Promoting Educational Growth at NHS
.jpg "Each year, NHS Professor Pablo Irusta (left) leads a dynamic translational health science internship in Argentina for Georgetown undergraduates who wish to develop further their skills in laborary and clinical research.")
.jpg "From left to right: Jeff Collmann, director of the O’Neill Institute’s Center for Disease Prevention and Health Outcomes, along with new O’Neill fellows and faculty LeManuel Lee Bitsoi, Mohammad M. Obaidat, and Tamar Klaiman.")
Colleen Norton, PhD, RN, still remembers the urgent phone call she received eight years ago from a young woman who had been teaching English as a second language in Paris and was interested in the accelerated “second-degree” nursing program, which allows college graduates with a bachelor’s degree or higher to earn a bachelor’s in nursing in 16 months.
“Various factors cause students to reassess their direction,” says Norton, associate professor of nursing at Georgetown University’s School of Nursing & Health Studies. “Sometimes it’s a life-altering event. In this student’s case, the significance of 9/11 prompted the change.”
Norton notes the student graduated summa cum laude and then completed a master’s degree in the family nurse practitioner program.
“Talk about growth,” Norton says. “That’s a perfect example.”
Across NHS, faculty members engage students at various points along the educational spectrum to inspire personal and professional growth.
“Health care tops the national agenda,” says NHS Dean Bette Jacobs. “Our educational programs and research centers underscore its importance for individuals at all levels of educational development. We give students and those individuals who are just beginning their careers the tools they need to lead the profession in its many dimensions.”
Sparking an Early Interest
NHS annually collaborates with a variety of pipeline programs to encourage high school students to enter the health professions.
Since 2002, the department of human science has hosted Pathways to Success, a three-week, on-campus program for high school students from rural and underserved areas of the country.
The program aims to cultivate within those students an interest in health, science, and technology, as well as guide them through the complex world of higher education, including applications and financial aid.
Overall, the program has worked with about 125 high school students and faculty mentors and several Pathways graduates have earned Gates Millennium and Quest-Bridge scholarships to use toward college.
“Having this experience helps the students to convince colleges that they can handle college-level work and helps them remain competitive with peers who have had access to Advanced Placement coursework,” says principal investigator J.P. Hyatt, PhD, assistant professor of human science.
The Undergraduate Experience
NHS houses four academic departments: Health Systems Administration, Human Science, International Health, and Nursing.
For Joan Burggraf Riley, MS, MSN, RN, assistant professor of nursing and human science, Georgetown meets students “where they are” in life and helps them discover and develop their special talents.
Riley is one of the campus faculty leaders on the innovative Bringing Theory to Practice Project, which incorporates mental health and wellness topics into university-wide coursework.
“Students are more than ID numbers at Georgetown,” Riley said. “They are valued as individuals with unique goals and gifts. Our faculty is committed to helping students cultivate those.”
Jennifer Huang, PhD, associate professor of international health, uses her extensive research portfolio on HIV/AIDS in China to promote public health and her students’ learning opportunities.
This past summer, Huang, William McGreevey, PhD, associate professor of international health, and Bernhard Liese, MD, chair of the department of international health, conducted a new four-week, six-credit study abroad program at Fudan University in China for students from across Georgetown’s campus.
“Researching along with faculty gives the undergraduates a touch of reality,” she says. “Not everything we do will be as we planned in the proposal. The students learn how to handle the unexpected. They witness the real process. This will be invaluable to them as they embark on their studies and research projects.”
Graduate-Level Growth
At different points in their educational journeys, individuals pursue graduate studies at NHS.
Both the graduate nursing and health systems administration programs are ranked nationally by U.S. News & World Report. The nurse anesthesia program is ranked sixth, the nurse midwifery program is 21st, the overall nursing program is 32nd, and the health systems administration program is 30th.
Kathryn Ellis, MSN, RN, who directs the family nurse practitioner program, credits a variety of factors with the growing interest in her program.
The program features a low student-to-faculty ratio, an excellent pass rate on the certification boards, an innovative use of simulation technology and standardized patients, and a wide variety of clinical experiences that include working with underserved populations in the Washington, D.C., region.
“Our students are professional and well-prepared to step into the important role of nurse practitioner,” Ellis says. “They approach health care from a holistic viewpoint—caring for the whole person. They are trained to take care of patients across the lifespan—from infancy to geriatric patients.”
Bernard Horak, PhD, directs the department of health systems administration’s graduate program.
With the fundamental goal of training leaders within the health care system, the master’s program focuses on the economic, policy, social, and technical forces that shape health care and is built around three key themes: understanding the hospital and its complexities, quality of care, and leadership development.
Horak says the program features a strong executive mentoring program, extensive professional development opportunities, an ongoing analysis of current events—such as health care reform—that tie to the students’ academic study, and a requirement for community service and involvement in a professional association.
Horak notes that the program builds upon the profession’s code of ethics, as well as Georgetown’s Catholic, Jesuit identity to create a values-based approach to health care.
“We want our students to leave here with the ability to run a health care organization, to think critically, and to act ethically,” Horak says.
The O’Neill Fellows
A new crop of young minds has joined NHS thanks to the Center for Disease Prevention and Health Outcomes—NHS’s center within the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law.
Center director, Jeff Collmann, PhD, and Jacobs, the NHS dean, have recruited several new research fellows and junior faculty who recently completed doctoral programs and are growing in their academic careers through their work on the institute’s innovative projects. They include:
• LeManuel Lee Bitsoi, EdD, who is examining genomic science education with indigenous populations.
• Mohammad Obaidat, PhD, who is working on food safety.
• Tamar Klaiman, PhD, who is addressing emergency preparedness.
• Benn McGrady, PhD, LLM, who is focusing on global health governance.
The team also includes Amanda Liddle, DrPH, assistant professor of nursing who is exploring health care workforce issues, and research assistant Jason Roffenbender.
“The O’Neill Institute presents these young scholars with an opportunity to work with the very finest legal and scientific minds in Washington, D.C., where health policy and law are made,” Collmann says.
By Bill Cessato, excerpted from the fall 2009 issue of Health Care Horizons magazine.
