie Moore

Excellent Undergraduate Research
Mentor Award, UK Society for the
Promotion of Undergraduate Research
RECIPIENT: ristin Ashford

Delta Psi Senior Nurse Award
RECIPIENT: Bryn Brendamour

Excellence in Undergraduate
Precepting Award
RECIPIENT: B J Walters

College of Nursing
Student Awards

Omicron Delta Kappa
Maurice A. Clay Award
RECIPIENT: Corinna Hughes
UK HealthCare Commitment
To Nursing Excellence Award
RECIPIENT: Jonathan Hacker
Taylor Ann Davis Starbucks Award
RECIPIENT: Lizabeth Whipple
Baptist Healthcare Lexington
Nursing Leadership Award
RECIPIENT: Lindsey Ratermann
College of Nursing Alumni Association
Nightingale Award
RECIPIENT: Christina Thompson
College of Nursing Alumni Association
Alumni Award
RECIPIENT: Laura Hieronymus
Sebastian-Stanhope Award
RECIPIENT: Cecilia Boateng
Carolyn A. Williams Award
RECIPIENT: Allison Roenker Jones
Senior Award, UK Delta Psi Chapter,
Sigma Theta Tau International
RECIPIENT: Bryn Brendamour
Second-Place Poster, American
Association of Occupational
Health Nursing
RECIPIENT: Arica Brandford
Third-Place Student Poster,
2015 Southern Nursing
Research Society
RECIPIENT: Allie Milam

College of Nursing
Annual Award e i ients

Excellence in raduate Precepting Award
RECIPIENT: haron Chandler
Excellence in raduate Teaching Award
RECIPIENT: Jennifer Hatcher
Excellence in Part-Time Teaching Award
RECIPIENT: Carole Haurylko
Excellence in Research Scholarship Award
RECIPIENT: Misook Chung

ENGAGEMENT / Fall 2015

Top 0 Outstanding Alumni, University of
Louisville School of Nursing 201
RECIPIENT: ristin Ashford
Arteriosclerosis Heart Failure
Translational Research Pri e, American
Heart Association 201
RECIPIENT: Martha Biddle
Wethington Award for Research
Excellence, UK 201
RECIPIENT: aren Butler

Excellence in Clinical Practice Award
RECIPIENT: Jessica Wilson

Scholar, Building Interdisciplinary
Research Careers in Women s Health
BIRCWH K12 Program
RECIPIENT: Amanda allin

Excellence in Undergraduate
Unit Agency Award
RECIPIENT:
Chandler CRNA
epartment

Selected to participate in the American
Association of Colleges of Nursing s
Faculty Policy Intensive Program
RECIPIENT: Amanda allin

loe L. Bertram Award
RECIPIENT: Jenny leser tie

Mentor Award, Center for Clinical
and Translational Science 201
RECIPIENT: Ellen Hahn

loe L. Bertram Award
RECIPIENT: reg Williams tie
Louise . egeer Award
RECIPIENT: Leslie Beebe

William S. and Eli abeth M. Morgan
Professorship and Research Award,
UK College of Nursing 201
RECIPIENT: rances Hardin anning

Teaching Excellence in Support of
Professional Nursing Award
RECIPIENT: Tamara Tara Bennett

High Merit, UK College of Nursing
2010-201
RECIPIENT: Melanie Hardin Pierce

Dean s Puma Award
for Staff Excellence
RECIPIENT: ophia Weathers

Consumer Writing Award, th Annual
Conference on Pediatric Health Care
RECIPIENT: ianna Inman

Dean s Puma Award
for Staff Excellence
RECIPIENT: Nancy Mc e itt

Excellence in Mentoring, UK Center
for Clinical And Translational Science
10th annual conference
RECIPIENT: Tom elly

Dean s Puma Award
for Faculty Excellence
RECIPIENT: Melanie Hardin Pierce
Dean s Puma Award
for Faculty Excellence
RECIPIENT: Ellen Hahn

t er a ult Awards

Clinical Article of the ear Award,
American Heart Association 201
RECIPIENT: Terry Lennie
Best Oral Abstract Presentation,
EuroHeartCare 201
RECIPIENT: Terry Lennie

* AWARDS

CONGRATULATIONS

r s

The Puma

awards

& HONORS

Nursing 2014 Distinguished Achievement
Award, University of Wisconsin School of
Nursing (2014)
RECIPIENT: Terry Lennie
Inducted as a Fellow of the American
Association of Nurse Practitioners
RECIPIENT: Sharon Lock
Inducted as Fellow in the National
Academies of Practice (2014)
RECIPIENT: Sharon Lock
Academic Fellow, UK (2014)
RECIPIENT: Jan Odom-Forren
High Merit Award,
UK College of Nursing (2014)
RECIPIENT: Jan Odom-Forren
Good Samaritan Foundation
Professorship and Endowed Chair in
Community Health Nursing,
UK College of Nursing
RECIPIENT: Deborah Reed
Laura Clay Award, Kentucky Women in
Agriculture (2014)
RECIPIENT: Deborah Reed
KL2 Career Development Award,
UK Clinical and Translational Sciences
RECIPIENT: Elizabeth Salt
Inaugural UK Chairs’ Academy, UK
RECIPIENT: Jessica Wilson

the

PumaAwards
he a
ra
eath t tw a
the r eadersh
ard
er e
ded at
t ett
a
e tt
Why

a Award was rese ted
r a e
t
e
ers a d tw sta
e
ers r
r
e
ah
te a t
r ea e
e t
sh
r
h a eathers a d
e er
d tted a d e er t r ssed

2015

T
S

Other Awards
utstanding Staff Award, UK
RECIPIENT: Nancy cDe itt

S
T

T
T
I

I
I

She has honored these ac lty and sta as ello she herds o
mankind at the Colle e o N rsin le t to ri ht :
Dr elanie ardin -Pierce Dr Ellen ahn Dr Janie eath
So hia Weathers and Nancy cDe itt

University of Kentucky College of Nursing

* faculty
& S TA F F

TRANSITIONS
Faculty Appointments & Transitions

Faculty Appointments
Amanda Wiggins,
PhD, has been
promoted from a
staff position in the
College’s research
area to lecturer in
the DNP Program.

Dr. Ashford has won several awards, most
recently the 2015 Excellent Undergraduate
Research Mentor Award from the UK
Society for the Promotion of Undergraduate
Research, and was named one of the Top-40
Outstanding Alumni by the University of
Louisville School of Nursing in 2014.

Audrey Darville,
PhD, APRNBC, CTTS, has
In addition to
been promoted to
teaching NUR 903, Applied Biostatistics
associate professor.
for Outcomes Evaluation, for DNP
Dr. Darville
students at the College’s outreach education
is a certified
location at Norton Healthcare in Louisville,
tobacco treatment
she also provides research support to faculty
specialist with UK
and students.
HealthCare, where she works with inpatients,
outpatients and employees to provide group
Dr. Wiggins is a 2013 graduate of the
and intensive individual tobacco dependence
College of Public Health’s Biostatistics and
treatment. She also works closely with the
Epidemiology program. Her dissertation
focused on the psychological impact of a false Tobacco Policy Research Program at the
College of Nursing.
positive ovarian cancer screening test result,
assessed via mixed and trajectory modeling.
Dr. Darville is a member of the Society for
Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT)
and a member of the policy committee of the
Faculty Transitions
Association for the Treatment of Tobacco
Use and Dependence (ATTUD). Her
research interest is in developing behavioral
Kristin Ashford,
strategies to reach and treat tobacco users
PhD, APRN,
with medical illness.
associate
professor, has been
Jennifer Dent,
promoted to assistant
MSN, RNC,
dean of research for
lecturer, is now
the College.
the director of the
Clinical Simulation
Dr. Ashford began
and Learning Center
her research career as an NIH BIRCWH
at the College.
(Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers
in Women’s Health) Scholar. She currently
Dent has presented
serves as PI on an NIH COBRE (Centers
her work regarding simulation for courses
of Biomedical Research Excellence) study in
with large numbers at the Tennessee
which she leads a multicenter trial across two
Simulation Conference in 2014, and
states. She is administrator of the Kentucky
at the College’s Ninth Annual Faculty
GIFTS (Giving Infants and Families
Development Workshop, where she
Tobacco-free Starts) program, working jointly
presented her work on Cost-Effective
with the Kentucky Department of Public
Simulation With Low-Tech Technology.
Health to provide smoking cessation and
wellness services to prenatal and postpartum
women across Appalachia.

ENGAGEMENT / Fall 2015

Susan Frazier, PhD,
RN, FAHA, associate
professor, has been
promoted to director
of the College’s PhD
Program.
Dr. Frazier joined the
faculty in 2006 as an
associate professor and a co-director for the
RICH Heart Program. Her research program
focuses on cardiopulmonary responses to
critical illness, in particular with patients
requiring mechanical ventilation. Dr. Frazier
is published in a number of high impact, peerreviewed journals, including the American
Journal of Critical Care, Heart & Lung,
Biological Research for Nursing, European
Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, the Journal
of Cardiac Failure, the Journal of Pain and
Symptom Management, Health Psychology,
and the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing. She
has provided podium and poster presentations
at local, regional, national and international
meetings to disseminate research findings.
Dr. Frazier has received a number of teaching
and mentorship awards, and she was the first
nurse to be awarded a Mentor Recognition
Award by the UK Center for Clinical and
Translational Science. She is an elected Fellow
in the American Heart Association and serves
as an editorial board member for the American
Journal of Critical Care and the Journal of
Cardiovascular Nursing. She is also a member
of the executive editorial board for Heart &
Lung: The Journal of Acute and Critical Care.
Dr. Frazier also serves as the web editor for the
Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing.
Sherry Holmes,
MSN, RN, adjunct
associate professor,
has been promoted
to assistant dean of
academic operations
and assessments.
She served 40 years at
UK Chandler Hospital and within that time
was director of nursing for Kentucky Children’s
Hospital for 24 years. In 2010 she joined the
College of Nursing as coordinator of assessment

* TRANSITIONS
Faculty Transitions

and special projects. She provides leadership
and administrative support to the dean
for special projects and work critical to the
success of the College. Since 2003 she has
served as a site evaluator for the Commission
on Collegiate Nursing Education.

Competencies. She was recently inducted
as a Fellow of the American Association of
Nurse Practitioners and in 2014 as a Fellow
of the National Academies of Practice. She is
also a member of the advisory board for the
Kentucky Area Health Education Centers.

Kiyoung Lee, ScD,
has been promoted
to professor. Dr. Lee
received his ScD
in Environmental
Science and
Engineering from
Harvard University.
He has extensive
research experience in indoor air, industrial
hygiene and exposure science. Among his
numerous research projects, he has studied
the effects of secondhand smoke on indoor
air quality. Dr. Lee also has a strong interest
in international health and has collaborated
on secondhand smoke exposure in many
countries, including China, Pakistan,
Mongolia and Japan.

Dr. Lock maintains a faculty practice at
the UK Center for the Advancement of
Women’s Health

He was elected as a member of the board
of directors for the International Society of
Exposure Science in 2012 and is an academy
fellow of ISIAQ. He has published more than
100 peer-reviewed manuscripts.
Sharon Lock,
PhD, APRN,
FNAP, FAANP,
professor and
primary care
DNP specialty
coordinator, has
been promoted to
director of faculty practice.
She currently coordinates the Primary Care
Nurse Practitioner Specialty in the graduate
program and oversees clinical placements
for that track.

Gina Lowry,
PhD, RN, senior
lecturer, retired in
January 2015 after 15
years of service with
the College.
Dr. Lowry’s clinical
practice included
adult medical-surgical, oncology and hospice
nursing. She was the coordinator of the
RN-BSN Option and also taught in NUR
854, Advanced Concepts in Professional
Nursing. She had clinical students in NUR
886, Synthesis, in both the four-year program
and RN-BSN Option. She also taught two
electives, End-of-Life Care in the Acute Care
Setting and an energy healing lab. She gave
guest lectures in other courses about her
alternative healing practices.
Dr. Lowry’s research interests include
oncology nursing, therapeutic touch,
and nursing presence. She has an energy
healing practice and is a certified
healing therapy practitioner and a
Reiki II practitioner. She is also trained
in therapeutic touch and has taken
coursework with the Rev. Rosalyn Bruyere,
a noted energy healer, as well as seminars in
Touch for Health and Pranic Healing. She
is an accredited Bowenwork practitioner.

faculty
& S TA F F

Dr. Melander is a nationally known adultgerontological acute care nurse practitioner
(ACNP) leader and is currently serving as
president of the National Organization of
Nurse Practitioner Faculties.
She was involved in the revision of
the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
Scope and Standards document in
2006 and was a member of the work
committee that established the 2012
Adult-Gerontological Acute Care Nurse
Practitioner Competencies. She also
led the development of the Statement
on Acute Care and Primary Care
Certified Nurse Practitioners. She also
facilitated the development of a second
multiorganizational white paper addressing
nurse practitioner employment, which is
being used across the U.S. in both primary
and acute care settings.
Dr. Melander is a fellow in the Society
of Critical Care Medicine as well as
in the American Association of Nurse
Practitioners.
Carol Riker, MSN,
RN, associate
professor, retired
in June 2015, after
41 years of service to
the College. She now
is in a part-time role
working with
Dr. Ellen Hahn.

Carol Riker was a faculty associate with
the UK Tobacco Policy Research Program
and the Kentucky Center for Smoke-free
Policy and co-investigator and community
advisor for the NHLBI-funded study, An
Intervention for Promoting Smoke-free
Policy in Rural Kentucky. She also led the
Sheila Melander,
biannual statewide Workplace and School
PhD, APRN,
Tobacco Policy studies and was the technical
ACNP-BC, FCCM,
assistance coordinator for the Kentucky
FAANP, professor, Center for Smoke-free Policy.
has been promoted
She taught public health nursing for the
to assistant dean
of graduate faculty
College since 1974 and collaborated with
schools and local health departments in youth
affairs and director
of the MSN and

In 2010 she received the Excellence in
Graduate Teaching Award from the College
of Nursing. In 2006, as a member of the
National Organization of Nurse Practitioner
Faculties, she served on the National Panel
for Nurse Practitioner Practice Doctorate
DNP programs.

University of Kentucky College of Nursing

* faculty
TA F F

TRANSITIONS
Faculty T a

& Staff A

e i a il
, PhD,
APRN, a i ta t
e
,

Elizabeth Salt,
PhD, APRN,

Da le e
el h, PhD,
RN, a
iate
e
,

Staff Appointments
De i

Elizabeth
a,
PhD, APRN,
NP

ENGAGEMENT / Fall 2015

* TRANSITIONS
Staff r nsitions & In

Staff Transitions
J anne a i has
been promoted
to assistant dean
for student and
academic services.
In

, she joined
s o ege of
ducation as a sta
assistant whi e nishing a master s degree
in higher education. e path ed from
there to ndergraduate Admissions and
then to the o ege of ursing to serve as an
academic advisor. e two prior jobs provided
important parts of the foundation for her ro e
in student services. he has the opportunity
to be invo ved in the student ife e periences
that make up co ege from initia advising

to graduation and pinning ceremonies. It is
the work with students that makes the job
rewarding, she says.
After more than
26 years of service,
Mary Jayne Miller
retired from the
university in 2 .
i er managed what
is now ca ed the
inica imu ation
and earning enter.
hen the entire ab was renovated severa
years ago, she was instrumenta in serving as
project manager. he a so ed a facu ty team
in choosing the rst simu ation e uipment
for the o ege and wrote the rst computer
driven scenarios for that e uipment. he
a so taught ski s ab courses for sophomore
nursing students.

e ory

faculty

ith more than
years re ated
e perience, aren
Min n has been
promoted to associate
dean of administration
and nance. he
provides strategic and
operationa direction in
support of the missions and goa s of the o ege.
orking c ose y with the dean, she is responsib e
for imp ementing the o ege s strategic goa s
and objectives and oversees administrative
services, inc uding strategic p anning, budget
and faci ities management human resource
management and information techno ogy.
inton is a so a member of the o ege s
eadership team.

Memory
MADALYN SUCHOR
Ma alyn

one of
our December 2013
BSN graduates and
sister in UK’s chapter
of Delta Gamma
Sorority, passed
away in February
2015. She was a staff
nurse in the PACU
at Kentucky Children’s Hospital, where she
was known for bringing comfort and care to
her young patients. Maddie was a big sports
fan and an outdoor enthusiast. Her beautiful
smile and love of life is missed by all who
knew and loved her. Along with the family’s
services in Geneva, Illinois, UK HealthCare
and her co-workers held a memorial service.

AR N S

ON
aren e

n
eni r
n r in a i r
r
eal
are
passed away in
March 2015. She
was a UK College
of Nursing alumna,
having earned
her MSN in 1982,
PhD in 1996 and was honored as one of the
College’s top-50 alumni in 2011. Among her
many awards and appointments, Karen was
appointed to the Advisory Committee on
Communications Capabilities of Emergency
Medical and Public Health Care Facilities
in Washington. She received the National
Service Award for Public Health and Medical
Organizations by the National Congress for
Secure Communities and also served on the
Institute of Medicine’s Standing Committee
on Medical Readiness.

“Karen was a 110 percent leader,
each and every day. She always gave
110 percent and she always expected 110
percent. She often saw more potential
in others than they often realized and
worked to draw that out and emphasize
that potential. Karen brought all of
herself to our professional practice
and was driven to ensure superior
performance. She was also quick with
a smile, a kind word and sometimes,
when appropriate, a vigorous nudge
to encourage and foster success.
UK HealthCare nursing is better
because of her leadership.”
lleen ar
ie
r e e

M
i e

eal

are

University of Kentucky College of Nursing

* 10

page

feature

WRITTEN BY:
Jennifer Theriot
PHOTOGRAPHS BY:
Lee Thomas
Richie Wireman

ON RESEAR H

PART ONE

g e ea

A AN ING
S IEN E
I PA TING
HEA TH

* IN RECENT
YEARS, THE
UNIVERSITY
OF KENTUCKY
COLLEGE OF
NURSING HAS
CONTINUED
TO GROW INTO
A RESEARCH
POWERHOUSE.

Faculty researchers are doing groundbreaking work that is producing
amazing outcomes for Kentucky, as well as for people across the U.S.
and throughout the world. With research at the heart of evidencebased practice, nursing science must continuously evolve, and the
College of Nursing has developed a research enterprise that mentors
and produces world-class researchers who study some of the most
pressing health care problems.
“The College’s accomplishments in research have been profound,”
says Dean Janie Heath, PhD, APRN-BC, FAAN. “Despite
shrinking dollars, our faculty members have been successful
at obtaining the resources they need to perform research that’s
making a difference in disease prevention and health promotion,
managing and eliminating symptoms and enhancing lives.”
A fundamental reason for the College’s research success is support
and mentorship at all levels. From administrators to top researchers,
all the way down to undergraduate students, each level helps the
next succeed. The College also has a history of deans who saw
research as foundational and worked to develop a framework for
a strong research program. As the current dean, Dr. Heath has a
background in research herself and sees the College’s commitment
to nursing science as critical.
“I’m always looking at how I can garner resources, advocate for
resources and protect our resources so that the College of Nursing
can contribute to the science of health, both as prevention and
treatment,” says Dr. Heath.
A crucial component to securing financial resources for researchers is
the College’s grant development team. Headed by Thomas Kelly, PhD,
associate dean for research, the team closely assists faculty through
every step of the grant development and management process.

WE PROVIDE AN ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTION
THAT ALLOWS OUR FACULTY TO BE AS
PRODUCTIVE AS POSSIBLE WHILE MEETING
THE REGULATORY AND POLICY PROCESSES
THAT GOVERN RESEARCH ACTIVITIES,”
says Dr. Kelly.
Three senior researchers at the College—Ellen Hahn, PhD,
RN, FAAN, professor; Debra Moser, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN,
professor; and Deborah Reed, PhD, MSPH, RN, FAAOHN,
professor—have played significant roles in advancing research
at the College. Through their own achievements, they have
drawn attention to the College as a top center for nursing science.
Through their dedication to mentorship, they are helping to
develop the College’s up-and-coming researchers.

LEFT TO RIGHT:

Dr. Deborah Reed
Dr. Debra Moser
Dr. Thomas Kelly
Dr. Ellen Hahn

“These senior researchers are highly skilled with exceptional
mentoring abilities. They mentor faculty and students to reach
their full potential,” says Dr. Heath. “When you have stellar
researchers doing important work to improve health and wellness
and they’re passionate about it, it gets everyone around them
excited. Once you have something great going on, people want to
be a part of that greatness. That’s what we have here.”

University of Kentucky College of Nursing

* Carolyn Williams, PhD, RN, FAAN, professor and dean emerita,
was instrumental in cultivating an environment of success for Drs.
Hahn, Moser and Reed. During her time as dean, Dr. Williams
sought to position the College as a leading institution for nursing
scholarship, education and practice. She realized that to attract
and retain strong nurse scientists, the College needed to secure
additional support for them. As a result, she helped establish the
Linda C. Gill Chair of Nursing, held by Dr. Moser; the Good