63 health science students receive degrees at August Commencement

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Graduate Health Sciences

Sixty-three students in the health sciences received their respective degrees from Belmont University this past Friday evening. Sixty of the students graduated from the Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing – 30 with the Doctor of Physical Therapy, 27 with the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy, two with the Doctor of Occupational Therapy, one with the Bachelor of Social Work. Three candidates received the Doctor of Pharmacy from the College of Pharmacy. The August ceremony serves as the primary commencement for Belmont’s doctoral program in physical therapy and master’s program in occupational therapy.

The honor of delivering the student reflection at commencement was given to DPT graduate, Sarahann Callaway, who shared about the opportunity Belmont provided her to fulfill her calling and serve in mission around the world. Her address is linked below.

Dr. Leslie Folds, Associate Professor of Nursing, who received the Presidential Faculty Achievement Award in May, carried the Presidential Banner during the ceremony.

Earlier Friday, hooding ceremonies were held for health science candidates receiving advanced degrees. The School of Physical Therapy presented individual awards to several students: the David G. Greathouse Award from STAR Physical Therapy to Megan Tisdale, the Results Physiotherapy Orthopedic Award to Stephen Graham, the Academic Award to Kathryn Glaws, the Class Leader Award to Laura Moore and recognition for mission work to Hannah Peck and Sarahann Callaway. The speaker at the hooding ceremony was Dr. John DeWitt who was honored as the School’s 2012 Outstanding Alumnus. Dr. DeWitt, a 2001 DPT graduate, currently serves as Team Leader for Clinical Development and Director for Physical Therapy residencies at Ohio State University.

Students hear from healthcare professionals from Community Health Systems

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Graduate Health Sciences

Earlier this week, more than 200 Belmont University health science students and faculty attended a lunchtime panel discussion on “Emerging Issues and Hot Topics in Acute Care” presented by health professionals from Community Health Systems and sponsored by the Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing. The discussion provided students with information about practice changes and new career paths that are developing because of the changes occurring nationally in acute care.

Community Health Systems is a leading operator of general acute care hospitals in the United States. The organization’s affiliates own, operate or lease 134 hospitals in 29 states, with approximately 19,800 beds. Community Health Systems-affiliated hospitals are the sole provider of healthcare services in more than 60 percent of the markets they serve.

Panelists included Barbara Paul, MD, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Community Health Systems, a board certified internist who spent 12 years in fulltime practice before entering administration; Keri McKamey, RN, BSN, Emergency Room Director at Heritage Medical Center in Shelbyville, TN, who has 16 years experience in surgery and emergency nursing; Nina Jackson, RN, MSN, CCRN, Director of Critical Care, Step-Down and Cardiovascular Nursing at Gateway Medical Center in Clarksville, TN, who has over 23 years of critical care/ICU nursing experience; Vickie Vaughn, RN, CNOR, Director of Surgical Services at Heritage Medical Center, who has over 30 years experience in the healthcare industry; and Jennifer Brandon, MS-CCP/SLP, Director of Rehabilitation Services at Gateway Medical Center, a practicing speech-language pathologist with over 12 years of experience.

“This was an exceptional opportunity for our students to ask questions and interact with practicing healthcare professionals to learn about the workplace they will soon enter,” said Dr. Cathy Taylor, Dean of the College of Health Sciences.

Ashley Pratt, a senior nursing student from Brentwood, said she learned “that nursing is not how it used to be and being able to adapt to changes locally and nationally is an essential part of nursing care today.” Leslie Vecchio, a second degree nursing student from Nashville, said of the presenters, “it was inspiring to hear them tell their unique stories about how they got to where they are now and it was interesting to hear how the atmosphere on the clinical floor is changing to include more interdisciplinary interaction between practices, and also with patients and families.” She added, “This really emphasized what we are learning here, the importance of teamwork. “

The Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing is preparing the next generation of healthcare professionals with clinical doctorates in nursing practice, occupational therapy and physical therapy, master’s level programs in occupational therapy and nursing for family nurse practitioners, and undergraduate programs in nursing and social work. The College of Health Sciences along with the College of Pharmacy is housed at Belmont University in a state-of-the-art complex featuring advanced laboratories, a health services clinic with a teaching pharmacy, and cutting edge patient simulation technology which has earned the College national recognition as a Laerdal Center of Educational Excellence.

College of Health Sciences & College of Pharmacy part of community health fair at Belmont basketball game

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Graduate Health Sciences

As a show of gratitude to the University’s friends, Belmont opened its arms Jan. 28 with a Community Health Fair in the Maddox Grand Atrium of the Curb Event Center in conjunction with the men’s and women’s basketball games against Jacksonville. The free fair, co-sponsored by University Health Services, the College of Health Sciences, the College of Pharmacy and Belmont Athletics, featured 30 booths with blood pressure, body composition and bone density screenings; CPR demonstrations; and information on tobacco cessation, breast cancer awareness, diabetes, healthy eating, self defense and recreation. Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Renfrew Center, Edgehill Community Garden, Edgehill Family Resource Center, YMCA and Real Food Farms had booths.

“Belmont has always been supportive of the community and has done a lot of partnering and programming in the area surrounding campus. This (was) a continuation of those services to share information,” said Director of Health Services Katy Wilson. “Students from all of the health sciences programs, athletics department and fitness and recreation center (were) heavily involved in the fair.” Click here to view photos from the Community Health Fair.

The fair was intended to put wellness and preventive health resources within reach of Belmont’s neighbors and fans with screenings, pamphlets and prizes. Although the event marked the first Community Health Fair at Belmont, it was an extension of the annual Pink Zone through an initiative with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and Susan G. Komen for the Cure to promote breast cancer awareness. The women’s basketball team wore pink uniforms. Fans received free pink T-shirts and pom poms.

“We have been fortunate to have a long-standing relationship with Susan G. Komen’s Nashville office. They set up a table in the hope of interacting with fans on game day,” Director of Athletics Marketing Jimmy Frush said. “We chose this doubleheader to reach a wide variety of people, ages and genders and to feature the many different programs and departments with Belmont’s Health Sciences. Hopefully, it (delivered) a valuable service to the fans coming to the game.”

Dr. Cathy Taylor appointed Dean of College of Health Sciences & Nursing

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Graduate Health Sciences

Dr. Cathy Taylor, DrPH, MSN, RN, has been named as the new dean of the Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing at Belmont University. Taylor currently serves as the assistant commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Health’s Bureau of Health Services Administration where she oversees delivery of traditional public health and primary care services in 89 rural counties and contracted services with Tennessee’s six metropolitan health departments. Dr. Taylor will begin her new position at Belmont on Feb. 1, 2012.

“Belmont’s outstanding reputation for excellence and commitment to teaching and service makes this the perfect fit for me and the logical choice for students, faculty and partners dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of our beautiful city and beyond,” said Taylor. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have served Tennesseans and the Department of Health, and I am honored to join the Belmont team at this time of extraordinary growth and potential to produce the next generation of exceptionally talented health care professionals.”

“Dr. Taylor has done excellent work for the Tennessee Department of Health and for the health of the citizens of Tennessee,” said Health Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH. “We will miss her leadership, but we are excited for Dr. Taylor in her new role at Belmont University where she will stay nearby, grooming students for careers in population health in Tennessee and around the nation.”

As the chief academic and executive officer of Belmont’s College of Health Sciences & Nursing, Taylor will be responsible for the programmatic leadership, financial management, personnel administration and planning and development for the College.

Belmont Provost Dr. Thomas Burns said, “Dr. Taylor brings to this position a perfect combination of high-level healthcare experience, proven leadership ability and eager enthusiasm for educating tomorrow’s healthcare leaders. I am confident that her expertise and commitment will build on the College of Health Sciences and Nursing’s already exceptional quality and reputation.”

In her current position, Taylor has directed development and implementation of successful statewide tobacco cessation and diabetes prevention programs and increased public, private and academic partnerships aimed at improving the health of Tennesseans. As a consultant to China’s Ministry of Health, she contributed to the re-design of China’s rural health care delivery system. Prior to joining the Department of Health, Taylor chaired the board for the Tennessee Center for Diabetes Prevention and Health Improvement and served as an assistant professor of nursing at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing and as director of the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance Disease Management Program. She has held administrative and clinical positions at Alvin C. York VAMC, served in nursing director and supervisor positions at Fentress County Hospital, Middle Tennessee Medical Center and Hendersonville Community Hospital, and as a public health nurse in Fentress and Rutherford Counties. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and is the recipient of a number of grants and awards.

Taylor earned a Doctor of Public Health degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She also holds a Master of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Tennessee-Memphis, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Alabama-Huntsville and a Bachelor of Science degree from Middle Tennessee State University. In addition, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University in 2005.

College of Health Sciences hosts health fair

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Graduate Health Sciences

Fourth-year pharmacy student Elizabeth Cain spent Wednesday morning using free hand sanitizer to lure passers-by to visit her peers at Belmont’s first Health Fair. The fair offered an unprecedented opportunity for Cain’s classmates to gain hands-on experience while on campus, she said.

“This is a great opportunity for students to test their skills, give flu shots and glucose tests. It is a great way for us to share our knowledge,” said Cain while volunteering at the fair. “It is a free service with informative information, and it showcases the graduate schools that are taking part.”

Students and faculty from the Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing joined with University Health Services to host the five-hour Health Fair which put wellness and preventive health resources within reach of employees and students with free health screenings, pamphlets and prizes. The event in the McWhorter Hall and the Inman Center lobbies marked the launch of a year of monthly seminars on health and wellness as well as current events in health care. It also showed people the unique resources we have right here on our campus, said Director of Health Services Katy Wilson.

“We wanted to make people aware of programs we have and wellness opportunities in the Belmont community,” said Christin Murphy, a graduate assistant in the Department of Fitness and Recreation. She took the body mass index of people who stopped at her booth and encouraged them to lower their numbers by signing up for personal training sessions and fitness classes in Beaman.

“It is important to get out to students that health care is important at any age. This fair could persuade undergrads to consider careers in the health sciences field,” said fourth-year pharmacy student Amanda Harris.

“We are developing a drug education program and need to conduct surveys on drug abuse on college campuses,” said third-year pharmacy student Jaime Tausend, also head of Generation Rx, a patient care project through the American Pharmacy Association that educates people about prescription drug abuse prevention. “The fair lets me reach out to college kids I would not see in the community and get the word out to faculty and staff to help us jump start our program”

The Health Fair coincided with lectures on bath salt abuse, building relationships with healthcare providers and total-body wellness for colleges students. During “10 Things Every College Student Needs to Know About Their Health,” physical therapy students discussed healthy eating, gym etiquette and sleep deprivation as well as shared free smart phone applications to help students tract their calorie intake and jogging routes.

Opportunities throughout the day included: blood pressure, glucose, lipids and bone density screenings; backpack awareness and CPR demonstrations; and information on tobacco cessation, breast cancer awareness, counseling, healthy eating, self defense and recreation.

Wilson said Health Services plans to host a similar health fair during a spring basketball game to reach Belmont’s neighbors and sports fans.

College of Health Sciences Partners with HealthStream and Laerdal to Develop Content for New Platform in Medical Simulation

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Graduate Health Sciences

Faculty members at Belmont University’s Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing are playing a vital role in the development of content that will be made available for use in an innovative new platform to deliver healthcare education through medical simulation.
SimCenter™, announced publicly in January, is a joint product of Nashville’s HealthStream (NASDAQ: HSTM), a leading provider of learning and research solutions for the healthcare industry and Laerdal Medical, a global leader in the provision of educational solutions for healthcare providers and educators. SimCenter is an innovative simulation management platform designed specifically for healthcare institutions to manage their simulation initiatives. It is comprised of a fully integrated system of software designed to work with advanced patient simulators used in medical education and made available through the Internet via software as a service (SaaS).
Belmont educators have been part of the initial content development team of leading medical simulation centers that have been creating scenarios for use within SimCenter. “This is a groundbreaking solution that will revolutionize the way simulation is performed in healthcare training,” said Beth Hallmark, Ph.D. RN, director of simulation at Belmont University.
“The Simulation Center faculty members from Belmont’s College of Health Sciences are representative of a growing group of thought leaders that are pioneering medical simulation,” said Robert A. Frist, Jr., president and chief executive officer, HealthStream. “We are delighted to have Belmont join our global network of leading educators offering best-in-class simulation content to the industry.”

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Social Work accreditation affirmed at Belmont University for eight more years

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Graduate Health Sciences

The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) has reaffirmed Belmont University’s social work program accreditation for the next eight years. The action came at the February meeting of the Council’s Commission on Accreditation, and recognizes the university’s social work department with its highest endorsement. “This is great news for our students,” said Dr. Lorraina Scholten, Chair of Belmont’s Social Work Department, “not only to know that their education meets the highest standards of our profession, but also to benefit from the advanced standing they will enjoy in graduate programs around the country.”
Belmont University offers a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree and the program has been accredited since 1999. The Council on Social Work Education represents more than 3,000 individual members, as well as graduate and undergraduate programs of professional social work education. Founded in 1952, this partnership of educational and professional institutions, social welfare agencies, and private citizens is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the sole accrediting agency for social work education in this country. CSWE administers a multi-step accreditation process that involves program self-studies, site visits, and commission reviews. There are currently 471 fully-accredited baccalaureate social work programs in the United States.
The Social Work Department is part of the Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing at Belmont University. This alignment affords social work majors the opportunity to interface with allied health pre-professionals in nursing, occupational and physical therapy, and pharmacy, enhancing their preparation for a wide array of career options. Social work students at Belmont also benefit from individual attention from faculty members who are experienced practitioners, excellent field placement options, and unique course offerings. The Social Work Department is housed in the Gordon E. Inman Center on the campus’ northeast corner.