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e C O N N E C T I O N SJ A N U A R Y | 2 0 1 5

I N S I D E

NEWS .................................................. P. 2

CALENDAR ........................................ P. 3

ACADEMICS ......................................P. 4

RESEARCH......................................... P. 5

FACULTY & STAFF NEWS ................P. 6

This issue of eCONnections sees us back in our gloriously renovated College of Nursing. So in

this month’s column I would like to share with you some of the remarks of MUSC President

David Cole as he presided over the ribbon cutting.

We are here today to celebrate the long awaited re-opening of this beautiful building, after a much

anticipated two-year renovation. But it’s actually more than a renovation; it is really a transformation.

And that is befitting what the faculty here at the College of Nursing, under the leadership of Dean

Stuart, have accomplished in the past decade. They have taken a school of nursing that was

comfortable, quiet, and demure, and transformed it into a true nursing powerhouse.

Under Dean Stuart’s leadership, comfortable has become innovative; quiet has become nationally

recognized for high quality teaching and cutting edge research; and demure has become daring,

dynamic and really a crown jewel for MUSC. So it is fitting that this building now truly reflects both the

accomplishments of the College of Nursing and its vision for the future.

This vision embraces and treasures the past, as you will see recounted on the walls and displayed

in the cabinets on this floor, and then jetties us into the future with state-of-the-art technology, and

learning rooms and creative spaces that stimulate ideas and reflect on important outcomes.

This may soon be one of the oldest buildings on campus, but inside it is infused with and fully

embraces our future as health care educators, researchers and providers.

It is a building not limited by geography - as seen in the College of Nursing’s ranking as #2 nationally

in graduate online programs. It is a building not limited by head count – as seen in the College of

Nursing’s ranking as 14th in the country in NIH funding. It is a building not limited by “this is how we

always have done it” – as seen by their pushing the envelope by preparing nurses who provide more

effective, more efficient and higher quality patient care.

Perhaps most importantly, it is not a building at all, but really a true incubator for Changing What’s

Possible here at MUSC. Because, at the end of the day, I think we all know that nurses are the lifelines

of patients and their families. They are both the hub of the wheel of health care and the safety net for

those who are entrusted to our care.

The faculty and staff here at the College of Nursing understand this deeply and their dedication,

drive and devotion echo in these old, but now new, hallways. So this is not just a ribbon cutting

ceremony. It is, rather, a celebration of our MUSC College of Nursing for its past, present and future. It

is a celebration of bricks and mortar, people and potential, inspirations and aspirations, and most of all

– the committed individuals here today who give testimony to this work.

Our grand returnBy Dean Gail Stuart, PhD, RN, FAAN

NEWS & NOTES

JANUARY 2015 | eCONnections 2

CON’s two-year renovation unveiled

Diversity and Inclusion Spotlight: Ida Spruill The College of Nursing’s Diversity

Committee would like to acknowl-

edge Ida Spruill, PhD, RN, LISW,

FAAN for her exceptional service to

the College as well as the Charles-

ton community. She has dedicated

her nursing and research career to

eliminating health disparities and

improving health care for African-

Americans at the local, state and

national levels.

Spruill shows commitment to the

CON’s diversity mission of promot-

ing an inclusive environment for all

faculty, staff, and students regardless

of race, ethnicity, gender, national-

ity, religion, sexual orientation, age,

ability or socio-economic status.

She led the College’s Multicultural

Task Force in 2011 that later be-

came CON’s Diversity Committee,

and served as diversity officer from

2012-2014.

Spruill is a founding member of

the Tri-county Black Nurses Asso-

ciation, having served as president

from 1992-1996. She is a Fellow in

the American Academy of Nursing

(FAAN), and has also received many

other prestigious awards in her ca-

reer. Most notably, Spruill is a 2013

recipient of the Presidential Early

Career Award for Scientists and

Engineers presented by President

Obama earlier this year.

Thank you Dr. Spruill for being a champion for diversity and inclusion!

3eCONnections | JANUARY 2015

CELEBRATENEW YEAR | NEW BUILDING | OLD FRIENDS

We have safeguarded the college’s memories while meeting today’s student needs and building toward the future. We invite you to come celebrate and take a look.

Grand Open House• FOUR FLOORS OF RECONFIGURED SPACE • BUILDING TOURS AT 10:00 & 11:00 • LIGHT REFRESHMENTS • RAFFLE

Free parking has been reserved at MUSC’s President Street Garage (91 President St.) located between Bee and Cannon Streets. Please park on the second level or higher.

Saturday, January 24 | 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.

Preserving the Past by Building for the Future

F E B R U A R YMUSC Board of Trustees Meetingall day | Colcock Hall

President’s DayCON open

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

THU-FRI

12-13

MON

16

J A N U A R YABSN New Student Orientationall day | Various locations

Stethoscope & White Coat Ceremony4:30 p.m. | St. Luke’s Chapel (Bee St & Ashley Ave.)Reception to follow in the CON building

Interprofessional DayVarious times and locations

Martin Luther King, Jr. DayCON closed

Staff Meeting9 a.m. | Room 220

Grand Open House9:30 - 11:30 a.m. | 99 Jonathan Lucas St.

CON Alumni Lowcountry Boil & Oyster Roast6 - 9 p.m.Charleston Maritime Center | 10 Wharfside St.

Faculty Assembly10 a.m. - noon

MON-THU

05-08

THU

08

FRI

09

MON

19

WED

21

SAT

24

SAT

24

MON

26

Click Here toRegister Online Today!

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS - 2015 TEACHING EXCELLENCE AWARDSA call for nominations is underway to all MUSC faculty and students.

The purpose of the Teaching Exellence awards is to recognize mem-

bers of the MUSC faculty who have made outstanding contributions

to the university through teaching.

The four award categories are:

Clinical/Professional (Educator-Mentor); Educator-Lecturer;

Scholarship/Academic (Educator-Mentor); and Developing Teacher

Any regular, full-time faculty member who holds an academic rank

of instructor or higher in a college or department of MUSC, who has

not been the recipient of this award within the previous three years

is eligible for nomination. http://www.carc.musc.edu/nomination/.

The deadline for nominations is Friday, January 23. Nominees will be

invited to submit supporting materials, and a committee of faculty

and students will select the recipients for this year’s awards.

OFFICE OF ACADEMICS

JANUARY 2015 | eCONnections 4

Winter ConvocationThe College of Nursing congratu-

lates its winter graduates for a

job well done. On December 11,

degress were conferred upon 98

nursing students during CON’s

Winter Convocation ceremony

that was held at Charleston Music

Hall.

OUTSTANDING CLINICAL FACULTY AWARDKathy Neeley, MSN, RN, CCRN

Scholarship opportunityThe March of Dimes is pleased to offer several

$5,000 scholarships to recognize and promote

excellence in nursing care of mothers and babies.

The scholarship application is available online at

marchofdimes.org/scholarship or by request via email to

scholarship@marchofdimes.org.

Qualified scholarship applicants must be regis-

tered nurses currently enrolled in graduate educa-

tion with a focus in maternal-child nursing with

at least one academic term to complete after the

summer of 2015. Scholarship applications must be

received via email no later than January 30, 2015.

For additional information, please contact Mary

Lavan at mlavan@marchofdimes.com.

Congratulations to Lisa Rasbach for successfully defending her dissertation on December 5. The title of her disseration is

“Exploring Self-Efficacy in the Current Era of Type 1 Diabetes Management in Youth.”

She was mentored by Carolyn Jenkins, DrPH, APRN, BC-ADM, RD, LD, FAAN

GOLDEN LAMP AWARDJoy Lauerer, DNP, RN, PMHCNS-BC

KIMBERLY M. LIMBAKER AWARDSean Masse

OUTSTANDING BSN STUDENT AWARD

Marie Beck

Stethoscope & White Coat Ceremony> Jan. 8 @ 4:30 p.m.

> St. Luke’s Chapel

> reception to follow in the CON building

Submitted grant applicationsBrian E. Bunnell, MS, a predoctoral

intern under Ken Ruggiero, PhD,

submitted an individual fellowship

application in response to the Ruth L.

Kirschstein National Research Service

Award (NRSA) Individual Postdoctoral

Fellowship titled, “Technology-Based

Solutions to Improve Quality of Care

in Child Mental Health Treatment.”

This project will provide training

needed to position the candidate to

develop scalable, technology-based,

patient-centered solutions. The

research goals of this F32 application

are to identify technology-based

strategies to address barriers to

homework use and adherence.

Qualitative methodology will be used

to guide development of a mobile/

web-based application that the

candidate intends to develop and test

in a subsequent pilot grant (NIH R21/

R34).

Publications & presentations PUBLICATIONS

> Hunt, K.; Kistner-Griffin, E.; Spruill,

I., Teklehaimanot, A.; Garvey, W. T.;

Sale, M.; Fernandes, J.. (2014). Car-

diovascular risk in Gullah African

Americans with high familial risk

of type 2 diabetes mellitus: project

SuGAR. Southern Medical Jour-

nal, 107(10), 607-14. doi: 10.14423/

SMJ.0000000000000172.

PRESENTATIONS

> Amella, E.; Stein, P.; Jablonski, R.

(2014, December 10). Oral health and

dementia [Webinar]. In Coalition for

Oral Health for the Aging Webinar

Series. Retrieved from

http://www.micoha.org/seminars.html

OFFICE OF RESEARCH

5eCONnections | JANUARY 2015

NIH newsMODIFICATION TO GUIDANCE ON MAKING CHANGES IN RESUBMISSION

APPLICATIONS (NIH Notice NOT-OD-15-030)

The NIH has removed the requirement to identify ‘substantial scientific changes’

in the text of a resubmission application by bracketing, indenting, or change of

typography.

Effective immediately, it is sufficient to outline the changes made to the

resubmission application in the introduction attachment. The introduction

must include a summary of substantial additions, deletions, and changes to the

application. It must also include a response to weaknesses raised in the summary

statement.

NEW BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH FORMAT REQUIRED FOR NIH AND AHRQ

GRANT APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED FOR DUE DATES ON OR AFTER MAY 25,

2015 (NIH Notice NOT-OD-15-032)

The NIH has announced an update about a new biosketch format that will be

required for grant applications submitted for due dates on or after May 25, 2015.

The new format extends the page limit for the biosketch from four to five pages,

and allows researchers to describe up to five of their most significant contributions

to science, along with the historical background that framed their research.

Investigators can outline the central findings of prior work and the influence of

those findings on the investigator’s field.

Investigators involved in team science are provided the opportunity to describe

their specific role(s) in the work. Each description can be accompanied by a listing

of up to four relevant peer-reviewed publications or other non-publication research

products, including audio or video products; patents; data and research materials;

databases; educational aids or curricula; instruments or equipment; models;

protocols; and software or netware that are relevant to the described contribution.

In addition to the descriptions of specific contributions and documentation,

researchers will be allowed to include a link to a full list of their published work as

found in a publicly available digital database such as MyBibliography or SciENcv.

This Year...BELIEVE THAT ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE

START EACH DAY WITH GOALS

EAT MORE REAL FOOD

BUY GOOD OLD BOOKS AND MAKE TIME TO READ THEM

DRINK WATER

EXERCISE DAILY EVEN WHEN IT SOUNDS LIKE A TERRIBLE IDEA

SHOP FOR QUALITY NOT QUANTITY

PURGE THE UNNECESSARY AND DECREASE THE CLUTTER

HUG THE ONES YOU LOVE

FIND THE BEST IN OTHERS

SHOW OTHERS THE BEST IN YOU

Faculty continue to raise the barShannon B. Smith DNP, APRN, ACNS-BC, CNE, CGRN has been

accepted into the 2015 class of the The Society of Gastroenterology

Nurses and Associates, Inc. (SGNA) Scholars Program. The purpose

of this two year term is to educate appropriately prepared GI/endos-

copy nurses in order to build a repository of evidence applicable to

the GI/endoscopy setting. Scholars will receive in-person system-

atic review training utilizing the Texas Christian University’s Center

for Evidence-based Practice and Research: A Collaborating Center of the Joanna

Briggs Institute in Ft. Worth, TX.

The SGNA is a professional organization of nurses and associates dedicated to the

safe and effective practice of gastroenterology and endoscopy nursing. SGNA carries

out its mission by advancing the science and practice of gastroenterology and en-

doscopy nursing through education, research, advocacy, and collaboration, and by

promoting the professional development of its members in an atmosphere of mutual

support.

Congratulations to Tiffany Williams, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC for

being selected into the 2015 AcademyHealth/Aetna Foundation

Scholars in Residence Fellowship Program.

Williams is an assistant professor in the College of Nursing and

serves as an advisor to the College’s Multicultural Student Nurses

Association and the Robert Wood Johnson MUSC Scholars. Her ac-

ademic interests include health disparities and cultural competency

in nursing education. In addition to her teaching duties, Williams actively mentors

diverse and underrepresented high school and nursing students.

The new AcademyHealth/Aetna Foundation Scholars in Residence Fellowship

Program runs from Jan. 1–July 31, 2015, and is designed to retain underrepresented

racial/ethnic minorities in health services research by providing professional train-

ing and networking activities for junior and mid-career level academics and clinical

practitioners conducting disparities research with a focus on population health. The

Aetna Foundation will host five fellows in Hartford, CT for up to one week and pro-

vide a $15,000 stipend to support a disparities research project.

At the 35th annual meeting of the South Carolina Primary Care As-

sociation in December, Deborah Williamson, DHA, MSN, RN, was

awarded the Margaret J. Weston Award. This award is in recogni-

tion of someone who has exhibited persistence in overcoming

barriers and obstacles to ensure quality health care services are

provided to those in most need.

The award was established in memory of Margaret J. Weston, a

nurse, who was responsible for establishing a community health center in an un-

derserved area of Aiken County. This outstanding nurse was the director of nursing

in a St Louis Hospital, and faculty at the Tuskgehee School of Nursing. She moved

to South Carolina and between 1968 and 1970 ran state family planning programs

in Aiken and Edgefield counties. In 1970 she opened and operated a Planned Par-

enthood Clinic until 1978. In 1978 the name was changed to Rural Health Services

and the scope changed to provide primary health care and dental services. Later

the name was changed to the Margaret J. Weston Community Health Center. She

received numerous local and state awards for her community service. She died of

breast cancer in November 1991.

FACULTY & STAFF NEWS

WinsCarolyn Page, director of student

services and alumni affairs, graduated

from Southern Wesleyan University

with a master’s degree in organiza-

tional behavior on December 13, 2014.

In December, Bernie Jansen, infor-

mation technology manager, earned

an MBA in project management from

The Citadel.

Tiffany Williams, assistant professor,

has been tapped to serve as CON’s

diversity officer.

JANUARY 2015 | eCONnections 6

CON Newsfeed

ReminderFaculty are not allowed

to have a negative balance in their annual leave.

What works: Physician and nurse rounding improves patient satisfaction

Brian T. Conner & Bonne T. JohnsonAmerican Nurse Today

Write, publish, thrive! A blog about scholarly writing, publishing and the academic life

Rich Furman

MUSC unveils renovated College of Nursing building

Ashley HeffernanCharleston Regional Business Journal

MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW

The CCNE accreditation evaluation will take place September 28-30, 2015.

All faculty and staff are required to be in attendance. No annual

or professional leave will be granted during these dates.

NO execeptions will be allowed.

We look forward to seeing you!

MUSC College of Nursing’s

You are a key to our continued success.

All MUSC College of Nursing alumni are invited to return to Charlestonfor a weekend of reconnecting and remembering.

• Catch up with former classmates• Hear the latest college news from Dean Stuart

• Take a tour of the newly renovated home of the College of Nursing• Enjoy a Lowcountry oyster roast

JAN 201523-24WELCOME

HOME

HOMECOMING2015

For more information visit www.musc.edu/alumniEmail: alumni@musc.edu | Phone: 888-202-9306 or 843-792-7979

LOWCOUNTRYBOIL & OYSTER ROASTChas. Maritime Center

Jan. 24 | 6-9 p.m.

COLLEGE OPEN HOUSE

99 Jonathan LucasJan. 24 | 9:30-11:30 a.m.

Click Here toRegister Online Today!