School of nursing news
Student Spotlight: First-generation student rises above challenges to make a lasting gift
Apr 19, 2017The University of Michigan represents several firsts for Alex Fauer. He would be the first in his family to attend college and U-M was his first choice. His parents, while supportive of Fauer pursuing higher education, had reservations.
“They know Michigan is hard school to get into,” said Fauer. “I think because they hadn’t gone through the experience themselves, they were a bit nervous. Money was a factor, of course, and they originally would have preferred for me to live at home and commute to a local school.”
Fauer did explore other universities, but once he... Read more
UMSN faculty and students receive Honors, present research at Midwest Nursing Research Society conference
Apr 14, 2017The University of Michigan School of Nursing (UMSN) was well represented at one of the largest nursing conferences in the region. The Midwest Nursing Research Society (MNRS) has more than 1,300 members from 13 states. The annual MNRS conference is an opportunity for UMSN faculty and students to showcase their work and form new research collaborations.
Janean Holden, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, the Barbara A. Therrien Collegiate Professor of Nursing and UMSN Associate Dean for Research and Rackham Graduate Studies is president of the organization and believes that MRNS is the strongest regional... Read more
Student Spotlight: Nursing senior aiming for the Peace Corps
Apr 10, 2017Hollis Wyatt understood the fundamentals of what a nursing career could be, but she was also inquisitive about opportunities beyond traditional paths.
"'You’ll definitely have a job when you graduate,’ is the first thing most people would say when I told them I was going to nursing school,” said Wyatt. “Then some would say, ‘there are so many different types of jobs you can have,’ and I kept wondering what these mysterious jobs were.”
Nearly four years later, and soon to graduate with her BSN, Wyatt understands the incredibly diverse set of opportunities a nursing degree... Read more
Dean’s Research Day 2017: The science of addictions: From risks to recovery
Apr 10, 2017“I am knocked away by the poster session; I don’t think I’ve ever seen one with that kind of vigor,” said University of Michigan School of Nursing (UMSN) Dean Patricia Hurn, Ph.D., RN, as she greeted the crowd of approximately 200 guests, faculty, staff and students gathered for UMSN’s annual Dean’s Research Day. Eight months into her role as dean, this was the first Dean’s Research Day for Hurn.
The event celebrates nursing research and provides a forum for faculty, students and collaborators to present their work. While the theme focused on addictions, opioids and substance... Read more
Get to know your faculty: Elizabeth “Libby” Brough
Apr 03, 2017Showcasing Strengths
“Tell me an example of you at your best as a nursing student.” That’s how Clinical Instructor Libby Brough, PhD, RN, invites her students to introduce themselves at the start of each semester.
Brough’s focus on positive psychology is a recurring theme in her teaching, research and general view of life. In class, she challenges each student to identify their top five character strengths.
“If you know your own strengths and can leverage them, it’s going to help you enjoy your work more and be more productive,” she explained.
While Brough... Read more
Student Spotlight: Advocate for mothers and midwives
Mar 29, 2017The list of Debra Rhizal’s professional accomplishments is long. She is the owner/operator of Pregnancy Arts in Ann Arbor, which offers childbirth classes and doula services; co-owner of MarasWorld.com, LLC, a website and blog dedicated to providing information and preparation for the childbearing year; certified doula; certified childbirth educator; certified individual and family wellness coach; certified body work healer (reiki and craniosacral therapy), and registered nurse. Now she is on her way to becoming a certified nurse midwife (CNM), earning her degree through the... Read more
Work on diversity, equity and inclusion at UMSN continues, guided by strategic plan
Mar 24, 2017As the semester winds down, work at the School of Nursing towards goals set in the 2016-2021 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Strategic Plan is ramping up. The Implementation Committee, led by Senior Diversity Director Dr. Rushika Patel, has focused on three areas for intense work. These areas are: training and events; inventory and mapping of resources; and tracking and accessibility of relevant data. School-wide effort The committee does not work alone, however. Over 60 faculty, staff and students have joined into three working groups to address these areas. All are welcome and... Read more
Faculty Impact: How anthropology, a lost opportunity and a passion for vulnerable populations came together at UMSN
Mar 17, 2017Megan Eagle’s connection to vulnerable populations literally began the day she was born. At the time, her parents were Peace Corps volunteers serving in New Delhi, India. Through the examples of her parents and her earliest life lessons, Eagle’s interest in helping the people who need it the most became deeply ingrained in her goals.
However, Eagle’s career took a detour before it even got started. It was the late 1980s and the anthropology major had a job lined up immediately after graduation to work on a public health and medical anthropology project in Peru.
“There was a... Read more
Bridging climate and health: New research agenda promoted by UMSN professor
Mar 07, 2017As daffodils are springing up from the ground a month earlier than usual in Ann Arbor, Sue Anne Bell, Ph.D., clinical faculty member at University of Michigan School of Nursing (UMSN) and National Clinical Scholar at the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation (IHPI), is leading the School of Nursing’s Climate Change and Health Seminar Series with the goal of establishing an interdisciplinary program of research addressing the health effects of a changing climate. “My hope is that the seminar calls attention to climate and health across the university,” commented Bell. “The... Read more
Department Spotlight: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at UMSN
Mar 01, 2017Rushika Patel, UMSN’s new senior director of diversity, joined the school this fall and has hit the ground running. Just this month, Patel has arranged two trainings for staff on unconscious bias to be held in room 1330, 400NIB. These are on Tuesday, March 28 from 8:00-9:30 a.m., and Friday, March 31 from 12:00-1:30 p.m. In addition, her immediate plans include the creation of three committees to address DEI objectives. They are: Committee 1, for training and events; Committee 2, for mapping existing DEI related resources, processes, and commitments throughout UMSN; and... Read more
