News
Students at the 2006 Nursing Honors Convocation are Cheered on by Capacity Crowd
Approximately 400 students, family members, friends and faculty filled Founders Chapel to standing room only on Friday, May 26th, for the Annual Nursing School Honors Convocation. Dean Sally Brosz Hardin and Msgr. Daniel Dillabough presided over the ceremony which included the presentation of graduate and student awards and the pinning ceremony for the B.S.N. and Master’s Entry Program in Nursing (M.E.P.N.) students. A reception, hosted by the School of Nursing was held prior to the event, and the convocation was followed by the annual GNSA/Nursing School dinner which took place at the Dana Point Inn.
Graduation ceremonies for 7 B.S.N. students, 38 M.S.N. students, and 22 Ph.D. students took place on Saturday, May 26, at the USD Jenny Craig Pavilion.
 SON Faculty with pinned and graduating students at the 2006 Convocation ceremony.
|
Big Turnout for Janet A. Rodgers Nursing Lectureship
The 18th Annual Janet A. Rodgers Nursing Lectureship was held on March 6 at the USD Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice. Approximately 250 nursing alumni, students, faculty and community health care professionals attended the event. A reception followed the lectureship. Ruth McCorkle, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., professor of nursing and director of the center for excellence in chronic illness care at the Yale School of Nursing, presented the lecture. Recently named Nurse Scientist of the Year by the council of Nurse Researchers of the American Nurses Association, McCorkle’s presentation focused on helping cancer patients and families enrich the quality of their lives. Her research has demonstrated that families and patients benefit physically and emotionally when expert home health nursing care is provided.
 Dean Emeritus Janet Rodgers with guest lecturer Dr. Ruth McCorkle.
|
Dean Hardin Bids Fond Farwell to Joe Passaretti
It is with ambivalent feelings of sadness and joy that I have accepted the resignation of Joe Passaretti. I am sad to see Joe leave because of the wonderful job he has done as Director of Development in the School of Nursing. Also, on a personal level, I have very much enjoyed working with Joe and appreciated his creative ideas, sense of responsibility, and commitment to the School and the University. I consider him and his wife, Yen, to be good friends. However, I am joyful for Joe and his entire family that he has accepted an excellent new position as Senior Development Director for University Initiatives at San Diego State University.
Joe has said, “It is very bittersweet to leave the school, which has been a wonderful part of my life . . . While I look forward to my new position, I wish only the best to both the nursing school and U.S.D. in the future.” On behalf of all of our faculty and staff, we wish Joe all the best in this wonderful new chapter in his life.
 Joseph Passaretti, Jr.
|
Phil Plouffe Retires After 27 Years and 3 Deans!
Phil Plouffe retired after 27 years of dedicated service as our school’s Media Technician. "Dr." Phil is one of only a few who have had the privilege of serving under all three of the school’s deans. On June 29, family, friends, faculty, and staff celebrated Phil's many accomplishments with a South Pacific Party on the school's terrace. Featured were the school's "Nightingales," who sang a South Pacific musical tribute to thank him for all he has done for our school and university. He will be greatly missed by all.
 Phil Plouffe with Dean Sally Hardin (right) and Dean Emeriti Irene Palmer (seated) and Janet Rodgers.
|
Office of Nursing Research Opens
The School of Nursing officially has opened its new Office of Nursing Research. Office staff includes Drs. Martha Ann Carey, Dale Glaser, and John Fontanesi.
Martha Ann Carey, Ph.D., R.N., will serve as a nursing research consultant to faculty on foundation and federal research grants. She has been a Consultant and Program Director at federal research agencies such as N.I.H., N.I.N.R., N.I.M.H., S.A.M.H.S.A., and G.A.O. Dr. Carey also has a broad background in developing and monitoring programs of research as well as planning and overseeing grant reviews. Carey served as an investigator on an H.IV/AIDS services research federally funded study, project director for an HIV study in the military, and has assisted with other funded studies.
Dale Glaser, Ph.D., joins the Office of Nursing Research as an adjunct professor of statistics. Glaser's educational training is in the psychological sciences and he has extensive experience in consulting/instructing statistical, psychometric, and methodological/survey research techniques. Glaser also has expertise in advanced multivariate domains such as structural equation modeling and multilevel modeling, which has major advantages when doing longitudinal clinical research. He will offer a Faculty Workshop on this topic at the annual Faculty Retreat. Glaser will work primarily with faculty on preparing the analyses sections of research and foundation grants.
John Fontanesi, Ph.D., will join the Office of Nursing Research as an adjunct professor of research methodology. He also will remain a professor in UCSD’s School of Medicine in the departments of Pediatrics and Family and Preventive Medicine, and Executive Director of the Center for Management Science in Health. Dr. Fontanesi comes to us with a rich research background in which he has served as the Principle or Co-Investigator on more then a dozen grants and contracts emphasizing translation of quality improvement techniques to healthcare with numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals in medicine, operational research, and mathematics. Fontanesi will provide guidance on grant development, research design, and student development.
 Martha Ann Carey, Ph.D. - RN / Dale Glaser, Ph.D.
|
American Association of Colleges of Nursing Conference at USD
Our school hosted the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Western Regional Conference on the Doctorate in Nursing Practice. More than 175 nursing deans, directors and faculty attended the conference, and a special reception on the terrace welcomed these nursing leaders to San Diego.
 Dean Sally Hardin, Melanie Dreher, Carolyn Williams, Donna Hathaway and Juliann Sebastian join professors Diane Fatica, Cynthia Connelly, Jane Georges and Kathy Puskar in welcoming AACN Executive Director Polly Bednash and staff.
|
Primary Health Care Provided to Impoverished Community in Dominican Republic
In January 2006, Sharon McGuire, O.P., Ph.D., R.N.-C and three nurse practitioner students, Cynthia Collins, Rosa Bautista and Kimberly Maus, traveled to the Dominican Republic to provide primary health care services in the impoverished community of El Cruce. The faculty/student nursing team completed more than 240 health exams-numerous health problems were found and treated, including pneumonia, cellulitis and undiagnosed diabetes. Dominicans suffer from the same health problems as people anywhere, but they also suffer from parasites and vector-borne illnesses such as dengue fever and typhus, which are endemic in the region. El Cruce-which has a population of about 6,000 environmental refugees who have fled hurricanes, floods, mudslides or other disasters-has neither water nor permanent public health resources. Water is trucked in twice weekly for purchase and stored in large barrels in homes, but the lack of piped-in water contributes to health problems in the community. The Bautista family and others donated medicines and supplies for this trip. Sister Maurine Barnzanti, of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, affirmed the invaluable services provided by USD nursing faculty and students, especially “the compassionate spirit in which they were provided.”
 Nursing students Cynthia Collins, B.S.N. and Rosa Bautista M.S.N., pose with Dr. Sharon McGuire.
|