USF Nursing Chosen To Participate in Internationally Renowned Leadership Academy

(Left to Right) Cecilia Jevitt, CNM, PhD, Diane L Spatz, PhD, RNC, FAAN, Dianne Morrison-Beedy PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN and Jessica Brumley, CNM, MA.

The College of Nursing at the University of South Florida is honored to participate in the Maternal Child Health (MCH) Leadership Academy. USF Nursing is part of the fourth cohort of nurses chosen to participate in the Academy, an initiative that grew out a natural partnership between Sigma Theta Tau International, an organization known for nursing research, and Johnson and Johnson, an organization with a long history of sponsoring maternal-child health initiatives.

“I am proud that USF was chosen for this competitive, national award,” said Dianne Morrison-Beedy, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN, Dean, College of Nursing and Senior Associate Vice President, USF Health. Dean Morrison-Beedy was herself a mentor in the MCH Leadership program for many years, and brings a valuable perspective to the collaboration. “This really is national recognition of USF Nursing as a leader in innovative nursing research, and allows unique opportunities for our faculty and doctoral students to collaborate in a mentorship model that will train tomorrow’s leaders in maternal-child health nursing.”

Diane L Spatz, PhD, RNC, FAAN Associate Professor of Health Care of Women and Childbearing Nursing – Clinician Educator, and Helen M. Shearer Term Associate Professor of Nutrition at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing, an internationally known expert in maternal child health and a member of the MCH Leadership Academy, was on-site at the USF College of Nursing on Wednesday October 6, 2010 to mentor USF Nursing researchers Cecilia Jevitt, CNM, PhD, Associate Professor, College of Nursing and Jessica Brumley, CNM, MA, PhD Student, as they design group prenatal care focusing on optimal nutrition, caloric intake and physical activity in collaboration with an inter-professional team from the USF Medical Clinics.

“Dr. Jevitt and Jessica have developed an excellent research program with a team approach that will allow them to mentor other professionals in the field as they themselves are being mentored,” said Dr. Spatz. “This project would not be possible without the support of the leadership at the College of Nursing and USF Health. The inter-professional collaborative environment at USF is a model that needs to be replicated nationally.”

The USF Nursing researcher’s pilot program is based on the Centering Pregnancy model developed at Yale-New Haven Hospital. The researchers expect to pilot the group prenatal care project this fall at the USF Health South Tampa Center for Advanced Healthcare. Inter-professional teams from nursing, medicine, nutrition and physical therapy will provide this innovative alternative to traditional individual prenatal checkups.