CONTACT - Volume 9, Number 1
Faculty, Student and Alumni News

Claudette Spalding , Assistant Professor of Nursing and Director of the MSN-Nursing Administration Specialization, had her paper "Spiritual Care and the Emerging Paradigm in Nursing Education" accepted for presentation at the Creating Caring Environments Conference to be held in May 2002 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Agathine Scotland Williams (BSN '98, MSN '00) was one of 6 nurses from across the nation to be selected to participate as an NCLEX examination item reviewer in an NCLEX item development panel session held in Princeton, New Jersey in September 2001.

Ruth Earle (BSN '99), MSN student, was the recipient of the Florida Nurses' Foundation Nina Brookins Scholarship Fund of $500. Awarding of scholarships is a competitive process, and we congratulate Ms. Earle for receiving this prestigious honor.

Dr. Carol Patsdaughter , Professor of Nursing, is the primary author in an article written by her and four colleagues titled "Circle of Care: Beyond HIV Counseling and Testing" that was recently published in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved , 12(14), 381-391.

Congratulations to graduating seniors Barbara Ensign and Carol Jenkins for receiving the Division of Nursing's Outstanding Service Award which was presented to them at the December Academic Nursing Convocation. Jennifer Cunningham , MSN graduate, received the Research Award (Thesis).

Susan Borglund , doctoral candidate, was the recipient of the Florida Nurses' Foundation Undine Sams and Friends Research Grant award for her study, "A Secondary Analysis of Outcomes for Working-Age Adults with a Disability who have Different Case Managers: Evidence from the 1994 National Health Interview Survey--Disability Supplement." Ms. Borglund was awarded $500.

Carol Smith , Assistant Professor of Nursing, is the co-investigator in a study titled "Spirituality and Care of Dying Patients in Nursing Homes" that was awarded a $3,500 grant from the American Nurses Foundation. She has been named a 2001 Hildegard Peplau/ANF Scholar along with the primary investigator with whom she is collaborating on this study.

Margaret Hart , doctoral student in our summer PhD Program who resides in South Dakota, wrote a proposal for the nursing department she heads and received a $360,000 HRSA grant to develop and implement a program that will provide Native Americans (Oglala and Rosebud Sioux) with educated health care providers. At the present time 45,000 people in an area similar in size to the State of Connecticut receive all their health care from doctors and nurses of the Indian Health Services. Under this program grant, a diabetes education specialist, dietary education specialist, and certified nurses aid programs will be developed.

Dr. Janyce Dyer , Associate Dean of the Graduate Programs, was elected to the Nominating Committee of the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, the accreditation body of baccalaureate and master's nursing programs.

Congratulations to Dr. Beverly A. David and Dr. Alexa J. Gooden for completing the PhD in Nursing December 2001. David's dissertation is titled "Adolescent Childbearing: Geographic And Demographic Disparities In Palm Beach County". Gooden's dissertation is titled, "Lived Experiences Of Native American Nurses: The Journey To Earn A Graduate Nursing Degree". Gooden also received the Research Award (Dissertation) at the December Academic Nursing Convocation.

The Division of Nursing expresses its best wishes to Eileen Griffiths , MSN, RN, Professor of Nursing at Miami-Dade Community College who is retiring after 19 years of service to the college and 37 years of service to the nursing profession.