Spring 2019 – GW Nursing Magazine

September 11, 2020October 9, 2020

Interested in Policy? There’s a DNP for That.

Tony Yang, Pam Jeffries and Jean Johnson walk the hall of the Capitol

GW Nursing this fall will launch a new Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree in the field of health policy.

The 42-credit program, led by Program Director David Keepnews, is for nursing professionals interested in acquiring in-depth knowledge of the health policy process and how to influence policy to improve quality of care, increase access and control costs.

Located in the heart of Washington, D.C., GW is strongly associated with policy. Only blocks from the White House, Capitol Hill and dozens of government and professional organizations, the university will offer students pursuing the DNP the unique opportunity to engage with policymakers at the national level.

Jean Johnson, dean emerita and executive director of GW Nursing’s Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement, said a greater number of nurses are needed who understand the important role policy plays in the nation’s health care.

“There are many very serious health care issues facing our country in terms of cost, access and quality, and nurses need to bring their knowledge of population needs and effective interventions into the policy discussion to improve our health system and provide safer, higher-quality care,” she said.

Opportunities for graduates include consulting firms, educational foundations, health departments, nonprofit groups, academic institutions and governmental organizations.

Mercedes Echevarria, an associate professor and assistant dean for the DNP program, said one of the motivations behind the DNP in Health Policy, which is offered in an online format, is a need to prepare a new generation of nurses who can advocate for patients and the nursing profession as a whole.

“We have a faculty well prepared to teach this material. Some have expertise in research that supports health policy, while others are experienced in advocacy and policy analysis,” she said.

For more information, visit go.gwu.edu/policyDNP.

May 11, 2019October 12, 2020

Alumna Helps Organizations Achieve Nursing Excellence

portrait of GW Nursing alumna Tiffany Bryant

Tiffany Bryant has had a lifelong passion for nursing, which she now employs as a senior magnet program analyst for American Nurses Credentialing Center in Aldie, Virginia.

“My work is different but equally as important in the nursing profession,” she said. “It’s really pushing organizations through innovation and nursing excellence.”

The Loudon County, Virginia, resident had for years looked upon the profession as something noble.

“Nursing allowed me to be a part of an honorable profession,” said Dr. Bryant.

When she started her first nursing program, Dr. Bryant knew she had found her path.

“Once I went to nursing school, I felt good about the work. From when I was still working as a clinical nurse and particularly when I went into education,” she said.

Dr. Bryant graduated from GW Nursing with a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in May 2018.

Throughout the DNP program, Dr. Bryant said, she was able to apply many of the principles she was learning about in her job at the time as an education program specialist at the American Nurses Association (ANA) in Silver Spring, Maryland.

“The coursework and projects all were aligned and enhanced my work with continuing education for the association. It led into my research,” she said.

For her DNP capstone project, Dr. Bryant analyzed nurses’ intent to change their practice and actual practice change after participating in ANA continuing education courses. The result was “Evaluating Transfer of Continuing Education to Nursing Practice.”

Originally, Dr. Bryant said the paper was meant for GW’s doctorate repository. Barely a month after graduation, she contacted The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing to inquire about the possibility of submitting it.

Knowing she would need help and guidance, she reached out to Laurie Posey, an associate professor at GW Nursing and director of the graduate certificate in nursing education, who had been her mentor and academic adviser at GW, to assist her with preparing the paper for submission.

Dr. Bryant praised Dr. Posey on her help throughout the process.“I just can’t say enough about her. She was instrumental and helpful to me,” she said.

Dr. Posey said that Dr. Bryant approached the work as a collaborative effort.

by CRYSTAL SCHELLE

May 11, 2019October 12, 2020

Celebrating Diversity Efforts, HEED Award

Dean Jeffries speaking with GW Nursing leaders and grad students at Innovation Hall

Members of the GW Nursing community, university leaders and local leaders gathered in February in Innovation Hall on the Virginia Science and Technology Campus to formally recognize the school’s Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. Dean Pamela Jeffries unveiled the school’s message of diversity and inclusion, and BSN students presented posters about the social determinants of health.

As a recipient of the annual Health Professions HEED Award — given to health schools and centers that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion — GW Nursing was featured in the December 2018 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.

“Diversity plays an important role in the classroom, health workforce and society,” said Dean Jeffries. “It is an honor to be recognized with the HEED award as diversity initiatives are a strategic priority for GW Nursing.”

INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine selected GW Nursing for a number of factors, including:

Community Outreach

In collaboration with the Rodham Institute, Drs. Sandra Davis and Arlene Pericak created The Health and Community Engaged Passport — an interprofessional approach to teaching nurse practitioner students about the social determinants of health.

Innovative Diversity Education

Macy Faculty Scholar Dr. Ashley Darcy-Mahoney developed and launched “Pediatric Adversity and Early Childhood Development and Health,” a course for nursing and medical students to learn about social factors that shape health.

Health and Wellness

Through the school’s Well-Being Experience, a series of eight sessions, students develop the knowledge and skills to cope with stress and adversity in healthy, proactive ways. GW Nursing aims to educate a generation of nurses who can manage the stress and challenges of an ever-changing health care environment.

May 11, 2019October 12, 2020

From Test-Taking Tactics to Tissues: How Professional Advisers Support Students

Adviser, Hannah Hahn at desk with GW Nursing student

To address non-nursing challenges students face while in school, GW Nursing has added two professional advisers to its Office of Student Affairs.

Chloe Harner works with students from the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, and Hannah Hahn is the adviser for graduate students.

“Professional advisers offer students support and have a clear understanding of program, school and university policies and procedures,” said Jennifer Hayes-Klosteridis, assistant dean for student affairs.

Both Ms. Harner and Ms. Hahn are trained by the National Academic Advising Association and assist students with completing necessary paperwork, registering for courses and navigating degree requirements.

“Our job is to make sure students are in good shape and have the right information when they need it,” Ms. Hahn said.

In addition to ensuring all degree requirements are met, Ms. Hahn said professional advisers help students take “a holistic view of academic life.” Advisers can offer suggestions and resources to help students successfully complete their degrees no matter what challenges they may encounter, she said.

“I’m good at helping people adjust to an accelerated program and be a successful student. I’m not a nurse, so I haven’t been through everything students are going through. For that, they have a faculty mentor,” Ms. Harner said.

With offices at the school’s Virginia Science and Technology Campus location, both advisers are readily available to students.

May 11, 2019October 12, 2020

GW Celebrates ‘Unwavering Commitment’ to Nursing Education

Expanded simulation lab space will enable George Washington University School of Nursing students at all levels to engage in health care simulations and better serve patients.

Students, faculty and staff from GW Nursing gathered in November to celebrate the opening of the new simulation lab space and Student Success Center at Innovation Hall on the Virginia Science and Technology Campus.

With the opening of the simulation lab, the school nearly doubled the amount of space where GW Nursing students can practice patient care and learn from their mistakes in a safe and controlled environment. With an “unwavering commitment” to nursing education, GW President Thomas LeBlanc said the university is committed to building a physical infrastructure that is conducive to fostering student learning and community.

Simulation offers the ability to create real-life scenarios through which students develop, refine and apply knowledge and skills without the risk of harming patients. The newest simulation space was developed for nurse practitioner students who visit campus for skills training and test outs, formative assessments of how students are progressing through the program.

May 11, 2019October 12, 2020

Teaching Healthy Living to Middle Schoolers

Delivering high-quality health care requires knowing more than a patient’s blood pressure, heart rate and weight. Patients are more than these numbers; where they live, what they eat, whether they exercise also play a role in their health. GW Nursing’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students are learning this crucial lesson through a participatory action research project conducted in partnership with the AnBryce Foundation.

“During this project, our nursing students, along with the middle school students whom they taught, learned the importance of social determinants of health and how they can facilitate or impede the making of a heart-healthy community,” said Sandra Davis, the school’s assistant dean for diversity, equity and inclusion, and principal investigator on
this project funded by the NPHF/Astellas Foundation.

This project made such an impact on its community that it was on display in an exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture through May 2019.

The middle schoolers learned by completing a PhotoVoice project in which they explored and documented their surroundings by taking photos, writing commentary on what was unhealthy and noting how their environment could be made healthier.

“Children get used to what they see at home,” said Iris Fountain, a parent who attended the Saturday Institute PhotoVoice Exhibit held at Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School in December. Ms. Fountain pointed out that neighborhoods in the D.C. area can have as many as three liquor stores on one block that open as early as 6 a.m. “If I notice, children notice it,” she said.

Indeed, one student wrote about the prevalence of alcohol.

“The picture on the left shows people drinking liquor and throwing it away in the streets. This shows that there are drunk people who hang out in the community, and that it is full of bottles of liquor,” one student wrote. “The photo can educate people in my community by showing what most people are hooked on, and telling them to cut down the amount of liquor they consume. The picture on the right is an example of how to improve the community. For every one liquor store you have there should be one organic store too.”

Through this project, area middle schoolers learned not only how to take care of themselves, but also how to advocate for and in their communities. GW Nursing BSN students guided the middle school students under instruction by Dr. Davis and her co-principal investigators, Assistant Professors Karen Dawn and Adriana Glenn, as part of the BSN program’s community health portion.

Social and environmental factors—such as education, housing, places to exercise and healthy places to eat—all matter when it comes to heart disease and risk factors for heart disease. Underrepresented groups, especially African Americans, suffer a disproportionate risk factor burden for heart disease. In addition to being one of the poorest cities in the United States, D.C. has one of the highest avoidable death rates from heart disease of all major U.S. cities.

Earlier this month, Ms. Fountain’s son wrote Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan encouraging him to create more community gardens in public areas. This was the Fountains’ first activity with GW Nursing and the AnBryce Foundation, but it will not be the son’s last as he hopes to attend Camp Dogwood, where BSN students provide first aid to campers, later this summer.

by ERIN JULIUS

May 11, 2019October 12, 2020

Forging Lasting Partnerships

Sandra Davis speaking with students at event

Diversity in the health care workforce, continuing education for care providers and building partnerships with community stakeholders are the pillars on which healthy, resilient communities are built, according to Jehan El-Bayoumi, executive director of GW’s Rodham Institute. Dr. El-Bayoumi gave the keynote address this winter at the first annual community partners engagement event.

Community partners from across the Washington, D.C., metro area, and GW and local care providers came together to share their ideas and success stories for relationship-building initiatives at an event themed “It Takes a Community!”

Hosted by GW Nursing, the event aimed “to align the goals of our community partners and faculty to better serve the health and well-being of the Washington, D.C., community,” organizers said.

Dr. El-Bayoumi’s keynote address, “Working Together to Improve the Health and Well-Being of the DMV (District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia),” focused on the broad disparities between different parts of the city as well as some exemplars that have made strides in closing those gaps.

“We at the Rodham Institute like to present not just a problem but a solution,” said Dr. El-Bayoumi before introducing the institute’s three priorities in building health equity: community collaboration, education for health care providers and workforce diversity.

Dr. El-Bayoumi went on to say the model of community partnerships needs to change from one of top-down leadership with one group at the top—be it physicians, nurses or other stakeholders—to a wheel model with rotating leadership. GW Nursing practice and community partners in attendance said the event provided invaluable learning opportunities.

“One of the things that really struck me was the piece about diversity in the workforce,” said Charles Birdie, executive director of the Loudoun Free Clinic. “I’d like to see more minority physicians and health care personnel start to volunteer at the clinic, because I think it’s going to be better for everyone all around. I think the School of Nursing can help us with that.”

GW Nursing sends Bachelor of Science in Nursing students to the Loudoun Free Clinic for clinical assignments, and some students also volunteer there. The partnership has been beneficial for both the clinic and the school, he said.

“I’m really glad GW Nursing put this together, and I’m glad to see it’s the first annual event,” Mr. Birdie said. “I will certainly be back next year.”

by REESE RACKETS

May 11, 2019October 12, 2020

A Week in Uganda

Below is an excerpt from the blog “Rhonda’s GW Adventure,” written by Rhonda Krigbaum, BSN ’18, about a recent GW Nursing international clinical trip.

Uganda has five levels of health care, and we were fortunate to see a level-four health center in the Mukono District. Level one starts out with the Village Health Teams (VHTs) that we worked with throughout the week.

I will never forget walking up to the health clinic and seeing so many moms and children waiting for immunizations. I don’t think I have ever seen so many people waiting for vaccinations in the United States, because typically immunizations are part of regular doctor appointments, but this health center is full on Tuesdays, immunization day. It was encouraging to see so many people eager to get vaccinated, and they seemed to understand the importance of immunizations.

At the clinic they had a laboratory, general appointment rooms, a mental health room, a dentist, a maternity ward, an AIDS ward, a tuberculosis (TB) ward and an OR. They require everyone to take off their shoes in the OR waiting room because wearing shoes is thought to bring in more contamination than a bare foot.

During the trip, we also learned a lot about how common health issues are addressed, for example, how cookstoves are made out of a combination of ant hill mud, grass, water and banana stalks. Cookstoves filter the smoke out of the room to reduce chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma exacerbation.

We were also educated on sleeping with mosquito nets, maintaining immunizations, boiling all water even if from a clean water source, prenatal care, family planning and AIDS/STD prevention, newborn care, vaccinations and healthy foods to eat.

My favorite part of this trip was the blood pressure (BP) screenings we did in several different villages. The average life expectancy in Uganda is 58 years, and the most common cause of death from a chronic condition is cardiovascular disease. Hypertension (elevated blood pressure for those not familiar with medical lingo) is known as a silent killer because you can have high BP for years and not have any symptoms. Ugandans tend to have very high blood pressure (high-salt diet, stress, genetics, etc.). Out of all of the screenings I provided, I think only two people had “normal” blood pressure. About two-thirds of all the villagers I screened had never had their blood pressure taken before and all needed lifestyle education on ways to lower their BP. We made a BP education sheet that was translated into the local language, Luganda, and provided to every person who was screened.

We really got to spread our nursing education and work with the VHTs to train them how to take an accurate BP reading so they can continue to screen and educate their community long after we leave.

I am so proud of this nurse-driven trip and can’t believe how lucky I am to have shared my knowledge and experience on a global scale.

by RHONDA KRIGBAUM

May 11, 2019October 12, 2020

A New Advocate for Geriatric Nursing at GW Aging Center

“I like to eat” may be an unusual entry point for a discussion in gerontological health care, but for Melissa Batchelor it makes perfect sense. Patients with Alzheimer’s or dementia are often robbed of this simple pleasure; swallowing problems can lead to weight loss and choking in patients with middle- and late-stage Alzheimer’s. Sometimes patients may not even recognize the food on their plate.

“There is a huge need for education and training [for Alzheimer’s caregivers], especially around mealtimes,” said Dr. Batchelor, an associate professor of nursing and geriatric nursing researcher.

She specializes in feeding patients with dementia and has advised for and appeared in AARP’s new video series, “Home Alone Alliance,” which teaches family members basic caregiving skills. Dr. Batchelor now brings her advocacy for gerontological patients to her new role as director of GW’s interprofessional Center for Aging, Health and Humanities.

In the classroom, Dr. Batchelor counsels students that “health care is not all about acute care.”

“I think it’s still a pervasive thought for students to not want to work in long-term care, but it’s an exciting and viable career path,” she said.

The center is known for its education programs and innovations in clinical process, and Dr. Batchelor plans to create a group of other researchers and clinicians in aging to build the center’s research capacity. “I want to put GW on the map for excellence in aging education and policy,” she said.

Dr. Batchelor brings the expertise and network needed to expand the center’s reach and influence.

In a previous role at Duke University, Dr. Batchelor was featured in a series of videos for NOSH: Nursing Optimizing Supportive Handfeeding, which demonstrated hand-feeding techniques for nurses and family caregivers of patients with dementia or Alzheimer’s.

As a health and aging policy fellow serving the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging in the office of Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), she worked on the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act. The legislation enabled building of public health infrastructure across the country to combat Alzheimer’s disease and preserve brain health.

The president signed the BOLD Act in December 2018, and Dr. Batchelor is now eager to watch how it will be implemented over the next five to 10 years, she said.

For more information about the Center for Aging, Health and Humanities, visit go.gwu.edu/agingcenter. To see the “Home Alone Alliance” video series, visit go.gwu.edu/HomeAloneAlliance.

by RUTH ADAMS

May 11, 2019October 12, 2020

New Tools of the Trade

A growing body of literature supports the connection between poverty and related social determinants of health in shaping health outcomes, especially in early brain and child development. GW Nursing’s Ashley Darcy-Mahoney, in partnership with the National League for Nursing (NLN), developed an online toolkit aimed at helping nursing schools better educate students on how to identify and address factors not previously considered when providing pediatric care.

“Early detection and management of socioeconomic barriers is an important and emerging component of pediatric scope of practice,” said Dr. Darcy-Mahoney, an associate professor at GW Nursing and director of infant research at GW’s Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute. Expanding pediatric care providers’ scope of practice to include identifying and addressing the social determinants of health will require additions to existing nursing curricula to cover these new topics.

In the new toolkit, Pediatric Adversity and Early Brain Development, Dr. Darcy-Mahoney offers a concise way for faculty in schools of nursing to explore the literature about pediatric adversity and consider ways to integrate the social determinants of health into existing curricula.

By partnering with NLN, Dr. Darcy-Mahoney hopes to leverage the organization’s considerable reach as a leader in nursing education in disseminating the toolkit, she said.

“The rollout of the NLN’s latest Advancing Care Excellence for Pediatrics program was an excellent place for this toolkit to be housed,” she said, describing the program that identified education about social determinants of health as a critical gap in nursing curricula.

This toolkit is aimed at “meeting the growing demand for quality care of children at greatest risk, living in circumstances beset by poverty, neglect and abuse,” Dr. Darcy-Mahoney said. The toolkit is divided into four modules that can be incorporated into a nursing curriculum to “educate future pediatric clinicians in understanding the drivers of inequity and equipping them with the knowledge, skills and courage to build more equitable health systems and organizations.”

The toolkit is free and available for download at:
go.gwu.edu/NLNtoolkit.

by reese rackets