School of nursing news
Amid the isolation of COVID, Michigan Alzheimer’s deaths soar
Jan 27, 2021In 2020, as COVID-19 tore through Michigan, deaths from Alzheimer’s jumped 18 percent from the previous six-year average, according to a Bridge Michigan analysis of state data. Similar rises were noted nationally. A growing body of research suggests a link between extended isolation and poorer outcomes for seniors, posing a health risk much like smoking, obesity and physical inactivity. State death data from 2020 would seem to lend credence to the theory.
From 2014 to 2019, Michigan recorded an average of 4,100 Alzheimer’s related... Read more
Hospitals should not restrict parent visitation at child’s bedside, say U-M researchers
Jan 27, 2021Since hospitals began curtailing visitation to prevent the spread of COVID-19, many allow only one parent at the bedside of pediatric patients.
A new consensus statement (PDF) argues that parents and guardians are “essential caregivers” and should be allowed at the bedside without restriction, especially if they live in the same house. The statement is based on responses from parents interviewed for a University of Michigan-led research study of neonatal intensive care at 36 hospitals throughout the country during early COVID.
Lead author Ashlee Vance, research... Read more
Global immersion at home
Jan 22, 2021The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped our lives, and international travel has been disrupted. Seventy-six students registered to travel abroad in the spring and summer semesters before all programs were canceled. Despite those challenges, many students decided to continue their global education through alternative programs aimed to synthesize local and global health disparities. A few of those students took the time to share their thoughts on these alternative immersion experiences, which some also showcased at the U-M School of Nursing’s Virtual Global Fair.
BSN student Yashodara Enz... Read more
Facts & figures
Jan 22, 2021Global engagement in 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped our lives and international travel has been disrupted. At the same time, the pandemic put a spotlight on the significance of global health and global collaboration. During the 2019-20 academic year, 15 graduate students were able to travel in the fall and early winter semesters. There were 76 students registered to travel abroad in the spring/summer semesters before all programs were canceled. For students who were unable to travel, we developed alternative programs that aimed to help students synthesize local and global health... Read more
U-M programs and partnerships support research to reshape maternity care in Ghana
Jan 22, 2021Collaborative research connected Veronica Dzomeku to the University of Michigan School of Nursing before she ever set foot on campus. When she arrived in Ann Arbor in 2017 to join the U-M African Presidential Scholars Program (UMAPS), that connection grew stronger. The program and Dzomeku’s partnerships with School of Nursing faculty have helped energize research that is reshaping midwifery practice in her home of Kumasi, Ghana, supported by an Emerging Leader Award from the National Institutes of Health’s Fogarty International Center.
A UMAPS ScholarDzomeku was a respected nurse... Read more
Leadership thoughts
Jan 22, 2021Dear friends and colleagues,
While the COVID-19 pandemic eclipsed 2020 as a celebration of the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife and the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, I am forever optimistic about the impact we have on the health of the world’s populations. As I reflect on the past year, I am so proud of and inspired by our profession. Nurses have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic and made tremendous sacrifices to help bring this crisis under control. They have continued to work tirelessly day after day, often putting themselves and their families... Read more
Alum’s ambition paves new global pathway for DNP students
Jan 21, 2021Sarah Warnez is approaching her nursing career with a global focus, motivated by her experience in the University of Michigan’s Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner program. While pursuing her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, Warnez was determined to carry out her capstone project abroad — a daunting task that had never been attempted in the fast-paced program. The process tested her resolve, but as Warnez completed her DNP last year, she laid the foundation for newly designed global health concentration available to students who share her passion.
A novel idea“I did... Read more
Supporting a sustainable future for research in Thailand
Jan 20, 2021Professor Kathleen Potempa’s work in Thailand began in the late ‘90s, when she planted roots that quickly grew into a role advising national strategies in nursing and public health over the next two decades. Now, supported by three successive grants from the National Institutes of Health’s Fogarty International Center, Potempa and a team of U-M School of Nursing faculty are leading efforts to strengthen research capacity in two Southeast Asian countries and build a framework for sustainable science surrounding noncommunicable diseases.
Potempa, who served as U-M School of Nursing... Read more
News from the PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center
Jan 20, 20212020: The Year of the Nurse and the Midwife
We began 2020 celebrating the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife with our colleagues and students through events, film screenings and conversations. Our first film was Survivors: Hope and Resilience in the Time of Ebola, which we screened in early February for an audience of students and faculty from across the health sciences. Little did we know how important our discussion of the ethics of patient care in the face of an epidemic and shortages of protective gear would quickly become.
Webinar and Canvas catalogue course... Read more
News & notes
Jan 18, 2021Wipada Kunaviktikul announces her retirement from Chiang Mai University
In summer 2020, Wipada Kunaviktikul, RN, MS, MPH, FNP-BC, announced her retirement after more than 20 years as dean of the faculty of nursing at Chiang Mai University in northern Thailand, one of the U-M School of Nursing’s close global partners.
“The future of nursing throughout the world is brighter and better because of the relationships we have formed,” said Kunaviktikul. “We have taught each other, learned from each other and worked closely together, whether conducting research, holding... Read more
