Dr. Pinto-Martin named recipient of 2009 Claire M. Fagin Distinguished Researcher Award

It gives me great pleasure to announce Dr. Jennifer Pinto-Martin as the 7th recipient of the Claire M. Fagin Distinguished Researcher Award, an honor that highlights the research accomplishments of our faculty.

Dr. Pinto-Martin is an internationally renowned scholar in child development and autism spectrum disorders. Since 2001, she has been the principal investigator for the Center for Excellence for Autism and Developmental Disabilities Research and Epidemiology, one of six such centers nationally funded by the Centers for Disease Control. With approximately $12M in funding, these centers have conducted groundbreaking studies and made significant contributions to the epidemiology of autism and also to the role of neonatal brain damage in elementary school performance. Dr. Pinto-Martin is particularly well known for her rigorous research methods, her interdisciplinary collaboration, and her mentorship of the next generation of scientists. It is also noteworthy that Dr. Pinto-Martin is the first recipient of this award who is not a nurse and yet has made major contributions to the science of nursing.

Please join me in congratulating Jennifer and in celebrating with her on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 when we will hear her incredible scholarly journey. In addition, please join me in thanking the Fagin Award selection committee, under the leadership of Dr. Linda McCauley, for another outstanding selection.

A holiday message

As we prepare to celebrate a favorite American holiday, I find myself reflecting on what I am most thankful for at this moment in our school's history. I am most thankful for being part of a community that is committed, inspiring and inspired, hard working, productive, and caring. Now that we are all back under the same roof (a green one too), the energy in our community is palpable and the enthusiasm for our future is contagious.

Thank you for an incredibly productive fall semester, best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving, and may you come back from this short holiday refreshed and ready for the end of the year rush.

Term chair appointments

The appointment to a term chair is a high honor in the University and is an acknowledgement of a high level of productivity of a faculty member. It gives me great pleasure to announce the appointments of three of our faculty to term chairs effective July 1, 2008.

Sarah Hope Kagan, PhD, RN, FAAN, Professor of Gerontological Nursing-Clinician Educator, has been appointed as the Ralston House Endowed Term Professor in Gerontological Nursing effective July 1, 2008. The Ralston House Endowed Term Chair was founded in 1995 by a gift from The Ralston House to support Gerontological Nursing. Dr. Kagan is passionate about advancing the care of elders through her teaching and research, and her appointment to the chair is in recognition to her devotion to this growing population. Sarah Kagan is an accomplished clinician who captures the synthesis between practice and research. She is an expert in the field of gerontology and oncology, and has been a visiting scholar at numerous national and international universities. Her clinical scholarship centers on the impact of head and neck cancer on the lives of the vulnerable elderly adults, and on the most effective models of care to decrease their suffering and enhance their wellbeing. An expert in the field of gerontology and oncology, Sarah Kagan is an accomplished clinician who captures the synthesis between practice and research through her appointment as Senior Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Abramson Cancer Center. Dr. Kagan’s superb teaching skills have been recognized through the receipt of the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, the School of Nursing Teaching Award and by her designation as a Master Teacher by the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education. She is an outstanding mentor and receives comments about her coaching and role modeling that are consistently couched in accolades.

Martha A. Q. Curley, PhD, RN, FAAN, CCRN, Associate Professor of Nursing, has been appointed as the Killebrew-Censits Endowed Term Associate Professor effective July 1, 2008. The Killebrew-Centsits Term Chair was established in 1989 by a gift from Norma Killebrew and Richard Censits to support a faculty member who makes outstanding contributions to education. Dr. Curley has contributed greatly to the next generation of critical care pediatric nurses. Her vast repertoire of invited lectures attests to her extraordinary ability to present to a range of audiences. Her award winning textbook Critical Care Nursing of Infants and Children, is the most widely used in the field for master’s level education and PICU nurses. Nearly all of the extant literature regarding pulmonary complications in medically ventilated patients is Dr. Curley’s or is derived from her work. Dr. Curley excels in undergraduate as well as graduate student teaching, she carries teaching and mentoring of students beyond the classroom and clinical setting and has worked with numerous undergraduate students on research proposals and manuscripts. Although Dr. Curley’s research trajectory alone is impressive, her contributions to the discipline are more broad reaching. One of Dr. Curley’s most extraordinary accomplishments was to lead a team of experts in developing the Synergy Model for Critical Care for the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. Judged on the impact of this model, Dr. Curley’s creativity and vision have pushed the adoption of “Synergy” for certification exams, for curriculum in Schools of Nursing, and for designating “Beacon” award (magnet-like) critical care units. She has truly revolutionized a model for critical care delivery in the US for children and adults.

Kathleen McCauley, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, FAAN, FAHA, Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Nursing-Clinician Educator, has been appointed as the Class of 1965 25th Reunion Endowed Term Associate Professor. The Class of 1965 Chair is one of five created by the Class in 1990. This unprecedented 25th Reunion class gift funded a chair for each of the four undergraduate Schools and one in honor of the College for Women. Dr. McCauley is uniquely qualified for appointment to the Chair. As Associate Dean for Academic Programs, Dr. McCauley is responsible for overseeing the educational mission of the School. She has been a driving force in integrating evidence based nursing practice, evaluating content gaps and redundancies and in modifying the curriculum to address societal trends, regulatory, school and university priorities and student and faculty feedback. Her teaching expertise flows directly from her proficiency in the areas of practice, professionalism in nursing, research and its translation to practice, in-depth knowledge of students, their learning needs and preferences, and national trends in nursing education. For the past 15 years, she has directed the capstone undergraduate clinical course NURS370/371, Advanced Clinical Practicum in Nursing that addresses advanced specialty knowledge, clinical decision making, role transition and professional issues to position our graduates to excel in entry level positions across the continuum of health care. Throughout her practice career as Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Department of Cardiovascular Nursing at HUP, Dr. McCauley has focused on the needs and management of patients with and at risk for heart disease.

Please join me on congratulating these wonderful scholars on their term chairs appointments.

President Mogae speaks to the Penn community

The Penn community was extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to hear former President of the Republic of Botswana, Festus Mogae speak about his country's response to HIV/AIDS. As part of the Botswana-UPenn Partnership, the lecture was an inspiring account of how a developing nation can devote its resources, attention and commitment to stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS, a task President Mogae hopes to accomplish by 2016.

He has invested much of the country's annual budget in tackling this health crisis. His ground-breaking antiretroviral drugs program made Botswana the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to provide universal, free access to the medicines. It is due, in large part, to this commitment that the HIV-transmission rate from mothers to children went from 40 percent to 4 percent. Such gains are also a result of the many steps undertaken by President Mogae: advocating for routine HIV testing and counseling, negotiating with pharmaceutical companies to provide antiretroviral drugs at a discounted rate (and receiving up to 95 percent in discounts!), and partnering with Merck and the Gates Foundation to provide comprehensive prevention, care, treatment, and support.

As President Mogae described, the AIDS pandemic in Botswana was dire. Health facilities were overwhelmed. In many hospitals, there was hardly room to walk. Such scarcity led to Community Home Based Care projects and other efforts to support children who have been orphaned or otherwise left vulnerable because of the ravages of HIV/AIDS. For some of our nursing students in the audience, they were all-too-familiar with the programs that the Former President described because they had worked on these projects just this past summer.

Eight Penn Nursing students spent five weeks in Botswana this summer completing their Community Health clinical rotation; many of them worked at various Home Based Care sites around the country. Clinical days often involved driving to remote villages and walking from house to house, accompanied by local health volunteers and nurses, to visit patients in their homes. Komal Patel, one of our students who worked at a Home Based Care site, reflected on the program: "If there is no caregiver in the family, the volunteers and nurses become the primary caregivers. This care concept is almost unheard of in the United States... it has been a very humbling experience."

The students also spent a lot of their free time in Botswana working at Kamogelo Day Care Center. Kamogelo supports orphaned and vulnerable children in one community of Botswana by providing them with education, school uniforms, and even basic necessities, like food and transportation to medical facilities. Our Penn Nursing students enhanced the programs there by offering health screenings for the children, and even health education classes for the children's' parents and teachers. A short documentary about their work can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flT2fya7VWo

I also encourage you to read a blog by Kayla and Shira Kapito, two attendees at this year's International Conference on Women's Health Issues, held in Botswana. It can be found here: http://deanmeleis.blogspot.com/2008/07/more-blogs-from-icowhi-conference.html

In Botswana, the focus is now on fighting the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. "Priority number one is a new campaign focused on behavior changes," President Mogae explained. More specifically, he said, the aim is to change male attitudes and behaviors. Multiple partners, low condom use, and low levels of male circumcision all contribute to the HIV/AIDS problem facing the country. Currently, there are more women infected from this disease than men, with women in the 15-19 and 35-39 age groups most disproportionately affected. It is because of President Mogae's strong commitment to women's health that I was honored to present him with the Taylor & Francis Distinguished Research Award at the International Council on Women's Health Issues conference earlier this summer. The award was established to honor accomplishments and to highlight the critical need for ongoing attention to global healthcare issues for women. Former President Mogae has been quoted as saying “One more day of delayed action is a day too late for our people, ... Our people are crying out for help. Let us respond while there is time.” Throughout his life, President Mogae has led by example and practiced what he has preached, and it was wonderful to have had him on campus.

Great news for nursing shifts

Exciting news!

Last week, a state Senate committee unanimously approved a bill to prohibit mandatory overtime for healthcare workers in Pennsylvania. As the work of our very own nursing professor Ann Rogers has shown, the risk of error increases three-fold when nurses work 12.5 consecutive hours or more.

It is always inspiring to see how the work produced by our stellar faculty translates into changes in healthcare policy. Dr. Rogers' 2004 study, "Hospital Staff Nurse Work Hours and Patient Safety," was the first project to establish a clear link between long hours worked by nurses and an increased risk of mistakes on the job.

The passing of House Bill 834 is certainly good news for nurses, but it is great news for all Pennsylvanians, as well.

How our history can change our future

Penn Nursing is proud to have hosted the American Association for the History of Nursing's 25th annual conference, from September 25th-28th. Nursing history is truly dynamic and relevant to our discipline, and we are pleased to be part of the conference's milestone celebration.

Here, too, we are celebrating various milestones in our School – 50 years of our Sigma Theta Tau chapter, 30 years of doctoral education, 20 years of the Penn Nursing Consultation Service, and 10 years of the LIFE program. These serve as reminders of how the historical context is vital for understanding our contemporary goals for integrating research, education, and practice. Milestone celebrations are a cause for reflection and celebration.

As AAHN celebrates the 25th anniversary of its conference, it is important to pause and recognize the tremendous progress that has been made in historical research and in making nursing history dynamic and relevant to our discipline. As professor Julie Fairman, the director of our Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing, puts it, how can we think about strategies to relieve health disparities if we don't understand how they developed, what has and has not worked in the past, and how we can use this information to make a better future for everyone?

We are living in a time when our discipline faces many challenges, such as lack of diversity, proliferation of degrees, integrating technology with humanistic tools and science with theory. A historical context can inform how we may resolve these issues and more without making the same mistakes of the past.

Understanding our history allows us to make a difference in quality of care we provide and in the caliber of science and scholarship we produce. That is why I am so proud of the many awards given to our own students and faculty at the AAHN conference. A very special congratulations to:

• Winifred Connerton, recipient of a History of Nursing H-30 Pre-Doctoral Student Research Award entitled, "Have cap, will travel; U.S. nurses abroad 1898-1939," (chair, Julie Fairman).

• Cindy Connolly, recipient of the Livinia L. Dock Award for her book, Saving Sickly Children: The Tuberculosis Preventorium in American Life, 1909-1970 ( Rutgers, 2008). This Award is given to an author of a book noted for its outstanding research and writing.

• Patricia D’Antonio, recipient of the Adelaide Nutting Award for her article, “Nurses—and Wives and Mothers: Women and the Latter Day Saints Training School’s Class of 1919,” Journal of Women’s History. This award is given to an author of a post-doctoral article on the history of nursing.

• Jennifer Hobbs, recipient of the Teresa E. Christy Award for excellence of historical research and writing done while the researcher was a doctoral student. The title of Jennifer’s research is, “Naming Power: A Historical Analysis of Clinical Information Systems,” chair, Julie Fairman.

• Barbra Mann Wall, recipient of a H15 Grant for Historical Research. Her project is titled, “Clash and Compromise: Catholic Hospitals, Secularization, and the State in 20th Century America."

Welcome back!

Change is in the air, locally, nationally, and internationally! We have all been witness to some extraordinary happenings these past few months. Some of these happenings have been heartbreaking, like the invasion of Georgia by the Russians; some have been challenging, such as the increasing prices of gasoline and food all over the world; and some have been awe inspiring like the Olympics held in Beijing, China and a presidential campaign that saw a woman, an African American, and an elder as lead candidates, and witnessed the democrats select Senator Barack Obama as their nominee for the presidency. This has certainly been a summer to remember.

This has also been a memorable summer at our School of Nursing, one that has been exciting and transforming. We have seen beams and walls erected, windows installed, furniture arrive, and moving vans unloaded. As a result, we now have a newly renovated Claire M. Fagin Hall. Even the workers like our school so much, they continue to be present with us, to improve, modify, and fine tune our environment to match the vision of our architects, Maxman and Associates. Throughout the summer, Pat Burke and Helene Lee were seen charging through the halls to address unexpected leaks in the ceiling; elevators and air conditioning that did not work; and to negotiate with builders, construction crews, and movers to insure that every aspect of our renovation and transition took place smoothly and effectively, and with as little disruption as possible to all of us. Thank you, Pat and Helene, for your diligence and dedication. And thank you all for your patience and flexibility. In celebration of our newly renovated School, please join us at the official grand opening ceremony on Thursday, October 30, 4:30 to 6:00 pm, immediately following the annual State of the School Address.

In addition to changes in our space, there have also been many changes in our faculty. This is a banner year for new faculty so a very special welcome to Dr. Jeane Ann Grisso, Dr.Cynthia Connolly, Dr. Mary Ersek, Dr. Victoria Rich, Dr. Maureen George, Dr. Joseph Libonati, Dr. Matthew McHugh and Dr. Linda Hatfield. Having such a stellar group of new faculty members is a reminder that this could not have happened without an incredible commitment and investment of time and talent by many people including the tireless search and personnel committees, division chairs, academic affairs office and each one of you. What a hardworking and synergetic team resulting in an outstanding group of new faculty! Thank you all and a warm welcome to our new faculty members.

Speaking of faculty new and old (not in age), there have also been important changes in faculty support systems led by our Division Chairs. We now have Division Support Teams (no more ASG). In order to make faculty support more effective, staff members are assigned to specific divisions and individual faculty members, and these teams are led by Division Managers, Jamie Leigh for the Family and Community Health Division and Mary Kononenko for the Biobehavioral and Health Sciences Division. Let us embrace these changes which are designed to be more effective for faculty and staff.

All these dynamic changes are balanced by continuity. Here are only a few vivid images, from our summer, which reflect continuity in our mission and goals. During the First International Conference of Nursing Science in Jerusalem, Israel, we watched one of our alums, Dr. Miri Rom, who is the director and Associate Dean of the Henrietta Szold Hadassah School of Nursing at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, demonstrate creative leadership in the face of incredible challenges while fostering global collaboration in nursing scholarship. She made us proud as a shining example of our primary goal of graduating global leaders. We are also proud of our own Dr. Barbara Medoff-Cooper for her commitment to global scholarship through establishing an ongoing effective relationship and partnership between our school and Hadassah Hebrew University School of Nursing. These two colleagues are shaping nursing research in Israel.

And here is another summer image - Dr. Loretta Sweet Jemmott training faculty in Botswana for her research on the prevention of HIV-AIDS. You can just imagine Loretta engaging these Botswana nurses and teachers just as she would if she were in her classroom here – with enthusiasm, humor, and a clear commitment to eradicating this disease that has ravaged their country. Also in Botswana, it was so gratifying to see Dr. Anne Tietelman and her Co-chairs, Dr. Jackie Campbell from Hopkins and Dr. Esther Seloilwe from Botswana University, as they led a dynamic, stimulating, and state-of-the-science pre-conference on “Gender-Based Violence and HIV Risk Among Adolescent Girls: International Perspectives on the State of the Science”, prior to the International Council on Women’s Health Issues (ICOWHI) conference that took place in July. Their audience of nurses, physicians, health care workers, lawyers, and public health workers were challenged by the program and the synergistic presentations. Overall, it was just awe inspiring to see the interdisciplinary collaboration and sharing between our faculty and the faculty from Botswana.

Another image is from India. A series of summer briefings took place recently when the team that went to India – Drs. Eileen Sullivan-Marx and Terri Richmond and Sarah Jacoby (an alum and a HUP nurse), came home safely. The potential for education, practice, and research projects designed to improve health outcomes, health delivery models, and the role of nursing professionals in India as part of a partnership with India-ICICI Bank and Catholic University School of Nursing is almost coming to fruition. We look forward to hearing more about this initiative that will be linked with a University-wide effort and initiative in India.

There were many more moving images here in our School over the summer as well. Twelve junior and senior high school students were the recipients of intensive and fun education about their personal health and the different roles of nurses. These were the participants in this year’s Summer Mentorship Program, under the direction of Drs. Kathy McCauley, Peggy Griffiths, and two of our doctoral students, Melanie Lyons and Sarah Sawah, who led and coordinated the School component of this University-wide initiative to enhance diversity. And here is the unforgettable image: at the end of the program, these students created and acted in a video in which they played different roles in an emergency setting, where they received trauma patients. They played the roles of patients, family members, doctors, and of course, nurses with different expertise. Dressed for the part in scrubs, one played a nurse anesthetist; another, a clinical specialist; another, a nurse practitioner; and so on, and in these roles, they each spoke about what that role entailed and how professionals in these roles would respond to the emergency. I know that this experience left a lasting impression on these students and I cannot think of a more effective, and fun, way of communicating the potential of a nursing career to these young students. And, we now have two videos that may get us into the award winning circles of Hollywood, Dr. Kathy McCauley and our nursing students tap dancing heart beats and Summer Mentorship junior and high school students enacting nurses roles!


Another image is of medical and nursing students describing their transformative experience in Washington. Under the leadership of Dr. Mary Lou de Leon Siantz, nursing and medical students participated in the Leadership Education and Policy Development Program (LEAP). This program is designed to inspire racially and ethnically diverse doctoral nursing students and medical students to collaborate and utilize their research and clinical knowledge to shape health policy. These students visited various legislative offices and organizations that have a significant impact on health policy and participated in dialogues about health policies.

Mary Austin from our LIFE program shared several summer images reflecting just one day in the LIFE program. On her rounds, she heard many stimulating dialogues; one was about the qualities of women versus men as future presidents; she saw members receiving “calm and compassionate care” and members, who were recovering from strokes, being led in a “supermarket” shopping rehearsal; witnessed a bowling competition (the score was 11-9 Warriors); and listened to spirited word and name games. Most importantly, everywhere she went at LIFE, members and staff alike were “bright and smiling” and nurses were “quietly and effectively” taking care of the needs of the members. Clearly, these LIFE’s images express well our goals for translating the best models of care.

As always, our research centers were hard at work reviewing grant applications and working with different research teams. Two vivid images are of Lynn Sommers, from the Health Disparities Center, shortly after returning from Botswana, conversing with her colleagues and team refining innovative and challenging methods for her research study on “Injury from Sexual Assault: Addressing Health Disparity.” In addition, there was Loretta Jemmott (Wasn’t she just in Gaborone? Maybe it was her clone!) with her colleagues and team putting the last touches on a grant to study “Gender, Youth, and HIV Risk”. In another conference room, Kathy McCauley and Lorraine Tulman were conferring and designing the program for the PhD Forum and Doctoral Alumni Reunion which will happen this October as part of celebrating our 30 years of superb doctoral education.

In the Office of Academic Affairs, Kathy McCauley, Carol Ladden, Christina Clark, and their entire team were putting the final touches on welcoming our incoming class. We are pleased to welcome a total of 285 new students (93 BSN, 51 Accelerated/Non-Traditional/Transfer, 129 MSN, and 12 PhD students). This brings our student body to a total of 958 (491 BSN, 415 MSN, and 52 PhD students). Please join me in welcoming them.

Obviously, this is not all that took place during the summer months and whoever thought that summers are quiet, have not been to our School. There were many more activities and initiatives throughout the School and beyond the School’s boundaries as well, that were led by our faculty, students, and staff. All these dynamic activities reflect what our School is all about – an exciting and caring environment which was not hindered or slowed by the challenges of disruptions or changes.

Change is synonymous with our School where we passionately care to change the world. With a full summer behind us, I extend a very warm welcome to you all and wish you a year filled with transforming changes – let’s embrace change for a future of eminence.

More blogs from the ICOWHI conference attendees

Kayla and Shira Kapito, attendees at the International Conference on Women's Health Issues, continue to detail their experience through blogs. I thank them greatly for sharing their thoughts and reflections.

July 9th: This morning the ICOWHI conference began with several sessions on the policy and legislation of the girl child. The first session we attended was a presentation on the Illegal Organ Market, which was extremely informative due to the fact that we were unaware of this system. A huge problem internationally, the illegal organ market highlights issues of poverty and woman's health since most of the donors are women who are forced into selling organs, such as kidneys. After participating in this fascinating discussion, we were left wondering whether legalizing this market would actually change anything.

The next presenter spoke about children trafficking globally, specifically in Swaziland. The most surprising part of this session was learning that trafficking is not seen as a criminal act. Even more shocking is that some children willingly run away or sell themselves because of poverty and hunger. The issue of trafficking is a large issue in Swaziland that will take great measures to solve.

After the session on trafficking, we attended a presentation about the global issue of obesity. Although obesity is clearly an issue in the United States, we were unaware that it is also a rising problem in Botswana and South Africa. The key to solving this global concern of obesity is education. It is only through education that people around the world can learn about the long term effects of obesity such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and even death.

Overall, today was a very exciting first day of the ICOWHI conference. The presenters were engaging and the discussions were captivating. We look forward to learning more tomorrow!

July 10th: Day two of the ICOWHI conference started with a presentation about mental health and the development of the girl child. The presenter spoke about the importance of not only looking at the physical health, but also looking at the mental health of the child. We learned that when determining the mental health of African children, it is the quality of home life that matters and not the socio-economic status. The presenter continued to talk about interesting issues in Africa such as malnutrition and pregnancy. She ended with stating that we need better nurse specialists in practice and policy in order to solve these predicaments.

Afterwards, we had the opportunity to watch the documentary, Wardance¸which is about the Acholi tribe in Northern Uganda. This documentary portrayed the struggles of three children living in the war zone during the time of the Civil War. This film was not only heart-wrenching but also did not leave a dry eye in the audience. We highly recommend taking the time to see this moving documentary.

Following the documentary, we had the chance to listen to a phenomenal speaker on the issues of genital mutilation. The presenter shared with us a research study that she conducted in Ohio where the second largest Somali immigrant population resides. These Somali immigrants shared with the researcher their history and feelings toward their customs of genital circumcision which was interesting and educational.

Ultimately, the second day concluded with the conference participants enjoying either a safari adventure or a demonstration by the Oodi weavers.

July 11th: Unfortunately, today was the last day of the ICOWHI conference in Gaborone, Botswana. It began with a lecture on children and HIV/AIDS in resource limited settings, such as Botswana. Speaking about the issues in Botswana following the rise of HIV/AIDS, the presenter gladly declared our ongoing success in improving access to care, strengthening routine and couple testing, and educating society. We left this presentation with the notion that even in a resource limited country, like Botswana, lives can be saved.

The next presentation that we attended dealt with parent-child communication on adolescent sexual risk behaviors. This research study conducted on female adolescents in Botswana looked at the sexual communication between parents and their children. Because it is culturally inappropriate to talk to parents about sex, adolescents receive misinformation from friends regarding these topics.

Following the lecture on sexual communication, we went to another discussion on reducing HIV risk associated with sexual behavior of adolescents. It was brought to our attention that HIV/STD is a national concern among teens and can only be solved through listening to the adolescents’ voices. The take-home message of this presentation was that knowledge does not change behavior. The way in which we must change behavior is through time, trust, and team-building.

The conference concluded with Dean Meleis presenting the Phyllis Stern award to Her Worship Judge Unity Dow. This award recognizes leadership in women’s health. Her Worship Judge Unity Dow accepted this award by telling a moving story to illustrate the idea that there is more to health than medicine.

The 2008 ICOWHI conference in Gaborone, Botswana, was a great success. The next conference will be held at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 2010. We hope to see you there!

-Kayla and Shira Kapito

International Perspectives on the State of the Science: An ICOWHI Pre-Conference

When scientists, clinicians, and consumers gather together to share their work, their vision and their hopes for equitable health care for women, they create an agenda for quality care for women. As Council General for the International Council on Women's Health Issues, my dream is that after each of these gatherings, their shared voice reverberates to eliminate aggression and violence globally.

Already, I can see how the ICOWHI conferences are impacting those who listen. After the July 8th Pre-Conference in Botswana on Gender-Based Violence and HIV Risk Among Adolescent Girls, two attendees, Kayla and Shira Kapito, shared with me their reflections:

As students, we are fortunate enough to be in Botswana attending the International Council on Women’s Health Issues. The Pre-Conference began this morning, Tuesday July 8, 2008, when we were welcomed by Dr. Jacquelyn Campbell from John Hopkins University who presented an overview on the intersection of HIV and the violence against women. Dr. Campbell discussed the correlation between gender based violence and the contraction of HIV and AIDS. She proceeded to talk about topics ranging from safe sexual health practice, coercive sex to child abuse.

The first panel spoke about how gender based violence stems from cultural customs, which promotes violations of human rights and gender inequalities. It is essential to understand that sexual rights are human rights. This panel further evaluated the definition of intersectionality and how it relates to the vulnerability of HIV/AIDS. Lastly, this panel examined society’s influence on the conceptions of sex. The panel spoke about how these conceptions of sex promote gender violence and how crucial it is that we try to prevent this cruelty. We found this first panel to not only be informative, but also eye-opening.

The second panel discussed how HIV/AIDS are a leading global health problem today, specifically in adolescent girls. While efforts to find a cure for HIV have been unsuccessful, the endeavors to prevent HIV through appropriate strategies and interventions have proven to be more triumphant. In addition, the second panel spoke about the impacts of sexual assault that the girl child suffers from on both a psychological and physical level. Researchers are currently implementing means of measuring sexual assault through physical forensic examinations. This panel was both interesting and enlightening.

The third and last panel furthered the discussion on child sexual abuse by pointing out that while most of our attention is given to the physical clinical care of the abused girl child, our focus should also be concentrated on the psychosocial care. In order to effectively care for the abused girl children, housing programs and youth groups have been created and have successfully reduced negative health outcomes.

As young American women, we found this pre-conference to be intensely shocking and thought-provoking. Although it is hard to grasp what these girl children experience on a day to day basis, it is essential that we begin to understand these issues so that we can help prevent gender based violence in the future.

Penn Nursing in the Gulf

From articles in the local Daily Pennsylvanian to Mississippi's flagship paper, The Sun Herald, much has already been written about our seven nursing seniors who traveled to Pearlington, Mississippi to address the post-Katrina health needs of the community. As Dean of a school that will soon be graduating these remarkable, inspiring students, there are just a few points I wish to add.

First, the opportunity for our students to participate in such an extraordinary experience would not have come about without the dedication and support of our faculty. Professors Julie Sochalski, a community health nurse, and Norma Cuellar, a Mississippi native with prior experience in post-Katrina recovery efforts, led the nursing students to Pearlington, and they could not have done a better job. Dr. Sochalski was even selected for the Dean's Award for Exemplary Teaching for her role in this exceptional learning and humanitarian experience. Our students' accomplishments are, in no small measure, a reflection of the mentorship they have received.

And their experiences have been enhanced –– or rather, enabled –– by cross-campus partnerships. Thanks to my colleague Dean Richard Gelles from the School of Social Policy and Practice, who recognized the need for multi-level, collaborative partnerships between schools, the nursing students were able to partner with the SP2 Feldman Initiative - Hancock County and travel to Pearlington. There, alongside their colleagues from SP2, engineering, and dental medicine, they truly made an impact. The seven nursing seniors –– Pheobe Askie, Anne-Marie Beitler, Alexis Kalman, Danielle Klosiewicz, Gina McShea, Stephanie Ng, and Sofia Wronski –– spent their winter break working tirelessly. Each morning, the students traveled in pairs –– one nursing student, one SP2 student –– and conducted physical and mental health assessments in the homes of Pearlington residents. When we speak of interdisciplinary learning at the university, this serves as a perfect example of what we mean: students working with each other, learning from one another, and combining and applying their specialized knowledge to combat a larger societal problem.

Traveling door-to-door, they met J.P.*, a 65-year-old man with hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol, who has spent the majority of his time and money rebuilding his home. When the students met him, he was unable to work his glucometer and did not know what constituted a normal blood sugar level, admitting "I only check it sometimes." Students also met Donna*, who stayed in Mississippi until the day before the storm and barely made it out. Two and a half years later, her home has just been rebuilt, but the septic tank continues to spew sewage into her backyard. She suffers from bipolar disorder, lacks health insurance, and cannot read or write. Her seven-year-old son, Seth, has recurrent dreams of drowning and a fear that his mother will die. Another Pearlington resident, Miss L*, is a 50-year-old single woman with a past medical history of depression and seasonal allergies. In the months following Hurricane Katrina, she lived in a non-air conditioned car with another adult and her dog. Speaking to the nursing student who conducted a health assessment on her, she said, "I am a single woman with no one to advocate for me, and everyone is letting me down." (* Names have been changed)

The healthcare needs faced by Pearlington residents remain overwhelming and under-addressed. When the nursing students concluded their visit with a health fair for residents of Hancock County, they found 77 percent of residents had BMIs in the overweight/obese category and 65 percent suffered from elevated glucose levels.

In Mississippi and elsewhere, the problems of healthcare, access to care, and affordability of services are huge. Our students see this first hand, and they continue to impress me by their commitment to caring to change the world. The seven seniors who traveled to Pearlington are remarkable individuals, but they are also representative of a school that is filled with inspiring young adults who will, no doubt, change the world. In fact, once the announcement was made that the School of Nursing would be traveling to the Gulf, more than 30 students volunteered, a testament to our shared goal of engaging beyond our backyard.

On April 21st, as the seven students detailed their experiences in Pearlington to fellow students, faculty members, staff, and friends, the one thing I found especially unique and inspiring is that these seniors, on the verge of graduation, remain committed to both the communities they serve and the school that has equipped them with the knowledge needed to truly bring about change. They continue to ask, "How can we, as Penn Nurses, create affordable, sustainable resources that address the physical and mental health needs of these residents?" In a profession as enriching as nursing, they realize that there is always more work to do, more questions to ask, more answers to solve. And I could not be more proud of the fact that they will enter the workforce ready to solve whatever challenges are thrown their way.

If you have not done so already, read about their experiences at: http://pennnursinginpearlington.blogspot.com/

Visit the DSO's Poster Session Today

At Penn Nursing, one of our greatest accomplishments lies in our tripartite mission of practice, education and research. The Dean's Lecture Series was, in part, designed to serve as an example of how prominent leaders in the field merge their individual missions of scholarship and practice, and today, for the first time ever, we merged a Dean's Lecture with a research colloquium featuring the work of our very own doctoral students. Dr. Carolyn Sampselle's inspiring lecture on "Translational Research Imperatives: Bidirectional and Interdisciplinary" concluded with our Doctoral Student Organization's Spring Research Colloquium.

Dr. Sampselle's presentation affirmed our goals for interdisciplinarity and translation. Her program of research on the prevention and treatment of urinary incontinence in women has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for more than 12 years, and she is currently Principal Investigator of two research grants that have a substantial commitment to urinary incontinence in women of historically underrepresented groups. She stands as a professional role model to the nurse researchers of tomorrow.

And it is those nurse researchers of today whose scholarship remains a testament to students who care to change the world through research, practice and education. Our students developed an exemplary poster session that was elegant, well organized, and reflective of their developing scholarship in several areas, which include:
• Examining the effects of NAFTA on the development of Mexican nursing,
• Addressing acute malnutrition in sub-Sahara Africa,
• Studying the "silent epidemic" of depression among African-American adolescents,
• Using focus groups to adapt ethnically-appropriate recruitment messages for a prostate cancer screening program,
• Researching pediatric cardiology providers' understanding of transition,
• Measuring the effects of Streptozotocin-induced diabetes on hippocampal neurogenesis and behavior,
• Comparing and contrasting the attributes and application of thriving and adolescent thriving,
• Investigating the impact of growth, cardiac physiology, and parental stress on development at six months of age,
• Delineating, clarifying and redefining the concept of self-monitoring in type 2 diabetes mellitus,
• Reviewing pediatric acute care outcome measures, and
• Exploring the concept of "resuscitability" in an adult trauma population.

We credit the co-chairs of the poster session, Sharon Irving and Danielle Olds, for making this event extraordinary, and to the DSO President, Linda Herrmann, for her vision and support of the colloquium. Our goal as nurse scientists is to cultivate a generation of leaders who can use their research education to revolutionize patient care and change the world. Today, and until 1:00 pm tomorrow, you can visit the Carol Ware Gates Lobby to view our doctoral students' research posters to see just how this vision is being achieved.

Celebrating International Women’s Day

As someone who has spent a career studying women’s health issues, March 8th has a special meaning for me. A time to commemorate the economic, political and social achievements of women, International Women’s Day holds such great significance in today’s world, where there is much to celebrate but still much to do.

We are living in a pivotal moment in history. For the first time in the United States –– a country that ranks 71st in the world in terms of female political representation –– the next president might well be a woman. Worldwide, women now comprise an increasing share of the world’s labor force –– at least one-third in all regions except northern Africa and western Asia. And yet we are a long way from comprehensive and integrated services for all. According to the UN’s Statistics Division: women account for almost half of all cases of HIV/AIDS; women and girls comprise half of the world’s refugees and are consequently particularly vulnerable to sexual violence; and two-thirds of the world’s 876 million illiterates are women. The gender divide exists, and issues of social justice and equity remain.

As a society, our challenges are huge. In the area of community planning, we must design safe and accessible communities that are geared to the needs of women. They must take into consideration that women are often the ones responsible for integrating their family in the community. They must take into consideration the many roles of women, as mothers, workers, caregivers, wives, daughters, grandmothers, and everything else. CARE, a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty, recently published an article on climate change and its effects on women. When climate-caused disasters strike, women typically have less cash savings, lower levels of education, greater workloads and smaller social networks to draw upon than men, exacerbating the gender inequalities. CARE’s recently developed Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment tool therefore analyzes climate risks for women, identifies appropriate measures to adapt to climate change and integrates this knowledge into planning and decision-making. This model serves as an example of how the need to frame women’s issues in a broader context can be achieved.

This March 8th, as we celebrate International Women’s Day, let us also celebrate the movers and doers who have made women’s rights at the core of social justice. But let us remember that there are many more hurdles we must work to overcome, challenges we can only solve when we work together.

The Dragon and the Elephant

It is always an honor to host the Dean’s Lecture Series with my colleague Arthur Rubenstein from the School of Medicine. Because we thrive on rich, invigorating discourse about global health, we felt it necessary to invite Dr. Lincoln Chen, president of the Chine Medical Board of New York, to campus to discuss what he refers to as “the dragon and elephant in global health,” a metaphor he borrows from a popular book.

In his acclaimed bestseller, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman said that the world was flat, that advancements in technology have created a level playing field in which India and China are the major players in the commerce game long dominated by Americans. In the area of global health, Dr. Chen has taken this idea one step further, by using the metaphor of the “the dragon and the elephant” to describe the colossal roles of the two countries in shaping a global future. We are looking at the center of the world in the 21st Century when we look at these two nations, he says. And Dr. Chen makes a very compelling case.

With 30 percent of all births and deaths in the world occurring in China and India, we must take into account the “sheer weight” of these countries. But their outreach is exploding in other ways, as well. From the low-cost antiviral medicines produced in India and used throughout Africa to the first Chinese president of a UN agency (Dr. Margaret Chan of the World Health Organization), these societies are intimately engaged in global health. Still, problems exist within these countries, and the consequences could be universal. One in four doctors worldwide are Chinese, and in nurses, the ratio changes to one in 10. India exports more doctors to the US than any other country, and in China, millions of nurses and doctors have limited education, practicing with just high school degrees and some vocational training. Thus, their health workforce might change the landscape of global health, according to Dr. Chen, because if these countries produce large numbers of doctors and nurses, the impact will no doubt be global.

I have had the pleasure of working with Dr. Chen when he served as chair of the board of directors of CARE, the international relief organization of which I am also a board member. At the School of Nursing, our commitment to global health is evidenced in our programs, which range from the University-wide Penn in Botswana program to Dr. Linda Aiken’s research on nurse migration from developing countries. When discussing global health, there is much to take into account, and I want to thank Dr. Chen for opening up further channels of communication and areas of discourse.

Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Dr. King

Here at Penn Nursing, we are so fortunate for the many eminent leaders who speak to our fellow faculty members, staff and students. Sometimes they are renowned scholars, sometimes they are global activists, sometimes they are political figures, but always, they are revolutionaries who care to change the world.

On February 11, 2008, we were honored to have Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA) speak about “The Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the areas of Healthcare and Education.” It was an event we co-sponsored with the Office of Diversity and Cultural Affairs, and Congressman Fattah was an ideal speaker because he exemplifies Dr. King’s goals. Recently appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Chair the Congressional Urban Caucus, Congressman Fattah will lead its members to concentrate on issues such as health, education, public safety, employment, transportation, housing, and strengthening the nation’s infrastructure.

We also took this opportunity to reflect on Dr. King’s vision of justice, equality, compassion and service because these are the ideals we work to achieve in our school and hope for in our students. Our tripartite mission – education, research and practice – are all built on Dr. King’s tradition and commitment to diversity and equity. For instance, look at our nursing seniors who went to Pearlington, Mississippi to help post-Katrina health recovery efforts. Or take, for example, Dr. Loretta Sweet-Jemmott, a high school classmate of Congressman Fattah’s, who has spent a career working to solve health disparities in HIV/AIDS prevention among African-American adolescents. Or think about our LIFE program in West Philadelphia, which aims to maintain quality of life for our elder, Medicaid-eligible neighbors.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” It is a question that as students, scholars and practitioners, we answer every day.

Energy Management vs. Time Management

We all discuss, complain and boast about how much work we have to do, the limited time to do it all, the roles we must play, the competing demands on our lives, and the many hats we wear (literally!). Meanwhile, we suffer from fatigue, exhaustion, and burn out. This is very real for us all, particularly as health professionals who care to change the world. But it is precisely such a desire to make a difference that led me to appreciate a recent dialogue about energy management that resonated with my own research.

In many of our research studies across the globe, I’ve found that the most significant driver for the perceived well-being of women who juggle many roles was role integration, which emerged from the data as the balance between stress and satisfaction across all the primary roles. This finding was a surprise considering previous data demonstrated that the balance of stress and satisfaction with each role in a person’s repertoire determined the level of health and wellness in women. Bottom line: even if women are highly stressed in one role (a marriage, for example), a higher level of satisfaction, meaning and accomplishments in other roles (like maternal and occupational ones) can balance the marital stress.

Now back to energy management. A very insightful article in the Harvard Business Review written by Tony Schwartz (2007) analyzes what could be the driving force for more productivity, time management, and life satisfaction. While time is a finite resource, he writes, energy is a different story. It is expandable and replenishable. Schwartz further examines the four different kinds of energy –– physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual –– and offers insight in how they can best be managed.

Perhaps easiest to understand is physical energy because nutrition, exercise, sleep and rest have evident and significant effects on the quality of our lives. But so too does emotional energy, which Schwartz describes as “the quality of energy.” From taking deep breaths when under stress to expressing appreciation to others (“a practice that seems to be as beneficial to the giver as to the receiver”), positive emotions help us perform best. Being in control of our mental energy, “the focus of energy,” stems from teaching our minds how to concentrate. Schwartz recommends ending each work day by identifying challenges for the next day and making them top priority in the morning. Finally, spiritual energy requires that we reflect on the meaning and purpose of our work by clarifying our priorities and discovering what we do best and love most. Each component may expand or contract our energy, regardless of the amount of time available.

As nurses, it is perhaps in this last form of energy where we can best “recharge.” When I think of the depth of our research and the range of our clinical practice, I am overcome by the abundance of meaning and purpose that exists in all we do. As members of this school, we strive to change the world. It is no small task, but still, we remain committed. And despite the stress we often face, it certainly helps to remember that it is better to think about managing energy than time. After all, we have more control on the first and less on the second.

Knowledge Integration

What does integrating knowledge mean? How comprehensive can we be, realistically and ideally? When does interdisciplinary knowledge work best? These were just some of the questions explored during the Founders Day Symposium on January 18th at the School of Nursing auditorium, where President Amy Gutmann moderated a panel of four eminent Penn Integrates Knowledge (PIK) Professors. Their topic: Aristotle’s Brain: Integrating Knowledge in the 21st Century. Thank you, Dr. Neville Strumpf, for planning this on behalf of the University Senate.

The Symposium offered the kind of intellectual discourse that exists in an institution so rich in faculty knowledge and interdisciplinary expertise, and its goal of sparking a scholarly discussion on knowledge integration was well achieved. In the conversation of integration amongst disciplines, for example, I think it is important to remember that the integration of knowledge exists within disciplines, too.

We have so many examples of knowledge integration in our school as exemplified by our faculty teaching and research. Let me just share two, the scholarships of Penn Nursing professors Charlene Compher and Joseph Boullata. Dr. Compher, renowned for her research in parenteral and enteral feeding, and Dr. Boullata, a pharmacist and nutrition expert, have worked together to advance nursing science, most recently studying vitamin D absorption in patients receiving parenteral nutrition and working on strategies to enhance these very much needed nutrients. Together, they have used a different lens to tackle a much larger problem in health care and clinical guidelines.

Societal and health problems are always integrated, which is why there is a need for integrated knowledge. Still, there also exists a tension between knowing a discipline vertically and thoroughly and “knowing” what comes from many different disciplines. In other words, is it better to be a jack of all trades or a master of one? And in the nursing field, where the needs of specialization are evident in roles like nurse anesthetist and clinical nurse specialist, is the job market ready for integrated knowledge or integrated graduates?

These are issues that need to be addressed, and I encourage you, especially those of you unable to attend the Symposium, to challenge yourself by asking these very questions.

Fostering Ethical Environments

Two priorities identified by working groups during our November 2007 retreat were to foster an environment of intellectual discourse and enrich it by making it more ethical. These two priorities, of intellectual discourse and ethical climate, are somewhat related to each other. They reflect our strategic focus on making our academic community even more effective in enhancing our productivity, as well as making it more inviting and fulfilling.

So the question is what makes an environment ethical. We could ask collectively, “How do we know if we are abiding by ethical principles?” And respond individually by reflecting on our roles in creating and maintaining an environment that we all could say is principled and ethical.

I will focus here on the ethical aspects of an environment, and I would like to share some of my own reflections as well as the results of my posing the question to colleagues nationally and internationally.

I believe transparency is the most the common attribute found in ethical environments. We must therefore cultivate an environment in which the rules are clear, roles defined, responsibilities delineated, goals shared, and all processes openly discussed. But when transparency is coupled with the sometimes inevitable demands of confidentiality, questions –– “when to share what? To whom? And by whom?” –– invariably arise. Effective transparency allows for a dialogue about conditions and contexts for transparency. For example, transparency in personnel decision making and deliberations would be unethical because confidentiality in such situations must be honored. On the other hand, transparency in deciding other issues, such as how doctoral students are assigned advisors or why we are implementing the mentorship program, should be expected and required. Transparency works best when there is trust and a sense of equity. Equity, in its simplest terms, means fairness, respect for different talents, for different voices, and for seeking and honoring all forms of diversity. Equity must exist on many levels: in policies, responses and resources, but it must be experienced by all members of an organization; but then equity is also a subjective experience.

In an ethical environment, individuals feel confident in their ability to exercise their right to have their voices expressed and heard, while knowing that their opinions may not necessarily prevail. An ethical educational environment is a just one in which there is no intimidation for dissenting voices or for different opinions. A just environment is not necessarily an environment where consensus or harmony prevail; rather, it is an environment where diversity of opinions are accepted, expected, and respected.

But even the notion of equity calls for a pause and dialogue. Questions to be asked are: equity in what? And is total equity possible when we are all at different ages, different ranks, have different expectations, different experiences, different funding levels and different abilities, skills, and goals? How do we establish a sense of equity while allowing differences, honoring different capabilities, and celebrating deviations? How do we avoid normalization and mediocrity?

In sort, how can we have a fundamental sense of equity and yet support and encourage differences?

I propose one principle which may help in revealing these paradoxes of transparency vs. confidentiality, and equity vs. valuing differences. The answer lies in the balance between common good and personal good. I am suggesting here that it is the common good for our discipline and our school which can guide us in mediating both sides of paradoxes.

We should be transparent to the extent that it does not undermine our credibility, our school, our discipline, our individualism. And we should have confidentiality to the extent it advances our school, our discipline, and our individual goals. We should have equity and diversity to the extent it enhances our ability to meet our shared goals and missions, our discipline and professional mission, while at the same time enriches us toward meeting our personal goals.

Ethical environments are transparent, confidential, equitable; environments in which differences are honored, trust promoted, fear eliminated, where space is available for intellectual dialogues, for opportunities to share ideas, and for opportunities to challenge each other without being fearful of consequences.

We are almost there! However, as we get there, we find that “there” has moved and that there really is no “there” there (a la Gertrude Stein). It is all here. And that on the way to “there,” we create the nature of the “there” that we want. And we are creating it together.

Selecting ethical discourse and ethical environments as our top priorities for our community is an indication that we are creating together what we want to be core in all our missions. I am very proud of our school for making these our priorities.