Spring 2011

Photo by Anne RaynerThere’s never been a better time to be a nurse, in part because there is so much progress in our profession.  That’s why I want to share the new recommendations from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) that are also closely aligned with the direction… Read More

by Leslie Hill Illustration by Maria Rendon Everything in health care is constantly evolving, including how students are taught and faculty are trained.  From the virtual world of Second Life to a comprehensive new approach to interprofessional learning, we’re erasing the old chalkboard and… Read More

Photo by Susan Urmy Sheila Ridner, PhD, MSN, wants everyone to know that lymphedema (swelling) doesn’t just happen to breast cancer survivors.  So, she’s expanding her research to head and neck cancer patients. “This work is so important because lymphatic damage and the fibrosis happen from the… Read More

Dr. Michael Briley When people ask me about the practice I started more than 17 years ago, I tell them it’s more than a business.  It’s a philosophy.  I believe that wellness and preventions of problems are the keys to a better, richer life.  This philosophy is… Read More

40s Eunice Moe Brock, BSN ‘41, is honorary president of the Liaocheng International Peace Hospital in China.  She is writing a book “Search for a World View” that will harmonize the scientific concepts of the physical and spiritual realms, and hopes to have it translated into Chinese in 2011. Bess… Read More

by Kathy Rivers Tonia Moore-Davis. Photo by Joe Howell. Tonia Moore-Davis, MSN, CNM, manages the VUSN nurse-midwifery practice at two sites in Nashville with a daily staff of 10 serving clients across a wide cultural, educational and socio-economic spectrum. The faculty practice serves as an incubator for… Read More

According to a Congressional Budget Office estimate, under the provisions of the Accountable Care Act some 32 million more Americans will acquire health coverage by 2019. • Minimum Medicaid eligibility will expand to 133 percent of the poverty level, increasing the rolls by an estimated 19 million people (current Medicaid… Read More

The law seeks innovation in care delivery. • CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services) will establish an innovation center to test new models of payment and care delivery. The law leaves the agency free to adopt any solutions found to lower costs and preserve or improve health care quality. Read More

by Paul Govern Illustration by Diana Duren Health care reform aims to transform U.S. health care delivery into a more preventive, coordinated posture. While the law is still hotly contested throughout the country, most agree that whatever happens, it will usher in a new era of opportunity… Read More

Vanderbilt University School of Nursing embraces technology to enhance the learning experience for today’s students and tomorrow’s practitioners and researchers. Blackboard – A course management system for all students at Vanderbilt University.  Blackboard is where students log in to classes, submit assignments, learn about class announcements, take tests and… Read More

Once again Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been chosen as the subject of a new health care reality TV series scheduled to make its broadcast debut on a cable network this spring. The series, titled Baby’s First Day, was produced by New York-based True Entertainment.  It is a brand new… Read More

Students and visitors at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing have gotten used to seeing an American Red Cross Bloodmobile in the Godchaux Hall parking lot a few times this year.  During the fall and spring semesters, nearly 80 faculty, staff, and community members donated much-needed blood for the Tennessee Valley… Read More

Photo by Joe Howell Vanderbilt University School of Nursing is expanding its training of Acute Care Nurse Practitioners (ACNP) to include a new subspecialty of intensivists.  Joan King, PhD, RN, program director for the ACNP program, has been awarded a three-year, $800,000 grant from the Health Research… Read More

For the first time since Vanderbilt University established a Graduate School, a PhD candidate held a public dissertation defense from a distance and in real time. Vanderbilt University School of Nursing’s Lt. Col. Linda Fisher, an active duty member of the Army Nurse Corps, was at her post in Washington… Read More

Vanderbilt University School of Nursing ranks among the nation’s top 15 “Best Graduate Schools” according to U.S. News & World Report in the publication’s 2012 rankings released in April. VUSN rose four spots to 15, up from the 19th position when graduate nursing programs were last… Read More

Mavis Schorn, PhD, CNM, has been named assistant dean for Academics at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. She will also continue to serve as program director for VUSN’s Nurse-Midwifery Program, one of the School’s largest specialty tracks that was recently ranked No. 3 in U.S. News and World Report. In… Read More

Photo by Veer Non-punitive support key to tackling issue among nurses An estimated 10 percent to 20 percent of nurses and nursing students may have substance abuse and addiction problems.  The key to tackling this difficult issue – and protecting public safety –… Read More