The Traditional Option had 130 qualified applicants for 72 openings in spring 2012. A holistic admission process is used to select students who are the best fit for the Undergraduate Program.

New for this option is the Nurse Scholar Program for academically able high school students. Students with exceptional ACT scores and ranking in upper levels of their graduating class may be invited to apply for direct admission to the College as freshmen. This means they will not compete for placement in the clinical program, as long as they maintain a 3.3 grade-point average through their pre-nursing courses. There are currently 11 students who will receive the invitation to be nurse scholars.

The ACCELerated bachelors to BSN option gives students with a bachelor’s degree in another field the opportunity to earn a BSN in one calendar year. The option continues to experience great outcomes and demand. The spring 2012 cohort had 110 qualified applicants for 30 openings. The program maintains partnerships for clinical experiences in a variety of states and continues to seek new clinical partnerships in additional states. Fall 2012 will mark the first international clinical placement with a student at Landstuhl Air Force Base in Germany.

College of nursing's traditional option graduating class appeared on Good Morning America's special segment of "Your Three Words" that aired on New Year's Day 2012, where they expressed themselves as "69 new nurses!"

The BSN completion option is comprised of the BSN@Home throughout the state of Wisconsin, Soar Ahead-Janesville and Sail Ahead-Lakeshore. This option is the cost-effective online program for ADN and Diploma RNs to complete their BSNs. There is no wait list for these programs, which serve students in every corner of the state.

The BSN completion option is favored by working RNs because of year-round classes and an individualized BSN class
completion schedule for each RN. Also, advisers use technology, such as Skype, to minimize travel for students and no travel is required to the Oshkosh campus. A surge in enrollment reflects the documented high student satisfaction with this option with more than 90 RNs starting their BSN completion program this academic year.

Learn more about the Undergraduate Program.

Larson, who was born in Michigan, spent her early years in Door County and Appleton. In 1945, she graduated from Michael Reese Hospital School of Nursing and eventually became the hospital’s nurse administrator. After earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Case Western Reserve University, Larson became a nurse educator and served at schools of nursing in several states.

In 1966, Larson returned to Wisconsin to help establish the new College of Nursing at UW Oshkosh. Together with four other founders, she developed the College’s first curriculum, comprised of 142 credits in eight semesters and two summer sessions. The curriculum was uniquely organized around the nursing process, with an emphasis on the nurse-patient relationship and a focus on understanding the patient’s perception of
health and illness.

Rosemary Smith, College of Nursing dean, said Larson holds an important place in the College’s history. “Since our founding in 1966, the College of Nursing’s reputation is one of nursing excellence. Just as she established with the initial curriculum, our curriculum today has a strong patient-centered nursing care focus.”

As an associate professor, Larson taught a variety of adult health and management classes to undergraduate students until her retirement in 1991. During her 25-year tenure, she received numerous honors, including UW Oshkosh’s Outstanding Teacher Award in 1984. She was named the Appleton District Nurses Association’s Outstanding Nurse Educator in 1985.

The College is now Wisconsin’s largest producer of BSNs with more than 230 BSN graduates annually and 5,812 alumni. The College offers multiple Undergraduate Program options, including the traditional option, the accelerated option and the BSN completion option as well as a Graduate Program with emphases in Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL), Nurse Educator and the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP).

Top UW Oshkosh alumni serve as leaders in evidence-based practice

Traditional nursing practices—think bed rest, sponge baths and hospital corners—often were developed by trial and error and passed on through generations of nurses in religious and military service.

Today, modern healthcare requires nurses to collaborate with interdisciplinary treatment teams to deliver scientific or evidence-based practices to their patients. They ask a multitude of questions and take into account a whole host of factors, including their patient’s age, medical history and cultural background, before determining the best course of action.

“Nursing is an evolving science and very individualized,” said Rosemary Smith, dean of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s College of Nursing. “For example, we used to turn patients confined to their hospital beds every two hours to prevent bedsores. Now we know from scientific research that more continuous body movement is necessary.”

Some of UW Oshkosh’s top nursing alumni are leaders in providing evidence-based practice throughout the lifespan in clinical and educational settings alike.

“When I provide care, using evidence-based information allows me to talk with the family about why it is important to do the recommended treatment, but I also can back up my information by discussing how it has been tested and proven to be the best option.” – Michele Polfuss BSN ’96, MSN, Ph.D.

Pediatric practice
A 2007 recipient of UW Oshkosh’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award, Michele Polfuss BSN ’96, MSN, Ph.D., of Appleton, is a certified pediatric nurse practitioner. She treats children who have diabetes and other endocrine problems at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, serves as a clinical instructor at Marquette University and studies childhood obesity.

At Children’s Hospital, Polfuss works with a team of physicians, nurse practitioners and nurses to care for children and their families who are dealing with a variety of concerns related to the endocrine system.

“Any time you work with children (or any other individual), you want to be sure that you are treating them according to guidelines or treatment protocols that are based on solid evidence,” she said. “It would be frightening and unsafe if healthcare providers performed their care based on hunches.”

Polfuss is responsible for obtaining the child’s history and physical, ordering laboratory or radiology tests, diagnosing and treating the child through ordering or adjusting medication or through lifestyle recommendations and educating the family on the child’s care and/or treatment.

“When I provide care, using evidence-based information allows me to talk with the family about why it is important to do the recommended treatment, but I also can back up my information by discussing how it has been tested and proven to be the best option,” Polfuss said.

One example of evidence-based care for overweight children is using a technique called “motivational interviewing” when discussing nutrition and exercise changes that could be hard for the child and family to make.

“Motivational interviewing is a way to talk to a patient to assess how ready they are to make a behavior change versus telling them what they need to do,” she explained. “This process allows individuals to guide their own treatment and lets the provider guide the process.”

Polfuss is excited that nurses are not only providing the care but also playing an integral role on the healthcare team to produce the evidence-based information.

“Working directly with patients allows nurses to observe how the care they provide impacts the individual. If we believe something else may work better or benefit the family, we are able to perform research and test our ideas,” she said.

Public health nurse Cindy Brylski BSN ’95, consults with a client.

Maternal matters
UW Oshkosh alumna Cindy Brylski BSN ’95, of Greenville, works as a public health nurse and lactation consultant for Outagamie County and as an on-call lactation consultant with ThedaCare hospitals. As a public health nurse, she provides information about community resources and helps address clients’ barriers to getting connected to those resources.

“We also provide education throughout the pregnancy regarding what to expect during the prenatal and postpartum periods, and when to call the doctor if there is a concern. I make home or office visits to anyone in our jurisdiction in need of lactation support services,” Brylski said.

She also co-chairs the Breastfeeding Alliance of Northeast Wisconsin and is involved with the Fox Valley Postpartum Depression Task Force, which is a community group dedicated to education regarding postpartum depression.

In her work, both communicable disease and immunization follow-up are determined by evidence-based practice.

“Continual training and updates are required in public health and in hospital settings to assure the care we deliver is based on the most current evidence,” she said.

For instance, during nursing school and Brylski’s first few years working in the field, it was a common practice to aspirate (pull back on the plunger after insertion but before injection) when giving vaccines. “However, in 2002 the General

Recommendations on Immunization no longer recommended aspiration before injection, since no data existed to document the necessity of this procedure,” she explained.

Another example involves medical advice about parents co-sleeping with their babies. “When I went back to school as a nontraditional student, co-sleeping was not discouraged and sometimes recommended so moms and dads could get more sleep. But since the mid-1990s, strong evidence has proven it is not safe for babies to sleep with their parents,” Brylski said.

Maria Brenny-Fitzpatrick MSN ’05 reviews a medical chart with a patient.

Geriatric care
When UWO alumna Maria Brenny-Fitzpatrick MSN ’05, was an undergraduate nursing student at the College of St. Teresa in Winona, Minn., there was little mention of evidence-based practice.

“Quite frankly, those involved with nursing research were sometimes considered a bit ‘out there,’ and those nurses who questioned the status quo were frequently thought of as irksome and troublemakers,” she said. “Nurses were educated to practice based on long-standing traditions, beliefs, intuition and clinical experience.”

Now, evidence-based practice is the order of the day for the co-founder and team leader of the University of Wisconsin Hospital’s Acute Care for Elders Interdisciplinary Consult Team.

Brenny-Fitzpatrick provides guidance on the care of geriatric patients and their families and serves as a mentor for nursing students. Recently promoted to transitional care program director for the UW-Health System, she works to define a shared vision for care transitions.

“I work side by side daily with doctors, pharmacists, physical therapists and social workers. The expectation in the group is that the recommendations we provide are evidence-based whenever possible,” she said. “As an example, our pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for delirious patients are based on the most current research and literature findings.”

Delirium, a sudden onset of confusion, is a common, life-threatening and potentially preventable clinical syndrome among hospitalized elderly patients.

“Whereas years ago, the agitated delirious patient may have been sedated, restrained or even secluded in a quiet darkened room, today nurses are encouraged to individualize interventions for each patient guided by the patient’s medical history, findings on physical and neurological examination and the clinical setting,” Brenny-Fitzpatrick explained.

The prevention and treatment of delirium involves dealing with the underlying cause and addressing sensory issues, pain, mobility and other factors.

“Nurses are required to be critical thinkers in choosing which evidence-based intervention they will use, and they also need to be true interdisciplinary team players since many interventions require a team assessment and approach,” she said.

To ensure that the best patient care continues to evolve, Brylski, Brenny-Fitzpatrick and Pohlfuss all stress how important it is for nursing students to learn strategies for delivering evidence-based practice.

Brenny-Fitzpatrick noted that students should be supported with the time, mentors and the necessary technology to allow access to databases and literature.

Brylski agrees. “I think it is imperative that today’s nursing students learn evidence-based practice skills. It is the process of research, observation and experience. Critical-thinking skills are necessary in searching for, assessing and applying the literature to current practice,” she said. “Practice needs to evolve with current evidence.”

More about the College of Nursing.

Alumni Donors in 2011

1971
Jane C. Mlsna

1972
Mary Gibbons ~
Connie L. Moran

1973
Joan F. Carlson
Rebecca L. Cleveland
Barbara Linton
Tanya L. Shawcroft

1974
Greg Gibbons ~
Joan D. Hauer MSN ’78
Mary Novak Jandrey ~

1976
Marsh L. Brightman MSN ’81
Kathleen L. Cary

1977
Mary Barker MSN ’77
Eileen Lukes

1979
Margaret L. Cardiff
Cheryl L. Mellenthin ~

1980
Gabriele E. Darch
Laurie J. Natzke

1981
Barbara J. Byrne
Mary A. Krevans

1982
Sherry L. Krautkramer

1983
Jamie G. Bonell MSN ’86
Judith A. Westphal MSN ’90

1984
Diane D. Egan

1985
Susan Ashton
Tina M. Bettin MSN ’89
Jane Kreplick
Michael T. Wolf

1986
Patricia J. Vander Loop MSN ’95

1987
William T. Lecher

1988
Luann Danielski
Bonnie Schmidt

1989
Shirley A. Frost MSN ’97
Angelica M. Osborne
Beverly J. Teachout
Patricia M. Stapleton MSN ’89

1990
Timothy L. Sprouse

1991
Joseph J. Redding

1992
Denise M. Klubertanz ~

1994
Sharon Chappy MSN ’94 ~

1996
M. Kathleen Murphy MSN ’96
Traci C. Rohmeyer

1997
Heather K. Klauer
Cori L. Matuszek

1998
Abby T. Swan

1999
Rachelle J. Lancaster ~
Kimberly A. Udlis MSN ’99 ~

2001
Evelyn M. Furrer
Tammy M. Rockweiler MSN ’01

2003
Theresa M. Lenaghan MSN ’03
Maria D. Wolf MSN ’03

2006
Matthew Mangan

2008
Kristi L. Siolkowski

Dean’s Club members are those who have given gifts of $500 or more to the College of Nursing in a calendar year.

Roger and Marie Able
Affinity Health System
Agnesian HealthCare
Aurora Health Care
Sharon L. Chappy ’94 MSN and Michael Chappy
Theo H. Cholewinski
Community Health Network
Department of Health Services
Dr. & Mrs. Hugh A. Kennedy Foundation
Nancy Elsberry
Evergreen Retirement Community
Fox Valley District Nurses Association
Greg Gibbons ’74 BSN and Mary Gibbons ’72 BSN
Denise M. Klubertanz ’92 BSN
Rachelle J. Lancaster ’99 BSN
Estate of Elizabeth R. Larson
Phyllis L. Leach
Lutheran Community Foundation
Lutheran Homes of Oshkosh
Cheryl Mellenthin ’79 BSN and Mark Chapman
Mary Novak-Jandrey ’74 BSN and Edward Novak-Jandrey
Gift in Memory of Thomas A. Plein
Oshkosh Area Community Foundation
Oshkosh Student Nurses’ Association
Ripon Medical Center
Theda Care
Kim Udlis ’99 MSN and Seth Udlis

CON Student Donors
Cassandra Cook
Heather Herman
Dragana Radic
Sara Reed
Danielle L. Robach
Collette Swensen
Kelly M. Xiong

Alumni Donors from other UWO Colleges
Marie D. Able ’85 MBA ~
Annette L. Blanchette ’60 BS
Craig B. Darch ’74 MSE
Julie A. Lemanski ’76 BS
Seth D. Udlis ’03 MBA
Daniel W. Westphal ’74 BS

CON Non-Alumni Donors
Roger W. Able ~
Affinity Health System ~
Agnesian Heathcare ~
Janice Andrews
Anonymous Donors
Aspirus Wausau Hospital
Aurora Health Care ~
Ellen Beltz
Theo H. Cholewinski ~
Community Health Network ~
Department of Health Services ~
Dr. & Mrs. Hugh A. Kennedy Foundation ~
Joel Edson
Nancy Elsberry ~
Evergreen Retirement Community ~
Fox Valley District Nurses Association ~
Rosann M. Geiser
Joni Hahn
Kayla J. Hamm
Suzanne Harness
Holy Rosary P.C.C.W.
Colleen Huseboe
Howard and Harriet Iwen
Karen Johnson
Sally Killoran
Kelly A. Lagman
Estate of Elizabeth R. Larson ~
Phyllis Leach ~
Lola Lendrum
Lutheran Community Foundation ~
Lutheran Homes of Oshkosh ~
Suzanne Marnocha
Diane M. Matyas
Mercy Medical Center Volunteers ~
Lisa Mordan
Sandra J. O’Neill
Oshkosh Area Community Foundation ~
Oshkosh Student Nurses Association ~
P.C.C.W.
Rita Pierce
Ripon Medical Center ~
Susan Scheel
Donna J. Schluter
Rosemary K. Smith
Lisa R. Starr-Nelson
The Boeing Gift Matching Program
ThedaCare ~
Deborah M. Walrath
Rosemary C. Wittchow

Opportunities to support the College of Nursing.

*Service on board has ended.

The spring 2011 Kennedy Nursing Fellows are Theresa Buggs, Mayville; Cassandra Cooke, Pestigo; Amanda Morton, Litchfield Park, Ariz; Lindsay Mulholland, Greenville; Kelsey Pekarske, Randolph; Dragana Radic, Appleton; Danielle Robach, Rice Lake; Lindsey Scheel Oshkosh; Collette Swenson, Watertown; and Kimberly VanBuskirk, Waunakee.

The fall 2011 Kennedy Nursing Fellows are Amy Bartelt, Chilton; Mary K. Blank, Ixonia; Bethany Busch, Oshkosh; Heather Herman, Omro; Gina M. Kaczmarek, Stevens Point; Christine Kalies, Denver, Colo.; Jessica Kramer, Lone Rock; Sara Reed, North Fond du Lac; Heather Shantz, LaCrosse; Kalya Stelzner, Winneconne; Gretchen Theis, Winona, Minn.; and Kelly Xiong, Appleton.

“The Kennedy Nursing Fellow Scholarships allow the College to recognize and champion the commitment to excellence of our top nursing students,” said Rosemary Smith, College of Nursing dean. “We appreciate the confidence that the Dr. and Mrs. Hugh A. Kennedy Foundation has placed in our nursing program, and their commitment to advancing our work of developing the very best nurses for tomorrow.”

Due to generous donors, the College also added four new endowed scholarships in 2011. They include the Patricia M. Noble Scholarship, established by the assistant director of our Advanced Practice Nursing Graduate Program, Kim Udlis Ph.D., FNP-BC, APNP; the Willard and Margaret Blanke Nursing Scholarship, established by Graduate Program Director and Assistant Dean Sharon Chappy, Ph.D., RN, CNOR; the Oshkosh Student Nurses’ Association Scholarship; and the Faculty and Staff-Sponsored Nursing Scholarship. These endowments will strengthen our College and help future generations of students complete their education.

You can make a donation to the College or any of the College’s scholarships online, where you will find a comprehensive list of all College scholarships available and a link to the online giving form. You also can mail your gift to 842 Algoma Blvd., Oshkosh, WI 54901-3551. Checks can be made to the UW Oshkosh Foundation; please reference the College of Nursing or the scholarship of your choosing in the memo. Thank you for your continued support of our College and nursing students.

From the left: Nursing student Derrick Ferry MSN, RN, with instructor Sharon Chappy Ph.D., RN, CNOR; and students Mary Jo Heise BSN, RN; and My See Luangia BSN, RN, during the annual Celebration of Scholarship in 2011.

Exemplars in teaching, scholarship and practice, the College of Nursing (CON) faculty and instructional academic staff have continuously engaged in evidence-based practice. The best way to demonstrate such engagement is through scholarship, evidenced by the plethora of presentations, publications and grants.

Both graduate and undergraduate students have benefited from learning about research by being a part of research teams led by faculty members Sharon Chappy, Jaya Jambunathan, Suzanne Marnocha and Judy Westphal. Faculty members also are involved in scholarly activities pertaining to their own research agenda (see presentations and publications).

Some of the projects described below have resulted from a collaborative partnership with Affinity Health System (AHS). These projects engage students, faculty and AHS staff in evidence-based practice projects.

Sharon Chappy
(collaborative projects with AHS):

• Determining best practice treatment guidelines for patients who present to the emergency department with chronic back pain, chronic abdominal pain and chronic migraine headache pain. Graduate students are Derrick Ferry, Mary Jo Heise and My See Luangla.

• Determining best practices for on-boarding new graduate nurses hired at Affinity Health Care.

Jaya Jambunathan
(collaborative project with AHS):

• Developing an Elopement Risk Assess-ment (ERA) tool for acute care inpatients: The purpose is to develop an evidence-based elopement risk assessment tool to use in acute care inpatient settings and to develop a computer-based training program for staff members about the importance and process of ERA. Graduate students are Monica Braun, Kathryn Hanson and Richard Kiraly.

Suzanne Marnocha
(collaborative Project with AHS):

• Assessing proficiency: EKG rhythm analysis and patient treatment: The purpose is to determine staff proficiency (new staff RNs, RNs required to retest annually and educators who oversee the EKG assessment process) in EKG telemetry for various patient populations and to develop an evidence-based EKG telemetry education program for RNs at AHS. Undergraduate students are Morgan Copeland, Ashley Friedenfils, Rebecca Sealey and Colette Swensen.

Judy Westphal

• A Pilot Study on Self-Directed Learning Readiness of Graduate Nursing Students: The purpose is to assess the self-directed learning readiness levels of graduate nursing students in face to face, online and hybrid courses. Student members are Donna Hawley, Dacia Hermes and Carol Lauer.

• Analysis of Nurse Educator Character-istics Phase II Project: The purpose is to describe the characteristics of nurse educators in the United States. Student members are Jenifer Basten, Angela Darnick and Lesley Fuerst.

• Tiffany-Laughlin Jones ’11 MSN, won the graduate student Poster Research Award at the University Scholarship Day in April 2011, for her research The Experience of Infertility from the Male Perspective.

Elected /Appointed

Chappy, S. Research Section Editor, AORN Journal, 2012–2014.
Chappy, S. Appointed, Lakeshore Technical College District Board, 2011–2014.
Jambunathan, J. Reappointed, Affinity Institutional Review Board, 2011–2014.
MacWilliams, B. Elected, National Board of Directors for the Assembly of Men in Nursing, 2010–2012.
Marnocha, S. Appointed, Wisconsin Nurses Association Mentoring Programs for Novice Nurses Planning Committee, 2011.
Marnocha, S. Elected, Wisconsin Organization of Nurse Executives, Board of Directors, 2010–2012.
Marnocha, S. Appointed, Fox Valley Healthcare Alliance, Co-chair, 2012–2014.
Marnocha, S. Elected, Lutheran Homes of Oshkosh, Board of Directors, 2012–2015.
Smith, R. Appointed, Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education Accreditation Evaluator. Washington, D.C.
Smith, R. Appointed, Aurora Health Care North Inc. Board of Directors, Oshkosh, Wis.
Udlis, K. Elected, Wisconsin Nurses Foundation Board of Directors, 2011–2014.
Wurzbach, M.E. Elected, Wisconsin Nurses’ Association. Online Education Advisory Committee, 2011–2013.

Grants

Chappy, S., Udlis, K., and Jambunathan, J. Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship, Health Resources Service Administration ($32,575).
Westphal, J. Self-Directed Learning Readiness of Nursing Students. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Starter Grant, UW Oshkosh.

Honors and Awards

Chappy, S. Endowed Professorship: EAA and C.R. Meyer Endowed Professor, UW Oshkosh, September 2010.
McNeil, P. Geriatric Nursing Scholar Award 2010–2011, Minnesota Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence, Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Presentations / Posters

Foth, J., and Jambunathan, J. The Process of Deciding to Lose Weight: A Qualitative Pilot Study of Young Women, Midwest Nursing Research Society (MNRS) conference, Columbus, Ohio, March 2011.
Marnocha, S. Military Wives’ Adaptation and Coping During Wartime, MNRS conference, Columbus, Ohio. March 2011.
Marnocha, S. Women’s Experience of Perimenopause and Menopause. MNRS conference, Columbus, Ohio, March 2011.
Westphal, J. Analysis of Nursing Faculty Trends Using the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses 2000, 2004, 2008; MNRS conference. Columbus, Ohio, March 2011.

Papers

Bonis, S. Journal Club To Promote Understanding in a Community Pediatric Clinic. University of Wisconsin President’s Summit, Madison, Wis., April 2011.
Bonis, S. Contentment in “Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey through Autism:”A Human Becoming Hermeneutic Study. MNRS conference, Columbus, Ohio, March 2011.
Chapin, T. and Chappy, S. Creating Engagement and Accountability. Engaging Students with ‘Multiple Patient Day’ Activities. 23rd Annual Conference for Teachers of Nursing Practice Interactive Learning, Madison, Wis., January 2011.
Chappy, S. Teaching Excellence: The First DNP Course, University of Wisconsin President’s Summit, Madison, Wis., April 2011.
Cleveland, R., and Marnocha, S. Improving Clinical Communication: Hospital Staff, Nursing Students and Instructors. Podium presentation Wisconsin Health Improvement and Research Partner’s Forum, sponsored by the Wisconsin Research and Education Network, UW–Madison Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, 2011.
Jambunathan, J., Bonis, S., and Chappy, S. Using an Evidence-Based Framework to Assess Effectiveness of Electronic Medical Record and Simulation To Enhance Clinical Learning in Nursing Students, Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, India, January 2011.
Jambunathan, J. Overview of American Nurses Credentialing Centre Magnet Recognition Program: Forces of Magnetism. Global Hospitals and Health City, Chennai, India, January 2011.
Kunde, A., and Jambunathan, J. Being a Nurse: Perceptions of Baccalaureate Nurses One Year Post Graduation from an Accelerated Program. MNRS, Columbus, Ohio, March 2011.
Marnocha, S. Women Coping: Spouses in Surgery, Spouses in Combat. Psychological Association State Conference, Middleton, Wis., 2011.
MacWilliams, B. Rising of the Novice Clinician: A Grounded Theory. American Assembly of Men in Nursing, Duke University, N.C., 2011.
Smith, R. Inaugural and keynote address: Innovations in Nursing Education and Practice through Evidence Based Research: Paramount Importance, Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, India, January 2011.
Smith, R. Changing Culture of Health Care Delivery: Implications for Professional Nursing Leadership (IOM), Transformational Leadership. Global Hospitals and Health City, Chennai, India, January 2011.
Wurzbach, M.E., Chappy, S., and Udlis, K. The First Course in the Doctorate of Nursing Practice at UW Oshkosh—Our Educational Journal. President’s Summit on Excellence in Teaching and Learning UW System, Madison, Wis., April 2011.
Wurzbach, M.E. Moral Integrity—Why It Matters. Keynote address, Sigma Theta Tau Eta Pi Chapter Induction Ceremony, Oshkosh, April 2011.

Publications

Johnson, K.H., Bergren, M.D. and L.O. Westbrook (2012). The Promise of Standardized Data Collection: School Health Variables Identified by States. Journal of School Nursing, E-publication ahead of print.
Bergren, M.D. (2011, May 24). Health Care Utilization for Children Dependent on Long-Term Mechanical Ventilation: Impact on U.S. Public Schools. [eLetter] Pediatrics. doi:10.1542/peds.2010–2026.
Johnson, K.H. and Bergren, M.D. (2011). Meaningful Use of School Health Data. Journal School Nursing, 27, 102–110.
Vollinger, L., Bergren, M.D., and Belmonte, F. (2011). Substitutes for School Nurses. Journal School Nursing, 27, 111–119.
Groves, P.S., Rawl, S.M., Wurzbach, M.E., Fahrenwald, N.L., Cohen.M.Z., McCarthy Beckett, D.O., Zerwic, J(2011). Secrets of Successful Small Grant Applications. Western Journal of Nursing Research, XX(X), 1–18.
Marnocha, S., Dempsey, L. and Bergstrom, M. (2011). Women’s Experience of Perimenopause and Menopause, Contemporary Nurse, 37(2), 229–240.
Schmidt, B., and MacWilliams, B. (2011). Admission Criteria for Undergraduate Nursing Programs: A Systematic Review. Nurse Educator, 36(4), 171–174.
Udlis, K.A. (2011). Self-Management in Chronic Illness—A Dimensional and Concept Analysis. Journal of Nursing and Healthcare in Chronic Illness, 3(2), 130–139.

Learn more at the Nursing Research Office.

Peter Schindler, BSN '12

Knowledge of culture, international nursing practices and real-world experience are among the skills a group of University of Wisconsin Oshkosh College of Nursing students brought home with them following a study trip to Peru last spring.

“This partnership allows students to meet their community clinical course objectives while becoming immersed in a new and diverse culture,” said Patricia Vander Loop, assistant clinical professor.

The students traveled to the Alto Cayma area, which is a small, rural community near the major city of Arequipa. The group also traveled to Lima, Puno and Cusco.

“The 21 students volunteered in a kitchen that serves approximately 800 people living in poverty, they assisted in care of children in the daycare, did home visits and demographic surveys, and cared for individuals and families in the health clinic,” Vander Loop said.

Brittany Wall BSN ’12, of Mount Horeb, who was a senior nursing student at the time, said she was thankful for the opportunity to interact with the people of Peru and give them invaluable nursing advice.

“Being able to use our nursing expertise while providing nursing care and advice to people who would otherwise have none was truly a priceless experience,” Wall said.

Sarina Gitter, BSN '12

She also said the trip gave her a greater appreciation for technology’s role.

“Actively participating in the healthcare team at the clinics and hospitals taught me the importance of looking at the patient, not the machine, to determine the problem,” she said. “I really had to rely on my instincts and observational skills.”

The conditions in Peru also forced the students to learn about themselves. “They were exposed to extreme poverty and very sad stories,” Vander Loop said. “The final conclusions focused on the value of community members that work and care for each other. They commented frequently that this experience would help them to care for families in the U.S. with an eager and open-minded attitude.”

International study opportunities through the College of Nursing.

Contributed by Audralynn See ’12

Photos by Patricia Vander Loop

Clinical Nurse Leader instructor Diane Park, center, leads patient rounds to promote better communication among healthcare team members and improve outcomes.

University of Wisconsin Oshkosh alumna Diane Park, MSN, RN, CNL, CRRN, is making a difference in nursing care in Wisconsin and beyond. As a graduate of the MSN program with the Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) emphasis in 2009, Park has been busy spreading the word about the benefits of the CNL role locally, regionally and nationally.

Park is the CNL coordinator in the  graduate emphasis at UW Oshkosh. In the last few years, enrollment in the CNL emphasis has grown exponentially, in part due to Park’s promotion of the role among nursing leaders across the state. She emphasizes how CNLs can positively impact patient and staff outcomes.

Nationally, there is heightened attention to quality and safety related to patient care. Clinical nurse leaders have advanced education to enhance patient safety measures and to continually improve care that is delivered to patients in a multitude of settings. Nurses who complete the graduate CNL emphasis are eligible for national certification, attesting to their competence.

Park also works as the Primary Stroke Center coordinator at Agnesian HealthCare in Fond du Lac. She oversees the care coordination of patients who have had strokes and transient ischemic attacks. She evaluates and improves outcomes of patients who have suffered from these neurological deficits and puts evidence-based practice into action to ensure that patients benefit from the latest innovations in care delivery.

Recently, Park was recognized by national leaders at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, when she was asked to be on the Planning Committee for the 2012 CNL Summit, held in Tampa Fla. At the meeting, CNLs from across the nation meet to learn and share successes.

Park has worked closely with Sharon Chappy, Graduate Program director and assistant dean, to develop the CNL specialty curriculum and promote the CNL emphasis offered at UW Oshkosh. The program is 100 percent online, making it attractive to working nurses across the state and beyond.

If any nurse leaders or potential students are interested in hearing more, contact Chappy at chappy@uwosh.edu or call the Graduate Program Office at (920) 424-2106.