VCU School of Nursing

The VCU School of Nursing held its Recognition Ceremony on May 11 at the Siegel Center to honor 179 nursing degree candidates. VCU's Spring 2012 Commencement Exercises were held on Saturday, May 12 at the Richmond Coliseum.

Nursing students honored with awards at the Recognition Ceremony include:

Suzanne English, Marguerite Nicholson Award
Megan Williams, Mabel E. Montgomery Award
Molly Wacek, Yingling Senior Achievement Award
Hadja Diallo, Yingling Senior Achievement Award
Margaret Leahy, Mayme B. Wilson Lacey Award
Jalessa Holmes, MCVAA Award
Katherine Noel, Temple Memorial Award
Yui Matsuda, Martha Borlick Research Award

Doctoral candidates and their dissertations included:

Yui Matsuda
"Predictors of Sexual Relationship Power, Communication and Family Planning Decision Making Among Latino Couples"

Ann McNallen
"Biobehavioral Correlates in Fibromyalgia"

Debra Rattican
"Symptom Clusters in Lung Cancer Patients"

Christina Szabo
"The Effect of Oral Care on Intracranial Pressure in Critically Ill Adults"

Deborah Fisher
"Opioid Withdrawal Signs and Symptoms in the Pediatric Patient During Opioid Tapering"

May 2012 Nursing Degree Candidates.pdf

Below are scenes from recognition day.

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Flight nurses and flight paramedics from VCU LifeEvac and the VCU Health System critical care ground and air transport teams participated in simulations at the Clinical Learning Center on May 9 and 10. VCU LifeEvac holds simulations quarterly to ensure that staff members have the opportunity to practice advanced airway management and resuscitation, as well as to allow practice of low occurrence clinical procedures. Each staff member rotates through adult, child and infant scenarios to cover all age groups. Cases, which are generally actual missions that the flight crews have encountered, are shared with the rest of the team so that everyone can learn. Below are scenes from the simulations.

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The MCV Campus celebrated Reunion Weekend April 20-22. More than 130 Nursing alumni returned to campus to celebrate at a variety of events from class-specific dinners to hands-on simulation to a spirited and informative talk about the future of nursing and the coming changes to health care law. Alumni attending ranged from the years 1942 to 2007, with the focus on those whose years ended in 2s or 7s.

Our St. Philip alumnae were celebrated this year and recognized with a special exhibition in the MCV Alumni Association Heritage Room. 2012 marks 50 years since the closing of the St. Philip School of Nursing after the integration of education began. VCU School of Nursing is planning a lecture for the fall to mark the official closing of St. Philip. More details will follow in the coming months.

Four Nursing alumni were recognized at an awards reception on Saturday. Teresa James (B.F.A.'99/A; B.S.'07/N) was named the Outstanding Nursing Alumnus for Practice, Cynthia Fagan (B.S.'97/N; M.S.'99/N) was honored as the Outstanding Nursing Alumnus for Service, and Leslie Wyatt (B.S.'72/N; M.S.'76/N) was celebrated as the Outstanding Nursing Alumnus. In addition, Shirley Thompson, Ph.D. (B.S.'60/N), was named as the Outstanding Alumnus for the MCV Campus at the MCVAA Annual Meeting and Luncheon on Saturday.

Next year's Reunion date is set for April 26-28 and will recognize classes ending in 3s or 8s. If you are an alumnus and would like to be involved in the planning of your weekend, please contact Kelly Gotschalk (B.F.A. '90/A; M.A.'97/A), director of annual giving and alumni engagement, at kjgotschalk@vcu.edu.

Below are scenes for this year's reunion weekend.

Photo 1: Nancy Langston, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, professor and dean of the School of Nursing, chats with alumni at the St. Philip Alumni breakfast.

Photo 2: St. Philip class reunion at the Omni Hotel.

Photo 3: Class reunion of 1962

Photo 4: Class reunion of 2007

Photo 5: Professor Emeriti Judith (Judy) Collins, RNC, M.S., WHNP, FAAN, and Janet Younger, Ph.D., RN, CPNP, as well as former faculty member Barbara (Barbie) Dunn, Ph.D., RN, CPNP led a discussion in Younger Auditorium.

Photo 6: VCU President Michael Rao visited nursing alumni in Younger Auditorium.

Photo 7: Three nursing alumni award winners with Dr. Nancy Langston: (left to right) Teresa James (B.F.A.'99/A; B.S.'07/N), Leslie Wyatt (B.S.'72/N; M.S.'76/N), Nancy Langston, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, and Cynthia Fagan (B.S.'97/N; M.S.'99/N).

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Kelly Joyner correctly answered our last Nursing Week trivia question and received the prize pack for the day. She correctly answered the question "What year were the first male students admitted to the VCU School of Nursing?" with the answer 1971.

Thanks to all who participated and helped us to celebrate Nurses Week!

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Ashley Jones, a junior at the VCU School of Nursing and the VCU Honors College, was selected to be included in the Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges publication.

Each year, a select group of students is named to Who's Who Among Students. This honor is conferred by more than 2,842 schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and is symbolized by the presentation of an award certificate.

Jones was one of 44 VCU students who received the Who's Who award on April 26 at the Leadership and Service Awards Ceremony held in the Commonwealth Ballroom of VCU's Student Commons. For the students - the outstanding campus leaders of the year - national recognition by the Who's Who program marks a pinnacle of scholastic achievement.

"I appreciate that Who's Who takes time to recognize students who strive for excellence and I am proud to be considered one of them," Jones said.

Individual schools make selections to Who's Who Among Students each fall. Campus nominating committees, created to nominate the upper-classmen and graduate students eligible for the program, are composed of representatives from the faculty, administration and student body. To be eligible, a student must be a junior, senior or graduate student, have at least a 2.75 cumulative GPA and must participate in campus or community volunteer activities.

Jones, from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was selected based on being named to the Dean's list for three consecutive semesters, as well as her participation in numerous activities. A student ambassador for the VCU School of Nursing, Jones has served as a teacher's aid, tutoring other students for three hours a week during open lab in a Human Anatomy class. She was also an Emerging Health Care Leaders participant, a student led organization for all pre-health majors, and was a pre-nursing mentor in 2010.

Her campus involvement also includes serving as a volunteer for the VCU Chi Alpha Campus Ministry and the VCU Health System. She has also participated in the VCU School of Nursing Alumni Connector program with Corinne Dorsey, N '54, B.S. '65, as her mentor.

"For me, receiving this award is an honor and a testament of my determination and sacrifice; it is not easy being an honors nursing student!" Jones said. "It also is a reflection of the wonderful support system I have through my parents, my church, friends, classmates, and the faculty at the VCU School of Nursing."

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Nursing Students Without Borders participated in Relay for Life of VCU on April 21 at the Cary Street field. Students also coordinated a bake sale and offered blood pressure screenings on site. The NSWB team raised over $1,500 for Relay for Life of VCU.

Relay For Life is organized for individuals to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease. At Relay events, teams of people camp out and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Because cancer never sleeps, Relays are overnight events up to 24 hours in length.

Below are scenes of NSWB members during the Relay event.

Photo 1: NSWB members. From left to right: Tiffany (pre-nursing), Kimberly (pre-nursing), and Jenna (RN-BSN student) out showing their support.

Photo 2: Officers Asia Owens (pre-nursing liason) and Emiline Bracken (vice-president), who are both traditional BS students, class of 2014.

Photo 3: Danielle Viggiani (president of NSWB) and Adrienne Wass, NSWB's Relay team captains.

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