Fall 2010

Nursing school alumni, including several Quinqs, joined the annual Reunion Celebration… Read More

Photo by Joe Howell. Vanderbilt University Medical Center hosted a series of  performances of “Hey Florence!” this year, a musical about the everyday lives of nurses, starring active-duty nurses from Vanderbilt, “Hey Florence! received a standing ovation at each performance,” said Donna Glassford, director of Cultural Enrichment and producer… Read More

This modified “Hippocratic Oath” was composed in 1893 by Lystra E. Gretter and a Committee for the Farrand Training School for Nurses, Detroit. It was called the Florence Nightingale Pledge as a token of esteem for the founder of modern nursing. I solemnly pledge myself before God and in… Read More

Photo by Anne Rayner This year we have seen the historic passage and signing of health finance reform legislation into law. Now, our focus must shift toward the continuum of care, population health and disease management. The expectation for continuity of care across service delivery settings has gained momentum with… Read More

50s Kathleen “Kay” Gainor Andreoli, MSN ‘59, DSN, RN, FAAN, is Emeritus Kellogg Dean of the Rush University College of Nursing.  A fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, Andreoli was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. She received the Vanderbilt University… Read More

Photo by Anne Rayner Peter Buerhaus, Ph.D., R.N., has been named chair of the National Health Care Workforce Commission, a 15-member panel comprised of distinguished leaders from academia and the health care industry created under The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Buerhaus is the Valere Potter Distinguished Professor of Nursing… Read More

If you ask any nurse about Florence Nightingale, most will be able to say that she was the founder of modern nursing. And for many that is about the extent of their knowledge. But this woman, who served as a catalyst for changing the view of health care and nursing, was more than the lady with the lamp known for tirelessly tending to injured soldiers in the dark of the night. Read More

by Leslie Hill Illustration by George Abe The career path of most nurses after graduation is like a well-marked highway. This way to a large hospital unit. That way to a small private clinic. Turn here for pediatrics. Straight ahead for more education. But a few… Read More

Mary Jo Gilmer, Ph.D., M.B.A., A.P.R.N., is a pioneer in the field of pediatric palliative care, helping establish the palliative care program at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, researching ways to improve care for those with life-threatening or life-limiting illnesses, and teaching a new generation of students that there is always some way to help. Read More

Vanderbilt University School of Nursing’s Clinical Simulation Lab was designated a Laerdal Center of Excellence this spring — one of only 16 educational institutions in the nation to receive this honor. The designation is awarded to educational centers that have demonstrated excellence in educational philosophy and designed programs to help… Read More

Photo by iStockphoto.com Vanderbilt University School of Nursing recently received more than $2 million worth of funding from the nurse faculty loan programs from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) fund and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for master’s and doctoral students who… Read More

Photo by Kathy Rivers Lipscomb University partnered with Vanderbilt University School of Nursing five years ago to initiate a baccalaureate degree in nursing. The program was designed so Lipscomb students would take five semesters of liberal arts courses at Lipscomb, complete three semesters of pre-specialty generalist nursing curriculum… Read More

VUSN Student Heather Whaley/Photo by Carrie Plummer Thousands of prescription pills were safely disposed of at a recent Dickson County drug disposal event, thanks to the combined efforts of Vanderbilt University School of Nursing faculty and students, the Dickson Police Department, Lipscomb College of Pharmacy students, the Hamblin County… Read More

Photo by Joe Howell At the end of July, students from different health disciplines and academic institutions in the Nashville area came together for a unique “immersion” experience. The 26 students are the first participants in the Vanderbilt University Fellowship in Inter-professional Learning: a new paradigm for… Read More

Photo by Steve Green. Amy Bull, Ph.D., FNP-BC, was named program director for the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing Family Nurse Practitioner program. “Amy is a talented practitioner and has been recognized by students as an outstanding professor,” said Linda Norman, D.S.N., R.N., senior associate dean of… Read More

clare Thomson-smith/File photo. Clare Thomson-Smith, M.S.N., R.N., J.D., has been named assistant dean for Faculty Practice at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. Thomson-Smith heads up the Center for Advanced Practice and Allied Health and will continue in that role, working closely with VUSN on behalf of all advanced… Read More

Photo by Joe Howell An 80-year-old patient with dementia is admitted to a hospital with pneumonia, and soon after, starts acting disoriented. Is this behavior part of his dementia or is it something else? What should the bedside nurse do to help? Lorraine Mion, Ph.D., M.S.N., VUSN’s… Read More

Legal Aspects of Prenatal Substance Explored BY: KATHY RIVERS Karen D'Apolito, Ph.D., A.P.R.N. 9/30/2010 – National experts came together last week to discuss methadone treatment, pregnancy and associated legal issues, a growing concern in Tennessee as, according to recent studies, 8.5 percent of new mothers in Tennessee reported using some sort… Read More

Balser outlines promise of future for VUMC BY: CRAIG BOERNER 9/23/2010 – Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s “promise” of the future is to personalize medicine for each individual patient — identifying each patient’s unique genetic difference, then making evidence-based decisions at the bedside to reflect these differences. With the theme of “The… Read More