University of South Florida College of Nursing began partnership discussions with University of Stirling in Scotland over a video conference on April 25, 2013.

The video conference, moderated by Assistant Professor and Assistant Dean for Global & Community Affairs, LaRon Nelson, PhD, RN, NP, was held to discuss the research specialty areas at the University of Stirling School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Health,  as well as to exchange research ideas between the two Nursing Colleges. These discussions are part of the USF College of Nursing initiative, POWER with Nursing: Partnership Opportunities for Wellness, Education and Research and part of iCON: International College of Nursing.

“The University of Stirling School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Health has very strong research units that include the Cancer Care Research Center, Center for Public & Population Health Research, Midwifery and Allied Health Care (MAHC) Unit, and Maternal Child Health Research Group,” Dr. Nelson said. “These and other areas overlap with the work in which our faculty are engaged. In the era of the Affordable Care Act, Scotland provides an amazing opportunity for comparative research to understand how differences in the structure of our healthcare systems impact nursing outcomes and other healthcare related outcomes. It positions the USF College of Nursing to continue to lead in generating the research that improves nursing practice locally and internationally.”

Faculty members from University of Stirling School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Health will visit USF College of Nursing on May 13, 2013 to meet with Senior Associate Vice President for USF Health and Dean of the College of Nursing, Dianne Morrison-Beedy, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN, faculty, and students to discuss opportunities for international partnerships between the two colleges. They will have a number of important meetings with USF College of Nursing’s faculty and clinical and community partners to create an overall understanding of the College.

“They are also co-sponsoring the USF College of Nursing International Nursing Research Challenge, a grant that motivates faculty interest in pursuing their programs of research in international contexts, and will be reviewing proposals and making a recommendation for funding to the Dean,” Nelson said. “We will also have a formal ceremony wherein the Deans of the both Schools of Nursing make agreements to collaborate on research and educational programs in an effort to promote global citizenship and global engagement among our students and faculty.”

The University of Stirling’s mission is to pursue world-class research, scholarship and learning in order to inspire, challenge and support motivated individuals who want to shape our world. Stirling  is ranked number one in Scotland and eighth in the UK in The Times Higher Education 100 Under 50 table, which ranks the world’s best 100 universities under 50 years old. Stirling is top in Scotland and ninth in the UK in the Research Success Rankings (Research Fortnight, 2007). The UK-wide 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) confirmed that Stirling is the leading Scottish research university in a number of areas, including Nursing & Midwifery, Sport, Education, and Film & Media.

Through POWER with Nursing, our Partnership Opportunities for Wellness, Education and Research, the College of Nursing’s initiatives with existing and expanding collaborations stretch across the region, nation and globe. POWER with Nursing provides opportunities to collaborate with the USF College of Nursing on important initiatives like expanding the research residencies program, providing increased opportunities for interprofessional education, and expanding USF Global nursing programs.

The University of South Florida College of Nursing Dean and Senior Associate Vice President of USF Health, Dianne Morrison-Beedy, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN, was appointed Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Nursing at the Burapha University in Thailand. The appointment came after USF College of Nursing established the first historic international collaborative agreement in nursing with Burapha University and Srinakharinwirot University in February, 2013.

Dianne Morrison-Beedy and LaRon Nelson in Thailand

These agreements for collaboration with Burapha University and Srinakharinwirot University are part of the College’s initiative called POWER with Nursing: Partnership Opportunities for Wellness, Education and Research. The USF College of Nursing will work with each partner to provide a collaboration that meets both their needs and USF’s. Currently, discussions have resulted in the following collaborative ideas:

Burapha University

• Up to 4 Thai nursing leaders will be matched with up to 4 USF College of Nursing researchers who will mentor and supervise the students upon entry into the doctoral program.
• Nursing leaders who are accepted to the PhD program will be funded by the government of Thailand to study their PhDs in Nursing at USF College of Nursing.
• Opportunities for USF College of Nursing faculty research in locally-identified Thailand nursing priority areas: areas of end of life care, support for caregivers of the elderly, cancer symptom management, and primary and secondary HIV prevention.

Srinakharinwirot University

• Post-doc scientist from Srinakharinwirot University to be mentored over 12-months by senior USF College of Nursing scientist.
• Focus on developing enhanced research skills and publishing as first author on at least 1 data-based article in an international peer-reviewed journal by the end of the post-doc.

Dean Dianne Morrison-Beedy created a video to thank both universities for welcoming USF College of Nursing in Thailand. The video can be seen below or you can visit the College’s YouTube Channel.

Through POWER with Nursing, our Partnership Opportunities for Wellness, Education and Research, the College of Nursing’s initiatives with existing and expanding collaborations stretch across the region, nation and globe. POWER with Nursing provides opportunities to collaborate with the USF College of Nursing on important initiatives like expanding the research residencies program, providing increased opportunities for interprofessional education, and expanding USF Global nursing programs.

Faculty of Health, Sport and Science from the University of Glamorgan, UK, Keith Weeks, RN, RNT, PhD, BSc (Hons), BEd, Dip N., FHEA, Professor of Healthcare and Numeracy Education, and Norman Woolley, MSc, MN, RGN, DipN, PGCE, RNT, Head of Learning and Teaching & Associate Head Profession Education and Service Delivery, will give two presentations at the University of South Florida College of Nursing on Friday, March 22, 2013 as part of USF College of Nursing I.C.O.N. (International College of Nursing).

The presenters are both distinguished members of the faculty of Health, Sports and Science at the University of Glamorgan in the United Kingdom. John Clochesy, PhD, RN, FAAN, FCCM, CS, Director of Faculty Development at the University of South Florida College of Nursing has recently collaborated with both Dr. Keith Weeks and Mr. Norman Woolley from Glamorgan on Safety in Numbers a series of publications soon to be released by Elsevier Publishers.  

Friday, March 22, 2013

_______________________________________________________________

Keith Weeks, RN, RNT, PhD, BSc (Hons), BEd, Dip N., FHEA,

Professor of Healthcare and Numeracy Education, 
Faculty of Health, Sport and Science, 
University of Glamorgan, UK

Dr. Weeks is Reader in Health Professional Education at the Faculty of Health, Sport & Science, University of Glamorgan. He is leader of the Healthcare Education Research Group (HERG) at the Faculty of Health, Sport & Science. He supervises a range international PhD candidates within HERG and my teaching portfolio includes research and advanced physiology education within the MSc Advanced Practice and MSc Disaster Healthcare programs. 

Dr. Weeks has over 30 years of experience in clinical nursing and nursing education practice. He is a science and education graduate and his PhD focused on the design and evaluation of authentic computer-based environments for facilitating the learning and diagnostic assessment of medication dosage calculation skills. His education practice, PhD and post doctorate research, and program of knowledge and technology transfer is increasingly informing the pedagogy of health professional education and medication dosage problem-solving, calculation and assessment in the UK, USA and beyond. Cardiff University awarded Dr. Weeks a Senior Lectureship for Excellence in Education Practice and now holds the post of Professor of Healthcare Numeracy & Education at the University of Glamorgan.

Dr. Weeks was part of a specialist healthcare numeracy reference group responsible for the development of a standardized framework within which a point of registration benchmark (to be determined by the profession) can be articulated. This was an essential educational initiative undertaken by Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions Directorate of NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and has both national and international implications.

Dr. Weeks is Research & Design Director: Authentic World Ltd – a spin-out company of Glamorgan and Cardiff universities specializing in the design and development of innovative software solutions for reducing medication error and improving patient safety.

______________________________________________________________

 

Norman Woolley, MSc, MN, RGN, DipN, PGCE, RNT

Head of Learning and Teaching & Associate Head Profession Education and Service Delivery, Faculty of Health, Sport and Science, 
University of Glamorgan, UK

Norman Woolley has been a nurse educator since 1989 and is currently Head of Learning & Teaching at the Faculty of Health, Sport & Science at the University of Glamorgan.

Norman is a nursing and computing masters graduate. He has 30 years of experience in the healthcare sector and 15 years software design and development experience in both institutional and commercial environments. His research and development interests since joining nurse education have focused on the application of information and communication technologies to support learning and assessment. Within this field, he has also worked as Learning & Teaching Consultant to the Higher Education Academy Health Sciences and Practice Subject Centre. Over the last decade, the primary focus of his research and development interests has been in the area of numeracy and problem solving related to medication dosage calculations.

Norman is CEO and Technical Director of Authentic World Ltd – a spin-out company of Glamorgan and Cardiff universities specializing in the design and development of innovative software solutions for reducing medication error and improving patient safety.

For more information contact Dr. John Clochesy at jcloches@health.usf.edu.  Seating will be limited.

To RSVP for either session please contact Ms. Janique Rice at jrice1@health.usf.edu.

Mary Bennett Bracalente, a pre-nursing student from University of South Florida College of Nursing, will go on a mission trip to help build a school and teach children in local communities of Zanzibar and Tanzania, East Africa in summer of 2013. Bracalente is taking this life-changing trip through Growth International Volunteering Excursions (GIVE) organization, which helps improve human lives through building essential community infrastructure, implementing environmental solutions, and integrating sustainable development.

Bracalente will be working with GIVE volunteers for more than two weeks to help build a spacious middle school for children in Zanzibar. According to Bracalente, the community’s current middle school is relatively small, and each classroom is packed with more than 100 students. She will also help run several after-school programs for children in those communities.

“By building this school, GIVE will provide space in every classroom, will give more children the opportunity to attend school, and will also give them more individualized attention,” Bracalente said. “During the after-school program, we will teach them about proper health care, help them work on reading or other homework, and stress the importance of staying active and engaging themselves in sports.”

Bracalente is currently in the United States Naval Reserves through a Naval Nursing Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) Scholarship, and is in the Buccaneer Battalion with USF. She hopes be accepted into the USF Nursing baccalaureate program and graduate from USF by May 2016.

In the meantime, she wants to continue to reach out to people in need around the world and make a difference in their lives.

“I want to learn about healthcare in countries that are not as fortunate as America,” Bracalente said. “And while I’m working on my Nursing degree here at USF, I would like to research about these issues, and see how they can be improved.”

Bracalente has started her community work early on. While attending high school, she volunteered as an intern, groundskeeper, and a lifeguard at Summer Camp Burnt Gin in Wedgefield, South Carolina from 2009 to 2011. During her three-year summer internship there, she worked with children and young adults with mental and physical disabilities, ranging from 7 to 25 years of age. Some of the children’s disabilities included downs syndrome, autism, mental retardation, spina bifida, and cerebral palsy, according to Bracalente.

“I would not trade my high school summers at Camp Burnt Gin for anything,” Bracalente said. “That experience inspired me to take this career path and to become a nurse and travel abroad.”

She is also part of many USF and local organizations including USF Navigators, a Christian organization where students come together to fellowship and worship. She is also involved with Advocates for World Health, a nonprofit organization that collects medical supplies about to expire and distributes them to developing countries across the globe. She volunteers for the organization regularly, and plans to go to a health brigade with them at some point in 2013-2014 school-year.

“After I become a Naval Nurse, I also plan on traveling abroad to administer health care to young women that have been victims in the sex slave industry,” she said. “I hope to show people of all nations that they deserve the proper love and respect. One day, I also hope to obtain my Master’s degree, and teach nursing courses to aspiring nursing students.”

Sandra J. Cadena, PhD, ARNP, CS, CNE, Assistant Professor and Coordinator for Latin American Student Experiences at University of South Florida College of Nursing, received the USF Fulbright Scholar Award at a celebration breakfast during the International Education Week on November 2, 2012.

Dr. Cadena was honored with the Fulbright Scholar medal for her tremendous work she has done in Colombia, South America as a Fulbright Scholar. She was selected a Fulbright Scholar in 2008, and was assigned to complete two projects in Colombia, and remained in the Fulbright roster for five years.

Her first project was in Bogota, Colombia in 2009, where she served as a Senior Scholar placed at the School of Nursing at the Universidad El Bosque. In summer 2012, she traveled to Bucaramanga, Colombia to complete her second Fulbright Scholar project to work at the Universidad Autonoma de Bucaramanga (UNAB). While in Bucaramanga, she focused on projects including curriculum review in preparation for national accreditation, instruction, lectures, seminars and clinical experiences with all eight semesters of nursing students with a focus on international nursing and nursing English language enhancement. She also conducted lectures, workshops, and seminars with faculty from the Colleges of Nursing, Medicine and Psychology on the establishment and sustainability of international programs that integrate faculty development for investigations, teaching and scholarly activities.

(L to R) Karen Holbrook, USF Nursing’s Dr. Sandra Cadena, USF Nursing Professor, J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board member Betty Castor, and USF President, Dr. Judy Genshaft at the USF Fulbright Scholar celebration breakfast

“Being a Fulbright Scholar is a dream come true and a highlight of my career,” said Dr. Cadena in a USF Nursing article published in July 2012. “I have always admired those academic colleagues selected from thousands of applicants to qualify for the prestige of being a ‘Fulbrighter.’ This opportunity and privilege to travel abroad and work collaboratively with other faculty and health professionals, is a humbling and exciting experience.”

The Fulbright program provides opportunities to strengthen faculty and students’ global reach by offering a cross-cultural perspective. USF scholars represent USF on an international level as ambassadors and return with a wealth of experience that they can bring to the classroom.

The Fulbright Specialists Program was created in 2000 to complement the traditional Fulbright Scholar Program, to provide short-term academic opportunities (two to six weeks) to prominent U.S. faculty and professionals to support curricular and faculty development and institutional planning at post-secondary, academic institutions around the world. Dr. Cadena is one of the few nursing academicians to ever be awarded a Fulbright Specialist Scholar.

Kostas-Polston, E. & Johnson-Mallard, V. (2012, November) Blue Bra Campaign. Oral presentation at the 19th ICOWHI Congress on ”Women’s Health 2012: Partnering for a Brighter Global Future” in  Bangkok, Thailand.

Dianne Morrison-Beedy, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN, College of Nursing Dean and Senior Associate Vice President for USF Health at the University of South Florida, and LaRon Nelson, PhD, RN, NP, Assistant Professor and Assistant Dean for Global and Community Affairs at USF Nursing, participated in the USF Health’s first Showcase of Global USF Health on Oct. 18.

Dr. Morrison-Beedy and Dr. Nelson presented during the event to showcase the College’s interest in global health. During the event, Dean Morrison-Beedy also emphasized the College’s efforts to hire new faculty, and increase the number of students who obtain their health training in Panama and other countries.

“Faculty and students who travel abroad bring that global perspective back to USF Health and help all of us to think differently,” said Dr. Morrison-Beedy in a USF Health article about the event.

The event was held in the USF Health College of Nursing Rotunda, and was presented by the International Working Group of USF Health. The event featured more than 50 poster presentations on international research, education and training,  health service projects, and many partnerships around the world.

USF Nursing faculty and students displayed more some of their poster presentations on international research at the global health event, and they include:

1. Intimate Partner Violence and Alcohol Abuse in an Indigenous Population of Panama -  By Sandra J. Cadena, PhD, APRN, Assistant Professor and Coordinator for Latin American Student Experiences at USF College of Nursing
2. Indigenous Community Health and the Nursing Student Experience: Exploration of Cultural Competency – By Sandra J. Cadena, PhD, APRN, Assistant Professor and Coordinator for Latin American Student Experiences at USF College of Nursing
3. Boys Do Cry: Examining Health Needs of Adolescents and Young Adult Fathers – By Laron E. Nelson,PhD, RN, NP, Lance T. McCready, Dionne Gesink, Kathy Anne Morales
4. Regional Differences in Female Partner Concurrency Among MSM in Ghana – By Laron E. Nelson,PhD, RN, NP, Thomas Agyarko-Poku, Leo Wilton, Marlon M. Baily, Vanessa Apea, MacDarling Cobbinah
5. Gender Equity, Co-Parenting, and Condom Use among Adolescent Parents – By Laron E. Nelson,PhD, RN, NP, Lance T. McCready, Dionne Gesinik, Kathy Ann Morales
6. Attitudes Regarding HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis among MSM in Ghana – By Laron E. Nelson,PhD, RN, NP, Thomas Agyarko-Poku, Leo Wilton, Vanessa Apea, MacDarling Cobbinah
7. Future of Nursing: Leading Change and Advancing Health in India – By Ponrathi Athilingam, PhD, ACNP, FAANP, Assistant Professor and Concentration Director for Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP) at USF Nursing
8.  Cultural Perceptions of Diarrhea Among Caregivers of Children <5 years. Old… the Ngobe-Bugle Population in Panama, Central America – By Carolyn DeLoache, MSN, ARNP, DNP student at USF College of Nursing

The USF College of Nursing’s Global Health initiatives provide collaborative projects for community health, scholarship, and student exchanges. This global initiative is integral to the USF Health International Programs and USF World.

To read USF Health’s story or watch the video on the Showcase of Global USF Health event click here.

Partnerships in Action, announced in a press release Wednesday that Dianne Morrison-Beedy, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN, Senior Associate Vice President, USF Health and Dean, College of Nursing at the University of South Florida will be the keynote speaker at the annual Orlando Partnership Walk to End Global Poverty, at 11:00 am on Sunday October 28, 2012. Serving as masters of ceremonies for the opening ceremonies and entertainment program will be Yvonne Coleman of Jazzy 103, and Leslie “Ms. B” Brewington of WCFB-FM 94.5. Additional special guests participating in the Walk program will be Sam Vincent, former NBA player and Head Coach of Anaheim Arsenal; and Dr. Mirza Jahani, CEO of Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A.

Dr. Dianne Morrison-Beedy

“It is an honor to keynote speaker at this year’s Orlando Partnership Walk,” said Dianne Morrison-Beedy. “Being a part of worthy efforts like the Partnership Walk  highlights the efforts of the USF College of Nursing to promote partnership opportunities for wellness, education and research globally.”

According to PartnershipsInAction, around 1,800 participants will walk to end global poverty in the annual Orlando Partnership Walk at Lake Eola Park. The Orlando Partnership Walk is an initiative of Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. Participants help communities in some of the poorest areas of Africa and Asia to create long-term, self-help solutions to lift themselves out of poverty. These contributions make a tremendous impact in creating opportunities for girls in Afghanistan to go to school, for farmers in Mali to feed their families, and mothers in India to lead healthy lives.

Partnership Walk events, now in its 18th year, will be held in 10 major U.S. cities including, Atlanta, Birmingham, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Memphis, San Antonio and San Francisco. Since 1995, PartnershipsInAction activities including the annual Partnership Walk and Golf events have attracted over 380,000 participants and raised $48 million for poverty alleviation projects supported by AKF USA. To learn more about the event visit www.partnershipsinaction.org/orlando. To view the press release visit PartnershipsInAction. 

 -POWER with Nursing-

Through POWER with Nursing, our Partnership Opportunities for Wellness, Education and Research, the USF  College of Nursing’s initiatives with existing and expanding collaborations stretch across the region, nation and globe. Every day our students impact healthcare in Tampa Bay. Through Research Residencies, College of Nursing doctoral students collaborate with area hospitals to develop their own program of nursing research. We collaborate on grants with researchers from other healthcare disciplines.

Maureen E. Groer, PhD, RN, FAAN, Gordon Keller Professor at the University of South Florida College of Nursing, presented at the International Society for Research on Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML) biennial conference Sept. 27 through Oct. 1, 2012 at the Savoia Excelsior Palace Hotel in Trieste, Italy. Dr. Groer gave an oral presentation on Psychoneuroimmunology of Human Lactation where she described her research on breastfeeding as well as how breastfeeding protects women from later midlife diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. See her full oral presentation citation here.

“The Trieste meeting gave me an opportunity to connect with over 300 researchers from around the world, and to let them know what important work we are doing at USF College of Nursing,” Dr. Groer said.

During this conference, Dr. Goer also chaired a session focused on viruses in human milk. “This session allowed me to comment on other researchers’ papers,” Dr. Groer said.

As a breastfeeding researcher, Dr. Groer is active with ISRHML. She is also a member of the United States Breastfeeding Committee.

For more information about ISRHML and its biennial conferences please visit http://www.isrhml.org/ .

Groer, M. (2012, September). Psychoneuroimmunology of Human Lactation. Oral presentation at the International Society for Research on Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML) biennial conference Sept. 28 through Oct. 1, 2012 at the Savoia Excelsior Palace Hotel in Trieste, Italy.