2000 SoN network, f-w - School of Nursing - University of Minnesota

Network
Fall/Winter 2000-2001 ■ Vol. II, No. 2
With CUPES,
Everyone Wins page 1
Water Birthing
Specialist
Jeanne Howell page 4
Changing the
Role of Nursing
in Taiwan page 12
&SoN Foundation
Annual Report
Nursing
School of
Nursing

Network
Fall/Winter 2000-2001 ■ Vol. II, No. 2
Dean, School of Nursing
Sandra Edwardson, Ph.D., R.N.
Editor
Barbara La Valleur
Communications Coordinator
Contributing writers
Jack Breslin, Sandra Edwardson, Barbara
LaValleur, Marie Manthey, Margo Marko, Patrick
C. Meirick, Jane Ellen Nielson, Sharon Vegoe
Contributing photographers
Richard Anderson, Barbara La Valleur
Graphic designer
Elizabeth Edwards
Network is published by the University of
Minnesota School of Nursing for alumnae/i,
faculty, staff, and friends of the school.
Send correspondence to Network Editor at:
School of Nursing
Communications Coordinator
University of Minnesota
5-160A Weaver-Densford Hall
308 Harvard Street S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Visit us on our website at: www.nursing.umn.edu
Network on-line: http://www.nursing.umn.edu/
Alumni/networkcover.html
The University of Minnesota is committed to
the policy that all persons shall have equal access to
its programs, facilities, and employment without
regard to race, color, creed, religion, national
origin, sex, age, marital status, disability, public
assistance status, veteran status, or
sexual orientation.
Printed on recycled paper, 20%
postconsumer waste.
School of
Nursing
Cover: The eager faces of first-year
student nurses—from top to bottom,
La Tesha Brown, Allison Crandall and
April Ancheta—show the excitement
of their first teaching and learning
experience at Andersen Schools, part of
the CUPES project. See article on page 1.
(Photograph by Barbara La Valleur)
Contents
Up Front 1
With CUPES, Everyone Wins
by Barbara La Valleur
Outreach 4
Jeanne Howell: Water Birthing Specialist
End of Life Care: A New Awareness
Outreach Calendar
by Barbara La Valleur
by Jack Breslin
by Sharon Vegoe
Faculty Research 10
Jean Wyman’s $2m grant
by Barbara La Valleur
Nursing Students 12
Kuei-Min Chen: Changing the Role of Nursing in Taiwan
Yueh-hsia Tseng: Glider Swings Soothe Seniors
Student Survey
by Barbara La Valleur
by Patrick Meirick
by Margo Marko
School of Nursing Community News 15
Jane Murphy: ‘Our Blessing from Above’
by Jack Breslin
From the Dean by Dr. Sandra Edwardson 22
Alumnae/i 23
Ellen Scheel: Over 50 Years of Service with the Visiting Nurse Association
Notes from the Nursing Alumni Society
by Marie Manthey
Breaking News 25
Melissa Avery receives $1.5m grant
Special Insert:
SoN Foundation Annual Report
Our Donors and Friends: Helen Zenkovich
Editor’s Corner
by Laurel Mallon
by Jane Ellen Nielson
Greetings to all School of Nursing alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends,
It’s exciting to present Vol. II, No. 2 of Network, the magazine created
for and dedicated to you, the people who make it happen. You’ll notice several
new additions.
We’re including—for the first time—the School of Nursing Foundation’s
Annual Report and trust that you appreciate the wisdom of disseminating it this way. It’s an
efficient use of time, money and space. We like that. We hope you do, too. Let us know.
We’ve also added a bit of humor, thanks to a dear friend and my humor coach, Linda
Hutchinson, owner of ha! Network is holding a humor contest about your funniest nursing
stories and will print the best one in the Spring 2001 issue. See page 17 for details.
I’m thrilled that Network is now available on-line, thanks to our Webmaster, Laura Wiebers.
We are anticipating that this issue will be available on-line by mid October. Why not forward
the web address to your friends, relatives, prospective students, faculty and staff as an
attachment in your e-mails?
Please inform us of your change of address if you’re moving. It will support you receiving
Network on time and us cutting the cost of return postage. Thank you.
Barbara La Valleur, Editor
Tel.: 612.624.0939 e-mail: laval008@tc.umn.edu

Up Front
“
Everyone wins in a community-focused educational
process,” according to one staff member at CUPES,
the Community University Partnership in Education
and Service.
CUPES (pronounced Coops), now in its fifth year, is a
partnership between the Academic Health Center (AHC) of
the University of Minnesota with support from the Kellogg
Foundation Initiative in Health Professions Education.
Recently, it has expanded to serve five sites in the Phillips
Neighborhood of south Minneapolis, according to Linda
(Ernst) Skogrand, Project Leader
for the past year.
“Those sites include community
social service
organizations,
In Community-Focused
Educational Process
EBy Barbara LaValleur
elementary schools and a clinic where students learn in a
community setting.
“At these sites, students provide interdisciplinary health care
and health education to community residents,” Skogrand
explained. “Annually, about 200 graduate students in nursing,
medicine and other health professions also learn from community
members and
‘Our goal is to have community
professionals how to
provide culturally residents feel that these offices
appropriate services.”
are theirs to use for project work
At these five sites,
there is a microcosm or to have a cup of coffee....’
of every ethnic and
cultural community in the state with long-term Phillips residents
from African, Native and European American heritage
mixing together with the newer immigrant and refugee populations
of Somalia, Laos, Vietnam, Mexico, South and
Latin America.
From the Phillips Neighborhood one can see the towering
buildings of the University of Minnesota. In fact, the
CUPES offices were located on the University Campus for three
years. However, as a community-focused project, it became
apparent that setting wasn’t working, Skogrand acknowledges.
“The community residents rarely came on campus because
of the barriers of parking, finding our offices
and the general atmosphere of a university
campus being somewhat unfriendly to outsiders.
We said we were a community-focused
organization, but our staff was inaccessible to
community residents. We moved off campus
into the Phillips neighborhood this past year.
“We hosted an open house and had a celebration
ceremony when we moved into this
space and community professionals and residents
came. We had a Native American
smudging of our space and had prayers by an
African American spiritual leader as part of the
celebration ceremony. We also dedicated a
seven-foot Peace Pole with the words, ‘May
Peace Prevail on Earth’ in eight of the dominant
languages spoken in Phillips.
“Our offices have photographs of community
residents, students and university faculty
and staff on the walls. We also have artwork
representing cultures in Phillips. Our staff is
representative of the diverse populations in the
community and have decorated their offices
with artwork from their own cultures.
“Our goal is to have community residents
feel that these offices are theirs to use for project
BARBARA LA VALLEUR
First year nursing students, from left, April Ancheta,
La Tesha Brown (standing) and Allison Crandall
receive instructions from Sharon Cross, SoN Public
Health faculty for their upcoming teaching and
learning experience at Andersen Schools.
Fall/Winter 2000-2001 ■ Vol. II, No. 2 1

work or to have a cup of coffee,” Skogrand said. “There is an
entirely different atmosphere in this space than was experienced
at the university campus office.”
The Kellogg project has undertaken the joint challenge of
strengthening health care and health education in Phillips
while broadening the education of health professional
students preparing them for the increasingly diverse patient
population they will serve.
A trademark of the CUPES project, Skogrand explained,
has been the community-focused aspect. “One question
that arose even within the project is: ‘Are we really
community-focused?’”
She recently asked several key participants in the project
that very question. There was a range of responses:
“No, we are not, but community residents heavily influence
our work.
“We’re getting there.
“Some aspects of the project are more community-focused
than others.
“Yes, I certainly feel CUPES is community-focused, much
more so than University focused, but it is also (Kellogg) foundation
focused.”
Benefits to both students and residents
“With the patient population in this country becoming
increasingly diverse and complex, an understanding and
appreciation of this diversity will benefit both students and
residents of communities,” Skogrand stressed.
Health sciences’ traditional mode of thinking does not adequately
address the community perspectives of people from
diverse communities and cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds
according to Skogrand. “This historical way of
providing health science education does not facilitate student
cross-cultural communication and relationship building. It
does not address patients’ cultural, spiritual, socioeconomic,
historical experience and current power status in society,” she
said.
When health professional students address health care and
health education in a community context, they will be better
prepared for being patient focused as professionals, Skogrand
believes.
Guiding Principles
CUPES developed general guiding principles for how they
do their work. The guiding principles convey the communityfocused
aspect of CUPES.
The basic relationship between community and university
is one of equality and respect. Both are considered full partners
in planning and decision making for the community/
university effort.
Community participants are considered a vital resource to
the university and to each other. Facilitating participants’
ability to be directly involved in program decision making and
governance and to advocate for themselves both in programs
and in the broader community, are also vital to project success.
There is a commitment to treat all persons with respect,
sensitivity and dignity.
CUPES sites:
The Community University Health Care Center Variety Club
Children’s Clinic, providing health care to adults and children from
the Phillips, Powderhorn and other neighborhoods of south central
Minneapolis. This site also includes Anishinabe Wakiagun, a culturally
based permanent supportive housing environment for Native Americans.
Andersen Schools, two schools, K-8 serving about 1,400 culturally
diverse students. This site also has a school based clinic.
Minneapolis Youth Diversion Program, serves homeless and at risk
of being homeless youth. The site provides social services and
has a clinic.
Centro Clinic, a social service organization that provides full services
and includes a clinic. The site serves the Latino community, birth
to elderly, especially new immigrants.
The CUPES Board of Directors has a 51% community representation,
with the remainder of the board members coming
from the University. Most of the community board members are
residents of Phillips and others are health professionals who
work in Phillips and are concerned about the health of people in
the neighborhood.
There are board members from nursing, pharmacy, medicine
and public health. In addition, there
are community board members
from differing cultures including
Latino, Native American,
African American and European
American populations.
Shared Leadership
of Staff
The five staff who provide support
and leadership for the
CUPES project consists of an
Administrative Aide, Program
Administrator,
Curriculum Coordinator,
Community
Health Action
Coordinator
and Project
Leader. In
contrast to
the typical
University
hierarchy, the
staff has chosen,
in line with
their community-focused
commitment,
to share leadership
in all
aspects of their
Linda Skogrand, left,
and Willie Mae Rogers
stand next to the Peace
Pole before speaking
at the SoN Gala Dinner
and Reception
launching the new
academic year.
BARBARA LA VALLEUR
2 Network

jobs. For example, they are encouraged to “step out of the job
title box” on a regular basis to experience what another staff
member typically does.
The staff also clean their own offices. Skogrand and staff
may be seen vacuuming the office, taking out the garbage and
cleaning the common areas of the office space. The shared
office cleaning tends to “level the playing field” which is
consistent with the community-focused philosophy,
Skogrand added.
Community Faculty
Several residents have been identified as Community Faculty
who are regularly relied upon for planning events and
activities at one of the sites and in the project, providing orientation
of student learners, participating in interdisciplinary
events, consulting with university faculty, speaking to university
classes or presenting at conferences and meetings.
The Community Faculty component of CUPES is a
formal way for community residents to provide direction in
student learning.
Definition of Interdisciplinary Education
One of the major goals of CUPES is to provide interdisciplinary
learning experiences for students in health science
professions. Interdisciplinary learning experiences typically
means students from differing disciplines such as nursing,
pharmacy, medicine, dentistry and public health learning
together.
This interdisciplinary learning will result in subsequent
health care professionals being better equipped to work as a
team in providing care to patients. “We include community
Willie Mae’s story
Utilizing community faculty has had several positive unanticipated
outcomes in the CUPES project. Recently, Project Leader
Linda Skogrand and a Community Faculty Member, Willie Mae
Rogers, addressed the SoN faculty and staff at a Gala Dinner to
launch the new academic year. Rogers, who works in the area of outreach,
is the mother of seven children. She was acknowledged for her
contribution to the group in relaying her experiences as a Community
Faculty Member.
Skogrand related that at the beginning of the project many of the
Community Faculty who were speaking on campus had never been
on the campus before, even though they live less than a mile away.
Many had also never spoken to a large group of people before. Most
had certainly never thought of themselves as teachers of health professional
students. And most had not envisioned themselves as a
university student.
She related that Rogers had been one of the parents to speak on
campus to family nurse practitioner students. In the van on the way to
the University, they rode together in silence. On the way back home
after the event, Rogers and the group couldn’t stop talking about the
excitement they felt to be teachers of university students. Now Rogers
and the other parents insist upon driving themselves to campus
events because their comfort level has increased. Rogers is also
interested in pursuing a degree in nursing. •
residents in the definition of interdisciplinary education.
Community residents are part of the interdisciplinary team,”
Skogrand stressed.
Student Outcomes
Does community-focused education result in a health professional
with different attitudes, understandings and skills?
Learning in the CUPES project is different from other experiences
and does affect the degree to which a health
professional ultimately is patient focused, Skogrand has
learned.
When asked what made CUPES different from other community-based
educational experiences, one student said, “The
CUPES learning experience was different because community
residents were in place so we could interact with them.
This happened to a much greater degree than other learning
experiences that were part of my education.”
“Opportunities to talk to parents and children outside of a
clinic room taught me how complicated families’ lives are. I
also saw a difference in that CUPES community residents
were seen on an equal level with providers.”
This student has gone on to be a health care provider at a
children’s hospital across the street from the elementary
school that was part of her CUPES experience. She is helping
start a work group at the hospital that would include community
people in addressing health issues. She clearly sees her
experience with CUPES as contributing to her practice being
patient focused.
In conclusion
The CUPES project has developed over the past four
years as a model for community-focused student learning,
Skogrand reflects. “It has been difficult work, ever changing
and developing.
“Board members have been known to cry in board meetings
out of frustration and also joy.
“Staff members have threatened to quit.
“University faculty have seen learning experiences fall apart
for their students because the models are being developed as
we go.
“Community members have felt ‘used.’
“It is hard work. At times it seems impossible. Changing
the way things have been done is like changing the flow of a
river.
“Probably the most important thing we have learned is that
the community-focused philosophy must be pervasive in the
entire project so that it can be ‘felt’ and experienced everywhere
including staff operations, governance and ways of
teaching. It also means that there needs to be changes in the
way things have been done.
“This is the most challenging, frustrating, exciting, exhilarating
work I have ever done.” •
(Special thanks to Linda Skogrand, CUPES Project Leader, whose
paper “Interdisciplinary Health Profession Education that Is
Community-focused,” provided information for this article.)
Fall/Winter 2000-2001 ■ Vol. II, No. 2 3

Jeanne Howell
Water Birthing Specialist
Her Perseverance Paid Off
by Barbara La Valleur
Editor’s Note: A two-day conference entitled Gentle Birthing:
Water Immersion for Labor and Birth, sponsored by the School
of Nursing will be Oct. 6 and 7 at the Sheraton Midway Hotel
in Minneapolis. Jeanne Howell will be one of the key presenters and
panelists. For conference details, see the Outreach Calendar
on Page 9
When Jeanne Howell starts talking about water birthing,
you’re compelled to listen. It’s not merely because
she’s one of Minnesota’s recognized experts in the field.
It’s also not because she’s an experienced certified nursemidwife,
registered nurse, public health nurse, Lamaze
instructor, prenatal counselor, obstetrics and newborn nursery
nurse and has her Master’s Degree
in nursing from the SoN, 1990.
What’s compelling about this
33-year veteran of nursing is her
passion. “I just love this job!” she
exclaimed recently in an interview
in her office at the Broadway
Medical Center in Alexandria,
MN, where she’s been a Certified
Nurse Midwife (CNM) for
10 years. Her passion is obvious.
A pioneer in the state’s water
birth history, the short, dark gray
hair Howell shared the background
of what led her and her
Jeanne Howell
clinic to be among the first in the state to provide the option
of water birthing for expectant mothers.
“In 1996, I had a patient who came in with her third pregnancy
and wanted a water birth. She asked, would I do it?”
Howell said, “Yes.” After attending a workshop and reading
everything she could get her hands on about the subject
(which was not that much, she contends), she was ready. In
less than four years, she has become a noted water birth specialist
and authority.
Her unwavering perseverance helped. It’s probably no accident
that one of the plaques on her office wall is entitled
“Perseverance.” It reads:
“In the confrontation of the stream and the rock, the stream
always wins . . . not through its strength, but through perseverance.”
Back to 1996: “The mother rented the tub. I had to fill it
up. I got more excited. Then she went into labor. She delivered
in the tub. She was very impressed. The staff was very
impressed. I was very impressed.”
After that first positive, successful experience, several staff
members encouraged her to order a special tub for the hospital.
The first request from the hospital staff for a portable tub was
denied.
Shortly thereafter, the second water birth took place. Again,
“Everyone was pleased.” After a second request, the hospital
agreed to buy a portable tub.
Howell was looking forward to the day when she could just
“turn on the faucet” instead of going through all the work of
having to set up a portable tub. She also knew that, “Once we
have a permanent tub, others will be more likely to use it.”
The third request for a water birth came from a nurse, pregnant
with her third child, who works at the hospital. But,
Howell continued to be met with resistance in the medical
community in her persistence to buy a tub. And, she couldn’t
continue to provide the water birth option unless it was
approved by the hospital executive committee.
It wasn’t an easy process convincing the West Central
Minnesota medical establishment to allow water birthing at
Douglas County Hospital in Alexandria. In her office surrounded
by rows of books and family photographs, Howell
talks with ease about the experience, belying the considerable
opposition that she faced for years from hospital colleagues,
staff and administrators.
“I did some PR. There was animosity between the two clinics,”
she said looking out of her window overlooking the
former Runestone Clinic which nearly tripled in size and
become Broadway Medical Center. Also not far from Howell’s
office is the competitive clinic, Alexandria Clinic. The two clinics
provide health care for a seven-county region for Douglas,
Grant, Stearns, Stevens, Ottertail, Todd and Pope counties.
“In the middle of this, I asked myself, ‘Why am I doing this?’
The medical profession has done a disservice to women.
They’ve turned pregnancy into a disease and childbirth into a
procedure,” Howell quoted Marsden Wagner, a Swedish
World Health Organization health specialist. “And it’s true,”
she added. Her stand is that mothers have a choice.
Suggested books and videos about water births
Waterbirth: An Attitude to Care by Diane Garland, 1997
Gentle Birth Choices by Barbara Harper, 1994
The Waterbirth Handbook,The Gentle Art of Waterbirthing
by R. Lichy and E. Herzberg, 1993
Waterbirth by Janet Balawskas, 1990
Birth Under Water by Michel Odent, 1983
Waterbabies:The Aquanatal Experience in Ostend, Belgium
(video), Tel. 1.503.682.3600
4 Network

BARBARA LA VALLEUR
Nurse Midwife Jeanne Howell listens to a fetal heartbeat. The mother, Jodi McGinty, is medical records supervisor
at Broadway Medical Center in Alexandria, MN.
After 34 water births, Howell, the mother of four children
and grandmother of one, convinced the committee to buy a
permanent tub, which was installed in July of this year. It took
over four years of perseverance and patience—and in this case
also patients—for the elliptical shaped, four-foot diameter
water birthing tub to arrive from England.
Another plaque comes into view:
“Hasty people will never make good midwives.”
John Ray, English Proverb 1670
“I did it! For me, the biggest thing was taking on the establishment,”
Howell said with pride and satisfaction.
Howell is now on her sixth book recording the names of all
her deliveries. Included in over 690 births as a CNM are the
34 babies whose mothers chose the water birth experience.
Now, Howell is able to present the water birthing option to
all mothers who come to her. About 80% express an interest
in it.
Why do women choose a water birth? There are several
factors, Howell explained. “Water is so relaxing, comforting.
It makes so much sense. Women love the water. It’s amazing
to watch how their bodies react. It’s very different than being
on a bed. It’s easier,” Howell explained. She works with a back
up physician who is available if needed.
Another plaque on the wall comes into view as Howell is
talking:
“The hands of a midwife are a cradle of caring.”
Participation by the father is also encouraged. “I’ve had
dads catch the baby, usually they’re right alongside the
mother. I’ve had one get in the tub with his partner.”
“About half (of pregnant women) deliver on their hands
and knees. Women choose the position that is most comfortable
for them,” Howell said.
One frustration for Howell is the lack of currently
published material about water birthing. “There’s very little
printed about this,” which is why she is excited about the
upcoming two-day conference. “We’re going to get everyone
who’s doing water births in the state” to attend,
she said.
What is needed is evidence-based material. Howell, who
acknowledges a love of research, feels strongly that there is a
need to publish new material about important facts of water
birthing. She is working with SoN Associate Professor
Dr. Melissa Avery, to gather sufficient information to obtain
a grant for further study and publication.
Howell believes it is important to use the same data collection
tool throughout the state recording the amount of time
in the tub. (Going in too early can cause contractions to stop.)
and vital statistics about the baby. If the baby needs monitoring,
water birthing doesn’t work, she added.
For this persevering nurse midwife, whose passion supports
her profession, there is also a word of gratitude to her family.
“I couldn’t have done it without the support of my husband,
Ken and my children, Kevin, 28, Coleen 26, Chris, 23 and
Kelli, 21.”
The last plaque in Howell’s office, advises:
“Let your gentleness be evident to all.”
So it is with Jeanne Howell, CNM. •
Fall/Winter 2000-2001 ■ Vol. II, No. 2 5

Outreach
By Jack Breslin
School of Nursing (SoN) programs have traditionally
trained their graduates to treat a patient’s symptoms
and pain. But what happens when the effects of traditional
medicine—and eventually life itself—ends? Do
today’s nursing education programs adequately prepare
nurses to provide quality “end of life” care?
Educating nursing students about this growing challenge
for health-care professionals is a priority. The University of
Minnesota School of Nursing (SoN) will provide a half-day,
seminar-based experience for seniors on end of life care in
conjunction with the Minnesota Partnership to Improve
End of Life Care Dec. 4 at the McNamara Alumni Gateway
Center.
Organizers hope that the program will give students an
understanding about communicating with patients and their
families to assure quality in such care.
“This will be an experiential, total immersion for senior
nurses on end of life care,” explained Linda Norlander, Project
Director, Minnesota Partnership to Improve End of Life
Care, founded in 1997.
“It’s designed so they can walk away with some good concrete
concepts, at least beginning concepts: How do you deal
with patients and families? How do you communicate with
them? How do you not run from the situation?”
In her work with the Partnership, Norlander, who received
both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing at the
growing need for quality end of life care, especially as the
baby boomer generation matures.
“It will look at several different aspects of end of life care,”
Associate Professor Carol Pederson said. “It will introduce
content and synthesize it with content that has already been
taught, being highly interactive and upbeat. It will be a little
different way of learning things than the students have learned
piecemeal in other courses.”
Pederson would like to see the event become an ongoing
program especially with an enthusiastic response from the
faculty. Representatives from five nursing courses offered suggestions
on the
‘I think schools of nursing really day’s content in
have to look at their curriculums and order to provide
students
say, “How are we training our nurses with a wellrounded
to care for people who are dying?”
immersion.
Because a lot of them are going to go Nursing education
has a
out in the field and do that.’
long way to go
with end of life care, Norlander stated. For example, a recent
national survey found that only two percent of nursing textbooks
deal with the subject and often provide inaccurate
information. Efforts such as the SoN seminar are positive
steps in providing necessary training, she added.
“There are a lot of steps that the nursing profession has to
take if nurses are to become better educated on the needs of
dying people,” said Norlander. “This is where nursing can
End of Life Care
ANewAwareness
for Nursing Training and Patient Communication
SoN, is currently responsible for organizing a statewide commission
on end of life care co-sponsored by the Minnesota
Commissioner of Health.
Her project staff is collaborating with the SoN and the
School of Medicine to provide experiential training for undergraduate
nursing students and medical students.
The Partnership recently received a $445,000 grant from
the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community-State
Project. The Partnership is a coalition of health-care organizations
committed to removing barriers to good care for
the dying.
Among the newly formed commission’s priorities is
improvement in training for health-care providers working
with the dying. Several university faculty and alumni are
involved with the commission’s work which began in May,
Norlander stated.
The upcoming one-day experience demonstrates a comprehensive
effort by the SoN to have students more aware of the
shine. We’re finding that the School is very responsive. First
of all, by recognizing that it’s an area that is not covered well
and secondly that changes need to be made,” she continued.
“I think schools of nursing really have to look at their curriculums
and say, ‘How are we training our nurses to care for
people who are dying?’ Because a lot of them are going to go
out in the field and be doing that.”
Norlander credits her graduate work at the SoN for teaching
her valuable concepts and tools, such as understanding the
value of research in the nursing profession. Her Master’s thesis
on pain and suffering will be published in an upcoming
hospice trade journal.
She would like to see the SoN introduce a graduate degree
with a palliative care emphasis for nurse practitioners. “Basically
I see end of life care for the nursing professional as a very
holistic kind of care. We’re not only looking at a patient, but a
whole family system.”
“Nursing really has to be well rounded and have a lot of
depth in its approach to dying patients. It isn’t just clinical
6 Network

management of pain and symptoms. It’s communication with
the patient, communication with the family.”
Nurses play three roles with the dying patient: skilled clinician,
advocate and guide.
“A nurse is in the best position to be a ‘guide’ to patients and
family through a very difficult and emotionally-charged time,”
she stated. Dying patients don’t fit into that acute service
niche, Norlander explained. “We don’t have a lot of experience
with time.”
And why should nursing students become more familiar
with end of life care? “The baby boom generation is growing
older. In 20, 30 years we’re going to be faced with a huge population
of frail, elderly people and those people are going to be
dying. They’re going to need appropriate care,” Norlander
answered. “Doing nursing well with dying patients and their
families is extremely rewarding.”
“In whatever setting they’re going to interface with people
who are dying or relatives and friends of people who have
issues related to death,” Professor Pederson stated. “They
need to be able to talk with people about these issues and provide
them with information.
“They need a baseline knowledge of what happens at the
end of life physiologically, psychologically, spiritually. They
need to be able to answer basic questions well to prepare them
to provide good care for people who are either dying or have
some association with people who are dying.”
Other concerned veteran nursing professionals such as
commission member Diane Bartels, associate director of the
University Center for Bioethics, are working to increase end
of life care awareness among colleagues despite ongoing
controversies.
“End of life care has been an ongoing concern,” Bartels
said. “End of life care has been a perennial and recurring issue
because of disagreements or discomfort with how to help people
through this stage of their lives, because of the disservice
we can do if we are not prepared to help patients and families
at this very critical time of their lives.”
Another concerned SoN alumnus, Kerstin McSteen,
recalled that she never worked with dying patients during her
undergraduate training. Now a palliative care specialist for
Allina Hospice and Palliative Care, she is currently a graduate
student focusing on ethics and end of life care.
Nursing students must realize that people they care for will
often die, McSteen stressed. Communication must be a
priority, since patients and families appreciate nurses who
discuss end of life issues. The discussion does not take away
hope, but allows them to “deal with what they need to
deal with.”
For example, McSteen has been organizing a palliative care
consult team for home-based care focusing on the physical
and psycho-social needs of people with a chronic, disabling
illness, not terminal patients. She and Norlander have been
working on a project to educate health-care professionals
about advanced care planning to help a person assess their
values and goals at the end of life.
“There’s a personal discomfort with the topic,” McSteen
explained. “Part of what we do in educating health-care professionals
starts with them looking at their own personal
experiences of death and loss. And to identify that we don’t go
into the work with our patients without that need with us. All
continued at bottom of page 8
Linda Norlander
Linda Norlander, Project Director,
Minnesota Partnership to Improve
End of Life Care
BARBARA LA VALLEUR
Fall/Winter 2000-2001 ■ Vol. II, No. 2 7

Outreach Update
By Sharon Vegoe, Director of Outreach
Advanced practice nurses and faculty colleagues
from throughout the United States
and across the world participated in professional
education programs offered by the School
of Nursing (SoN) Outreach Office this summer.
Ira Byock, Director of the Palliative Care Service
in Missoula, MT, presented the Wald
Lectureship, June 7 to over 200 nurses, physicians, chaplains
and social workers providing care for patients at the end of life.
The lectureship is sponsored by the Densford Center for Nursing
Leadership and was held in collaboration with the Center for
Spirituality and Healing, the Center for Bioethics, and the
Frederick R. Weisman Museum. Participants also had an
opportunity to view “Hospice: A Photographic Inquiry,” an
exhibit at the Weisman Art Museum featuring the work of contemporary
photographers and filmmakers who documented
the experience of living and working in hospice environments.
On June 9 –10, 2000, nurse researchers from 18 states, five
Canadian provinces, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Japan, Taiwan
and New Zealand shared perspectives on using phenomenological
or hermeneutic inquiry to study nursing. The
conference was convened by Cynthia Peden-McAlpine, Ph.D.,
R.N., Assistant Professor and featured a major paper presented
by Professor Emeritus Margaret A. Newman. Newman also
hosted an informal gathering of doctoral alumni who completed
dissertations under her advisement. Over 40 research
presentations were made and nine research posters were displayed
during the two-day conference.
Linda H. Bearinger, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N. and Barbara
Leonard, Ph.D., R.N., directed summer leadership institutes as
part of their U.S. Maternal Child Health Bureau center grants.
Family-Centered Care Coordination for Children with Special
Health Care Needs was held June 12 with an optional half-day
hands-on computer session on Internet resources for children
and their families. Over 80 nurses attended the conference
with representation from 16 states. Clinical Assessment and
Interventions for Adolescent Health, held June 13–16 focused on
adolescent violent behaviors and health-related outcomes.
Panels included adolescent, parent and community perspectives
on violence. Adolescent actors provided a unique
opportunity for participants to refine interviewing skills
through simulated patient encounters. Institute participants
joined with Community-University Youth Violence Prevention
Partnership advisory committee members for a dialogue with
Gary Slutkin, M.D., founder and director of Chicago Project, a
community-wide violence prevention program that has effectively
reduced gun violence in that city.
Celebration toasts, class photographs, certificates and gifts
were given to and from faculty and participants at a dinner held
at Eastcliff, the home of University of Minnesota President, as
part of a week-long summer institute on International Infection
Ira R. Byock, M.D.
End of Life Care continued from page 7
Control, June 12–16. Carol O’Boyle, Ph.D., R.N., adjunct faculty
member at the SoN and Supervisor, Institutional Infection
Control Unit, Minnesota Department of Health, directed and
taught major content sessions for the course. Colleagues from
the Association of Professionals in Infection Control assisted
with instruction and hosted tours of clinical facilities in the
Twin Cities. Enrollment for this year’s institute included participants
from Kazakhstan, the Ukraine, the Republic of
Georgia, Hungary, The United Kingdom, Taiwan, Japan,
India, Thailand, Mexico and Canada as well as Minnesota,
California, Washington, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
On June 23–24, clinical nurse specialists and nurse practiour
experiences influence our work with patients—positive or
negative.
“We may be more empathetic with families and patients
because of the experiences we’ve had. Or we may shy away
from it, being afraid to deal with it because we haven’t dealt
with our own issues with loss and death.”
McSteen’s commitment to improving end of life care came
from her own work in oncology, bone marrow transplants and
ICU nursing. “I saw how poorly we took care of people who
were dying. We didn’t talk to people and their families well
about what was actually happening to them,” said McSteen.
“I really felt that people weren’t having the opportunity to put
closure on things and say what they needed to say because
nobody was telling them what was going on.” •
Jack Breslin first wrote about the nursing shortage as a daily newspaper
journalist in 1979. The author of the book, America’s Most Wanted,
he is currently a doctoral student in the School of Journalism and Mass
Communications at the University of Minnesota.
8 Network

tioners took advantage of a beautiful retreat setting at Riverwood
Conference Center to share management strategies
for co-existing psychiatric and medical conditions in primary
care and mental health settings. The institute, directed by
Merrie J. Kaas, DNSc, R.N., CS, focused on sleep disorders,
personality disorders, pain management and the efficacy of
complementary medicine in psychiatry. Featured guest speakers
Geoff McEnany, Mary Ann Boyd, Nancy Wells and Mary
Ann Nihart, all doctorally-prepared nurse researchers and
clinicians, presented plenary sessions. Workshops and roundtable
discussions at dinner and luncheon provided for dialogue
and interaction throughout the two-day program. Among the
60 participants from 14 states were a number of alumni from
the SoN’s Master’s Degree program
who encouraged the development of
more continuing education opportunities
at advanced practice levels.
The Earle Brown Center for Continuing
Education became a wellness spa
for the week of July 17–21 complete
with a juice bar, cellist and temple bells.
Mariah Snyder, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.,
conducted the second summer institute
on Theoretical Foundations and
Experiential Learning in Complementary and Alternative
Therapies. Sixty participants attended presentations on key
components of complementary therapies, including principles,
research and application and experienced such therapies
as story telling, journaling, guided imagery, aroma therapy,
Reiki, healing touch, yoga and massage.
The summer calendar in July and August focused on school
health nursing. Nine program days were offered in cooperation
with the School Nurses Organization of Minnesota. Credit
course instruction was provided by SoN faculty Martha Dewey
Bergren, M.S., R.N., Education Specialist and Helen Hansen,
Ph.D., R.N., Associate Professor. They were assisted by
Denise Ornelas, M.S., LCN, SoN alumna. •
Donors of the Wald Lecture are pictured with
the director and dean. From left are Mary Jo
Kreitzer, Director of the Center for Spirituality
and Healing; Charles Shepard; Joanne Disch,
Katharine Densford Director; Derry Ann Moritz
and Dean Sandra Edwardson.
The Outreach Program Calendar for Fall 2000
October 6–7 Gentle Birthing: Water
Immersion for Labor and Birth in celebration
of National Nurse Midwifery Week
and in cooperation with the Minnesota
Chapter, American College of Nurse-
Midwives Sheraton Inn Midway– St. Paul
Directed by Melissa Avery, Ph.D., CNM,
FACNM, Associate Professor and Director,
School of Nursing Midwifery Program
Guest faculty: Barbara Harper, R.N., nurse,
midwife, doula, author, Wilsonville, Oregon,
and SoN alumna, Jeanne M. Howell,
M.S., CNM, Alexandria, MN
(see page 4)
October 6 Recreating Nursing
for New World of Practice
Annual Fall Conference, Minnesota
Association of Colleges of Nursing (MACN)
Earle Brown Continuing Education Center –
University of Minnesota-St. Paul campus
Guest speaker: Jean E. Bartels, Ph.D., R.N.,
Chair, School of Nursing and Professor of
Nursing, Georgia Southern University.
October 10 A Tobacco Summit:
Tobacco Use Among College and University
Students (Boynton Health Service,
University of Minnesota)
October 11–13 The American College Health
Association: North Central Region
Controversies in College Health
Embassy Suites – Bloomington
Spring 2001
March 2001 Birth Trauma: Long-Term Effects
and Treatments with William R. Emerson
April 23, 2001 University of Minnesota
School of Nursing Spring Research Day
April 23, 2001 Annual Pediatric Critical
Care Conference
May 5, 2001 Annual Alumni Society Meeting
May 6–7, 2001 Traditional Tibetan
Medicine (Center for Spirituality
and Healing)
June 2001 Summer Institute on Family-
Centered Care Coordination for Children
with Special Health Care Needs;
Assessment and Interventions
for Adolescent Health; Psychopharmacotherapeutics
in Advanced Practice Nursing
June 27–July 1, 2001 Pediatric Integrative
Medicine Conference (Center for
Spirituality and Healing)
July 16–19, 2001 Theoretical Foundations
and Experiential Learning in
Complementary and Alternative Therapies
For brochures and registration materials,
School of Nursing Outreach Office
Linda Vegell: 612-626-4772
E-Mail: carls020@tc.umn.edu
Fall/Winter 2000-2001 ■ Vol. II, No. 2 9

Faculty Research
Wyman receives $2million Grant
by Barbara La Valleur
Dr. Jean Wyman, Professor at the SoN, has been awarded a
$2 million grant for a five-year study on “A Fall Prevention
Program for High-Risk Elderly Women” from the
National Institute of Nursing Research.
The $2,002,685 award is one of the largest—if not the
largest—the SoN has ever received. Wyman, who holds the
Cora Meidl Siehl Chair in Nursing Research, said this grant
reflects work she began in 1990 at Virginia Commonwealth
University and builds on results from a previous study sponsored
by a Faculty Development Award from the Academic
Health Center at the University.
“That pilot study was crucial to our getting this larger funding,”
Wyman said.
“This grant will help increase the visibility of the SoN in
gerontological nursing. Our goal is to be recognized as one of
the top three gerontological nursing research education programs
in the country. This will help us,” Wyman said.
The long-term objective of this study is to develop costeffective,
community-based strategies for the prevention of
falls in high-risk elderly women, Wyman noted.
As principal investigator for the study, which has seven coinvestigators
representing six diverse areas at the University,
Wyman stressed the value
‘This is one of the largest
of the interdisciplinary
and first interdisciplinary aspect of the grant.
“This is one of the largest
clinical research projects
and first interdisciplinary
in aging received by the clinical research projects in
aging received by the University
of Minnesota,”
University of Minnesota ...’
Wyman said. The study will sample about 300 women in the
metropolitan area who are 70 years and older, mentally intact,
ambulatory, have postural instability, are not currently involved
in regular exercise and are able to understand and read English.
“Falls are a major problem in the elderly with significant
physical, psychosocial and economic consequences. Prevalence
studies indicate that 25–48 percent of communitydwelling
elderly will fall each year with the incidence of falls
dramatically increasing with advancing age. Deaths from falls
are the second leading cause of injury-related deaths in the
elderly and 60 percent of these fatalities result from falls at
home,” according to Wyman.
Co-investigators are: Dr. Richard Di Fabio, Department
of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine;
Dr. Cynthia Gross, SoN and College of Pharmacy; Dr. Joseph
Konstan, Institute of Technology’s Department of Computer
Science and Engineering; Dr. Ruth Lindquist, SoN; Dr. Teresa
McCarthy, Family Practice and Community Health, School of
Medicine; Dr. John Nyman, School of Public Health and Dr.
Michael Wade, School of Kinesiology and Leisure Studies.
Wyman, who came to the University in 1997, is a certified
gerontological clinical nurse practitioner and Director of the
Center for Nursing Research of Elders, professor in the
Department of Family Practice and Community Health and
Associate Director of the Center of Aging at the University.
The recipient of numerous awards and grants, Wyman
received her Ph.D. from the University of Washington, where
she also taught physiological nursing for several years. •
Jean Wyman
Recently Published Materials by SoN Faculty
The following is a list of recently published materials submitted to the
Research Resource Center for posting by SoN faculty.
Avery, M. D., L. Duckett & C. R. Frantzich (2000).“The Experience of
Sexuality During Breastfeeding Among Primiparous Women.” Journal of
Midwifery and Women’s Health 45(3): 227–237.
Chen,Y., M. B. Ryden, K. Feldt & K. Savik (2000).“The relationship
between social interaction and characteristics of aggressive, cognitively
impaired nursing home residents.” American Journal of Alzheimer’s
Disease 15(1): 10–17.
Chlan, L., D. Evans, M. Greenleaf & J.Walker (2000).“Effects of a Single
Music Therapy Intervention on Anxiety, Discomfort, Satisfaction and
Compliance With Screening Guidelines in Outpatients Undergoing Flexible
Sigmoidoscopy.” Gastroentroenterology Nursing 23(4): 148–156.
BARBARA LA VALLEUR
10 Network

Bonnie Bata-Jones
WebCT Exemplary Course Chosen
Bonnie Bata-Jones exemplifies what the computer age is all
about for the School of Nursing. Bata-Jones, Education
Specialist, and Jan Sieger, Winona State University,
worked for a year in the development of a totally web-based
graduate Pharmacology course.
In June, the course was chosen as a WebCT Exemplary
Course and showcased at the WebCT-2000 International
Conference in Athens, GA. There were 74 course applications
with 15 chosen by the project.
One of the biggest hurtles was developing a format that is
interactive and uses a high level of Blooms taxonomy for
higher education according to Bata-Jones. They elected to use
a case study form that lends itself to student interaction
through group discussion.
The criteria for selection focused on academic rigor and
content robustness looking at communication tools used so
that the students become immersed in the course content
through the application of higher learning objectives.
What was the motivation for creating an on-line learning
BARBARA LA VALLEUR
environment? It was the legislative
funding provided to the
University and MnSCU in
1996 to mount a distance
learning initiative to better
meet the educational needs
of the students in Minnesota
in a more cost-effective way,
according to Bata-Jones.
Bata-Jones feels one of
the unique aspects of her
course is the fact that the
students individually work
through a case study, then
discuss it as a group, which
is a deliberate attempt to
build community as a means
of promoting collaborative
learning.
Then each student must
decide on his or her own
treatment plan including
actually writing a prescription for the medication and sending
it to the instructor for correction using a WebCT tool.
Another unique feature is the Pretest that is linked back to the
final examination in a
Bata-Jones feels one of the
web-based pharmacology
course developed unique aspects of her course
for undergraduate
is the fact that the students
nursing programs.
When asked if the individually work through a case
web course content
study, then discuss it as a group
and requirements are
as demanding as the face-to-face course, Bata-Jones said,
“Definitely! Probably more demanding as students must read,
use web sites, discuss and do a written assignment each week.
This is the wave of the future and the students are requesting
more web-based courses”
WebCT is used by about 46,000 faculty at over 1,400 colleges
and Universities in 55 countries with main offices in
Vancouver, CAN and Boston, MA. •
Disch, J. (2000).“The Nurse Executive: Healthy Work Environments for
All Nurses.” Journal of Professional Nursing 16(2): 75.
Disch, J. (2000).“The Nurse Executive: Make the Glue Red.” Journal
of Professional Nursing 16(4): 189.
Dodgson, J. E., A. Garwick, S. A. Blozis, J. M. Patterson, F. C. Bennett
& R.W. Blum (2000).“Uncertainty in Childhood Chronic Conditions and
Family Distress in Families of Young Children.” Journal of Family Nursing
6(3): 252–266.
Lindquist, R., D.Treat-Jacobson & S.Watanuki (2000).
“A case for multisite studies in critical care.” Heart & Lung 29(4): 269–277.
Parran, L. & C. Pederson (2000).“Development of an Opioid-Taper
Algorithm for Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Recipients.” Oncology
Nursing Forum 27(6): 967–974.
Peden-McAlphine, C. (1999). “Expert thinking in nursing practice:
Implications for supporting expertise.” Nursing and Health Sciences
1: 131–137.
Saewyc, E. M. (2000). “Nursing Theories of Caring: A Paradigm for
Adolescent Nursing Practice.” Journal of Holistic Nursing 18(2): 114–128.
Vari, P. M., J. Camburn & S. J. Henly (2000). “Professionally Mediated
Peer Support and Early Breastfeeding Success.” The Journal of Perinatal
Education 9(1): 22–30.
Brown, J. S., E. Vittinghoff, J. F. Wyman, K. L. Stone, M. C. Nevitt,
K. E. Ensrud & D. Grady (2000). “Urinary incontinence: Does it Increase
Risk for Falls and Fractures?” Journal of the American Geriatric Society
48: 721–725.
Wyman, J. F. (2000). “Management of Urinary Incontinence in Adult
Ambulatory Care Populations.” Annual Review of Nursing Research
18: 171–194.
Fall/Winter 2000-2001 ■ Vol. II, No. 2 11

School of Nursing Students
Kuei-Min Chen
SoN Graduate
By Barbara La Valleur
You’d never know upon meeting 28-year-old Kuei-Min Chen
that she was once an extremely shy person.
“I never was outgoing before.” Seven years in America
changed that. The vivacious Kuei-Min is happily back in her
native Taiwan. She went back “for good ” in May, diploma in
hand, following graduation from the University of Minnesota
with a doctorate in nursing.
“I have never tried so many new things as I have in my seven
years in the U.S.,” said Kuei-Min whose hand gestures punctuate
the conversation. It’s hard to picture she had never even
been on a plane before coming to the U.S.
Growing up the youngest in a family of four, she was the
first sibling to attend college. She credits her parents with
much of her success. Kuei-Min is big on acknowledging people.
“My parents (Chien-Yuan Chen and Chiao-Jou Huang)
are extraordinary. They had no education. They taught me
‘You have to take responsibility for yourself,’” she explained.
After straight A’s in high school and eight years of English,
she faced the triple dilemma of wanting to study, being
worried about her families’ finances and a concern for her
mother’s poor health. It was ultimately her mother’s health
that led her into nursing.
“My mother’s health has never been good. She
works in my uncle’s factory as an assembly line
worker. My father works as a truck driver in
building construction,” she explained.
“I decided at age 7 or 8 I wanted to be a doctor
so I could take care of her.” Later on, she
changed her mind about becoming a medical
doctor. Instead, she chose nursing with
an emphasis on teaching and education.
After high school, she received a
degree in nursing from Foo-Yin Institute
of Technology in Kaohsiung,
Taiwan, in 1992. She is now
teaching as an assistant professor
where she had once
been a nursing student.
Kaohsiung is Taiwan’s second
largest city.
She began thinking
about coming to America
to further her nursing
education. Without
her parents’ knowledge,
12 Network
Dr. Kuei-Min Chen
she applied for and received financial aid. “I know how worried
they were, concerned about finances and my safety,” she
said. At age 20, she left home and her parents, intent on pursuing
her dreams.
After a B.S.N. in nursing at the University of Dubuque, IA,
in 1994, “I secretly applied for my Master’s” and, of course,
financial aid. She received it and came to the University of
Minnesota where she received a Master’s of Science degree in
Nursing with specialization as a Gerontological Clinical Nurse
Specialist in 1996.
The first day at the University was life altering. She met her
future husband, Yao-Yuan Chuang. “He was starting his Ph.D.
in chemistry and I was starting my Master’s in nursing. We met
at orientation.”
“I was really worried about my English ability,” the now fluent
Kuei-Min explained, “I worked at the cafeteria for two years
Kuei-Min found... that those who practice
Tai Chi have a better physical and mental health
status, lower blood pressure, fewer falls, fewer
mood disturbances and more positive mood states
than those who do not practice Tai Chi.
as an undergraduate. It was a good way to practice my English.”
During her years in America, Kuei-Min was able to bring
her parents for their first visit to the U.S. “They got to go
horseback riding in Duluth and visit Disney World in Florida.”
One of her countrymen’s daily routines became the subject
of her doctoral thesis, “The Effects of Tai Chi on the Well
Being of Community-Dwelling Elders in Taiwan.”
“When I was young, I saw people doing it. I thought, ‘It
is SO SLOW’ and I wasn’t interested in it. Now, after practicing
it for one year, I feel fresh, energetic and clear
minded. I think better.”
During a two-month study visit in Taiwan in
1999, Kuei-Min was able to do the groundworking
research for her thesis. She acknowledges
her husband’s grandparents, Jen Lin and
Chiu-Che Yeh-Lin, for bringing Tai Chi into
her life. “Without them, I wouldn’t have been
able to recruit so many people so quickly. They
practice it every day.”
Between 4 and 8 a.m., Kuei-Min
interviewed friends of her husband’s grandparents
before and after their routines on
the effects of Tai Chi on their lives and
well being. It wasn’t her intention to
start practicing Tai Chi herself. It just
turned out that way, “That was a positive
health outcome.”
Kuei-Min found in the sample of
80 Taiwanese community-dwelling
elders aged 65 and older (40 of whom
practice Tai Chi and 40 who do not)
that those who practice Tai Chi have a
better physical and mental health status,
lower blood pressure, fewer falls,
continued on bottom of page 13
BARBARA LA VALLEUR

Yueh-hsia Tseng and Marcus, a resident at the University
Good Samaritan Center Alzheimers Care Unit in Minneapolis
enjoy a chat while on a glider swing.
BARBARA LA VALLEUR
SStudy Shows
wings Soothe Seniors
By Patrick Meirick
Anyone who’s ever rocked a baby to sleep can attest to the
soothing powers of swinging. Now, research by Prof.
Mariah Snyder, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N. and a team of
graduate students suggests that swinging can soothe stressedout
seniors with dementia, too.
Snyder’s research assistants and co-authors were Yueh-hsia
Tseng, M.S., R.N., now a doctoral candidate in the School of
Nursing; nursing doctoral student Cheryl Brandt, M.S., R.N.;
‘For (people with) Alzheimer’s, there are very few
things that can bring them pleasure. If a simple
thing like swinging will improve the mood of the
person and bring them pleasure, I think that’s a
great benefit.’
— Mariah Snyder
Catherine Croghan, M.S., M.Ph., R.N.; Sandy Hanson, M.S.,
R.N.; Ray Constantine, M.S., R.N.; and Leann Kirby, M.Ph.
It’s estimated that half of the people in nursing homes have
dementia, a form of progressive memory impairment stemming
from Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, among
other causes.
Many seniors with advanced dementia—by some estimates
up to 93 percent—behave aggressively. This behavior is often
addressed with psychotropic drugs, which can have serious side
effects. Snyder and other researchers push for alternative interventions
that emphasize pleasure and relaxation. They argue
that people with dementia don’t handle stressful situations well
because they’ve lost most of their coping skills. It then takes
less to push them from calm to anxious to aggressive.
Over the past 15 years, Snyder had done research on such
alternatives as massage, therapeutic touch and music. Then
George Knuteson, president of WhisperGLIDE Swing Co. in
continued on page 14
Kuei-Min Chen continued
fewer mood disturbances and more positive mood states than
those who do not practice Tai Chi.
According to her abstract, “Most subjects in the non-Tai Chi
group had never thought about practicing Tai Chi because they
felt they were too weak to practice.” Furthermore, “Findings
provide a basis for using Tai Chi as a therapeutic, holistic intervention
in the community-dwelling elderly population.”
Kuei-Min acknowledges the difference both her advisors
made during her experience at the SoN. Dr. Mariah Snyder,
Professor, and Dr. Kathleen Krichbaum, Associate Professor,
played major roles in Kuei-Min’s educational process.
“Mariah’s passion for understanding international students is
amazing” and “Kathy was the first person who hired me as a
teaching assistant. I really appreciated that.”
There was never any question whether Kuei-Min would
return to her native Taiwan. “I just love nursing so much,” she
explained. “Only about 60 (people) had a Ph.D. in nursing in
Taiwan in 1996, but that number is growing very fast. We
only have one Ph.D. program in the country.”
“In Taiwan, nursing is treated as a physician’s assistant. We
really need to change this image. That’s the reason for me to
go back.”
For this once extremely shy student nurse from Taiwan,
changing that image should be no problem. •
Fall/Winter 2000-2001 ■ Vol. II, No. 2 13

Swings Soothe Seniors continued from page 13
Hugo, MN, approached Snyder about investigating the therapeutic
potential of swinging.
Other researchers had found that rocking in rocking chairs
reduced anxiety and depression in people with dementia. Rocking
appears to stimulate the vestibular system in the ear, which
controls balance and affects relaxation. Swinging, Snyder reasoned,
could probably do the same thing, but more safely.
Glider swings are equipped with stability locks to hold the
swing steady while people enter or exit. They also have
handrails and lap bars. Some are modified for wheelchair use.
Snyder planned a study and secured funding through the
Katharine J. Densford Dreves Award from the Minnesota
Nurses Association Foundation. She also received help from
Knuteson and another person in the community.
The six research assistants began collecting data in two
swing-equipped nursing homes in December of 1998 and finished
the following June. Each of the 30 people in the study
were observed for 20 days: five “before” days to establish a
baseline for comparison, 10 straight days with a 20-minute session
on the swing each day and five days after the intervention
to see if there were any long-term effects. The researchers kept
track of relaxation levels, positive and negative emotions, pulse
rates and breathing rates. Nursing home staff kept track of
aggressive behaviors in the days before, during and after the
swing intervention.
The clearest finding was that people clearly enjoyed swinging.
They showed more positive emotions (like pleasure, interest and
tranquility) and fewer negative emotions (like anger, anxiety and
depression) while they were on the swing and shortly thereafter.
Yueh-hsia Tseng, who expects to defend her dissertation this
fall, was one of the research assistants who ran the study.
She recalled one elderly woman who was always very anxious
before getting on the swing.
“She was very hard to transport,” Tseng said. “Then we put
her on the swing and after several minutes, she started singing.”
The study also found that people relaxed while they were on
the swing. Like the woman Tseng recalled, they tended to
become more anxious just before getting on the swing, but
calmed down significantly during their time in the glider swing.
The subjects’ memory impairment may have contributed to
the initial anxiousness, Snyder said.
“I think the anticipation of a ‘new’ task—and it is new each
day—may be stressful,” she said.
Snyder thinks that making it less difficult for seniors to get
on the swing would improve relaxation.
“We are recommending that a small ramp be available so
that people can walk up the ramp onto the swing,” she said.
None of the results showed significant long-term changes
in emotional well being or relaxation. However, the subjects’
aggressive behaviors were down 25 percent in the days after
the swinging compared to the days before the swinging. Due
to some missing reports and the relatively small number of
subjects, that difference wasn’t statistically significant. But
Snyder recommends that additional studies be done.
Even if swinging is found to have no long-term effects on
aggressive behavior, Snyder thinks that it’s a worthwhile
intervention.
14 Network
Nursing Students Speak Out
Excellent Instructors,
Good Clinical Placement
By Margo Marko
According to a survey conducted by faculty in May of the undergraduate
nursing program at the SoN, 94 percent of the students
were satisfied or highly satisfied with their educational experience.
In addition, 95 percent of the students thought that their future
employers would value or highly value their degree from the SoN.
The students acknowledged the excellent instructors, good clinical
placement and the critical care education as the greatest strengths of
the school. For example, students said, “Excellent, caring instructors
who are well prepared,” “We had great clinical, with many broad opportunities
in a variety of settings.” The critical care course was identified
repeatedly as a highlight for the experience it brought to students and
the clinical expertise they observed.
We also believe it’s important to receive ongoing feedback from our
clinical sites that are used for both the graduate and undergraduate clinical
rotations.
The questions on the evaluation tool focused on communication,
professionalism and preparation of the students to perform their role.
Our results consistently reflect satisfied or extremely satisfied managers
and preceptors. One undergraduate clinical manager wrote, “The
nurses have reported that they enjoy the opportunity to work with the
University students. Because of the nature of the work, a great deal of
flexibility is needed by the staff and students. The students were great
about adjusting their schedules to accommodate learning needs. We
look forward to working with a new group of students in the fall.”
We value and appreciate this information as the results of these
surveys are combined and presented for use in providing feedback to
students and faculty in identifying areas of improvement. •
“For (people with) Alzheimer’s, there are very few things
that can bring them pleasure,” she said. “If a simple thing like
swinging will improve the mood of the person and bring them
pleasure, I think that’s a great benefit.”
Moreover, she added, swinging is something that family
and volunteers can do with nursing home residents, so it
needn’t demand a lot of staff time.
Many nursing homes are ordering glider swings, Snyder
said, but they are sometimes being used only sparingly. That
was the case at the two area nursing homes that took part in
the study, she said.
“We went back to the nursing homes last spring,” Snyder
said. “We shared our findings and I think the people really saw
the benefit. I think it would be helpful to do as an in-service.”
Snyder and her co-authors are also sharing their findings
with the academic community. Their paper, “A Glider Swing
Intervention in Persons with Dementia,” has been presented
at the National Association of Geriatric Nurses and the Midwest
Nursing Research Society. They’ve also submitted the
paper to the journal Geriatric Nursing, which has the paper
under review. •
Patrick Meirick is a seasoned journalist and doctoral student in the School
of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota.

BARBARA LA VALLEUR PHOTOS
Comings and Goings at the School of Nursing
Five new faculty have joined the SoN
according to Dean Sandra Edwardson.
They are: Linda Ann Gerdner, Felicia
Schanche Hodge, Joan Liaschenko (who
will join the faculty in January 2001),
Margaret P. Moss and Cheryl Robertson.
Gerdner, Assistant Professor, received
her B.S.N. in nursing from Iowa Wesleyan
College in 1980, her Master’s (1992) and
Ph.D. (1998) in nursing from the University
of Iowa, College of Nursing. She will
be teaching in the area of adult mental
health. Her doctoral dissertation was on
“The effects of individualized vs. classical
music on agitation in Alzheimer’s disease
and related disorders.”
Hodge, Professor, received a B.A. in
1974 in sociology from Sonoma, CA, State
University, Master’s in Public Health
(1976) and Ph.D. (1987) from the University
of California,
Berkeley.
She will be
teaching in
the area of
health promotion
with an
emphasis on
the adult American Indian. She was previously
the director of research at the
California Rural Indian Health Board in
Sacramento, CA.
Moss, Assistant Professor, is a 2000
Ph.D. graduate of the University of Texas.
Moss will be teaching in the area of gerontology
and conducting research on aging
in American Indians and minority populations.
She received a B.S. in biology
(1976) from Spokane Falls, WA, Community
College and a B.S.N. (1980) from
School of Nursing Community News
Hodge Moss Robertson Grossbach Lindquist
Above: From left, Drs. Jean
Wyman, Center for Nursing
Research of Elders; Joanne
Disch, Densford Center for
Nursing Leadership; and Ann
Garwick, Center for Child and
Family Health Promotion Research
were panelists at the Annual
Spring Research Day, “Fostering
Nursing Research and Practice
Through Collaboration,” in May at
the Hubert H. Humphrey Center.
Left: Jennifer Rosand and
President Mark Yudof at a
reception at Eastcliff on Jennifer’s
first day as recruiter.
Portland, OR, Community College as well
as a Master’s in nursing (1994) specializing
in management from the University of
Phoenix, Albuquerque, NM, in 1994.
Robertson, Assistant Professor, is a 2000
Ph.D. graduate of the University of Minnesota,
SoN. Her area of teaching is public
health. Robertson also received her M.Ph.
from the University in 1988 and her B.A. in
anthropology and Latin American Studies
from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Her dissertation was on the “Patterns of
survival for rural Muslim mothers during
the Bosnian War and the Post-War Period.”
Irene Grossbach has been named Assistant
Education Specialist. She has been
an Adjunct Professor for the past 17 years
and is a nationally recognized Pulmonary
Clinical Nurse Specialist. She was the Pulmonary
Clinical Nurse Specialist for the
VA Medical Center for 25 years. Grossbach
also holds the distinction of running
67 marathons.
Ruth Lindquist, Associate Professor, was
appointed as Division Head for Nursing
Care of Adults, Gerontological Nursing and
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing as
Professor Mariah Snyder begins her phased
retirement.
Christine Mueller, Associate Professor,
represented the School of Nursing on the
Academic Health Center’s Strategic Planning
as Faculty Collegiate Committee
Chair. The regents approved the strategic
plan for the AHC that eventually will shape
research priorities and form the basis for
new programs, larger student enrollments
and more faculty.
Jennifer Rosand has been named
Recruiter of Undergraduate and Graduate
Students for the School of Nursing, replacing
Kate Hanson, who has been promoted to
Assistant Director of Student Services.
Rosand comes with experience in media
planning, market analyses, advertising
placement and statistical media research.
A graduate of the University, she has a
Fall/Winter 2000-2001 ■ Vol. II, No. 2 15

Bachelor of Science in business from the
Carlson School of Management.
Participants in the American Nurses
Association Task Force in Adolescent
Health at the ANA headquarters in
Washington D.C. in July were Linda H.
Bearinger, Associate Professor and
Elizabeth M. Saewyc, Assistant Professor.
They represented the Society for Adolescent
Medicine on the task force of
16 nursing organizations whose purpose is
to promote skilled nursing care for adolescents
in all settings.
Jessica Nilsen is the new Administrative
Aide for Grant Production and RRC
Administration. A 1999 graduate of the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a
B.A. in Health Services Administration
(communications emphasis), Jessica
worked while still a student as a certified
nursing assistant with elders in long-term
care and assisted living. In addition, she
was treasurer and an editor of the university
sponsored Laurus Literary Magazine
and completed a semester abroad in Spain.
New officers for the Organization of
Ph.D. Student Nurses 2000-2001 are:
Shige Watanuki, President; So Young Kang,
Secretary and Yueh-hsia Tseng, treasurer.
The purpose of OPSN is to provide an
avenue for communication between
administration/faculty and Ph.D. students;
a forum for speakers to make presentations
of professional interest to members; a support
group for students in the Ph.D.
nursing program and social activities
and events.
16 Network
Kudos
Kathy Lucas, left, Class of ’73 B.S.N. and Jean Kintgen-Andrews,
Faculty Emerita, are pictured at the School of Nursing Foundation’s
Benefit Jewelry Sale in July.
Kären Alaniz, Education Specialist and
immediate past president of the Nursing
Alumni Society, received the Excellence in
Nursing Education Award at the annual
meeting.
Melissa Avery, Associate Professor,
has been awarded a University Digital
Media Center Faculty Fellowship. The
fellowship will be a 25% appointment for
Fall 2000, Spring
and Summer 2001.
She will be working
with DMC
staff, outside
experts and other
faculty fellows on
issues related to
Technology Enhanced
Learning.
Linda H.
Bearinger, Associate
Professor,
participated in the
White House Conference
in May on
Teenagers Raising
Responsible and
Resourceful Youth
with Secretary of
Health and Human
Services Donna Shalala. President Clinton
and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton
were also part of the conference.
Linda Chlan, Assistant Professor,
received a University Graduate School
Grant in Aid for $11,861 to study “Predictors
of Well Being in
Younger Women with
Breast Cancer.”
Patricia Crisham,
who retired this year as
Associate Professor
after 25 years with the
SoN, received their
Nursing Ph.D. Scholar
award from the Nursing
Alumni Society.
Ann Garwick, Associate
Professor, was
awarded the Public
Service Award by the
faculty of the SoN.
Janis Gerkensmeyer,
Assistant Professor,
also received a University
Graduate
School Grant in Aid
for $11,927. Her grant will explore
“Parent Satisfaction with Mental Health
Services: Relationship to Outcomes.”
Francis Hoffman, M.S.N., R.N., CCTC,
SoN graduate student in the
Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
area of study, has
received the NATCO-
Novartis achievement award
at the 25th Annual Meeting
of the North American
Josten
Transplant Coordinators
Organization held in August
in Florida. The award
recognizes significant contributions
to the field of
clinical/procurement transplant
coordination and
leadership within the profession.
This award is only given
Lia-Hoagberg
to one person during the year
for hard work and dedication
by the association. Hoffman
is the Nursing Manager of
Transplant Clinical Services
at Abbott Northwestern Hospital
in Minneapolis.
Quick
La Vohn Josten, Associate
Professor, will be awarded
the Ruth Freeman Award in
November by the American
Public Health Association.
She was nominated by her
colleagues at the SoN.
Betty Lia-Hoagberg, Associate
Professor, has received
Saewyc
the E. Louise Grant Award for excellence
in nursing from the SoN Foundation.
Donna Shalala, left, and Linda H. Bearinger at the White House
Conference on Teenagers Raising Responsible and Resourceful Youth

Three faculty promoted to tenured associate professors were honored at a reception in June.
Pictured with Dean Sandra Edwardson (second from right), they are, from left,
Drs. Melissa Avery, Donna Bliss and Helen Hansen.
Margaret Plumbo, Instructor, was
awarded the Excellence in Teaching
Award by the American College of Nurse
Midwives.
Maureen Quick, an oncology graduate
nursing student, has received notification
of a prestigious Master’s Scholarship
from the American Cancer Society in
the amount of $20,000 over two years.
The highly competitive scholarship has
been awarded to a SoN student every year
in the recent past with the
exception of 1999. Quick is
president of the Metro
Minnesota Chapter of the Oncology
Nursing Society.
Elizabeth M. Saewyc, Assistant Professor,
has been awarded a Grant in Aid
for $15,758 entitled, “Sexual abuse, pregnancy
and related life contexts among
adolescents.”
The Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
area of study received notice that they
have successfully completed the National
Certification Board of Pediatric Nurse
RICHARD ANDERSON
Practitioners & Nurses three-year Program
Review cycle. As a result of this voluntary
and thorough peer review, it assures that
the SoN is meeting the highest standards
in PNP education. Congratulations to
Barbara Leonard, Associate Professor,
Linda Lindeke, Assistant Professor,
Christine Poe, Associate Education Specialist
and Adrienne Lawrence, Executive
Secretary for their preparation and participation
in the rigorous review process.
Humor Contest
Network is sponsoring a humor contest.
We’d like your funny stories (in 150 words
or less) about a work related nursing experience
past or present. Linda Hutchinson,
owner of Hutchinson & Associates, ha!
(check out her website at haha-team.com)
and Barbara La Valleur, Editor of Network,
will be the judges.
The winning entry will be published in
the spring issue of Network. In addition, the
winner will receive a copy of Taking
Humor Seriously, ha!, an educational and
entertaining audio tape by Hutchinson.
Please include your contact information.
Mail or e-mail to Network. See contents
page for addresses. •
The SoN Class of 1960
held a 40th class reunion
as part of Research Day
festivities in May.
Pictured front row from
left: Carol Engevik Kelsey,
MN; Judy Johnson Miller, NJ;
Edith Langemo Klein, ND;
Myrtle Swenson Thom, MN;
Peggy O’Neil Swensen, ND;
Mary Lou McGrew
Christensen, MN; Vurnell
Newgard Cobbey, TX; Marilyn
Walter Garwood, MN; Evelyn
Hedman Ahlberg, MN; Phyllis
Jordahl Dexter, IN and Jo
Ellsworth Gibson, DE.
Back row from left: Ione Hultander Olson, MN; Delores Johnson Huanca, MN; Marjorie McHugh Provo, MN; Janice Erickson Lundeen, IL;
Sue Iverson Deinard, MN; Arvilla Mueller Beckman, MN; Donna Johnson Duell, CA; Rhoda Thoreson Becklund, MN; Caroline Bunker Rosdahl, MN;
Polly Tesch Lanz, SC; Jo Moen Langevin, MN; Ella Bjornstad Coffing, MN and Jo Lovass Johnson, MN.
Attending and not pictured: Rosemary Hegerle Dickhausen, Marilyn Zahl Hempstead, Esther Romo Ludewig and Caroline Falstad, all MN.
Fall/Winter 2000-2001 ■ Vol. II, No. 2 17

GPhotographs
by Barbara La Valleur
May 2000
Above: It was a day of mixed emotions for some of the SoN graduates
receiving their diplomas at Northrop Memorial May 22, 2000.
Below: Erin J. Anderson proudly shows off the gold-plated pin displaying
the School of Nursing symbol received by each graduate.
Above: Four generations: Lisa Burns, 39, Apple Valley, received her
Master’s degree in Nursing. Attending her graduation were her father,
Gerald Beiers, 67, Billings, MT, her grandmother, Evelan Beiers, 93,
Langdon, ND and her son, Dylan Burns, 6, Apple Valley.
18 Network

Above: Lisa Anderson’s son, Owen, didn’t quite know
what to make of his mother’s graduation ceremony.
Right: Graduates of the SoN Family Nurse Practitioner
(FNP) graduating Class of 2000. Front row, from left:
Georgia Nygaard (instructor), Bonnie Bata-Jones
(instructor), Mary Mescher Benbenek (instructor), Ann
Fairbanks, Judy McEiver, Greg Leierwood; middle row:
Gina Kinzler, Chris MacGillis, Lisa Benedetto, Nora
Bennett, Lori Lage, John Rozman; and back row: Anne
Rumsey, Corinne Chabot, Leslie Carlson, Renee Dahring
The Graduate Nursing Student Reception prior to graduation in May was well attended by
students, faculty, friends and relatives.
Fall/Winter 2000-2001 ■ Vol. II, No. 2 19

Retiring Advising Specialist, Jane Murphy
‘Our Blessing from Above’
By Jack Breslin
Shortly before the birth of her fourth child, Jane Murphy
wanted a challenging nursing position that would allow her
to balance her professional career and her family life.
Going back to being a full-time hospital staff nurse would
be too demanding, so she wondered about getting into nursing
education.
By chance a friend who was leaving her job as a pre-major advisor
at the University of Minnesota called Murphy about whether
she would be interested in applying. The position involved advising
lower division College
of Liberal Arts and preprofessional
health-science
‘I did enjoy the nursing
profession, so it was easy
students about curricular
requirements, program planning,
registration and careers.
for me to talk about the
profession in a positive way,
“Initially, I said no because
I knew I was having this but at the same time
fourth child and I couldn’t
I understood the reality
imagine juggling all that,”
Murphy recalled recently, of the profession....
reflecting on her nursing and
So I think I was helpful
advising careers.
“It was part-time then, so because I understood the
my husband and I talked
real world of the profession.’
about it. I thought, ‘Well, I’ll
just try it and see how it goes. I can always put in a year’s time and
then if it doesn’t work out, I won’t go back.’”
That “year’s time” actually became 25 years. The awardwinning
advisor retired in June after assisting thousands of
students in their health-science studies, professional careers and
personal lives. Looking back on her advising career, Murphy has a
deep sense of accomplishment and satisfaction in knowing that
she made a positive difference in so many lives.
“It was daunting to know how you can influence somebody’s
choice and that goes both ways,” she explained. “I think that my
underlying philosophy is believing in the late bloomers. Everybody
has an opportunity. Some might not have been the best high
school students, but let’s see how they do here rather than keep
writing them off right away.
“I think you go about your job and do the best you can. But
often times you don’t stop to think about the impact that you may
have. That can be either believing that someone can do what they
want to do or presenting alternatives, which was a great part of
the job.”
Murphy’s responsibilities involved helping students interested
in health sciences, including nursing, to plan a schedule, complete
their program of study, take required entrance tests and apply on
time for admission. She also served as a pre-nursing liaison with
the School of Nursing staff.
20 Network
BARBARA LA VALLEUR
Jane Murphy retires after 25 years as Health Science Advising Specialist
Given each student’s individual goals, personal needs and academic
backgrounds, the job often required a bit of “mothering,”
especially when students didn’t get admitted to their desired
program.
“Over the years I have seen students who have mirrored my
children’s ages and I think that has kept me in touch with reality
as to what stage of development these students are in when I see
them,” she explained. “I love mothering and there was certainly
an opportunity to do some of that as an advisor.”
Murphy credited her extroverted personality, problem-solving
ability and “love” of the nursing profession as essential keys to her
advising success. In speaking with Murphy for only a few
moments, one can easily see her caring personality shining
through her warm eyes and welcoming smile. Her devotion to
nursing and students is measured by the conviction in her voice.
“I did enjoy the nursing profession, so it was easy for me to talk
about the profession in a positive way, but at the same time I

understood the reality of the profession—it’s a lot of hard work,”
she said. “So I think I was helpful because I understood the real
world of the profession.”
Murphy does hear from some former students and fellow advisors
who are enjoying professional success, even if they didn’t
pursue a nursing career. One of her “most gratifying phone calls”
came from a student with whom Murphy had “planted the seed”
to pursue a career in medicine.
“I looked at her transcript and she had taken most all of the
pre-med courses and had done well, so I said, ‘Have you ever
thought about medicine?’ I think I just planted the seed. It was
one of those passing sort of questions.”
Eight years later, the student called Murphy after passing her
neurology boards to express her appreciation for asking that lifechanging
question.
“She did say that it was because I had asked that question that
she had even thought about doing what she was doing and how
much she appreciated that.”
Murphy’s motivation of “assisting people” flows from her original
desire to pursue a nursing career. The Minnesota native
earned her bachelor of arts in nursing in 1962 from the College of
St. Catherine in St. Paul. After graduation, she worked five years
as a staff nurse and head nurse and four years as a clinical instructor
in pediatrics at St. Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul.
Murphy and her husband, Michael, a local attorney, have been
married for 35 years. They raised four children (Timothy, Patrick,
Catherine and Kevin), who have since given them two grandchildren.
In between her family and professional duties, Murphy
also volunteered with several community projects, including
school-parent groups and local theater. In her retirement Murphy
intends to pursue her hobbies of golf (a “character-building”
experience), reading, gardening and spending “quite a bit of time”
with friends and family, especially her two grandchildren.
Murphy’s years of dedicated service have not gone unrecognized
on the Twin Cities campus. In 1992, she received the
Gordon L. Starr Award, given by the Minnesota Student Association
for faculty and staff contributions. The following year she
was honored with the John Tate Award for excellence in academic
advising.
In addition to the professional challenge, Murphy has enjoyed
making many friendships among the School of Nursing staff. She
is experiencing “some withdrawal” without those daily contacts,
especially being without e-mail at home.
“My relationship with the School of Nursing has been a very
positive one,” she reflected. “And I have made some very strong
friendships with people in the School of Nursing, even though a lot
of the back and forth was done by telephone and e-mail. It’s been a
very positive part of the job to have their availability and support,
as well as the number of friendships that come year after year.”
Looking back over the past 25 years have students changed
much?
“People often ask that question,” Murphy replied. “We see
students one-on-one rather than in a large group. And I really
have not seen much change.
“I think there’s that question—has their behavior changed or are
they more demanding. But I haven’t really found that there’s been a
tremendous change there. Students have not changed as much as
people would think.”
One of Murphy’s office mates, Sandra Sibley Gerick, wrote a poem
about the veteran advisor, which concludes with “Wisdom, carried
with courage, supported by love—Jane Murphy, our blessing
from above.”
How does Murphy feel about such a heartfelt assessment of
her work?
“Oh, I don’t know,” Murphy laughed with obvious embarrassment.
“I thought it was very sweet, very complimentary, but it’s
so hard to see yourself in that way.” •
Jack Breslin first wrote about the nursing shortage as a daily newspaper
journalist in 1979. The author of the book, America’s Most Wanted, he is
currently a doctoral student in the School of Journalism and Mass
Communications at the University of Minnesota.
The Book Corner: Check it Out!
Two SoN alumnae have written books recently. Check them out.
The book written by Ruth Stryker-Gordon, a retired faculty member at
the School of Public Health, It Takes a Village to Raise a Dog,
was chosen the Barnes & Nobel feature of the month in July.
The book is a collection of nine true stories of vagabond dogs.
Boozer was on TV’s “Good Morning, America,” Owney was
stuffed and is in the Smithsonian Institute, Lampo rode trains
in Italy and Red Dog ran thousands of miles in Australia.
Margaret F. Munro, a 1960’s Master’s in Education
graduate wrote Forward in Faith, the story about
establishing the School of Nursing at University of
Prince Edward Island. It is a personal reflection of the trials
and triumphs the author experienced between 1990 and
1997 as she helped make the dream of a nursing degree program a
reality. Her 154-page paperback with black and white photos is available
through UPEI Bookstore, 550 University Ave., Charlottetown, PE,
CAN, C1A4P3 for $14.95 plus $3.50 postage and handling
per copy.
Other suggested readings come from Ruth Lindquist,
Ph.D., associate professor: Life Support: Three Nurses on
the Front Lines by Suzanne Gordon. Says the author:
“If more nurses insisted on being heard ...it not only would
transform the public image of nursing, but our view
of whatis and is not important in health care.” A second
recommended book: Nursing the Finest Art: An Illustrated
History by M. Patricia Donahue. •
Fall/Winter 2000-2001 ■ Vol. II, No. 2 21

From the Dean
AWell-Kept Secret
By Sandra Edwardson
They tell the story about the Minnesotan who
loved his wife so much that he almost told her.
We Minnesotans are a taciturn lot. But several
people have been telling me recently that this reticence
has to stop when it comes to the school!
Nothing made that more apparent than a recent visit
from the Hartford Foundation to review our capacities
in geriatric nursing.
Dean Sandra
Edwardson
Ten years ago there were only two or three faculty
members in the school who had a real commitment to gerontology.
But two developments changed all that. First was the
establishment of Long Term Care Professorship brought about
by the contributions of friends and alumni with every dollar
matched by the Permanent University Fund.
Professor Emerita Muriel Ryden was the first to hold that professorship.
She combined her passion for care of the elderly with
her research and leadership skills to form the nub of the gerontology
programs. Then came the opportunity to become an
Exploratory Center for Long Term Care with funding from the
National Center for Nursing Research. Under the leadership of
former Coral Meidl Siehl Chair Sue Donaldson, the center
attracted more and more faculty so that today its successor, the
Center for Nursing Research of Elders, boasts 22 members.
Along the way, the master’s curriculum for gerontological
nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists was launched
leading to more than 70 advanced practice nursing graduates.
At the doctoral level, 20 graduates and 10 current students have
completed or are pursuing aging-related dissertations.
In addition to their teaching and research responsibilities, several
faculty members are also engaged in clinical practice
one-half to one day per week. This practice helps them keep
their clinical skills finely honed, provides learning opportunities
for students and puts them in touch with the real-world problems
of geriatric patients and their care givers.
We have reported before about the types of research that our
faculty members and students have produced. They have investigated
falls; caregiver stress; nursing care delivery systems in
nursing homes; quality of life; quality of care; management of
symptoms such as urinary and fecal incontinence, depression,
pain and aggressiveness. All of these topics are of immense
importance to the elderly and those who care for them. Not only
is it appropriate that nurses study these issues, but some of them
would probably not be studied at all were it not for nurses.
By creating two centers for research excellence last year,* we
hope to capitalize on our strengths and provide a milieu in
which our faculty and students can continue to flourish. By providing
feedback to one another, the centers are helping research
teams sharpen their research proposals and manuscripts. By
teaming up with one another and community partners, they are
stretching their capacity and stimulating their creativity. By
sharing their knowledge and wisdom, they are serving as role
models to one another and to our students. By reaching out to
colleagues in practice, they are helping to improve health care
for the state and nation.
The word is out that the University of Minnesota School of
Nursing is where it’s at for gerontological nursing! It is no longer
a well-kept secret.
(* The second is the Center for Child and Family Health Promotion
Research. You’ll hear more about that in the future.)
Joanne Disch Named
New Director of Katharine J. Densford Center
Joanne Disch, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N. has been named the first
person to fill the Katherine R and C. Walton Lillehei Chair
in Nursing Leadership by Dean Sandra Edwardson. She will
also serve as the first permanent Director of the Katharine J.
Densford International Center for Nursing Leadership.
Disch will hold the rank of non-tenured professor within the
School of Nursing.
Dean Sandra Edwardson said, “Joanne has a broad perspective
in nursing and an incredible number of contacts, nationally and
internationally.” Disch had been acting as Interim Consulting
Director of the Densford Center since March. During that time,
she consolidated the work begun by the founding director,
Mary Jo Kreitzer, and struck out in some new directions.
The search committee noted that Disch is highly respected in
the nursing profession locally, nationally and internationally and
combines sound conceptual skills with high energy and a practical
flair.
22 Network
Educated at the Universities of Wisconsin (B.S.),
Alabama (M.S.N.) and Michigan (Ph.D.), Disch’s
clinical background is in cardiovascular critical care
and she is a past president of the American Association
of Critical Care Nurses. Following clinical positions
as a staff nurse, head nurse, clinical director and
faculty member, Disch became the Senior Associate
Joanne Disch
Director/Director of Nursing at the University of
Minnesota Hospital and Clinic in 1991.
When University Hospital merged with Fairview Health Services,
she became Vice President for Patient-Family Services at Fairview-
University Medical Center, a position she held until 1999. Since then
she has served as regional coordinator for the Colleagues in Caring
Project and a consultant with Larson, Allen, Weishair and Company
in addition to her role with the Densford Center. Her dissertation
research focused on the economics of nursing services for medical
and surgical patients. She has continued to write and speak on issues
related to the organization and delivery of nursing services. •

Ellen Scheel, Class of ’59
Over 50Years
of Service
with the
Visiting NurseAssociation
Editor’s Note: This article was first published in Home Care Chronicle’s
special 50th Anniversary Edition. It features Ellen Scheel, a 1959 SoN
graduate in Public Health Nursing. She was founder and director until
her retirement in 1976 of Visiting Nurse Association (VNA). The
article is printed with kind permission of VNA Home Health Inc. and
Jay Faherty.
When the VNA began in 1947, it had one nurse and charged
$1.50 a visit for her services. The agency was so small it
shared a desk and telephone with the City Health Department
in City Hall.
Within the community, many questioned the value of visiting
nurses. Some believed the agency was a passing fad and that it
would not last.
Ellen Scheel, who was the first VNA nurse in Wausau, WI,
believed home nursing care could help prevent illness and address
VNA Home Health Nurse, Jo Ann Borchardt, R.N.,
assists Ellen Scheel, right, who founded VNA more
than 50 years ago and now receives the care.
School of Nursing Alumnae/i
other health needs in the community. She set out to prove the
skeptics wrong.
When Ellen retired from the VNA 29 years later, the agency
had a staff of 17. Today, VNA Home Health is an organization of
nearly 250 people who provide a wide range of health-care services
to residents of 15 counties in Northern Wisconsin and three
counties of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Little did Ellen know, she’d eventually be the recipient of VNA
in her own home.
Ellen visited with VNA staff to recall the early years of the
home care agency.
Always dressed in uniform, white gloves and a nursing hat,
Ellen provided more than nursing care in the home. On call
24 hours a day, she bathed, fed and did housekeeping for patients.
By 1949, the VNA was seeing 137 clients annually. Most of
those clients were expectant mothers, new mothers and their
newborns. Emphasis was on preventative health care.
The need for maternity
The work Ellen
services in the community
led Ellen to become the first performed in the community
nurse in Wisconsin to go to
continued a tradition
Yale University to take six
weeks of natural childbirth of home care nursing
classes. She later offered
that began in the 1890’s.
natural childbirth classes in
schools, sometimes in a furnace room instead of a classroom
because the techniques were controversial.
Ellen estimates that she participated in 1,571
births, including the delivery of two babies in
the home.
The work Ellen performed in the community
continued a tradition of home care nursing that
began in the 1890’s. At that time there were
21 visiting nurses in the U.S.
In 1909, a doctor for the Metropolitan Life
Insurance Company saw the value of home care
nurses and developed a home nursing service
for the company’s policyholders.
In 1912, the Metropolitan Nursing Service
was made available in Wausau. In 1930, the
Woman’s Club of Wausau hired a visiting nurse
for the city. However, the service was discontinued
in 1941 because nurses were needed to
serve their country in World War II.
In 1947, Metropolitan announced it would
discontinue its home nursing program because
it felt communities could better provide the
service. Ellen Scheel, who at the time was
Metropolitan’s nurse for Wausau, was
approached to become the first nurse of the
new Visiting Nurse Association.
She accepted and on Dec. 11, 1947, the VNA
was incorporated. •
(Ellen now lives with family in North Carolina.)
Fall/Winter 2000-2001 ■ Vol. II, No. 2 23

Memories, Mentoring, Members
Nursing Alumni Society News
The Alumni Society Board
met recently to orient new
members and develop a
strategic plan for the coming
year. The attendance was very
good, despite the beautiful
Saturday weather. It was an
energizing session, with a
commitment to carrying forth the
previous committees’ goals, as well as
incorporating new goals.
Members strongly agreed that there is a
need to focus more on alums and increase
membership to enhance our society.
Another task will be identifying current
and new class representatives.
Marie Manthey
We also discussed new ways the Society
can serve the alumni, faculty and students
beyond the current committees of mentoring,
membership, heritage, faculty and
student awards and the website. This year
we will be looking at ways to revamp the
Annual Spring Celebration to stimulate
greater interest. The program will spotlight
alumni who have made a major
contribution or innovation to the field of
nursing. The annual spring celebration
will be May 5, 2001.
Another major initiative is to create
better connections between alumni and
graduate students. Several suggestions
were offered including brown bag lunch
gatherings, afternoon tea receptions and
individual mentoring between alumni and
graduate students in the field of their
interest.
And . . . the best news of all: every committee
has a volunteer chairperson and
we’ve made a commitment to spend part
of every board meeting discussing a relevant
topic!
We hope that you will consider becoming
a School of Nursing Alumni Society
member, if you are not yet a member.
Marie Manthey, M.N.A., R.N.,
F.R.C.N., F.A.A.N.
SoN Alumni Society President
612.827.1611; mmanthey@chcm.com
The U of M Alumni Association
and your Nursing Alumni
Society help you stay in touch with
the University, the school and other
alums.
Plus, membership brings you
Minnesota magazine, invitations
to special events, low-cost
access to Internet/e-mail and
many discounts (from theater
to gopher gear to books to car
rental to athletic events).
For a complete list, call
1.800.UM.ALUMS or
612.624.2323 in the
Twin Cities area.
Complete and return this form
to: McNamara Alumni Center,
200 Oak St. SE, #200,
Minneapolis, MN 55455.2040.
Name
First MI Last Maiden
Address
State
Zip
City
e-mail
Home phone:
Check payable to UMAA enclosed or Charge my: Visa Mastercard Discover Card Amex
Account number
Signature
Membership levels
$30 Single, 1 year $40 Dual/Family, 1 year 2nd Member:
$75 Single, 3 year $105 Dual/Family, 3 year 2nd Member:
Sime Fellowship awarded
Dr. Linda Chlan, assistant professor at
the School of Nursing is the first to be
awarded the A. Marilyn Sime Faculty
Research Fellow in the Center for
Spirituality and Healing. The fellowship
program was recently established by
Dr. A. Marilyn Sime, Professor Emeritus
at the School of Nursing.
One of the instrumental faculty who
developed and implemented the Doctoral
Program, Dr. Sime also worked to establish
the Interdisciplinary Graduate Minor
24 Network
in interpersonal relationships at the School
of Nursing.
Dr. Sime has long recognized the need
for knowledge development and interdisciplinary
work. Her decision to
establish a faculty research fellowship
program is an extension of her life work.
While encouraged about the potential of
complementary therapies and healing
practices, Dr. Sime also recognized the
critical need for research. The intent of
this fellowship is to provide University of
Minnesota tenured and non-tenured track
faculty with an opportunity to establish
a research career focusing on complementary
therapies and healing practices.
Under the fellowship program, a faculty
member will have a 50% appointment for
up to two years in the Center for Spirituality
and Healing. •
All Alumni. . .
Please reserve this date and reconnect
with the SoN! The Annual Alumni
Spring Celebration is scheduled for
Saturday, May 5, 2001 at the Radisson
Metrodome Hotel, 615 Washington Ave.
S.E., Minneapolis. •

Melissa Avery receives $1.5 million grant
School of Nursing faculty
member Melissa D.
Avery, Associate Professor,
Ph.D., CNM, has
received a $1.5 million,
three-year federal grant to
further graduate nursing
Melissa Avery
education, incorporating
technology. Avery, who received her Ph.D.
from the University in nursing in 1993,
will serve as Project Director.
Two key collaborators in the School are
Catherine Juve Ph.D., M.S.N., R.N.,
Associate Education Specialist, and Derryl
Block, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., M.Ph.,
B.S.N.
The purpose of the project, according
to Avery, is to increase the number, diversity
and distribution of nurse-midwives,
women’s health care nurse practitioners
and public health nurses by improving
access to graduate nursing education in
the five-state Upper Midwest region. This
project meets the federal funding preference
to benefit rural and under-served
populations and to help meet public
health nursing needs in state and local
health departments.
Funded by the Health Resources and
Services Administration, Bureau of Health
Professions, Division of Nursing, the project
objectives are to:
1.) Increase access to graduate nursing
education in nurse-midwifery, women’s
health care nurse practitioner and public
health nursing in a five-state region
including Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota,
North Dakota and Wisconsin. This will be
realized through development and implementation
of technology enhanced
learning (TEL) strategies for all courses
required for the Master’s Degree for each
of the three programs by May 2003.
2.) Increase availability of
ethnically/culturally and geographically
diverse master’s prepared nurse-midwives,
women’s health care nurse practitioners
and public health nurses by increasing the
number of ethnically/culturally and geographically
diverse graduates through
enhanced student recruitment and retention
strategies.
3.) Enhance the incorporation of
Healthy People 2010 goals and clinical
preventive services into the curriculum by
including new/enhanced content in key
identified courses.
4.) Link key project faculty and all graduate
students with K-12 educational
institutions to expose young students to
roles and career opportunities in nursemidwifery,
women’s health care nurse
practitioner and public health nursing.
5.) Help meet public health nursing
needs in state and local health departments
by increasing the number of
advanced education public health nurses
who are able to assume leadership roles in
official health agencies by May 2003.
Breaking News
Through the rich technical resources at
the University of Minnesota, a rigorous
program of interactive web-based courses,
twice-per semester meetings on campus
and outstanding supports for students will
be developed. SoN faculty will work collaboratively
with the University Media
Resources/Distance Education, the Digital
Media Center and the Biomedical Library
to complete the curriculum conversion
and develop student support services.
Students will be able to work independently
at the time and place they choose
while maintaining close contact with faculty
and fellow students.
The development of enhanced strategies
to recruit and retain minority and
rural students will include: the use of
national and regional consultants with
expertise in this area; the development of a
high quality recruitment video; other webbased
and print material; the development
of a regional network of contacts and
student support services.
An existing connection with metropolitan
high schools to expose young students
to nursing careers will be expanded, thus
providing graduate students with the
opportunity to become involved in a mentoring
process.
According to Avery, the faculty expects
that this project will lead the school in a
new direction, allowing the SoN to reach
out to potential students previously unable
to access these graduate programs. •
Speaking Out
Letters from our readers
Dear Editor:
Just a wee note— but a very warm thank you for
your generous coverage in the “Tribute” article of
the recent issue of the Network. I feel very honored
to be again recognized by my Alma Mater,
the University of Minnesota School of Nursing.
P.S. I was pleased to get to “symposium on p. 9!”
Sincerely,
Shirley Stinson
Dear Editor:
Thank you for the advance copies of the
Network which you sent some time ago, with the
account of the serendipitous meetings between
Nancy Olson and me.
For Nancy and me, the meetings were an
interesting chance to make a new connection
and share U of M experiences. Hopefully, the
account can spur other alums to more communication
(I’ve already received notes from two).
Network had good articles. I think the focus on
alumnae as well as faculty is important. One of
my classmates suggested a tear out encouraging
graduates to write in and share some of their
experiences. Network is an impressive step in
the School of Nursing’s reaching out to its
graduates.
I noted this was Volume II, No. 1. Have I
missed Vol. I, or is this issue the first with this
new approach?
Thanks for your good writing. It was good
talking with you as you were preparing the
article.
Sincerely,
Marianne (Magnuson) Baez
U of M ’59
(Editor’s Note: We welcome your comments
and ideas. Speaking Out is your opportunity to
vent about nursing, give us story ideas,
acknowledge someone.)
Fall/Winter 2000-2001 ■ Vol. II, No. 2 25

Congratulations to the School of Nursing Class of 2000
The following is a list
of the Class of 2000
graduates with a
Bachelor of Science
Degree from the School
of Nursing:
Erin E. Anderson
Erin J. Anderson
Lisa Anderson
Nathon Bailey
Carrie Baird
Nancy Beach
Brea Belisle
Karin Bergsten
Nicole Beuning
Timothy Bibeau
Suzanne Bina
Noel Boismenue
Troy Buckmeier
Nicole Buron
Jocelyn Burr
Jamie Capps
Isabel Cifuentes
Rose Crain
Wade Crews
Mark Dargis
Jessica Dohman
Jodi Ewald
Jennifer Fleming
Elisabeth Fullenkamp
Amy Garry
Amy Geiger
Sarah Giedt
Michelle Gold
Laura Hauer
Megan Hauser
Melissa Helmin
Martha Hill
Reed Hiltner
Holly Hull
Nguyen Huynh
Naomi Jones
Saori Kato
Ramon Kincade
Kristina Korhonen
Kari Kulas
Jill Kurtzman
Sara Laird
Courtney Lang
Gretchen Langbehn
Sherry Larson
Susan Larson
Heather Lehmann
Robin Loignon
Jodie Luedtke
Lara Magee
Joanna Meester
Elizabeth Meyers
Bonita Michaelson
Kari Michalski
Eric Moter
Martha Murray
Sean O’Rourke
Heather Olson
Stephanie Olson
Rebecca Opland
Lori Parks
Kimberly Pauers
Dana Peterson
Anna Pisarenko
Kelly Reddy
Susan Rolandelli
Beth Rose
Kimberly Schommer
Katharine Schultz
Kimberly Schumacher
Tammi Setera
Angela Sewald
Nicole Stancer
Rebecca Stratton
Kari Teigen
Aaron Thul
Colleen Tiedeken
Cori Tillotson
Katherine Todd
Andy Tracy
Joy Vang
Philip Wagner
Monica Warne
Lawrence Watercott
Geoff Weikle
Jennifer Whitney
Jill Wiemiller
Linda Wilcox
Neil Zimpfer
The following is a list
of graduates with a
Master’s Degree from
the School of Nursing
to date for the year
2000:
Jehad Adwan
Kristine Allen
Larry Asplin
Susan Bee
Lisa Benedetto
Nora Bennett
Joshua Brettingen
Sandra Buller-Hanson
Lisa Burns
Leslie Carlson
Ann Carpenter
Corinne Chabot
Yu-Chuan Chen
Renee Dahring
Nancy Eastman
Beth Else
Ann Fairbanks
Melissa Frisvold
Julio Gaona
Devry Garity
Deanna Griebenow
Niloufar Hadidi
Cathleen Haring
Thomas Harmon
Patrice Hebert
Coleen Helberg
Brielle Jenson
Jeremy Jerdee
Gina Kinzler
Melissa Kjesbo
Kathryn Krisko-Hagel
Kathryn Krolak
Stephanie Mastro Kruta
Lori Lage
Pamela Layton
Gregory Leierwood
Christine MacGillis
Judy McEiver
Carmelle McHarg
Maria Louise-Hills
Melichar
Beth Bigler Nelson
Jean Nelson
Joyce Nerdahl
Shari Otterblad
Karlyn Peterson
Cynthia Pins
Keri Rateliff
Monica Raymond
Sheila Roerig
Margaret Rowe
John Rozman
Anne Rumsey
Cindy Schabert
Teresa Schultz
Tracy Sheldon
Leah Swanson
Faye Luan-Young
Uppman
The following received
their Ph.D.’s from the
School of Nursing to
date for the year 2000:
Kuei-Min Chen
Kathryn Hoyman
Becky Lekander
Cheryl Robertson
Elizabeth Thomlinson
Penny Wrbsky
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