Leadership in Action: Alumni, Faculty, Staff and Student Milestones
NINR Awards School Five-Year Grant for Symptom Science Training
Sandra Weiss (left) and Christine Miaskowski Sandra Weiss (interim dean, professor and Eschbach Endowed Chair) and Christine Miaskowski (professor and Sharon Lamb Endowed Chair) have received a five-year grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) to implement a training program for biobehavioral research in symptom science. The program will prepare five predoctoral and three postdoctoral trainees each year to design and conduct symptom-focused research that integrates data from biomarkers, social determinants and the symptom experience of patients for a more comprehensive understanding of symptom presentation and management. Training includes coursework on: (1) theories and methods of symptom science; (2) biobehavioral methods for studying symptoms; (3) genomics and other omics (e.g., microbiomics and metabolomics) and; (4) measurement of social determinants. Mentored research and grantsmanship are also integral components of the program. Preparing scholars to advance symptom science through rigorous training in biobehavioral research will enhance understanding of the symptom experience as well as improve symptom prevention, assessment and management.
Faculty Present Perspectives on Global Health Nursing Research
Kimberly Baltzell, Monica McLemore and Sally Rankin The February 20, 2017, online issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene features perspectives from three School of Nursing faculty members on the impact of nursing research on global health.
Kimberly Baltzell, Monica McLemore and Sally Rankin, all from the Department of Family Health Care Nursing and the Center for Global Health, wrote of the global importance of nursing contributions to research on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing and prevention, family planning and combatting Ebola virus.
In the article, they note that, worldwide, nurses care for nine of every 10 patients seen, and that “sound nursing science contributes to solutions that directly impact patient care, especially, those that pertain to infectious disease.”
Laura Wagner Receives Funding for Health Professions Career Development Project
Laura Wagner Laura Wagner, associate professor in the Department of Community Health Systems, has received funding from the UCSF Academy of Medical Educators Innovations Funding program for a project that will provide career development assistance to the first-generation-to-college (FG2C) community.
Beginning in summer 2017, Wagner will coordinate regular workshops and identify potential faculty mentors for FG2C students, and will work in collaboration with the campuswide FG2C initiatives to engage faculty and students across all four UCSF schools.
The Innovations Funding program provides support for faculty projects that promote development of programs and curricula that address the changing health care environment and advance the quality of health care.
CNM/Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Program Wins Funding for Program to Improve Inclusion, Health Disparities Training
Kim Dau, Rebekah Kaplan and Jessica Nghiem The Certified Nurse-Midwife/Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner (CNM/WHNP) program has received a $125,000 grant from California’s Song-Brown Healthcare Workforce Training Program to develop and implement a program to improve the School’s culture of inclusion and develop students’ advocacy and leadership skills in working with vulnerable populations.
Led by the School of Nursing’s Kim Dau, Rebekah Kaplan and Jessica Nghiem, the CNM/WHNP “RN Special Programs” project aims to revamp the health disparities curriculum in partnership with the Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (ZSFG) and Highland Hospital, develop preceptor training on culturally responsive clinical education and incorporate CNM students into the ZSFG Training and Education Programs for Underserved Populations (STEP UP).
Hildy Schell-Chaple to Lead Sessions on Continuous Renal Replacement Therapies
Hildy Schell-Chaple Associate Clinical Professor of Physiological Nursing Hildy Schell-Chaple will lead a pair of sessions on continuous renal replacement therapies (CRRTs) at the annual conference of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses in May. The sessions complement a series of articles on CRRT published in the spring 2017 issue of AACN Advanced Critical Care, which were edited by Schell-Chaple.
CRRT, an alternative to intermittent dialysis for critically ill patients whose kidneys aren’t functioning, is the most common renal support therapy used in clinical care, but evidence-based guidelines for its use have been scarce until recently, says Schell-Chaple. The sessions will address issues raised in the symposium articles, including one co-authored by Ashley Thompson, Fanny Li and A. Kendall Gross, UC San Francisco Medical Center clinical care pharmacists and clinical faculty members in the School of Pharmacy.
Howard Pinderhughes to Deliver “Last Lecture”
Howard Pinderhughes Howard Pinderhughes, associate professor and chair of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, has been selected by UC San Francisco students to deliver the 2017 Last Lecture, in which a prominent professor speaks on various dimensions of his or her career trajectory, including professional, personal and cultural experiences that have been formative.
The Last Lecture has become a tradition on many college campuses since Carnegie Mellon University Professor of Computer Science Randy Pausch delivered a talk on “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” after receiving a diagnosis of terminal pancreatic cancer in 2007.
UCSF inaugurated its Last Lecture series in 2012 with a talk by then-Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann. Pinderhughes will be the first faculty member from the School of Nursing to deliver the lecture, which takes place Thursday, April 13, in Cole Hall Auditorium on the Parnassus campus. On April 8, Pinderhughes also delivered a Discovery Talk at UCSF Alumni Weekend.
Patricia McFarland Receives Jane Norbeck Distinguished Service Award
Patricia McFarland At this year’s UCSF Alumni Weekend, Patricia McFarland received the 2017 Jane Norbeck Distinguished Service Award. Since 1984, the Nursing Alumni Association has honored UCSF School of Nursing’s most accomplished graduates by selecting an annual recipient of this award. Named for former Dean Jane Norbeck (1989-2000), the award honors alumni who have made significant contributions to the nursing profession and have demonstrated service and/or leadership that contributed to the growth and development of the UCSF School of Nursing and/or the profession.
McFarland is CEO of the Association of California Nurse Leaders (ACNL), a professional organization representing nurse leaders in hospitals, health systems, academia, research and business, and executive officer for the California Nursing Students’ Association (CNSA) and the California Association of Colleges of Nursing (CACN). Prior to joining ACNL, she worked in both clinical and administrative fields for Mercy Healthcare Sacramento. Her career has been filled with honors, including the Diane F. Cooper Lifetime Achievement Award from NurseWeek/Nursing Spectrum in 2004, the President's Award from the American Nurses Association\California in 2005, induction into the American Academy of Nursing in 2007 and the AONE Nurse Mentor Award in 2014 for her work mentoring students and nurse leaders.
