GW Nursing Magazine Summer 2018

the george washington university 

GW 

NURSING 

/summer 2018 issue 

the whole is greater than the 

sum of its parts

us helping us, people into living—a community based agency located in petworth, d.c.—offers hiv testing and linkage to hiv care. 

read more on page 18. 

The George 

Washington University 

PRESIDENT 

THOMAS LEBLANC 

School of Nursing 

DEAN AND PROFESSOR 

PAMELA JEFFRIES 

GWNursing 

MANAGING EDITOR 

DAVID BIGLARI 

CONSULTING EDITOR 

LYNN SCHULTZ-WRITSEL 

WRITERS 

RUTH ADAMS 

Is a freelance writer who works full time in health 

insurance administration at the Board of Pensions of 

the Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. Her work is 

regularly featured in Fordham Lawyer magazine and 

GW Nursing magazine. 

LAURA BRADDICK 

Is a writer, graphic designer and communications 

specialist based in Baltimore, Md. A former 

newspaper reporter now working in higher 

education, she lives to uncover and share stories 

about transformative experiences, opportunities and 

research taking place in academia. 

ANDREW FAUGHT 

Is a Fresno, Calif.-based freelance writer who has 

written extensively on issues and ideas of higher 

education. A former newspaper reporter, he earned 

his journalism degree at Arizona State University. 

Mr. Faught was previously a staff writer at Occidental 

College in Los Angeles. 

CONTENT CONTRIBUTORS 

BARBARA GLICKSTEIN 

ERIN JULIUS 

MONICA KRZYSZCZYK 

MAYRI LESLIE 

DIANA MASON 

REESE RACKETS 

MARY JEAN SCHUMANN 

EDITING 

Division of External Relations 

RACHEL MUIR 

DESIGN 

Marketing and Creative Services 

HEATHER OESTERLING (Design and Illustration) 

JOSH SCHIMMERLING (Project Management)

summer 2018 

FEATURES 

DEPARTMENTS 

02 

FROM THE DEAN 

04 

NURSING NEWS 

22 

POLICY UPDATE 

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES 

IMPROVE CARE 

Taking a fresh look at problems can bring 

new approaches to the increasingly complex 

issues encountered in today’s health care 

environment. At GW Nursing, researchers, 

practitioners and students of different 

backgrounds look through a new lens to 

improve quality of care and provide data for 

policies that will inform that care. 

24 

RESEARCH TODAY 

GWNursing is published biannually by: 

GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 

SCHOOL OF NURSING 

1919 Pennsylvania Ave., NW 

Suite 500 

Washington, DC 20006-5818 

Telephone: 202–994–7901 

Email: sonmarketing@gwu.edu 

Website: nursing.gwu.edu 

Comments, letters, advertising and change of address 

notices are welcome. 

©2018 The George Washington University 

The George Washington University is an equal 

opportunity/affirmative action university. 

28 

GW NURSING AT HOME AND 

AROUND THE WORLD 

32 

ACCOMPLISHMENTS 

38 

ALUMNI NEWS 

UNDERSERVED AND DESERVING 

OF BETTER 

Advocacy, research and outreach are driving 

better patient-centered care for vulnerable 

populations and creating a welcoming, 

inclusive and safe environment in clinics. 

Sharing findings and best practices helps to 

close the knowledge gap while innovative 

patient outreach, engagement and assistance 

programs lead to learning opportunities. 

nursing.gwu.edu | 1

from the dean 

GWN 

What makes GW Nursing’s plan for the next three 

years strategic? 

PJ 

Strategic is a word that challenges us to see past today and 

ask ourselves “what if ” to glimpse a future of possibilities. 

What if we are able to cultivate the next innovation in 

health care delivery or inspire a health advocate to take 

action? What if the last person to hold a patient’s hand is a 

GW nurse? These are the questions we asked ourselves 

during retreats, workshops and open feedback periods in 

which members of our community made their voices heard. 

The process was as reflective as it was forward-thinking, 

which increases its likelihood of success. 


One of the school’s goals and many of its strategies 

emphasize a student-centered culture of excellence. 

What does this mean to you? 

/dean pamela jeffries met with msn students during their clasi event. 

This year the George Washington University 

School of Nursing challenged itself to develop a 

new strategic plan that will lead us into the next 

decade while reflecting on the school’s strengths, 

the principles of the nursing profession and the 

university and its namesake. 

Seven goals were identified—with corresponding objectives and 

strategies—as the concrete outcomes necessary to fulfill the school’s 

vision and mission. We sat down with Dean Pamela Jeffries (PJ) 

and President Thomas LeBlanc (TL) who shared their perspective on 

the plan and their aspirations for GW Nursing. 

TL 


PJ 


Improving the student experience is one of the university’s 

five strategic initiatives, and I have spent a lot of time this 

year talking with students about how we can do this in our 

schools, including GW Nursing. During a recent roundtable 

discussion with students at our Virginia Science and 

Technology Campus, I had the opportunity to learn more 

about how we can support a positive day-to-day experience 

for nursing students and, on a broader level, how we can 

enhance the school’s teaching, scholarship and research 

efforts so we are preparing our students for success as health 

care leaders. 

Your vision and mission speak to societal well-being, 

what do you see as the role of a nursing school? 

As a university situated in our nation’s capital, we realized 

we have a responsibility to leverage our expertise and 

location to improve the health of all people. That’s why we 

established a Center for Health Policy and Media 

Engagement last year and our plan outlines how we plan to 

leverage this expertise to ensure nurses have a seat at the 

table in the health care policy conversation. 

Culture transformation and a commitment to diversity 

were outlined in GW Nursing’s plan. How does that 

align with university priorities? 

TL 

These are areas that are incredibly important to me. We 

must create a positive and rewarding experience for all those 

in our community—including our students, faculty, staff and 

alumni—and we cannot do this without fostering an 

environment where all feel they can reach their full potential 

at a diverse and inclusive university. I am particularly pleased 

to see GW Nursing leading by example by naming an 

inaugural assistant dean for diversity, equity and inclusion. 

2 |

on voyage 

We Will Miss You! 


PJ 


TL 

How do you see nursing contributing to the state of 

the health sciences? 

Nursing plays an integral role in the advancement of health 

sciences. In the last 20 years, medicine has advanced more in 

the form of treatment as opposed cures. These treatments 

can often create issues of their own, such as chemotherapy 

side effects. Nurse researchers’ perspective in direct-patient 

care offers valuable insight to the improvement of quality 

and effectiveness of treatment. 

What are your aspirations for GW Nursing, especially 

considering the ever-evolving nature of health care? 

We know how important collaboration is to make 

meaningful progress on tough problems, especially in health 

care. To be successful we need individuals with backgrounds 

in nursing, medicine, public health, social work, 

engineering—even computer science, which is my area of 

expertise. It is exciting to see our nursing students and 

faculty using a collaborative approach by leveraging data and 

technology in novel ways, viewing health care through a new 

lens while emphasizing person-centered care. I am 

committed to supporting GW Nursing’s aspiration to 

continue to lead critical health care conversations while 

advocating for patients and the nursing profession alike. 

GW Nursing magazine bids farewell 

to Lynn Schultz-Writsel who has been 

a consulting editor since spring 2016. 

Beginning with her first issue, Lynn was 

an integral figure in the assurance of 

editorial quality and aesthetic of each 

publication. In spring 2016, she led a 

redesign of the young magazine with 

a special issue in recognition of the 

school’s five year anniversary. She also 

served as a valuable contributor on many 

of the refreshes you will see in this issue. 

Lynn has been an esteemed colleague 

over the last few years and her wealth 

of experience and contributions will be 

missed. We wish her all the best as she 

continues to enjoy retirement in beautiful 

Buena Vista, Colo. 


Do you believe you will be able to achieve what your 

plan outlines? 

PJ 

We have set an ambitious, yet attainable, course to shape the 

future of health care delivery and our role in it. Ultimately, 

words are meaningless without execution. There are many 

things we aim to accomplish in the next three years, but we 

are in this together. 

Learn more at: go.gwu.edu/NursingPlan 

/president thomas leblanc engaged in a round-table discussion with students at vstc. 

nursing.gwu.edu | 3

nursingnews 

4 |

Quality Does Matter for 

Online Education 

usn&wr rankings 

On the Rise 

The recently published “2018 Best 

Online Nursing Programs” by U.S. 

News & World Report could be an 

indicator of the value of applying 

the Quality Matters (QM) Quality 

Assurance System to nursing 

graduate programs. 

The system, which at the advent of online 

education grew out of a grassroots movement 

of educators wanting to ensure quality course 

and standard outcomes, is managed through 

the QM nonprofit organization. More than 

1,300 colleges and universities worldwide 

subscribe to its program, and 52,000 

education professionals are now trained in 

course design, thanks to QM. 

GW Nursing, ranked No. 5 along with 

three other schools in this year’s online 

nursing programs, is a subscriber to that 

system, and Dean Pamela Jeffries is a 

champion of its use. 

To date, 37 GW Nursing faculty and staff 

members have completed the Applying the 

Quality Matters Rubric certificate and are 

focusing on ensuring continual improvement 

in the school’s online courses. As part of the 

QM Quality Assurance System, learners earn 

the certificate through workshops that teach 

a better understanding and appreciation 

of standard elements of a successful online 

course and emphasize evaluation from the 

student’s perspective. 

Four GW Nursing faculty members also 

have a QM Peer Reviewer Certificate, and 

four hold a Master Reviewer Certificate. 

GW Nursing graduate education is 

exclusively online for all graduate students, 

with some program options offering an 

occasional on-campus experience. Other 

students in traditional face-to-face classes, 

such as those enrolled in the school’s 

accelerated BSN option, may also experience 

online or blended courses. 

“Improving the design of courses 

allows students to spend less time figuring 

out course navigation and location of 

resources, and more time on the pedagogy 

/the gw nursing multimedia studio 

is an essential component of the high-fidelity 

simulation center. 

and instructional techniques that enhance 

learning,” said Miro Liwosz, GW Nursing’s 

director of Online Learning and Instructional 

Technology (OLIT). 

The OLIT team—which includes Mr. 

Liwosz, two instructional designers, an 

instructional technologist and a multimedia 

developer—supports and actively consults 

with GW Nursing faculty on academic 

projects in teaching, learning and research. 

Over the past few years, the team has helped 

develop more than 100 academic online, 

blended and electronic presence courses, 

MOOCs and open educational resources. 

OLIT also trains faculty and staff on effective 

use of instructional technologies, manages 

a multimedia studio for high-quality audio 

and video recording and assists in the 

development and ongoing operations of a 

high-fidelity medical simulation center. 

“The continuous investment in QM and 

our instructional technology infrastructure 

has primed GW Nursing to be a global leader 

in collaborative and continuing health care 

education and to provide effective delivery of 

education programs in face-to-face, remote— 

asynchronous and synchronous—and blended 

formats,” said Dr. Jeffries. 

No. 3 2018 Best Online Master’s in 

Nursing Programs for Veterans 

No. 5 2018 Best Online Master’s in 

Nursing Programs 

No. 25 2019 Best Graduate School 

Rankings – Doctor of Nursing 

Practice (DNP) 

No. 29 2019 Best Graduate School 

Rankings – Nursing Master’s 

GW Nursing is trending upward—again—in 

the annual U.S. News & World Report 

college rankings. 

Since 2016, the school’s rank in nursing 

master’s programs has jumped from 

No. 58 to No. 29. The online nursing 

programs rose from No. 13 to tie for 

No. 5 with the veterans’ online graduate 

programs ranking No. 3. In the DNP 

rankings, first compiled in the 2017, GW 

Nursing moved from No. 30 to No. 25. 

“It is gratifying to see our hard work 

reflected in these new rankings,” said 

Dean Pamela Jeffries. “The efforts of our 

faculty and staff, the improved quality of 

our programs and the excellence of our 

students and alumni have propelled the 

climb in all our rankings. We’ve all worked 

together to position our school—in the 

eight years since we opened—among the 

top tiers of nursing schools nationwide.” 

To compile the four rankings of nursing 

school programs, U.S. News surveyed 

all accredited schools offering master’s, 

DNP and online graduate programs. 

The surveys included ranking indicators 

measuring each school’s quality of 

academic programs, selectivity, level of 

research and peer assessment. Among 

the 552 schools surveyed for the nursing 

master’s and DNP programs, 296 

provided sufficient data to be included 

in the nursing master’s programs and 

203 in the DNP programs. Thirty percent 

of schools indicated they offered online 

graduate programs, and U.S. News 

ranked 159 programs. 

nursing.gwu.edu | 5

nursing news 

Breaking Down 

the Stereotypes 

/ top/right: glenn west, bsn ‘17 

left: assistant professor jess calohan 

Google “Can a man be a …” 

and the top autofill responses are 

widow, feminist, witch, midwife 

and nurse. 

Yes, men can be nurses. But men are such a 

minority in the profession that memes about 

“male nurses” abound on social media, and 

pop culture leans into “murse” stereotypes in 

movies and TV shows like “Meet the Parents” 

and “The Mindy Project.” 

“I’ve been asked, ‘why are you a male 

nurse.’ That’s off-putting,” said Jess Calohan, 

a board-certified psychiatric mental health 

nurse practitioner and an assistant professor 

at GW Nursing. He joins other health care 

practitioners in discouraging the use of the 

“male” descriptor. 

When he entered the U.S. Army in the 

early 1990s, Dr. Calohan encountered “some 

seasoned nurses and high-ranking people 

who didn’t believe men belonged in nursing.” 

Looking at his classroom today, he sees that 

changing and believes that more men in 

nursing will address the call by the landmark 

Institute of Medicine report, “The Future 

of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing 

Health,” for high-quality, culturally 

relevant care delivered by diverse providers 

to diverse populations. 

Before he retired from the U.S. Army, 

Dr. Calohan treated service members with 

PTSD and served three deployments to 

Iraq. Those experiences and his current 

practice have shown him that “sometimes 

certain patients respond better to a male 

presence than a female presence.” He 

added, “Occasionally patients behave 

inappropriately with a female provider, 

but sometimes a patient just expresses a 

preference for one gender over the other.” 

According to current workforce data 

from the U.S. Health Resources and Services 

Administration, the percentage of men 

in nursing has steadily increased in recent 

decades and is now 10 percent. In 2016, 12 

percent of GW Nursing students were men, 

up from 5 percent in 2013. 

6 |

Although Dr. Calohan was initially hired 

as a faculty member in the school’s MSN in 

psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner 

program option, he was also drawn to 

teaching in the BSN option for veterans. 

“I have had male students come up to me 

and tell me it’s cool to have a male teacher,” 

Dr. Calohan said. While he formally advises 

some veteran students, he has found that “a 

lot of male veterans seek me out even if I’m 

not their assigned adviser.” 

Modeling a diverse faculty and providing 

mentors students can relate to can go a 

long way to breaking down stereotypes that 

discourage men from entering the profession 

and limit the diversity needed in health care. 

Cultivating 

Resilience and 

Self-awareness 

for Professional 

Well-being 

The demands of a career in 

nursing can take a toll on even the 

hardiest student. Preparing them 

to face these challenges is one of 

the most important charges of a 

nursing school. 

By teaching students specific coping 

strategies and the importance of seeing to 

their own well-being as well as that of their 

patients, the GW Nursing Professional 

Well-Being Initiative is training the next 

generation of nurses to face an ever-changing 

health care environment with resilience. 

“We’re preparing our students to take 

on not only the challenges of providing 

high-quality care in different clinical settings, 

but also to tackle the issues of burnout and 

work-related stress that are causing so many 

nurses to exit the profession,” said Dean 

Pamela Jeffries. 

Through nine modules incorporated in 

course progressions, students learn habits 

and practices that improve their well-being 

not only during their time in nursing school, 

but beyond into their careers. Topics covered 

include effective communication and conflict 

resolution, healthy stress management— 

which also considers the dangers of 

ineffective coping practices that can lead 

to addiction and other adverse health 

conditions—grit and resilience, effective time 

management, grief and loss and the use of the 

creative arts in self-care. 

In one recent session, students were 

encouraged to explore creativity and 

self-expression as techniques for achieving 

work-life balance. “Even 15 minutes of ‘me 

time’ spent writing a poem, dancing or 

playing a favorite instrument can soothe 

and restore a weary mind and be a calming 

and self-revelatory self-care practice,” said 

JoAnn Conroy, a clinical assistant professor 

who specializes in mindfulness and nursing 

self-care. 

“We want the nurses we educate and train 

to have longevity in the workplace. Healthy, 

satisfied nurses are more likely to be focused, 

mindfully present and prepared to provide 

safe and effective care to their patients 

and families. And they are more likely to 

champion these conditions in future 

leadership and health policy advocacy roles,” 

said Dr. Conroy. 

/ assistant professor rhonda schwindt, 

a nationally certified psychiatric/mental health 

clinical nurse specialist and nurse practitioner, is 

the program director of the new psychiatric/mental 

health nurse practitioner msn program option. 

new psychiatric/mental health program launches 

New MSN Pathway 

for Mental Health 

Nurse Practitioners 

To address the ever-increasing demand 

for mental health practitioners, GW 

Nursing now offers a Master of Science 

in Nursing in psychiatric/mental health 

nursing. The program, which welcomes 

its first class in fall 2018, will prepare 

registered nurses to care for diverse 

populations as a psychiatric/mental 

health nurse practitioner. 

The online curriculum consists of 

50-credits (28 core and 22 specialty 

courses) and 600 clinical hours and 

provides a holistic perspective from 

which to assess, diagnose, treat, 

manage and evaluate acute and chronic 

mental illnesses. Course content is based 

on synthesized knowledge derived 

from nursing science, neuroscience, 

behavioral change theories, motivational 

theories, learning theories and other 

psychotherapeutic frameworks. 

Students will learn about 

neuropsychopharmacology, 

interprofessional collaborative practice, 

crisis intervention, trauma-informed 

care, health policy, family systems theory, 

psychotherapy and group therapy. Their 

course content will include care of 

vulnerable populations, promotion of 

mental health and prevention of mental 

illness, substance abuse and co-occurring 

disorders, and other mental illnesses that 

occur across the lifespan. 

For more information, go to: 

getinfo.nursing.gwu.edu/mentalNP 

nursing.gwu.edu | 7

nursing news 

Expansion, Renovation Bring Improved Campus 

Access, Enhanced Simulation Learning 

Construction and 

renovations are 

underway at VSTC to expand GW 

Nursing’s footprint. 

A retrofitted 8,683-square-foot 

Student Success Center and a 7,527-squarefoot 

Objective Structured Clinical 

Examination (OSCE) lab will be a hub 

for student resources and state-of-the-art 

simulation learning. 

The center features an open collaboration 

area and six group study rooms, plus a small 

testing center and office areas for enrollment 

management and student services. 

The OSCE space includes 12 private exam 

rooms, two flexible acute care exam rooms, 

flexible conference room spaces and a break 

room, locker room and storage area. Students 

can be observed and evaluated as they go 

through a series of stations to interview, 

examine and treat standardized patients. The 

new lab space will feature state-of-the-art 

audiovisual equipment and SimCapture, 

a simulation management, recording and 

playback platform. 

As GW Nursing expands its simulation 

space, the school is also making changes 

for undergraduates with a more accessible 

practice skills lab and more complex 

simulation scenarios, such as a new highfidelity 

maternal fetal simulator. Minor 

renovations to the other lab spaces will 

increase access and capacity. 

“We are working toward Society for 

Simulation in Healthcare accreditation for 

the labs,” said Director of Simulation and 

Experiential Learning Crystel Farina. “One 

of our first steps has been to form an advisory 

committee of graduate and undergraduate 

nursing faculty and students that approves 

policies and procedures, gives feedback about 

current simulation center uses, assists 

with prioritization of equipment and 

simulator purchases, and helps establish 

goals for the future.” 

The committee is planning the addition 

of a simulation team that will support 

future accreditation through enhanced 

facilitation and debriefing on all simulations, 

ensuring that each student gets the same 

simulation experience. 

“This investment in our students will 

hopefully lead to continuous improvement 

of retention, completion, employment and 

licensure outcomes,” said Dean Pamela 

Jeffries in a recent interview with The GW 

Hatchet. As a former president of the Society 

for Simulation in Healthcare, Dr. Jeffries is 

a proponent of the accreditation process 

and applauds the faculty and student work 

providing high-quality simulation learning. 

8 |

WE’RE LOOKING FOR 

EXPERIENCED NURSES 

to join our critical care team 

NEWLY RENOVATED ICUs 

A designated Level I Trauma Center and Comprehensive Stroke Center, 

the George Washington University Hospital delivers complex care to some 

of the most severely injured and critically ill individuals in the DC area. 

“This is my family. 

GW Hospital is 

my second home. 

If I can stay at one 

institution for 16 

years and still feel 

happy about being 

a nurse that says a lot 

about the institution.” 

– Kathleen Firnbach, RN, ICU 

We offer robust benefits: 

• Sign-on, relocation and RN referral bonuses 

• Annual tuition reimbursement 

• Eligibility to apply for the GW Signature 

Scholarship to obtain a degree from GWU 

• A monthly travel stipend 

Join the hospital that is DEFINING MEDICINE 

To learn more, contact: 

Lauren Graves 

Lauren.Graves@gwu-hospital.com • 202-715-5087 

Roy Ector 

Roy.Ector@gwu-hospital.com • 202-715-5671 

The George Washington University Hospital is an equal opportunity employer. Physicians are independent practitioners who are nursing.gwu.edu not employees | 9 

or agents of the George Washington University Hospital. The hospital shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians. 170349 1/17

10 | 

Why modern health care issues deserve modern solutions. 

by andrew fraught

eframing 

alzheimers 

research 

page 12 

Every 66 seconds, 

someone in the 

United States develops 

Alzheimer’s disease, 

the country’s sixthleading 

cause of death, 

according to the 

Alzheimer’s Association. 

the search 

for nurse 

practitioners 

page 13 

Approximately 25,000 

freshly minted nurse 

practitioners (NP) 

graduate from training 

programs, according to 

the American Association 

of Colleges of Nursing. 

Where they go from 

there is anybody’s guess. 

primary care 

in minutes, not 

hours 

page 15 

Accenture, a global 

professional services 

company, predicts there 

will be more than 2,800 

retail clinics in the 

United States by the 

end of the year. 

painting a fuller 

picture 

page 16 

At its core, narrative 

medicine is personcentered 

and strives to 

locate resources and 

support available to 

vulnerable populations. 

The approach 

is practiced by a 

minority of health care 

professionals, but such 

efforts are growing across 

the United States. 

nursing.gwu.edu | 11

feature | different perspectives improve care 

/ biostatistician n. maritza dowling is a leading researcher in alzheimer’s disease. 

reframing 

alzheimer’s research 

Taking a fresh look at problems can bring new approaches 

to the increasingly complex issues encountered in today’s 

health care environment. At GW Nursing, researchers, 

practitioners and students of different backgrounds look 

through a new lens to improve quality of care and provide 

data for policies that will inform that care. 

Assistant Professor N. Maritza Dowling 

is analyzing information that could forge 

medical breakthroughs in treating a disease 

that affects twice as many women as men. 

She is studying cognitive data collected from 

postmenopausal women on hormone therapy. 

A biostatistician by training, her job is to 

make sense of the data, turning statistics 

into knowledge. 

“Developments in medicine must 

necessarily be based on evidence,” 

Dr. Dowling said. “The vital linkages 

between accumulated empirical data and 

the generation of alternative explanations 

of observed phenomena require systematic 

scientific analysis that can’t occur without 

numbers and rigorous statistical 

methodology and research design. The 

solutions for many complex problems in 

medical and clinical research are made 

possible by statistical methods.” 

Dr. Dowling’s work is part of a fiveyear, 

$10.8 million study— “Prevention of 

Alzheimer’s Disease in Women: Risks and 

12 |

Benefits of Hormone Therapy”—funded by 

the National Institutes of Health. She is a 

co-investigator and lead statistician on the 

project, which launched last year. 

The effort will examine the differences 

in amyloid deposition—a sticky abnormal 

protein found in the brains of those with 

Alzheimer’s disease—cerebrovascular 

lesions, cognitive function and mood and 

brain structure in women who were treated 

with different formulations of hormone 

therapy compared with a placebo during early 

post-menopause. 

Dr. Dowling previously was a scientist 

in the Department of Biostatistics and 

Medical Informatics at the University of 

Wisconsin-Madison, where she worked 

on a multidisciplinary research team that 

brainstormed ways to develop and implement 

information systems and analyze and 

interpret data. It’s a practice she maintains in 

her work at GW. 

“Collaborative research considerably 

enhances opportunities for important 

discoveries, advances and innovations that 

would be unlikely working in complete 

isolation,” Dr. Dowling said. 

Her current work will follow the same 

group of women she studied while working 

at the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease 

Research Center. 

Biostatistics have already played a major 

role in reshaping how we understand public 

health issues such as cancer, chronic disease, 

human growth and development and HIV/ 

AIDS. The field is considered a vital bridge 

between theory and practice. 

An editorial in the New England Journal of 

Medicine called the application of statistics 

to medical and clinical research “one of the 

most important medical developments in 

the past millennium.” Dr. Dowling’s efforts 

are aided by computational probability, in 

which researchers rely on computer-intensive 

statistical methods. 

Her work has become personal—her 

father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s while 

she was studying the disease. 

“My interest in Alzheimer’s disease 

research has provided me with a wonderful 

context to apply my quantitative skills 

and increase my knowledge in the field,” 

Dr. Dowling said. “I believe, however, that 

being able to combine both knowledge of 

the discipline and statistical insight is 

/ assistant professor asefeh faraz is studying the nurse practitioner work force. 

critical for advancing scientific 

understanding. Without numbers, there is no 

science.” 

the search for 

nurse practitioners 

In 2017, GW Nursing faculty pilot-tested 

a first-of-its-kind survey to track hiring 

patterns and the marketplace for new NPs. 

Its purpose was to provide data for education 

programs and policymakers to inform their 

decision-making. The ultimate goal was to 

help align NP education with priority needs 

in the community. 

The survey asked recent graduates a series 

of questions to assess job market demand for 

new NPs, such as whether they had a difficult 

time finding work, if they had numerous 

job options and the income they would be 

receiving. Questions were also asked about 

demographic characteristics and educational 

background, allowing researchers to match 

these data points to jobs NPs are taking and 

their experiences in the job market. 

“We want to be able to say where demand 

is exceeding supply. For example, does 

demand for NPs in long-term care, rural 

communities or in geriatrics exceed supply?” 

said survey co-investigator Ed Salsberg, 

director of Health Workforce Studies at the 

GW Health Workforce Institute and GW 

Nursing research faculty. 

“Results could be used by policymakers 

and hospitals to develop recruitment and 

retention strategies,” said co-investigator 

Assistant Professor Asefeh Faraz. 

The pair conducted the study in 

September, electronically surveying 159 

graduates from 31 NP programs around 

the country and are now engaged in analyzing 

that data. 

Last year’s survey targeted family nurse 

practitioners, but the investigators plan to 

expand the sample size with a wider range of 

NPs in coming years to eventually include 

5 percent of new graduates, or around 

1,250 respondents. 

With the increasing need for providers 

to serve a growing and aging population, NP 

programs have boomed, said Mr. Salsberg. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 

that employment of NPs, along with nurse 

midwives and nurse anesthetists, is projected 

to grow 31 percent from 2016 to 2026. Much 

of that growth has been fueled by a demand 



/ throughout the nation minuteclinics, led by nurse practitioners, are 

offering greater access to care. 

14 |

for primary care practitioners. 

“It’s important to collect data now, when 

in general the job market and the demand 

for nurse practitioners is very good. It will 

provide a baseline to compare to in future 

years,” Mr. Salsberg said. 

Anecdotal evidence shows “that nurse 

practitioners do go into underserved 

settings,” Dr. Faraz said. “We want to make 

sure that is indeed where they’re going, and 

that they’re serving the very people who need 

to be served. We don’t have any good data on 

this, and it’s really critical right now as we’re 

talking about expanding the workforce to 

meet needs. It’s all conjecture right now. The 

end goal is access to care for the consumer.” 

primary care in 

minutes, not hours 

Angela Patterson has 37 million reasons to be 

bullish about the future of “convenient 

care” treatment models in the United States. 

That’s how many patients pharmacy chain 

CVS Health has treated at the MinuteClinic 

since its inception. MinuteClinic offers 

health care services at retail medical clinics 

located in select CVS Pharmacy and Target 

stores across 33 states and the District of 

Columbia. The company is the country’s 

largest operator of retail health clinics. 

“I like to say we’re the safety net for 

primary care,” says Dr. Patterson, a GW 

Nursing Advisory Board member and chief 

nurse practitioner officer for MinuteClinic. 

“For things like sore throat and vaccinations, 

it’s an affordable, convenient and quality 

alternative to the emergency room. It’s filling 

that gap when you can’t access your primary 

care provider.” 

The clinics are staffed by family nurse 

practitioners and, in some states, physician 

assistants and are accredited by the 

Joint Commission, a national nonprofit, 

independent accrediting organization. Similar 

models have emerged at other pharmacy 

chains, including Walgreens. 

For Dr. Patterson, retail health is built on 

three components: convenient access, quality 

care and affordability. MinuteClinic locations 

don’t require scheduling appointments, and 

walk-ins are welcome. A study published in 

the Annals of Internal Medicine found that care 

delivered in retail clinics is of comparable 

quality to the emergency room and urgent 

care facilities but delivered at 40 to 80 

percent cheaper. 

Surveys show that retail health clinic 

patients do, in fact, choose the services for 

after-hours convenience and cost. 

“We actually see the majority of our 

patients during off hours and on the 

weekends, which really shows that we’re 

filling a need for access to health care during 

non-traditional hours,” said Dr. Patterson. 

“We understand that there are times when 

folks get sick during off hours and on the 

weekends and holidays, or maybe they’re 

traveling. In those situations, they don’t 

have ready access to affordable, quality 

health care.” 

CVS Health uses an electronic health 

record system that can share information 

with a patient’s primary care provider to 

make visits even more convenient for them. 

As for the nurse practitioners and 

physician assistants who provide services, 

Dr. Patterson said “they’re very proud that 

we have a strong focus on evidence-based 

health care, as well as quality and safe health 

care. They’re also proud to be a significant 

partner in improving health and well-being 

across our country.” 

Accenture, a global professional 

services company, predicts there will be more 

than 2,800 retail clinics in the United States 

by the end of the year. 

pathways for veteran’s 

From Barracks 

to Bedside 

Growing up in Mexico, Carlos Rangel 

Meija’s passion for medicine was fueled 

by his father, a medical student who was 

forced to drop out of school due to a 

souring economy and limited 

job opportunities. 

The young boy made a promise to 

himself: “I decided that I would be part of 

a medical team.” 

He arrived in Utah as a high school 

exchange student, earning residency 

before joining the Navy and gaining 

citizenship. In the service since 2013, 

Mr. Meija has worked at military bases in 

Texas, Washington and Virginia training 

military personnel in basic health care. 

Mr. Meija, who remains on active duty, 

is a step closer to realizing his lifelong 

dream. He’s in the second semester 

of GW Nursing’s Bachelor of Science in 

Nursing (BSN) veterans option, 

which is customized based on a student’s 

prior education, military service 

and experience. 

The program was created to help Iraq 

and Afghanistan veterans return to civilian 

life and find jobs. By building on the 

training they received as combat medics, 

Navy corpsmen and Air Force medical 

technicians, students in the program are 

preparing to address nursing workforce 

shortfalls around the country. 

“I knew that I was going to become 

a provider somehow, and nursing was 

going to be the way I was going to do it,” 

he said. 

Mr. Meija is among eight active duty 

military personnel to take part in the 

GW Nursing program. There are 34 

veterans in the BSN veterans option. 

These students are considered to have 

unique knowledge of and exposure to 

health issues and needs of the 22 million 

veterans in the United States. 

“They [the Navy] selected us because 

we represent the qualities of a nurse and 

the qualities that they want of a Naval 

officer,” said Mr. Meija, who will become a 

commissioned officer when he completes 

the program. “GW has ensured that the 

military has a strong nurse corps.” 



/ senior yoga and pilates classes offer older adults an 

opportunity to exercise their mind, body and soul. 

painting a 

fuller picture 

Behind every symptom is a story. 

That’s the message from the GW Center 

for Aging, Health and Humanities, whose 

community education programs are 

encouraging nurses and nurse practitioners, 

medical students and physical and 

occupational therapists to practice what in 

the past decade has come to be known as 

narrative medicine. 

Center director and assistant professor 

Beverly Lunsford said health care providers 

are being encouraged to ask their patients 

three “magic” questions: “What is important 

to you today? What brings you here? How 

can I help?” 

“Sometimes we don’t stop to look at 

the context of a person to see how everything 

is fitting together,” Dr. Lunsford said. “Part 

of the story is learning what’s immediately 

happening to them and what is of concern to 

them right now.” 

Such queries are designed to nurture 

heightened empathy, creativity and selfreflection 

among care providers. Answers 

could spur community interventions, 

such as responses from social workers and 

nonprofit clinics that provide medications for 

uninsured and underinsured individuals. 

Or physicians might refer eligible patients 

to pharmaceutical companies that offer 

steep discounts. 

“The narrative approach is trying to 

understand more about a person so we’re 

focused more broadly on a health problem 

within the context of who they are,” 

Dr. Lunsford said. “We might solve the 

medical problem, or we might think we have, 

but it doesn’t mean that they’re able to do 

what we’ve recommended or, even if they do, 

there might be three other problems that are 

going to bring them right back next week.” 

When prescribing a medication, for 

example, a provider might not consider that a 

patient is unable to afford drugs, jeopardizing 

their ability to follow through on treatment. 

Some might lack a significant other and be 

unable to leave their home for groceries 

because snow is covering their driveway. Such 

circumstances pose challenges for health 

care, she said. 

Nursing training programs are an 

ideal setting to encourage storytelling, 

Dr. Lunsford said. 

“Nursing has always had a more holistic 

view of people,” she said. “We tend to sit and 

talk a little more with people. We’re trying 

to teach that to others. They too can help 

motivate them and find ways to make certain 

functional limitations work.” 

Research has shown that a patient’s quality 

of life is threatened by negative attitudes 

about aging and chronic illness. Narrative 

medicine attempts to dispel older-age 

stereotypes. The hope is to instead focus 

on possibilities. 

“If we can get a little bit of that story of 

who they are, it helps us maintain our sense 

of respect and dignity for that person,” 

Dr. Lunsford said. “That may, in turn, affect 

how they approach their health or illness.” 

16 |

MedStar Health 

Nursing is 

proud to support 

our academic practice partner, 

George Washington School of Nursing. 

We applaud your vision to drive innovation 

and improvements in health care through the 

education of compassionate nurses, esteemed 

educators and researchers, entrepreneurial 

leaders, and influential policy experts. 

MedStarNursing.org 


UNDERSERVED 

AND 

DESERVING 

OF BETTER 

18 |

y laura braddick 

Susan waits anxiously for the nurse 

practitioner to enter the exam room. 

She nervously bites her nails, trying to 

forget the embarrassing moment in 

the waiting room when the receptionist 

called out the name on her driver’s 

license, John, and the confused 

expression the nurse gave her as 

she stood up and quietly said, 

“That’s me.” 

The door swings open to a brief flash 

of that same confused look on the face of 

a man in a white lab coat before the door 

abruptly shuts again. She hears hurried 

whispers outside the door. A minute later, 

he returns. “I’m sorry,” he says, looking 

away. “I thought I had the wrong room.” 

The nurse practitioner checks her 

heart rate, but his touch is hesitant. 

He asks few questions and takes even 

fewer notes. When he stands to leave, 

she holds back her questions about 

cancer screenings and hormone therapy, 

wanting the encounter to be over as 

soon as possible. 

As Susan leaves the clinic, the 

receptionist asks her if she’d like to 

schedule her next appointment. She 

shakes her head briskly before heading 

out the door. 


feature | underserved and deserving of better 

Providing 

care reflective 

of the patient 

F 

or lesbian, gay, transgender and gender 

non-conforming patients, a scenario like this 

is all too common. Patients from vulnerable 

and underserved populations not only 

face discrimination and stigma but also 

other social and environmental barriers 

to accessing quality care that are complex 

and interconnected. 

“You can’t always expect people to 

be a hundred percent adherent to their 

medications when they might not be able 

to get food today, or they may not have steady 

employment or housing, or cannot miss work, 

or if they do, that means less income they’ll 

have,” said Assistant Professor Erin Athey. 

Assistant Professor Dana Hines explained 

that these negative experiences cascade 

into health consequences. 

“If you are a trans man and you don’t feel 

safe accessing health care or you’re being 

turned away because your provider isn’t 

comfortable checking you, or you’re outed 

in the waiting room and leave before your 

appointment, or you’re afraid to go back, 

then you’re not getting your routine 

screenings. If you develop cervical cancer or 

breast cancer, you can see how it would easily 

go missed,” she said. 

These complex problems require 

strategic, multifaceted approaches. 

GW Nursing faculty are combating these 

challenges in their clinical work, research, 

teaching and community service. Through 

outreach, advocacy and education, professors 

and providers are leading the charge for 

better patient-centered care for diverse 

and vulnerable populations. 

“Many populations don’t have the same 

ability to access or create the environment 

to achieve optimal health,” Assistant 

Professor Rhonda Schwindt said. “Our 

responsibility [as health care professionals] 

is to help provide that so they have the ability 

to have the same quality of life that everyone 

else does. 

in practice 

Patient-centered care in clinical settings 

comes down to creating a welcoming, 

inclusive and safe environment. 

Dr. Athey treats adults and youths living 

with HIV at United Medical Center’s 

infectious disease clinic in Southeast 

Washington, D.C., a community that has 

been disproportionately affected by the HIV/ 

AIDS epidemic. She said she listens more 

than she talks when it comes to helping 

patients in this underserved community. 

“Taking the time to establish that 

relationship and bring them back as often as 

you can builds that rapport with them,” she 

said. “Now that I’ve been in the community 

for a while, those relationships are the most 

important thing because there’s trust. When 

people trust you over time, you can start to 

help improve their health. They start realizing 

I’m here to support them.” 

“Building trust and respect with lesbian, 

gay, bisexual, transgender, gender nonconforming, 

queer and/or questioning 

(LGBTQ) patients starts with inclusivity,” 

said Professor Kimberly Acquaviva. 

“LGBTQ-inclusive care is treating patients 

in a manner that respects and acknowledges 

LGBTQ identities and experiences 

without requiring patients to disclose those 

identities,” she said. Simply asking a patient 

which pronouns they prefer to describe 

themselves at the beginning of each visit can 

go a long way in building respect. 

“It’s things that seem so small but can make 

a huge difference,” she said. “Like having a 

two-step sex and gender question on patient 

forms or using a patient’s preferred name 

in mailings so as not to accidentally ‘out’ 

them as transgender.” 

In addition to inclusive care, delivering 

quality and effective care for transgender 

individuals means practicing genderaffirming 

care, said Dr. Hines. For example, 

a trans person with male genitals who takes 

hormones and has breasts should have a 

breast exam as well as testicular and prostate 

cancer screenings. 

“There could be health consequences 

like cancer that aren’t being checked that 

could potentially lead to other health 

care problems,” Dr. Hines said. “I think the 

problem is a lack of knowledge [among 

health care providers]. We have to do a 

better job of educating people early on 

in their academic careers so they will be 

prepared for caring for people they encounter 

in clinical situations.” 

outreach and advocacy 

Outside of the clinic, innovative patient 

outreach, engagement and assistance 

programs offer tremendous opportunity. 

Dr. Athey is developing a program to train 

barbers in low-income neighborhoods to 

talk about mental health with their clients. 

“We’re trying to de-stigmatize mental 

illness to make it more acceptable to talk 

about and then give [the barbers] training 

so they can help connect people to access 

resources in the community.” 

With help from a National Center for 

Civic Engagement grant, Dr. Hines is 

developing a peer navigator program for 

transgender patients seeking care in D.C. 

“One of the main findings from a needs 

assessment was that trans people in particular 

have negative health care encounters 

throughout D.C.,” she said. “It’s widespread 

even at places that consider themselves 

to be LGBTQ-friendly.” 

With the peer navigator program, 

Dr. Hines said volunteers will be trained 

to accompany transgender patients to 

appointments for support and to ensure 

the patients’ needs and concerns are 

met. Providers also can contact the 

program to learn about trans health if they 

aren’t knowledgeable. 

“A peer navigator would be available to 

accompany trans people to their scheduled 

20 |

health care appointments, so that they 

can be an advocate for them to ensure they 

wouldn’t be discriminated against.” 

Establishing these types of programs 

is impossible without connections to 

the community. 

“The only way that I’m able to successfully 

do the work that I do is to develop strong 

relationships with the community,” she said. 

“And that means for me, being committed to 

the community beyond my own research goal. 

So, if they need to sit on a panel, or they need 

a volunteer to help out with an event or help 

out with writing the grant, those are things 

that I do as service back to that community.” 

educating others 

Medicine and nursing are trying to play 

catch-up when it comes to awareness of 

LGBTQ health issues, said Dr. Hines. Sharing 

findings and best practices through research, 

conferences and creative channels are helping 

to close that knowledge gap. 

Dr. Acquaviva is a longtime advocate and 

researcher for LGBTQ-inclusive care. In 

addition to presenting at conferences across 

the country for educators and practitioners, 

she interviews a broad spectrum of patients 

and providers on her podcast, “em-dash”, 

to give them a platform for sharing their 

experiences and perspectives. She has 

interviewed individuals with spinal cord 

injuries, people with autism, practitioners 

of BDSM (bondage/discipline/sadism/ 

masochism), and members of the LGBTQ 

communities, among others. 

“Most of our students and faculty may not 

have a chance to interact with people from 

these groups,” she said. “It can be helpful to 

students because these individuals are going 

to be their patients someday.” 

Concepts such as inclusive care, social 

determinants of health and treating diverse 

populations are now being integrated into 

GW’s nursing programs. 

In her evidence-based research graduate 

course, Dr. Hines assigns articles and uses 

examples from her research to introduce 

students to topics surrounding transgendered 

individuals. Diverse patient profiles 

have been added to simulations, and the 

psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner 

options include a course specific to caring for 

vulnerable populations. 

“In this course, we focus on the social 

determinants of health and how they 

impact the psychological and the mental 

health well-being of marginalized and 

vulnerable populations,” Dr. Schwindt said. 

“Throughout the entire psychiatric-mental 

health nurse practitioner curriculum, our goal 

is to teach students about health equity and 

the role of the advanced practice provider in 

caring and advocating for underserved and 

marginalized populations.” 

GW Nursing faculty members have said 

introducing students to these concepts early 

on is critical to changing the landscape. 

“Education is going to be most effective 

if it’s introduced at the stage when people 

are actually first learning [the professions],” 

Dr. Hines said. 

/ us helping us, people into living—a community 

based agency located in petworth, d.c.—offers hiv 

testing and linkage to hiv care. 

it’s a right 

Care Behind Bars 

Arrestees have rights even behind bars, 

including access to medical care. In fact, 

they’re the only population in the U.S. 

with a constitutional right to health care. 

The Eighth Amendment, which bars 

cruel and unusual punishment, entitles 

inmates to treatment for emergency 

and chronic conditions as well as annual 

checkups and tests. 

“When a person is arrested and 

incarcerated, their freedom is forsaken, 

but their health care needs are not,” 

said Mildred Ogé, a student in 

the MSN in Nursing Leadership and 

Management program. 

As an associate chief nursing officer for 

Jackson Health System, Ms. Ogé knows 

this firsthand. She supervises nursing 

staff who serve the inmates at the Metro 

West Detention Center in Miami—a facility 

with more than 7,000 inmates and the 

eighth largest jail by population in the 

United States. 

“Our primary goal is to give premier 

correctional health care. In order to do 

so, we look at ourselves with a critical 

eye to see where our opportunities lie,” 

she said. “Our organization incorporates 

best practices, performs self-audits and 

involves the frontline staff, so they can 

see where improvements are needed and 

engage in the implementation to facilitate 

better outcomes.” 

Her role is not only to oversee 

care for inmates but to ensure their 

constitutionally protected right to receive 

care is upheld. “Every arrestee receives a 

handbook of their rights, responsibilities 

and the rules; this includes the process 

for receiving medical care,” Ms. Ogé said. 

“They’re in jail. We get it. They are 

limited, but that doesn’t mean that their 

right to health care is negated,” she said. 

“I came into this profession to give 

attention to those who need it and do it 

to the best of my ability, regardless 

of whether they are in a hospital bed or 

in a jail cell. I give care to help others, 

bottom line.” 


policyupdate 

Advancing 

Policy Through 

the Arts 

By Diana Mason, PhD, RN, FAAN 

Senior Policy Service Professor, GW 

Nursing Center for Health Policy and 

Media Engagement 

One of the unique features of 

the Center for Health Policy 

and Media Engagement is our 

emphasis on the role of the 

arts in informing policy. We 

know that the best policies are 

developed in response to a welldocumented 

problem, and the 

policies themselves should reflect 

evidence-based practices. 

To understand health or social problems 

that individuals and communities face, 

get the problem on political agendas and 

determine its impact on people’s lives, we can 

use the arts to educate health professionals 

and policymakers about experiences of health 

and illness. 

The center has received support from the 

Poetry Foundation, the publisher of Poetry 

magazine, for an initiative that engages GW 

Nursing students and faculty in reflecting 

on health, illness and caregiving through 

poetry. The center invited Seema Reza, a 

Washington-area poet, and Joy Jacobson, a 

poet and senior fellow at the center to join 

the initiative. Together, they will engage 

undergraduate and graduate nursing students, 

including those participating in global 

health experiences, and faculty seeking to 

incorporate poetry into nursing curricula. 

Reflective narrative writing and 

storytelling is also an integral part of the work 

that the center does. Our media training 

sessions help nurses understand their fears 

/ source: mk czerwiec, senior fellow at the gw nursing center for 

health policy and media engagement 

about talking with journalists, and our 

workshops on “Narratives of Diversity,” led 

by Ms. Jacobson and Senior Fellow Kenya 

Beard, address nurses’ experiences of bias 

and marginalization. 

The center’s fellows are recognized for 

their efforts to interpret policy through 

the arts. Ms. Jacobson’s poem, “Donor at 

the VLA,” was one of three submissions to 

be selected by Health Affairs for use in its 

inaugural poetry focus for its “Narratives 

Matter” section. Senior Fellow MK Czerwiec, 

a.k.a. “Comic Nurse,” uses comics to 

enhance people’s understanding of various 

issues in health and health care. She co-runs 

the website GraphicMedicine.org, which 

highlights the intersection between health 

and comics. She is currently working on a 

project to use comics to raise awareness of 

the importance of talking about end-of-life 

issues and policies. Her new book, Taking 

Turns: Stories from HIV/AIDS Care Unit 371, is 

the first graphic memoir created by a nurse. 

The center is poised to bring these arts to 

others who are interested in advancing policy 

and practice. 

Want to become more media savvy and 

build your media outreach? The center’s 

Nurse Messenger Media Training teaches 

skills on how to frame your message, tell 

distinctive, memorable, audience-centric 

stories with confidence. Learn more at: 

go.gwu.edu/NurseMessenger 

22 |

HealthCetera 

Radio Takes it to 

the Next Level 

By Barbara Glickstein, MPH, MS, RN 

GW Nursing Center for Health Policy and 

Media Engagement 

Radio and digital spaces 

are expanding the reach 

of “HealthCetera”, the media 

platform of the GW Nursing 

Center for Health Policy and 

Media Engagement. 

Every Thursday from 11 a.m. to noon, a 

“HealthCetera” program airs on Little Water 

Radio, a DJ- owned, DJ-operated free-form 

community radio station in the South Street 

Seaport neighborhood of New York City. 

Streaming online at littlewaterradio.org, the 

content focuses on advancing the health of 

populations and includes coverage of health 

news, policy, research, science and the arts. 

In the digital space, listeners can find 

“HealthCetera” on iTunes, TuneIn and 

Stitcher. 

Other content on the “HealthCetera” 

media platform includes a blog and podcasts 

produced and published by the center. 

The content focuses on the latest realworld 

effects of health care and policy, 

offering evidence-based news, analysis and 

commentary by center senior fellows, 

a diverse and dynamic team of 

front-line experts. 

Another radio show, “HealthCetera in 

the Catskills”, is produced and hosted by the 

center’s Senior Policy Service Professor 

Diana Mason and continues to air 

Wednesdays on WIOX radio in Roxbury, 

N.Y., from 2 to 3 p.m. every other week. 

The show explores the impact of local, 

state and national health and social 

issues in the communities of New York’s 

Catskill Mountains. 

The center and its leadership and staff 

believe that journalism has an inherent role in 

promoting a healthy and just society, and see 

the expanding “HealthCetera” platform as 

an important contributor.incorporate poetry 

into nursing curricula. 

Reflective narrative writing and 

storytelling is also an integral part 

of the work. 

Interested in being a guest on the radio 

shows or writing a blog post? Pitch a story 

about your research, clinical expertise or 

recently published book to: 

healthmediapolicy.com/contact 

Tuesday Brown 

Bag Lunches 

Create Policy, 

Research 

and Media 

Discussions 

A new space for discussion of 

policy, strategies for advocacy and 

expansion of media skills is now 

available for GW Nursing faculty, 

alumni and local Sigma Theta Tau 

chapter members. 

Hosted by the Center for Health Policy 

and Media Engagement, the sessions occur 

in person and online at noon on the first and 

fourth Tuesdays of the month. These brown 

bag sessions explore engagement in and 

development of research designed to evaluate 

existing policies and their effects on public 

health and health care. Topics are determined 

by surveying attendees about policy-related 

research interests. 

The first session of the month focuses 

on media and policy outreach, such as the 

use of social media to advocate for issues 

and identifying and employing responsible 

sources to frame issues. Future topics include 

blogging, nurses as news sources, graphic 

medicine and using poetry with health 

professionals, patients and families. 

The second sessions of the month are 

led by Assistant Professor Jeongyoung Park 

and often feature well-known experts. Past 

guests have included workforce researcher 

Patricia (Polly) Pittman, a professor in 

the Department of Health Policy and 

Management at the GW Milken Institute 

School of Public Health, and Robyn Golden, 

associate vice president of Population Health 

and Aging at Rush University Medical Center 

in Chicago. 

For more information about upcoming 

Tuesday Brown Bags, visit: 

go.gwu.edu/PolicyBrownBag 


esearchtoday 

Working 

Toward a 

Better Quality 

of Life After 

Cancer 

Chemotherapy, while 

lifesaving, often leaves 

patients in pain. According to the 

National Cancer Institute, an 

estimated 30 to 40 percent of 

patients undergoing the 

treatment experience 

chemotherapy-induced 

peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), 

or damage to the sensory and 

motor nerves in upper and 

lower extremities. 

Associate Professor Kathleen Griffith 

thinks exercise may lead to a solution for 

CIPN. As principal investigator for an 

ongoing National Institutes of Health study 

conducted at the Baltimore Veterans Affairs 

Medical Center, she is evaluating whether 

exercise effectively reduces pain associated 

with CIPN. 

Dr. Griffith and her collaborators 

on the NIH study, “Exercise Effect on 

Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathic 

Pain, Peripheral Nerve Fibers,” are 

currently enrolling participants and will 

measure pain reduction after aerobic or 

resistance training through patient selfreporting, 

quantitative sensory testing and 

examination of nerve fiber density. 

As a longtime oncology care provider, 

Dr. Griffith has identified a number of 

persistent treatment-related symptoms in 

patients. Her practice inspired her to pursue 

research in symptom science. 

“While the patient’s disease may respond 

well to chemotherapy, many remain riddled 

with symptoms they can’t overcome,” 

Dr. Griffith said. “This research may help 

reduce their symptom burden and improve 

quality of life.” 

Dr. Griffith and her colleagues also 

have support for related work from a GW 

Cross-Disciplinary Research Fund award. 

They are documenting the natural history 

of CIPN development in conjunction with 

neurocognitive changes during chemotherapy. 

Faculty co-investigators include GW 

Nursing biostatistician N. Maritza Dowling; 

neuropsychologist Antonio Puente and 

medical oncologists Lauren Mauro and Holly 

Dushkin from the GW School of Medicine 

and Health Sciences; and Alice Ryan from the 

University of Maryland School of Medicine. 

“The interprofessional nature of the 

study team allows us to leverage our 

different talents to implement the best 

research possible and ultimately improve 

symptom management for this population,” 

Dr. Griffith said. 

Collaborating 

to Advance 

Health Policy 

When national organizations 

join forces with nursing experts, 

discoveries with the potential to 

advance health policy can take 

shape. Associate Professor Ellen 

Kurtzman’s collaboration with 

the National Center for Health 

Statistics (NCHS), the nation’s 

principal health statistics agency 

and an office of the Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention is 

one such case. 

As a 2014 NCHS/AcademyHealth 

Health Policy Fellow, Dr. Kurtzman served 

in-residence and conducted research using 

NCHS data resources to explore the role 

of nurse practitioners (NP) in community 

health centers. She also examined how states’ 

occupational policies affect the quality of 

NP-delivered care. 

Under the Affordable Care Act, many 

states revisited occupational policies as 

insurance coverage expanded and demand for 

primary care increased. Dr. Kurtzman found 

that NP outcomes did not vary among 

states that had occupational restrictions 

and those that do not. She believes this 

suggests lawmakers may be able to ease state 

restrictions on NPs without compromising 

the quality of patient care. 

“For a long time, I’ve been interested 

in how state policies influence the quality 

of care and services delivered by NPs,” 

Dr. Kurtzman said. “The public has a right 

to know how the policies affect patient 

care, especially as demand for these 

clinicians’ services has increased under 

health care reform.” 

24 |

Although her fellowship ended in 

2016, NCHS extended its relationship 

with Dr. Kurtzman and GW Nursing. She 

now spends a day each week at NCHS, 

co-developing projects that explore health 

care delivery system innovations and 

impacts on practitioners and their patients. 

“Characteristics of Primary Care Physicians 

in Patient-centered Medical Home Practices: 

United States, 2013,” her latest policy paper 

produced by NCHS, focuses on patientcentered 

medical homes as models of 

primary care. 

Dr. Geiger-Brown most recently served 

as the founding dean of the School of 

Nursing and Health Professions at Stevenson 

University in Owings Mills, Md. While 

there, she successfully completed a CCNE 

accreditation process for the school’s 

graduate program in nursing. Dr. Geiger- 

Brown previously spent 16 years teaching, 

conducting research and participating in 

faculty governance at the University of 

Maryland Baltimore where she also served as 

the associate dean for research. 

Dr. Geiger-Brown holds a PhD in nursing 

science from the University of Maryland, 

an MSN in adult psychiatric and mental 

health from Columbia University, a BSN 

from Thomas Jefferson University and BA in 

psychology from Temple University. 

Go to: go.gwu.edu/NCHS 

Jeanne Geiger- 

Brown Named 

Associate Dean 

for Research 

A well-known nurse researcher 

and former nursing school dean 

joined GW Nursing in January 

and is now leading the expanding 

research endeavors of the school. 

Her research focuses on the adverse 

outcomes of occupational sleep deficiency. 

Through translation of that research, she 

has raised public awareness of fatigue among 

nurses working long shifts and health care 

practices and policies governing nurse work 

schedules. Evidence of sustained practice 

change resulting from her work includes 

the adoption of limits on the number of 

consecutive 12-hour shifts in some hospitals 

and the use of brief naps to reduce fatigue 

and sleepiness during night shifts. These 

contributions have the potential to affect 

patient safety and quality of care, as well as 

the health and safety of nurses. 

“GW Nursing’s research program is 

impressive for a school that was founded 

fewer than 10 years ago,” said Jeanne Geiger- 

Brown. “I’m looking forward to this unique 

opportunity to work with an energetic and 

highly productive faculty to take it to the 

next step.” 


esearch today 

Faculty 

Publications 

April 2017 - January 2018 

AKIMBERLY ACQUAVIVA. “Improving the 

critical care experience of LGBTQ patients 

and families.” Critical Connections, August/ 

September 2017. 

… “LGBTQ-inclusive hospice and palliative 

care: from ‘special population’ to inclusion 

–a paradigm shift.” National Hospice and 

Palliative Care Organization Newsline, fall 2017. 

D 

J. Weber, E. Ryherd, M.Rolfes, H. Cooper, B. 

Cherven, ASHLEY DARCY-MAHONEY. 

“Acoustical evaluation of quiet time and its 

impact on patient outcomes.” The Journal of 

the Acoustical Society of America, 

November 2017. 

predicts incident Alzheimer’s disease and 

mild cognitive impairment comparable to 

a cerebrospinal fluid biomarker.” Journal of 

Alzheimer’s Disease, January 2018. 

E 

MAJEDA EL-BANNA, BILLINDA 

TEBBENHOFF, MALINDA WHITLOW, 

KAREN WYCHE. “Motivated strategies 

for learning in accelerated second degree 

bachelor of science in nursing students.” 

Nursing Educator, November-December 2017. 

J. Greene, MAJEDA EL-BANNA, LINDA 

BRIGGS, JEONGYOUNG PARK. “Gender 

differences in nurse practitioner salaries.” 

Journal of the American Association of Nurse 

Practitioners, August 2017. 

C. Nicholas, N. MARITZA DOWLING, A. 

Racine, L. Clark, S. Berman, R.. Koscik, S. 

Asthana, B. Hermann, M. Sager, S. Johnson. 

“Longitudinal assessment of self- and 

informant-subjective cognitive complaints in 

a sample of healthy late-middle aged adults 

enriched with a family history of Alzheimer’s 

disease.” Journal of the International 

Neuropsychological Society, September 2017. 

L. Law, S. Schultz, E. Boots, J. Einerson, R. 

Dougherty, J. Oh, C. Korcarz, D. Edwards, 

R. Koscik, N. MARITZA DOWLING, C. 

Gallagher, B. Bendlin, C. Carlsson, 

S. Asthana, B. Hermann, M. Sager, 

S. Johnson, D. Cook, J. Stein, O. Okonkwo. 

“Chronotropic response and cognitive 

function in a cohort at risk for Alzheimer’s 

disease.” Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 

October 2017. 

A. Willette, J. Webb, M. Lutz, B. Bendlin, 

A. Wennberg, J. Oh, A. Roses, R. Koscik, 

B. Hermann, N. MARITZA DOWLING, S. 

Asthana, S. Johnson. “Family history and 

TOMM40 ‘523 interactive associations with 

memory in middle-aged and AD cohorts.” 

Alzheimer’s & Dementia, November 2017. 

C. Gleason, D. Norton, E. Anderson, M. 

Wahoske, D. Washington , E. Umucu, R. 

Koscik, N. MARITZA DOWLING, S. Johnson, 

C. Carlsson, S. Asthana. “Cognitive variability 

FM. Sroczynski, L. Close, M. Gorski, 

PATRICIA FARMER, J. Wortock. “The 

competency/outcomes model: Advancing 

academic progression.” Nursing Education 

Perspectives, September/October 2017. 

T. Gerardi, PATRICIA FARMER, B. Hoffman. 

“Moving closer to the 2020 BSN- prepared 

workforce goal.” American Journal of Nursing, 

February 2018. 

H 

JOYCE HAHN, W. Cook. “Lessons learned 

from nurse practitioner independent 

practice: A conversation with a nurse 

practitioner entrepreneur. Nursing Economics, 

January/February 2018. 

KD. Fang, KAREN KESTEN. “Retirements 

and succession of nursing faculty in 

2016-2025.” Nursing Outlook, September- 

October 2017. 

26 |

K. Ellis, M. Wilkinson, KAREN KESTEN, 

K. Anderson, M. Lyons, M. Bondmass. 

“Partnering to scale a graduate nursing 

program.” The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 

October 2017. 

LDALE LUPU, A. Moss, N. Armistead, B. 

Vinson. “I realized it was kind of too late: 

Integrating advance care planning into the 

care of patients with renal disease.” ASN 

Kidney News Online, November 2017. 

MDIANA MASON. “Long-term care: 

Investing in models that work.” Journal 

of the American Medical Association, 

October 2017. 

...“Rethinking rural hospitals.” Journal of the 

American Medical Association, 

July 2017. 

J. Carlson, J. Agley, R. Gassman, ANGELA 

MCNELIS, RHONDA SCHWINDT, J. 

Vannerson, D. Crabb, K. Khaja. “Effects 

and durability of an SBIRT training 

curriculum for first-year MSW students.” 

Journal of Social Work Practice in the 

Addictions, April 2017. 

PM. Plack, E. Goldman, A. Scott, 

CHRISTINE PINTZ, D. Herrmann, K. 

Kline, T. Thompson, S. Brundage. “Systems 

thinking and systems-based practice 

across the health professions: An inquiry 

into definitions, teaching practices, and 

assessment.” Teaching and Learning in 

Medicine, December 2017. 

N. O’Rourke, S. Crawford, N. Morris, 

JOYCE PULCINI. “Political efficacy and 

participation of nurse practitioners.” Policy, 

Politics, & Nursing Practice, September 2017. 

J. Bosse, K. Simmonds, C. Hanson, JOYCE 

PULCINI, L. Dunphy, P. Vanhook, L. 

Poghosyan. “Position Statement: Full practice 

authority for advanced practice registered 

nurses is necessary to transform primary 

care.” Nursing Outlook, December 2017. 

RNANCY RUDNER. “AAMCN Survey Results: 

Uncertainty, evolving roles for managed care 

nurses, and challenges ahead.” Journal of 

Managed Care Nursing, July 2017. 

SJ. Hord, M. Shad, S. Badawy, D. Matthews, 

J. Hilden, A. Wayne, EDWARD SALSBERG, 

P. Leavey. “The American Society of 

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology workforce 

assessment: Part 1- Current state of the 

workforce.” Pediatric Blood and Cancer, 

October 2017. 

EDWARD SALSBERG, C. Ericson. “Doctor 

of osteopathic medicine: A growing share of 

the physician workforce.” Health Affairs blog, 

October 2017. 

BOOKS, BOOK CHAPTERS 

AND MONOGRAPHS 

JOYCE HAHN. “Private Health Insurance 

Markets.” Policy and Politics: For Nurses and 

other health professionals. 3rd edition. Sudbury, 

Mass.: Jones & Bartlett Learning. 

BEVERLY LUNSFORD. “Inter-Disciplinary 

Team-based Care.” Integrative Geriatric 

Medicine. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University 

Press USA. 

M. Sierpina, BEVERLY LUNSFORD. “Positive 

Aging.” Integrative Geriatric Medicine. New 

York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press USA. 

A. Lee, S. Cheng, DALE LUPU. 

“Integrative Palliative Care.” Integrative 

Geriatric Medicine. New York, N.Y.: Oxford 

University Press USA. 

T. Bodenheimer, DIANA MASON. 

Registered Nurses: Partners in Transforming 

Primary Care: Proceedings of a Conference on 

Preparing Registered Nurses for Enhanced Roles 

in Primary Care. New York, N.Y.: Josiah 

Macy, Jr. Foundation. 

G. Martsolf, J. Sloan, DIANA MASON, C. 

Sullivan, A. Villarruel. RAND Report: Nurse- 

Designed Models of Care and Culture of Health: 

Three Case Studies. Santa Monica, Calif.: 

RAND Corporation. 

L. Quigley, EDWARD SALSBERG, N. 

Mehfoud, A. Collins. Report on the 2017 Survey 

of Nephrology Fellows. Washington, D.C.: 

American Society of Nephrology. 

EDWARD SALSBERG, N. Mehfoud, L. 

Quigley, DALE LUPU. A Profile of Active 

Hospice and Palliative Medicine Physicians, 

2016. Washington, D.C.: George Washington 

University Health Workforce Institute. 

EDWARD SALSBERG, L. Quigley, N. 

Mehfoud, KIM ACQUAVIVA, KAREN 

WYCHE, S. Sliwa. Profile of the Social Work 

Workforce: A Report to the Council on Social Work 

Education and the National Workforce Initiative 

Steering Committee. Washington, D.C.: 

George Washington University Health 

Workforce Institute. 

L. Quigley, EDWARD SALSBERG, DALE 

LUPU. A Profile of New Hospice and Palliative 

Medicine Physicians: Results from the Survey of 

Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellows Who 

Completed Training in 2016. Washington, D.C.: 

George Washington University Health 

Workforce Institute. 

KAREN WYCHE. “Perspectives on Women’s 

Private and Public Lives.” APA Handbook of 

the Psychology of Women. Washington, D.C.: 

American Psychological Association. 

…S. Miles-Cohen. “SES, Social Class, 

Subjective Social Status and Subjective 

Well-Being: Examples of Women’s Appraisals 

of their Health and Work.” APA Handbook 

of the Psychology of Women. Washington, D.C.: 

American Psychological Association. 


gwnursing 

at home and around the world 

Haiti: 

A Paradox of Resources 

/ mayri leslie, jules saint julien, jeongyoung park and samson alexis 

were members of the interprofessional team promoting health in haiti. 

Haiti 

By Mayri Sagady Leslie, EdD, MSN, CNM, FACNM 

Global service provides opportunities for students 

and faculty, as well as those receiving care. In Haiti, 

it also offers an important opening to learn from the 

people of that country. 

In January 2018, the GW Nursing Community and Global Health 

Initiatives Program partnered with a medical team from South Korea’s 

Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital to provide a week of 

primary care and patient education in Caracol, Haiti. The mission 

included dozens of local volunteers, nurses and translators, all under 

the lead of Professor Joyce Pulcini, director of community and global 

initiatives, Assistant Professor Carol Lang and me. Our team delivered 

care and education to more than 2,000 adults and children and, like 

several previous medical missions to Haiti, was sponsored by Sae-A 

Trading Co., Ltd. 

During the mission, Assistant Professor Jeongyoung Park and I 

conducted the first phase of a mixed-method, community-based 

study focused on reducing childhood anemia. taking the approach 

of “you are the experts” while listening to the locals, we expanded 

our understanding of both health care crises and opportunities for 

sustainable, community-led solutions. 

Samson Alexis, who lives in Caracol, Haiti, served as our translator. 

When asked what he felt was needed to support the community in 

improving their children’s health, he said, “We have so many people, 

so many young nurses, doctors. They’ve had their … degrees two, 

three years but they are not working. Even though they could help our 

population, they are not hired. Some go to other jobs, like in tourism.” 

Underemployment among health professionals in Haiti is not a 

new issue. Social researchers have documented the displacement of 

Haiti’s health resources (facilities and workers) as an unintended effect 

of the assistance offered by other countries and non-governmental 

organizations (NGOs) who came in to support Haiti after the 2010 

earthquake, the subsequent cholera epidemic and hurricanes. While 

28 |

much good has been done, in some cases this has resulted in the loss 

of Haitian medical professionals to other countries, and a downstream 

lack of employment for Haitian health workers. Additionally, the focus 

of NGO support is often on acute and critical clinical issues, which 

may not address the deficit in ongoing primary care and sustainable, 

community-based solutions. 

Forty percent of the (Haitian) 

population lack access to essential 

health and nutrition services 

– u.s. agency for international development 

Other factors, including geography, contribute to this ongoing 

deficit of care. The U.S. Agency for International Development 

estimates that roughly 40 percent of the population lack access to 

essential health and nutrition services. With 80 percent of Haitians 

living below the poverty line, life expectancy at birth is 65 years, and 

children under age 5 have double the mortality rate of the neighboring 

Dominican Republic. 

A 2017 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

showed that although about 91 percent of the population of Haiti 

lived within five kilometers of a primary care facility, only an estimated 

23 percent of the entire population and just 5 percent of the rural 

population had access to primary care. GW Nursing’s recent mission 

focused on addressing these needs by offering temporary primary care 

and supporting ongoing, sustainable community-based care by and for 

the Haitian people. 

In a country where there is one doctor or nurse per 3,000 

people, the majority of Haitian health care is provided by nurses. 

The government health care system has made many improvements 

since the 2010 earthquake, including a network of community 

health workers that deliver local health education and coordination. 

However, these workers do not provide clinical services or care. 

The underemployment of trained, Haitian health workers and 

an ongoing deficit of care together present a challenging paradox. 

The GW Nursing research project has raised the possibility of a 

public health nursing model led by Haitian nurses. This model could 

potentially address both sides of the issue by employing existing 

human resources to deliver primary health care where it’s needed. 

The GW Nursing missions will continue to conduct research and 

develop partnerships with local leaders to support community-driven 

solutions to health care issues facing the Haitian people. The dual 

benefits of expanded access to primary health care and the greater 

employment of Haitian providers may eventually address the paradox 

of health care resources in Haiti. 

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP COUNCILS 

EVIDENCE-BASED RESEARCH 

The O’Neil Center is the industry’s first 

central resource combining guidance from 

prominent health care thought leaders, 

evidence-based research and proven 

translational tools to move patient and 

family engagement from theory to practice. 

Learn more at getwellnetwork.com 

TRANSLATIONAL RESOURCES 


gw nursing at home and around the world 

Local and Global 

Presentations 

Alexandria, Va. | Research faculty 

member EDWARD SALSBERG presented 

“The Social Work Workforce” at the 

Social Work Leadership Council in 

December 2017. 

Atlanta | At the American Association 

of Colleges of Nursing Baccalaureate 

Education Conference in November 

2017, Associate Professor CATHERINE 

COX presented the poster, “Best Practice 

Tips for the Assessment of Learning 

of Undergraduate Nursing Students via 

Multiple Choice Questions.” 

Baltimore | As an invited speaker, 

Associate Professor KAREN KESTEN 

presented “Healthy Work Environment 

and Workplace Bullying” at the University 

of Maryland in October 2017. 

Cape Town, South Africa | Associate 

Professor MERCEDES ECHEVARRIA 

and colleagues presented “Recognizing 

Delirium in Hospitalized Children: 

A Systematic Review of Risk 

Factors and Characteristics of Acute 

Pediatric Delirium” at the September 

2017 Global Evidence Summit. 

Dallas | At the Association of Nurses 

in AIDS Care Conference in November 

2017, Assistant Professor DANA HINES 

presented “Community Engaged 

Approaches for Recruiting Transgender 

Women in Health Research.” 

Dublin, Ireland | Research faculty 


“Innovative Uses of Health Workers to 

Increase Access and Constrain Costs” 

at the Fourth Global Forum on Human 

Resources for Health in November 2017. 

Erlanger, Ky. | In September at the 2017 

Health Management Associates annual 

meeting and conference, “Creating More 

Age-Friendly Communities,” Assistant 

Professor BEVERLY LUNSFORD presented 

“The Sacred Practice of Caring: Working 

Together for Healthier Communities.” 

Fairfax, Va. | Associate Professor JOYCE 

HAHN was a guest lecturer at George 

Mason University in October 2017. Her 

lectures to nursing graduate students 

were “The Regulatory Role of the Board 

of Nursing and the Policy Framework of a 

Changing Health Care Environment” and 

“Social Media and Professionalism.” 

Homestead, Va. | Associate 

Professor CATHERINE COX gave the 

poster presentation, “Best Practice 

Tips for the Assessment of Learning 

of Undergraduate Nursing Students 

via Multiple Choice Questions,” at 

the Virginia Nurses Association Fall 

Conference, in November 2017. 

Indianapolis, Ind. | Clinical Professor 

CATHIE GUZZETTA and Assistant 

Professor QIUPING “PEARL” ZHOU 

presented the poster, “Attitudes of Junior 

and Senior Undergraduate Nursing 

Students towards Nursing Informatics,” 

at the Sigma Theta Tau International 44th 

Biennial Convention in November 2017. 

Miami, Fla. | Dean PAMELA JEFFRIES 

was the keynote speaker at the University 

of Miami Simulation Hospital Dedication 

in September 2017. 

Naples, Fla. | Associate Professors 

SANDRA DAVIS and KAREN KESTEN 

presented the poster, “Building the 

Infrastructure: Collaborations for Health 

Equity and Community Engagement,” at 

the American Association of Colleges 

of Nursing 2018 Doctoral Conference 

in January. 

New Orleans | At the 2017 Psych 

Congress in September, Assistant 

Professor QIUPING “PEARL” ZHOU gave 

faculty research 

GWN Research 

Colloquium 

In January, GW Nursing faculty 

presented their research on 

topics ranging from practice and 

teaching to policy. 

+ Assistant Clinical Professor Linda 

Cassar—”Do Educational Level 

and Certification Status Impact 

the Level of Support that Nurses 

Provide to Newly Delivered 

Breastfeeding Mothers?” 

+ Associate Professor Catherine Cox— 

”Best Practice Tips for the Assessment 

of Learning of Undergraduate 

Nursing Students via Multiple 

Choice Questions.” 

+ Assistant Professor Majeda El-Banna, 

Assistant Professor Malinda Whitlow and 

Professor Angela McNelis— 

”Using a Crossover Repeated 

Measure Design to Evaluate the Flipped 

Classroom in an Accelerated 

Bachelor of Science in Nursing 

Pharmacology Course.” 

+ Associate Professor Joyce Hahn— 

”The Perceptions and Experiences 

of National Regulatory Nurse Leaders 

in Advancing the APRN Compact 

Policy Agenda.” 

+ Associate Professor Arlene 

Pericak and Assistant Professor 

Cameron Hogg—”Levels of burnout 

rates among RNs.” 

30 |

the poster presentation “Depression 

and Chronic Health Conditions Among 

Hispanics and Non-Hispanic Whites.” 

Associate Professor KAREN WHITT 

presented “How Effective are Family 

Health History Tools in Collecting 

Information on Race, Ethnicity and 

Reducing Health Disparities?” and 

“Collection of Family Health History in 

Czechia: Nursing Students’ Experiences” 

at the Transcultural Nursing Society 43rd 

Annual Conference in October 2017. 

At the American Society of Nephrology 

Annual Meeting in November 2017, 

Associate Research Professor DALE 

LUPU presented “Pathways Project of 

the Coalition for Supportive Care of 

Kidney Patients” and research faculty 


“The 2017 Survey of Nephrologists 

Completing Training.” 

Palm Springs, Calif. | Research 

Professor PATRICIA FARMER was the 

keynote speaker at the California 

Association of Colleges of Nursing and 

California Organization for Associate 

Degree Nursing Joint Conference in 

December 2017. 

Reston, Va. | Associate Professor KAREN 

WHITT presented “Family Health History 

in Primary Care: A Critical Analysis of 

Available Tools” at the International 

Society of Nurses in Genetics World 

Congress in November 2017. 

San Antonio | In January at the 2018 

Student Veterans of America National 

Conference, Clinical Instructor CAROLYN 

CUMMINGS and Assistant Professor 

PAUL TSCHUDI presented “Double Time: 

Challenges and Benefits. One Model of 

an Accelerated Program.” 

San Diego | Professor KIMBERLY 

ACQUAVIVA gave the keynote address, 

“Palliative Care and LGBTQ Persons: 

Countering Stigma and Nurturing 

Resilience,” at the September 2017 

2nd National Symposium for Academic 

Palliative Care Education and Research 

sponsored by the California State 

University Institute for Palliative Care. 

At the National League for Nursing 

Education Summit in September 2017, 

Director of Simulation and Experiential 

Learning CRYSTEL FARINA presented 

“Concept-Based Simulation: Using 

Technology to Make It Happen” and gave 

the poster presentation, “Why Stop After 

Graduation? Formative Evaluation in 

the Practice Setting.” Professor ANGELA 

MCNELIS and colleagues presented 

“International Clinical Experiences 

for Required Clinical Contact Hours: 

A National Survey” and “GuIDE: An 

Innovative Program to Facilitate Nurses’ 

Pursuit of Doctoral Education.” Assistant 

Professor GRETCHEN WIERSMA 

presented “Accelerated Second-Degree 

BSN Graduates: Are They Ready 

for Practice?” 

Washington, D.C. | Assistant Professor 

DANA HINES presented “Engaging 

Community in Social Science PrEP 

Research” at the U.S. Conference on 

AIDS in September 2017. 

At the George Washington University 

Teaching Day: Scholarship of 

Teaching & Learning Research, 

Assistant Professor MAJEDA EL-BANNA 

and Associate Professor BILLINDA 

TEBBENHOFF gave the poster 

presentation, “Lights, Camera, Action— 

Developing Pre-Health Professional 

Student Career Development through 

Film.” Associate Professor CHRISTINE 

PINTZ participated in the invited 

faculty-led session, “Fostering Creativity: 

How Design Thinking Can Enhance 

Your Teaching.” 

Clinical Professor CATHIE GUZZETTA 

and Assistant Professor QIUPING 

“PEARL” ZHOU presented the poster, 

“Nursing research characteristics of 

Magnet® hospitals,” at the Council for 

the Advancement of Nursing Science, 

2017 Advanced Methods Conference: 

Pragmatic Trials in October. 

At the D.C. Board of Physical Therapy’s 

Fall Forum, Professor KIMBERLY 

ACQUAVIVA gave the presentation, 

“Providing LGBTQ-Inclusive Care to 

Physical Therapy Patients,” to physical 

therapists and physical therapy assistants. 

In October, Dr. Acquaviva presented to 

post-baccalaureate program pre-med 

students at the George Washington 

University School of Medicine and 

Health Sciences on “E-Professionalism 

and Social Media” with Professor JOYCE 

PULCINI and Alexandra Gomes, GW 

Libraries associate director for education, 

information and technology services 

Dean PAMELA JEFFRIES served as the 

co-chair of the November 2017 National 

Academies of Science, Engineering 

and Medicine Global Forum Workshop, 

“Improving Health Professional Education 

and Practice through Education.” 

In November at the Washington Regional 

Nursing Research Consortium held 

at the Catholic University of America, 

DNP student AMY GOAD presented 

“Preventable Cardiovascular-Related 

versus Unavoidable Occupational Causes 

of Firefighter Fatalities on Duty” and 

DNP student TINA HUMBLE presented 

“Pediatric Discharge Pain Scores: A Useful 

Quality Indicator?” 

Assistant Professor ASEFEH FARAZ was 

a presenter in the workshop, “Successful 

NP Transition to Practice: A Practical 

Guide” at the GW Nursing On-Site 

Campus Experience in December. 

on the internet 

Through an AARP/RWJF Campaign to 

Champion Nursing in America Removing 

Barriers Learning Collaborative webinar 

in September, faculty member NANCY 

RUDNER presented her research, “What 

Does Physician Supervision of Florida’s 

Nurse Practitioners Really Look Like?” 

Associate Professor ARLENE PERICAK 

presented “Faculty Clinical Site Visits 

in Nurse Practitioner Education: Student 

Perspective” in a video on the 

Nurse Educator website in October. 


accomplishments 

Creating 

a Legacy 

Through Peer 

Mentorship 

By Ruth Adams 

No matter what age, the first 

day of school always seems a 

little scary. Adjusting to any new 

environment can be a challenge, 

but through the determined 

efforts of Becca Mahnesmith, 

BSN ’17, GW Nursing now 

has a formal undergraduate peer 

mentorship program. 

32 |

“I felt first-semester students could 

benefit from mentors and third- and fourthsemester 

students could benefit from 

leadership experiences within the program,” 

said Ms. Mahnesmith. 

Last year, she reached out to Malinda 

Whitlow, assistant professor and executive 

director of the BSN program, to help create 

one. A pilot program with six student mentors 

from Cohort 12 launched last fall. 

Leesa Snyder, BSN ’17 and one of the 

program’s original steering committee 

members, underscored the benefits of the 

mentor program to first-year students. “I 

came to GW without knowing any students… 

and I remember being so lost at first, with 

so many questions and no idea who to [put] 

them to,” said Ms. Snyder. “When Becca 

came to me about the mentorship program, 

I thought of what it felt like to be a new 

student and realized what a comfort having a 

mentor would have been.” 

At their undergraduate institutions, both 

Ms. Snyder and Ms. Mahnesmith found 

benefits in mentorship programs that they 

replicated in the new program. 

As the faculty coordinator, Dr. Whitlow 

refined the application, interview and 

training processes for new mentors. Mentors 

commit to meeting with 10 students for an 

hour each week for the semester. According 

to Ms. Mahnesmith, mentors encourage 

mentees to develop their professional 

networks and “serve as learning brokers and 

sounding boards for issues relating to the 

mentee’s career goals and development.” 

The mentor selection process is 

application-based, and training includes a 

one-day workshop during which mentors 

and the steering committee meet to discuss 

expectations and plan events for the semester. 

Incoming students are assigned a mentor 

before orientation. 

“The mentorship program is helping 

students navigate the challenges of a new 

program and school, while giving faculty 

more time focus on their academic success,” 

Dr. Whitlow said. Judging by the number of 

applications for prospective mentors next 

year, the program promises to be a success 

for years to come. 

Born to Nurse 

at Florida 

Hospital Orlando 

By Ruth Adams 

Cathy Stankiewicz, a 

student in GW’s Doctor of 

Nursing Practice (DNP) program, 

has both a personal and 

professional relationship with the 

Florida Hospital Orlando. She was 

born there and was named its chief 

nursing officer (CNO) in 2017. 

As part of Adventist Health System, 

Florida Hospital Orlando is Florida Hospital’s 

main campus and a community hospital for 

the greater Orlando area, as well as a referral 

hospital for Central Florida and much of the 

Southeast, Caribbean and South America. 

In her role as CNO, Ms. Stankiewicz leads 

and administrates nursing operations for the 

delivery of patient-centered care. “Nurses 

have the privilege of the most time with 

patients and families and often serve as their 

‘voice’ regarding how health care operations 

impact them,” she said. 

Ms. Stankiewicz is specializing in quality 

of care in the DNP program. “The course 

content truly exposed me to a broad and 

comprehensive perspective on health care,” 

she said. “I value GW’s focus on health 

reform and how the professors in the program 

are closely engaged in health policy due to the 

school’s location in Washington, D.C. To me, 

that represents a very aligned and up-to-date 

focus on the health care environment.” 

She praised Esther Emard’s health care 

quality class, which connects students to 

health care reform history and current 

policy and literature via discussion boards. 

“The varied backgrounds and practice 

environments of the students provided 

a rich environment for discussion from 

multiple perspectives,” Ms. Stankiewicz said. 

She incorporates this same multiplicity of 

viewpoints into her role as CNO to ensure 

nursing operations are responsive to new 

directions in health care. 

Through a daily service excellence 

“huddle” of 50 department leaders, 

Ms. Stankiewicz emphasizes a multidisciplinary 

and collaborative environment 

to improve the quality of care and reduce 

health care costs. The team reviews feedback 

from rounds and operations so every team 

is connected to its department’s impact on 

patients and their experience. “Being able 

to connect is where you can have the best 

impact for your organization. The outcome 

of these daily service huddles is an immediate 

intervention that makes a difference to the 

patient that day,” she said. 

spotlight on gw nursing 

In the Media 

+ Professor Kimberly Acquaviva was the 

featured guest in August 2017 on “The Focus 

Group” with Tim Bennett, a program 

hosted on Facebook Live and YouTube. 

The interview covered a wide range of topics, 

including her book, LGBTQ-Inclusive 

Hospice and Palliative Care: A Practical 

Guide to Transforming Professional Practice. 

+ The January/February Nursing 

Economic$ podcast featured Associate 

Professor Joyce Hahn and co-author Wesley 

Cook discussing their article, “Beyond 

Lessons Learned: An Interview with a Nurse 

Practitioner Entrepreneur.” 

+ Associate Professor Karen Kesten’s interviews 

at the May 2017 American Association of 

Critical Care Nurses National Teaching 

Institute are featured on the podcast 

FreshRN, “Nursing Certifications Explained” 

and the website The Nursing Show. 

+ In October 2017, faculty member 

Nancy Rudner was the guest speaker on 

Peter Rosenberger’s nationally syndicated 

broadcast, “Caregivers with Hope: 

The Radio Show.” The piece aired on Truth 

Network and iHeart Radio. 


accomplishments 

GW Nursing 

Welcomes... 

faculty 

+ JEANNE GEIGER-BROWN, PHD, MSN, 

RN, FAAN. Dr. Geiger-Brown is profiled 

on page 25. 

+ ANNE-MARIE O’BRIEN, PHD, MSN, 

RN, is a clinical assistant professor in the 

Policy, Populations and Systems (PPS) 

Community and a women’s health nurse 

practitioner. Before becoming a nursing 

professor and scholar she worked in 

private practice and urban academic health 

centers. Her focus areas include the social 

and ecological factors that influence a 

person’s engagement in health-promoting 

behaviors. She earned a PhD in nursing 

and health care innovation from Arizona 

State University. 

+ JEANNE MURPHY, PHD, CNM, joins 

the PPS community as an assistant 

professor of nursing. Prior to joining 

GW, Dr. Murphy was a program officer in 

the Healthcare Delivery and Disparities 

Research Program at Patient-Centered 

Outcomes Research Institute. She 

completed her post-doctoral Cancer 

Prevention Fellowship with the Division 

of Cancer Prevention at the National 

Cancer Institute, where she designed 

and conducted research projects on 

prevention of breast and cervical cancer. 

She earned a PhD in nursing from Johns 

Hopkins University. 

staff 

+ ASHLEY BIRKMAN joins the Acute and 

Chronic Care Community as a coordinator. 

Previously, Ms. Birkman provided 

administrative services for an energy 

services company in California and, more 

recently, a design firm in Washington, 

D.C. She has a bachelor’s degree in 

communications with a minor in marketing 

from Old Dominion University. 

+ KRISTEN CABRERA is a new assistant 

director of admissions from Baltimore, 

Md. She received a bachelor’s degree in 

family science from the University of 

Maryland. She developed a passion for 

higher education while working with 

students in the College Park Scholars 

Program. She also earned a master’s degree 

in educational studies from the University 

of Glasgow. 

+ NIKKI GEBARA joins the Online 

Learning and Instructional Technology 

team as senior instructional designer. 

Dr. Gebara is a certified Quality Matters 

Master Reviewer, engaging in quality 

assurance practices to promote and 

improve the quality of online education 

and student learning. She holds a doctorate 

in education with a specialization in 

online learning from the University of 

Missouri, Columbia. 

+ KATHERINE GREEN is a program 

coordinator for the Center for Health 

Policy and Media Engagement. She holds 

a master’s degree in international relations 

and service development from the College 

of Mount Saint Vincent. Prior to joining 

GW, Ms. Green worked in global and 

national health advocacy, development, 

and policy. 

+ MELISSA JACKLIN, is an MSN program 

associate and comes from Inova Health 

Systems where she recruited recent 

graduates of BSN programs to work in a 

variety of hospitals and units. She has also 

worked for Marymount University as a 

BSN recruiter. 

+ ASHLEY JOHNSON joins the clinical 

placement team as manager. She brings 

10 years of project and relationship 

development experience along with 

successful placement administration 

outcomes. She has worked in people 

operations management for organizations 

including 2U, Congressional Country Club 

and Century 21 Redwood Realty, and has 

nine years in the education field. She is a 

graduate of Liberty University. 

+ BLAIR JOHNSON joins GW Nursing as 

the director of Ventures, Initiatives and 

Partnerships, formerly Entrepreneurial 

Enterprises. He is a seasoned senior 

executive and results-driven multiindustry 

leader with over 25 years of 

business, academic and health care 

experience with particular expertise in 

strategy formulation, strategic planning, 

organizational design and community 

health. He is a sought-after speaker, 

C-Level Leader, strategist and adviser to 

CEO, COO, CFO and CNO leaders. 

He has led financial, technology, 

marketing, corporate development and 

human resource functions at several large 

national organizations. 

+ CAMISHA JOHNSON, a program assistant 

for Community and Global Initiatives, is 

also a graduate student at the GW Elliott 

School of International Affairs, where she 

studies international security studies and 

conflict resolution. She earned a bachelor’s 

degree from Midwestern State University. 

+ EVAN MULLOY, an information 

technology service associate, has worked as 

a government contractor for the past five 

years. He is a graduate of George Mason 

University and holds various industry 

certifications, including CompTIA A+, 

Network+, Security+ and ITIL Foundation. 

+ BETSY SHAW is the school’s designated 

human resources manager. She is an 

accomplished HR professional with over 

20 years of experience. In her most recent 

role, she served as a Xerox Corporation 

HR business partner, aligned to the health 

care and higher education industries. 

+ RYAN TUNKEL is an assistant director of 

admissions. He holds a master’s degree 

from GW and comes from the GW School 

of Medicine and Health Sciences, where he 

was an admissions officer. 

34 |

Awards, 

Honors and 

Accomplishments 

+ Professors KIM ACQUAVIVA and JANICE 

HOFFMAN are 2017 American Journal of 

Nursing Book of the Year award winners. 

Dr. Acquaviva’s book, LGBTQ-Inclusive 

Hospice and Palliative Care: A Practical Guide 

to Transforming Professional Practice, was 

awarded first place in the palliative care 

and hospice category; Dr. Hoffman and 

co-author Nancy Sullivan were awarded 

first place in the digital products category 

for “Davis Advantage + Davis Edge. Online 

Personalized Learning for Medical- 

Surgical Nursing: Making Connections 

to Practice.” 

+ Associate Professor CATHERINE 

COX was elected to two-year terms on 

both the Eastern Nursing Research Society 

Membership Committee 

and the Virginia Nurses Association 

Nominating Committee. 

+ Modern Health Care named Assistant 

Professor ASHLEY DARCY-MAHONEY 

a 2017 Rising Star in their Excellence in 

Nursing awards for her leadership and 

sustained contribution to the health 

care industry. The award cited her work 

on the “Talk With Me Baby” language 

development program. 

+ Assistant Professor MAJEDA EL-BANNA 

received an honorable mention in 

the Virginia Nurses Foundation 2017 

Leadership Excellence Nurse Educator 

awards. In September, Dr. El-Banna was 

certified as a nurse educator through the 

National League of Nursing. 

+ Sigma Theta Tau, Sigma Chapter 

appointed Instructor ESTHER EMARD to 

its Review Task Force for a two-year term. 

+ Associate Professor JOYCE HAHN is the 

Virginia Nurses Association representative 

to the Nurses on Board Coalition of the 

American Nurses Association Foundation 

group, which seeks to place 10,000 nurses 

on governing boards by 2020. 

+ Dean PAMELA JEFFRIES was named a 

North Putnam (Ind.) High School Alumni 

Association Distinguished Alumni. 

+ Associate Professor KAREN KESTEN was 

inducted as a fellow into the American 

Academy of Nursing in October 2017. Dr. 

Kesten’s contributions have enhanced 

care delivery and health outcomes for the 

public through standardizing practice 

and shaping the scope and certification 

of APRNs. Dr. Kesten has achieved the 

academy’s goal of advancing practice and 

policy through innovations in certification 

and advanced practice. 

+ In December 2017, Professor JOYCE 

PULCINI was selected as a Fulbright 

specialist by the J. William Fulbright 

Foreign Scholarship Board and the U.S. 

Department of State. 

+ Clinical Assistant Professor PAMELA 

SLAVEN-LEE was named to the Sigma 

Theta Tau Experienced Nurse Faculty 

Academy. Her mentors for the 12-month 

leadership development experience are 

Professor Marilyn Oermann of Duke 

University and Professor Donna Nickatis 

of Hunter College. 

+ Assistant Professor MALINDA WHITLOW 

was named to the Sigma Theta Tau Nurse 

Faculty Leader Academy. Her mentors 

for the intense international leadership 

experience are Professor Diane Billings of 

Indiana University and Professor Barbara 

Patterson of Widener University. 

Grants 

and Funding 

+ Assistant Professors N. MARITZA 

DOWLING and JEONGYOUNG PARK 

received funding from GW Nursing for 

“The Inner Working of Patient-Centered 

Medical Home Model: How Do Nurse 

Practitioner-led PCMHs Differ from 

Physician-led PCMHs?” 

+ The Preeclampsia Foundation awarded 

a Vision Grant to Assistant Professors 

MAYRI LESLIE, LINDA BRIGGS and N. 

MARITZA DOWLING for the “PEACH 

Project: Preeclampsia Survivor Awareness 

of Cardiovascular Health Risk.” 

+ Associate Research Professor DALE LUPU 

has received a second year of funding 

from the Patrick and Catherine Weldon 

Donaghue Medical Research Foundation 

Greater Value Portfolio for “Advance Care 

Planning with Kidney Disease Patients: 

the MY WAY Project.” 

+ Assistant Professor RHONDA SCHWINDT 

and colleagues from Indiana University 

(IU) were awarded the IU Health Values 

Fund Grand Challenge for “Phased 

Multisite Cluster Randomized Trial Testing 

Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to 

Treatment for People that Use Tobacco, 

Alcohol, and Non-Prescription Drugs.” 

+ Research faculty member EDWARD 

SALSBERG is funded by the Council on 

Social Work Education—on behalf of eight 

national social work organizations—for 

assisting the social work profession with 

understanding the size and scope of the 

workforce and to help improve the data 

infrastructure within the profession; 

the American Society of Nephrology for 

the fifth year of studying the nephrology 

workforce including trends in supply 

and demand; and the American Academy 

of Hospice and Palliative Medicine for a 

study of the hospice and palliative care 

physician workforce. 


faculty, expanding a staff program’s and reach student news 

There’s an App 

for That 

Using a readily available feature of 

modern life, Assistant Professor Ashley 

Darcy-Mahoney is helping parents 

prepare their children for lifelong success. 

Launching this spring, “Háblame Bebé” 

is a childhood language development 

app for bilingual parents whose primary 

language is Spanish. Designed by a team 

that includes Dr. Darcy-Mahoney, the 

app draws on the same principles used in 

“Talk with Me Baby,” a program to improve 

language learning during children’s 

first months of life, and encourages 

Spanish-speaking parents to talk to their 

children in the language they’re most 

comfortable with. 

Parents who speak English as a second 

language often talk to their children in 

only basic English phrases rather than 

their native language. Parents do this 

with the best intentions, under the false 

assumption that exposing children only 

to English will be most beneficial, said 

Dr. Darcy-Mahoney. In reality, she said, 

exposure to any language helps babies 

grow neural connections, and 85 percent 

of the brain is developed by age three. 

Because of this early development, the 

first months and years with parents are 

more powerful than school in a child’s 

intellectual growth. 

The app, funded by a $75,000 grant 

the team won through the U.S. Health 

Resources and Services Administration’s 

“Bridging the Word Gap Challenge,” was 

created completely in Spanish. Its intent 

is to teach parents about the benefits of 

bilingualism and to address the “word 

gap,” the discrepancy in the amount 

of language exposure experienced by 

children from affluent families versus 

those in low-income families. 

By age three, children from lowincome 

families hear an average of 30 

million fewer words than their more 

affluent peers. This early disadvantage 

significantly impacts vocabulary 

development and long-term academic 

achievement. The word gap can be 

closed by improving “language nutrition,” 

or the range of words babies hear. The 

app features educational modules and 

daily routines that offer choices and 

tracking to help users determine how 

often they provide language nutrition to 

their babies. 

/ the hÁblame bebÉ app serves as a tool for children 

learning a second language. 

Video-driven 

improvement 

for healthcare 

B-Line Medical’s capture, debriefing and 

assessment solutions are used in over 500 

healthcare institutions in 31 countries. Visit 

blinemedical.com or call 1.888.228.3838 x1 

today for more information on how we can 

help your medical simulation or clinical care 

facility improve patient safety. 

36 |

Student Voices 

Perspectives on the Health 

Policy and Media Engagement 

Graduate Certificate 

The first cohort of GW Nursing’s 

new graduate certificate on policy shared 

their takeaways from the program with 

Associate Professor Mary Jean Schumann, 

executive director of the Center for 

Health Policy and Media Engagement. 

“The faculty have been incredible. 

Not only are they experts, they 

really know how to interpret what 

is happening out there. They make 

policy come alive. They make 

policy real. 

“I already am using it. In my 

school… we are talking about 

making curriculum changes and 

how we embed policy for students 

from day one, whether it is while 

talking about social determinants 

of health, the opioid crisis or infant 

mortality rate… At the board of 

nursing level, we are talking about 

how to help the APRN group 

achieve their goals.” 

— PATRICIA A. SHARPNACK, DNP, RN, 

CNE, NEA-BC, ANEF 

Dean and Strawbridge Professor 

The Breen School of Nursing Ursuline College 

Current President, Ohio Board of Nursing 

“The caliber of the professors 

speaks volumes. This has given me 

a greater appreciation for political 

strategy. Sometimes it is better to 

go for incremental change rather 

than trying to get the ‘whole loaf 

of bread’ at once. I can better 

determine who to influence and 

how to apply this knowledge to 

state work to advance our issues, 

and even apply it nationally and 

internationally. You just need to do 

it. Yes, the program has rigor. But 

what you get out of it is worth far 

more than you are putting in.” 

— LINDA YOUNG, MS, RN, FRE 

Nursing Program Specialist, 

South Dakota Board of Nursing 

Program Director, South Dakota Center 

for Nursing Workforce 

“For anyone interested in policy 

and media, this is the ideal 

program — it gives you all of the 

skills and tools to have an impact 

on policy issues. [I’m] new to the 

Louisiana State Board and have 

served as president of the state 

nurses’ association. It was a great 

opportunity to learn about policy 

and media. 

“[I’m] already using the knowledge 

to reach out, identify stakeholders 

and engage them in having 

Louisiana become a compact 

state. I anticipate teaching a policy 

course to our doctoral students.” 

Congratulations! 

GW Nursing Financial Analyst 

SRIJANA SILWAL and her husband 

completed the 2017 Marine Corps 

marathon last October. More than 30,000 

runners in Washington, D.C., participated 

in the race, which generates millions 

of dollars for causes such as health and 

research, military family support and 

wounded warriors. 

—JACQUELINE J. HILL, PHD, RN 

Associate Dean, College of Nursing 

and Allied Health Southern University 

and A&M College 

Editor’s Note 

In the fall 2017 issue of GW Nursing (page 23), 

Clinical Assistant Professor of Nursing Ellen 

Farrell was incorrectly listed as “Lynn” Farrell. 

We regret this error. 


alumninews 

Spotlight On… 


You’ve had a very successful career at GW Hospital, 

beginning as a staff nurse on a medical/surgical 

unit and progressing to your current position. What 

do you consider to be the highlights and greatest 

accomplishments of that GW career? 

HD 

I started my nursing career at GW Hospital in 1990 as a 

newly graduated floor nurse and soon transitioned to the 

operating room (OR), where my passion has been ever since. 

Open-heart surgery is where I thrived. I was the open-heart 

coordinator and took a couple of trips to Egypt to share our 

techniques with the nurses and surgeons there. I also led and 

worked with teams that increased on-time surgical first-case 

starts from 30 percent to 88 percent and reduced OR 

turnover time to 29 minutes [rated best in class], and 

implemented the kidney transplant and the robotic thoracic 

programs in the OR. Over a span of four years, I was part of 

a team overseeing the design and construction of four 

operating rooms that came in under budget with minimal 

downtime on the daily operating room schedule. 


What drew you to the field of surgical nursing? 

hazel darisse 

DNP, RN, CNOR 

Divisional Director, Surgical Services, 

The George Washington University Hospital 

Through 27 years of progressive success in the 

acute care nursing management and perioperative 

nursing fields, Hazel Darisse, DNP ’13, has developed 

the leadership and management expertise necessary 

to build strong nursing services in an academic 

health care environment. 

Her perspective on nursing practice has always been driven by 

patient needs, and she is dedicated to educating the next generation 

of nurse leaders to navigate the shifting landscape of the health 

care industry. Dr. Darisse currently serves as the interim chief nursing 

officer (CNO) for the George Washington University Hospital, 

a position she also held in 2013. 

HD 


HD 


HD 

I like structure and discipline. Surgery and the operating 

room environment is just that. Surgeons are precise 

and organized; traits that I respect when it comes to safe 

patient care. 

You’ve earned a MSN and a DNP from 

GW Nursing. How has that education helped 

advance your career? 

My advanced degrees helped widen my vision on how to 

grow the next generation of nurses. They provided 

opportunities to acquire the resources and skills needed to 

function at a higher level in the organization. 

Throughout your career, you’ve been closely 

involved in nursing education. What do you see 

as your successes? 

I’m especially proud of creating educational opportunities 

and supporting learning for all nurses, and particularly 

GW nurses! The three-credit hour perioperative curriculum 

that GW Nursing and I collaborated on provided a 

resource to backfill the nationwide shortage of OR nurses, 

while compressing the OR internship for qualified 

GW Nursing graduates to fill open positions sooner. 

I also developed a training protocol for a surgical first 

assistant program and sponsored the first licensed surgical 

first assistant in Washington, D.C. 

38 |

philanthropy news 

What’s in a Name? 


HD 


HD 

What are your next career steps? 

I want to establish an organized mentorship for new nurses 

by setting up a professional pathway that will strengthen 

the skills they will need to achieve their goals. I learned 

from trial and error on my own professional path, and I wish 

to minimize this for our young nurses. 

“Be a role model as a leader. Staff 

are always watching and they expect their 

leader to set a good example.” 

– hazel darisse, dnp, rn, cnor 

What advice do you have for nursing students and 

others who want to follow in your footsteps? 

You should have strong clinical experience on the front 

line for a minimum of five years. This will make you a better 

leader. Be a role model as leader. Staff are always watching, 

and they expect their leader to set a good example. 

And if you find your passion in nursing, success will 

follow. It was never my intention to be in a leadership 

position, but my passion for surgical nursing was deep and 

directed a professional path toward patient-centered care, 

staff engagement and career advancement. 

Three anonymous gifts totaling nearly 

$150,000 have led to an opportunity 

for donors to support GW Nursing by 

naming the new and renovated GW 

Nursing spaces at Foggy Bottom and 

the Virginia Science and Technology 

Campus (VSTC). 

These naming opportunities can 

memorialize or honor family, friends or 

colleagues, pay tribute to a group or 

class or recognize corporate support 

for the school. They range from $10,000 

for locker areas, bulletin boards or a 

simulation control room to $500,000 

for the student lounge in the new VSTC 

student hub or $3 million for a 

simulation lab. 

At the Foggy Bottom campus, 

where faculty participate in national 

health and health policy discussions, 

opportunities include offices, the 

dean’s suite, conference rooms and 

the reception lounge. 

VSTC, which is the educational 

technology hub and houses the school’s 

in-person programs, offers a wide variety 

of options for naming the expanded 

simulation areas and labs, classrooms, 

reception areas, offices and more. 

“We’re looking forward to engaging 

the entire GW Nursing community in 

celebrating the expansion of our footprint 

and creation of state-of-the-art learning 

areas,” said Dean Pamela Jeffries. “We 

hope our alumni, corporate partners, 

friends and families, colleagues and 

supporters will help mark this milestone 

with us by creating a lasting legacy of 

their commitment to GW Nursing.” 

For more information about the 

naming opportunities at GW Nursing, 

contact Dean Pamela Jeffries or Director 

of Development Katie Turcotte, 

kturcotte@gwu.edu, 202-994-0429. 

/ hazel darisse (far left) and gw president thomas leblanc (third from left) join the gw hospital leadership 

at onegw, a yearly event celebrating individuals at the forefront of patient-care. 


alumni news 

Meet the Advisers to 

GW Nursing 

CAPTAIN SHIMKUS is a retired U.S. Navy officer 

who began his military career in 1965 as a medic in the U.S. Air 

Force. After completing a tour of duty in Vietnam, he was honorably 

discharged and began his nursing education at Memorial Hospital 

School of Nursing and Salem State College in Massachusetts. He is 

an alumnus of George Washington University (Nurse Anesthesia ’81) 

and earned a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies 

from the U.S. Naval War College. He will complete the requirements 

for a doctorate in education from the college this year. 

He received a direct commission in the U.S. Navy as a lieutenant 

junior grade in 1977. His tours of duty include the practice of nurse 

anesthesia and nursing leadership positions at the naval hospital in 

Guam and executive medicine positions in Naples, Italy; Guantanamo 

Bay, Cuba; and the hospital ship USNS Comfort. 

In recent years, Captain Shimkus has served as a military 

professor and resident civilian faculty at the Naval War College. 

He currently teaches electives focused on chemical and biological 

warfare and Southeast Asia issues. 

HOME: 

North Kingstown, R.I. 

CURRENTLY READING: 

Judgment and Decision Making by Terry Connolly, 

Hal Arkes and Kenneth Hammond 

NOT MANY PEOPLE KNOW THAT: 

I am the father of 11 children and 22 grandchildren and 

have spent 52 years in federal service. 

al shimkus 

MA, RN 

MY GREATEST WISH FOR GW NURSING: 

Continue to educate involved and committed health 

care professionals that will make a difference. 

Members of the Advisory Council 

CHAIR 

Mary-Michael Brown 

DNP, RN 

MedStar Health 

MEMBERS 

Diane Billings 

EdD, RN, FAAN 

Indiana University 


Alan Schurman Cohn 

JD 

AbsoluteCare 

Ellen Dawson 

PhD, RN 

Patrick DeLeon 

PhD, JD 

Retired, Chief of Staff 

to U.S. Senator Daniel 

Inouye (D-HI) 

Karen N. Drenkard 

PhD, RN, FAAN 

GetWell Network 

Lucas Huang 

BEE, BAE 

B-Line Medical 

Robin Kaplan 

MSN, RN 

Kushner Hebrew 

Academy 

Elizabeth (Betsy) K. 

Linsert 

MS, FNP 

GW Colonial 

Health Center 

Molly McCarthy 

MBA, RN 

Microsoft US Health 

Lynn Mertz 

PhD 

AARP Center to 

Champion Nursing 

in America 

Angela Patterson 

DNP, RN 

CVS MinuteClinic 

Sandra Ryan 

MSN, RN, FAAN 

Walmart Care Clinic 

Al Shimkus 

MSN, RN, Capt. USN 

(Ret.) 

Naval War College 

Janet R. Southby 

PhD, RN 

Interagency Institute 

for Federal HealthCare 

Executives 

40 |

Alumni Resources 

Our more than 2,300 alumni are a vital part of the School of 

Nursing community, actively giving back by offering their time, 

talents and expertise. GW offers a variety of programs and 

services tailored especially for alumni. We invite you to explore 

these resources and opportunities and to stay involved with 

the community. 

Update your information and share your news! 

alumni.gwu.edu/update-your-contact-information 

Benefits & Services 

Alumni Education Programs, 

Transcripts & Diplomas, Email 

alumni.gwu.edu/benefits-services 

GWAlumni 

GWAlumni 

The George Washington Alumni Association 

Events & Programs 

GW Alumni Calendar of Events 

alumni.gwu.edu/events 

News & Updates 

GW Alumni News 

gwalumni.org 

Connections 

Update Contact Information, Alumni Directory 

alumni.gwu.edu/alumni-directory 


Office of Development and Alumni Relations 

45085 University Dr. 

Suite 202K 

Ashburn, VA 20147 

Phone: 571-553-0122 

Monica Krzyszczyk 

Development and Alumni Relations Coordinator 

monicak@gwu.edu 

Creating a 

Meaningful 

Legacy at 

GW NURSING 

Is Easy 

We can answer your questions 

to help make it even easier. 

It’s easy to help deserving nursing students receive a world-class 

education in the nation’s capital. You can name GW’s School 

of Nursing as a beneficiary in your will or revocable living trust 

and have your legacy benefit future generations of GW nurses, 

students, and researchers. 

A few of the benefits: 

} Flexibility to support the 

School of Nursing program 

of your choice 

} No change in lifestyle 

since your gift comes 

from leftover funds 

} Reduction or elimination 

of federal or state estate 

taxes that may be due 

CONTACT US TODAY! 

Call or Email: Jane Kolson at 

877-498-7590 or pgiving1@gwu.edu 

Online: go.gwu.edu/PlannedGiving 

DAR3259


The George Washington University 

1919 Pennsylvania Ave., NW 

Suite 500 

Washington, DC 20006-5818 

From 

practice 

to policy, 

bring your 

vision to 

life. 

42 | 

nursing.gwu.edu

GW Nursing Magazine Summer 2018

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