Accolades and Accomplishments Spring 2018

Published Mar 13, 2018 by
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  • Faculty member Kathleen Sitzman was named by Dr. Jean Watson as a Distinguished Watson Caring Science Scholar for initiating, developing and implementing “Caring Sciences and Mindful Practices,” a web-based course focused on Watson’s human caring theory. Less than five scholars have received this distinction in the past 20 years.
  • PhD student Malissa Mulkey was appointed as Chair of the Southern Nursing Research Society Student Network for 2018-2019.
  • Alumna Terri Joyner – BSN 2005, MSN 2013 – was named NC School Nurse Administrator of the Year.
  • The BSN program reported a new NCLEX-RN licensing exam pass rate of 96 percent for 2017. This is compared to a state pass rate of 83% and a national pass rate of 87% during the same time frame. The 3-Year average (2015-17) was 97% compared to the state average of 82% and the national average of 86%.
  • The College of Nursing’s Midwifery program had a 100 percent pass rate for the 13 students who took the national licensing exam in 2017.
  • The College of Nursing’s online graduate programs were ranked 34th in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. The College of Nursing also ranked 14th in the nation for Online Master of Science in Nursing Programs for Veterans.
  • The Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) is providing health care education through the NC Fisheries Association publication, “Tradewinds,” every two months.
  • Nursing students Joanna Paul and Deanna Pilkington received Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Awards for the Fall 2017 semester.
  • Faculty member Dr. Kim Larson was appointed as the co-director of the Health Behavior research cluster. ECU has launched seven research clusters, with an eighth planned later this year. Research clusters are part of a formal university strategy to connect interdisciplinary faculty and researchers who might not have met through traditional means. With the clusters, faculty from across ECU can establish partnerships and combine their talents to advance Chancellor Cecil Staton’s Rural Prosperity Initiative and address pressing health, education and economic disparities.
  • Jean Matthews, GWEP grant team member and alumna, has been appointed to the Agrisafe Network Board of Directors. The AgriSafe™ Network, a non-profit international membership organization, represents health and safety professionals who strive to reduce health disparities found among the agricultural community.
  • Faculty member Dr. Jeanette Avery’s abstract “Medical-Surgical Patients With a Secondary Diagnosis of Medical Illness: How Are Nurses Prepared?” was selected for presentation at Sigma Theta Tau International’s 29th International Research Congress.
  • Faculty member Dr. Terri Floegel was invited to present her scholarly work on the association of posture and ambulation with function at 30 days after hospital discharge in older adults with heart failure at the Aging Research for Junior Faculty Symposium in Washington.
  • Faculty member Dr. Donna Roberson’s scholarly works, “Meeting the HIV prevention needs of older adults” and “Winning the HIV War Through Prevention” were published in The Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (JANAC). Dr. Roberson was elected to the Board of Directors for the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC), an international organization with more than 2,200 members from 60 countries.
  • Faculty members Dr. Donna Lake and Dr. Sonya Hardin were inducted as Fellows in the American Academy of Nursing. The academy is comprised of more than 2,500 nurse leaders in education, management, practice, policy and research. They join five other current ECU College of Nursing faculty members as FAANs.
  • 12 College of Nursing alumni were recognized in this year’s Great 100, a grassroots peer recognition organization honoring the nursing profession in North Carolina. The alumni recognized were: Deborah Carter, Cheryl Gibson, Hannah Hillis, Annette Hines, Frankie Jordan, Janet Moye, Veronica Rankin, Ann Rogers, Harriet Stephenson, Jonni VanderBrink, Christine Walden and Amy Woolard.
  • Beta Nu Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing was selected as a 2017 recipient of the Chapter Key Award. The chapter accepted the award as a 13-time recipient at the chapter awards recognition event on Oct. 30. Beta Nu is one of only two chapters internationally to receive this number of Key Awards.
  • UnitedHealthcare donated $25,000 to the College of Nursing for student scholarships in the Regionally Increasing Baccalaureate Nursing (RIBN) program on Feb. 12.
  • Four Doctor of Nursing Practice FNP students – Maggie Blakemore, Margaret Hinnant, Adrianna Musallam and Erin Smith – joined faculty members Dr. Debra Kosko and Dr. Renee Spain for the interprofessional study abroad trip to Nicaragua in February as part of Project Health for Leon.
  • The College of Nursing celebrated black history month by highlighting the work of the Multi-Cultural Student Nurses Association with a video called “Black History in the Making.”
  • College of Nursing Student Success Advocate Kelly Cleaton, Executive Director of Business and Administrative Affairs Justin Freeman and alumna Ivy Bagley were selected as ECU 40 Under 40 Honorees.
  • Seven individuals from the College of Nursing completed coursework and the certification exam to be credentialed as Agrisafe Certified Providers: Robin Webb Corbett, Sonya Hardin, Jean Matthews, Rubi Merino, Sally Sawyer, Michelle Skipper, and Renee Spain. They join three other faculty members as Agrisafe Certified Providers: Candace Harrington, Ann King, and Debra Kosko.