School of nursing news
Teaching the ABCs of Prescription Drug Safety
Jan 30, 2020Over six million people in the United States misuse addictive medications. Carol Boyd, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, spent years trying to develop the ABCs of Prescription Drug Safety to address this public health crisis, but she struggled to get her idea off the ground. The Healthcare Innovation Impact Program helped her find a new way to get this educational intervention into the right hands.
When patients are prescribed a potentially addictive medication, they often receive an assortment of papers filled with complex language and unnecessary information. The ABCs break this dense and... Read more
My Beginnings
Jan 30, 2020When I dreamed about what I wanted to do in life, it never involved being a nurse. As a high school freshman, my mother — a retired nurse of 30 years — was in a car accident. She broke both her legs and was bedridden for an entire summer. It was my responsibility to take care of her, and I distinctly remember saying, “I could never be a nurse. I don’t see how you do it.” But that was the start of my journey, when I learned about selflessness and sacrifice.
As a student at the University of Michigan, I absolutely loved my pediatric nursing course. Taking care of sick children... Read more
Q&A with Dean Hurn
Jan 30, 2020The rollout of the U-M School of Nursing “We Dare” branding was one of the first major initiatives you implemented in 2020. Why was it such a priority for you to start the new year?
Dean Patricia Hurn: There are more than 900 nursing schools in the country, so for the U-M School of Nursing to attract the diverse and talented students, faculty and staff necessary to sustain the level of excellence we have worked very hard to achieve, it was clear to me that we needed to develop unified branding. Prospective nursing students have more educational choices than ever before, so it’s imperative... Read more
We Dare to Shape the Future
Jan 30, 2020For Lauren Underwood (BSN ’08), health care and politics were always part of the same conversation. At 33, she is the youngest African American woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is the first woman, first person of color and first millennial to represent Illinois’ 14th District. She’s been called a rising star in the Democratic Party and was recently listed on Time magazine’s “100 Next” list of influential people who are shaping the future. But at the heart of it all, Lauren Underwood is a nurse.
The politics of the professionIn fall 2018, Underwood... Read more
We Dare to immerse students in clinical learning
Jan 20, 2020How do you create a culture around clinical simulation?
In 2015, when the University of Michigan School of Nursing opened its new building at 426 N. Ingalls St., it also unveiled the state-of-the art Clinical Learning Center (CLC). The center would be a high-tech hub for clinical simulation, boasting advanced training technologies and skills labs that bring students directly into a real-world clinical setting.
The CLC was designed to help nursing students at every level hone their clinical skills in an environment that replicates what they will encounter in the... Read more
We Dare to reimagine nursing education
Jan 15, 2020How do we bring a top-ranked nursing education into the digital space and make the Michigan difference more accessible?
The University of Michigan School of Nursing’s new online master’s programs are student-centered and faculty-driven, distinguished by an enhanced focus on connectivity. Students now have the opportunity to earn their MSN in the Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioner, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner and Leadership, Analytics and Innovation specialties through a newly developed digital education curriculum.
These specialty programs were... Read more
We Dare to elevate the nursing profession
Jan 15, 2020When Olga Yakusheva’s mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, she made an observation that would change her career. During multiple hospitalizations in her hometown of Almaty, Kazakhstan, her mother’s outlook, behavior and health status changed depending on who was in the room.
“The differences with nurses was noticeable day to day,” said Yakusheva. “When a certain nurse was taking care of her, my mother seemed to have better blood pressure and she felt better, slept better and ate better.”
The opposite was true with another nurse.
“She was a good nurse and... Read more
We Dare to inform health care policy
Jan 15, 2020How can we use research to reshape policy and transform the way we care for vulnerable populations?
Most adults ages 65 and older rely on Medicare. This population is living longer than ever before, and doing so with more chronic illness and functional limitations. Assistant Professor Geoffrey Hoffman, Ph.D., MPH, is using his research on falls, caregiving and hospital readmissions to push for policy change and rethink the way we provide care to older adults.
Hoffman’s analyses show systemic concerns. He estimates that Medicare spends $10 to $20 billion per year on falls... Read more
We Dare to strengthen women's health care
Jan 15, 2020How does a nurse make a difference in their community?
Growing up in Flint, Nafisah McClendon, MSN, CNM, FNP-BC, realized she wanted to be a nurse, but her own pregnancy sparked a passion to become a nurse-midwife. She came to the University of Michigan driven by a desire to help women in the city she calls home.
As McClendon studied to become a nurse at the University of Detroit Mercy, midwifery wasn’t a career path she ever considered. But when she found out she was pregnant, something changed.
“Once I got pregnant, it sparked something, and I decided if I’m... Read more
We Dare to achieve our best
Jan 15, 2020Where would you go to pursue your passion?
BSN student Hayley Flores grew up hearing stories of the dedicated NICU nurses who provided lifesaving care to her brother when he was born prematurely. She came to the University of Michigan from Santa Clarita, California, to pursue the dream of becoming a NICU nurse herself.
“I’ve always looked up to nurses, and understanding the impact they’ve had on my family made me want to become one,” Flores said.
Flores also draws inspiration from her father. Raised in poverty by a single mother, he became an educator and has... Read more
