Article from Nashville Medical News
Politics in Play
Tommy Thompson, four-term Governor of Wisconsin and former Secretary of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, recently painted a scenario of political intrigue filled with back room bargaining and deal-making worthy of the latest political best seller. However, he wasn’t speaking of a fictional thriller but of the real life maneuvers that will be necessary to get a healthcare reform bill out of Congress.
Speaking at Belmont University a week before Thanksgiving, he predicted that Congress would pass a new, comprehensive healthcare bill, but not without some Congressional arm twisting, “and a lot of shootouts and deal cutting” before reaching a “cantankerous” compromise.
“The president wants the healthcare bill out. Nancy Pelosi wants it out. Harry Reid wants it out,” he explained, of the push to move quickly. Thompson added that, for Democrats, the specter of “what happened in 1994 with the Clintons’ attempt at healthcare reform hangs over their heads.”
The briefing, part of Belmont University’s continuing speaker series, Diagnosing Our Future, was held at the university’s Gordon E. Inman Center.
Belmont Nursing Graduate Honored
Kelley Allen, Nurse for the Neonatal Transport Team at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, has been recognized by Cambridge Who’s Who for demonstrating dedication, leadership and excellence in nursing. Allen received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Belmont University in 2002
As the charge nurse for the neonatal transport team at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Ms. Allen is responsible for supervising the team, overseeing nurses during orientation, credentialing and quality control, and managing bedside care in the neonatal intensive care unit and for babies in need of medical care at outside facilities. She enjoys specializing in caring for babies. In 2004 and 2005, she was the president and vice president of the Middle Tennessee Association of Neonatal Nurses and participated in We Care for Kids Day at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital for the past three years. Ms. Allen takes pride in her team, the neonatal transport team, being certified as air medical transport professionals. She attributes her success to her parents who instilled in her a great work ethic and taught her to give her best efforts at all times.
Currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Neonatal Nursing, Ms. Allen also received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Lipscomb University in 1996. A certified CPR instructor and NRP instructor, she is a member of the Middle Tennessee Nurse Practitioner Association and the Middle Tennessee Association of Neonatal Nurses. She hopes to become a nurse practitioner and continue working at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in the transport field. She would also like to work as a liaison for quality control and safety for the transport team.
How silently, how silently, the wondrous Gift is given!
Dr. Ruby Dunlap’s Uganda Fulbright Blog
We hope you had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, family and friends!
We celebrated Christmas in Uganda this year, five of us. Daughter Amy and son-in-law, Chris, arrived mid-December and returned to the U.S. on January 2. Dad Wesselhoeft and we arrived here August 14. On Christmas Day, we will had been here 134 days. The day after Christmas, December 26, was exactly the halfway point for our stay here. We are missing so many things about our lives in the U.S. that we will be looking forward to May 11 when we expect to return.
The September semester was very busy for me and had lots of adjustments for all of us. January semester will be another busy one with classes every day of the week until the end of the month. Then there will be lots of paper grading as students email me assignments.
We did have a very fun visit to Uganda’s largest game reserve, Murchison Falls, last week. We saw awesome waterfalls and many animals. In the photo above are the five of us pointing to Uganda in central eastern Africa on a big globe in front of the Nile River at Murchison Falls.
Left to right, Carl Wesselhoeft, Chris Sutton, Amy Sutton, Ruby Dunlap, Bob Dunlap
See a more photos of that trip by clicking below.
“I Don’t Want my Nurse to Quote Shakespeare”
Dr. Ruby Dunlap’s Uganda Fulbright Blog
Nurses in Uganda, like nurses in the United States, are struggling with questions of professional identity and what or even whether a bachelor’s degree in nursing adds to the nurse enough to justify its additional expense, time, and academic labor. “I don’t want my nurse to quote Shakespeare,” said a non-nurse friend, “I just want her to give me my shot.” We were discussing whether nursing education should include humanities. I’ve forgotten the friend who said this; the comment has stuck in my memory, an iconic summary of all such questioning about what it means to be a nurse and what entails an appropriate education for such a profession.
Belmont PT Grad featured in East Tennessee Newspaper Story
Belmont alumna Erin Cook was featured in her hometown newspaper, The Elizabethton Star, for her work in the Sports Residency Program at Physical Therapy Services in Elizabethton, Tenn. Cook, who received her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Belmont in 2009, is preparing to take the Certified Sports Physical Therapy Specialty exam. Cook is currently working with with Dr. Danny Smith, a Belmont adjunct professor, and his son Dr. Justin Smith, a 2006 graduate of Belmont’s School of Physical Therapy.
“I Would Teach for Free”
Dr. Ruby Dunlap’s Uganda Fulbright Blog
“I would teach for free but they have to pay me to grade papers.” This comment from a teacher friend was naturalized long ago into my habitual outlook on things and without any difficulty whatsoever. I have been and continue to be grading, or “marking” as they call it here, papers, what seems like hundreds of them, weeks on end now. I know that “hundreds” is a hallucination of a paper-fevered brain but there have been and are being lots. Grading graduate nursing papers, all of which have been written by students for whom English is not their first language, has turned out to be not that different from grading nursing papers by students in the U.S. for whom English is their mother tongue. Having to grade the papers turns out to be our students’ revenge for us assigning so many of them.
Belmont PT Students Host Sports Day for Empower Me Day Camp
The students of Belmont’s DPT Class of 2010 recently put on a Sports Day for kids with special needs at the Wilson County Fairgrounds in Lebanon, TN. Empower Me Day Camp, which is a summer camp for kids with special needs that is held at the fairgrounds during the summer, also hosts activities throughout the year including Sports Day, Christmas Camp, and Spring Break Camp.
About twenty kids total attended the camp and enjoyed various activities ranging from kickball to mummy wrapping both students and kids alike in toilet paper. The kids also participated in bowling games, monster musical walk (a Halloween spinoff of musical chairs), a “witch witch ghost” version of duck duck goose, and playing parachute games with a full size parachute. The kids also got to dress up in costumes of different hats, tiaras, sunglasses, and beads and walk through a curtain of streamers where bubbles were being blown around them as they then participated in a bean bag toss into pumpkin and ghost cutouts. They also had the chance to get a little messy by having to find “eyeballs” (or grapes) in bowls of marshmallows, flour, rice, and spaghetti. Finally the kids participated in an arts and crafts activity in which they designed and decorated their own paper plate masks with feathers, cotton balls, construction paper, markers, crayons, and stickers.
At the end of the day each of the kids received a special award certificate for an activity that they did exceptionally well at. All in all, both the Belmont students and kids alike really enjoyed this special Halloween themed Sports Day and made memories that will last for a long time.
In Tommy Thompson’s scenario, health reform passes this year
From Erin Lawley of the Nashville Post. . . .
In a lively presentation at Belmont University Monday afternoon, Former U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson discussed the potential future of health reform legislation currently before Congress.
Thompson said he expects a bill will be on President Obama’s desk before Christmas. That bill will include a public option, health insurance exchanges, taxes for people who make more than $200,000 per year, taxes on so-called “Cadillac” health plans, and employer credits for wellness and prevention programs.
Click here to read the full article.
“We Tremble Not For Him”
Dr. Ruby Dunlap’s Uganda Fulbright Blog
What did I expect the most trusted and skilled exorcist in the Mukono area to look like? Perhaps a fierce intensity out of the eyes? Perhaps either wildly careless or flamboyant clothing? In any case, his speech should be full of emotionally charged religious utterances, something befitting regular contact with the world of demons and evil spirits. That world, which few Westerners are likely to take seriously, the world relegated to a tiny minority of secretive devotees in the West, is taken very seriously in Uganda and by the vast majority of Ugandans. When it is taken that seriously by the locals, expatriates do well to attend seriously to it as well. Here is a not unusual bit in another of Uganda’s English newspapers, the 9 November, 2009, issue of The Daily Monitor:
Masaka man accused of witchcraft
Residents of Kijjomanyi Village in Kalungu Sub-county in Masaka District on Friday burnt the house of a 72 year old man and killed his goats, accusing him of bewitching them. The residents accused Mr. Felix Ssali of using spirits to kill 15 people between June and August. The district police chief, Mr. Moses Mwanga, said investigations are ongoing.
OTD Students Participate in CarFit Event
Occupational Therapy students and faculty recently conducted their second CarFit event of 2009. CarFit is an educational program that offers older adults the opportunity to check how well their personal vehicles “fit” them. This national program is coordinated between the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), the American Automobile Association (AAA) and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).
This year’s events were held in Hendersonville at the Hendersonville AAA Club and the Hendersonville First United Methodist Church with older adult drivers being assessed in their personal vehicles. The OTD students were required to become CarFit Technicians through a training conducted by Dr. Ruth Ford, Associate Dean and CarFit Event Coordinator. Dr. Ford has spoken at the Tennessee Occupational Therapy Middle District Association as well as AARP State of Tennessee Annual Leadership Conference on CarFit as part of their Driver Safety Program. The next AARP training is set for November 20th at Henry Horton State Park.
The CarFit program provides information and materials on community-specific resources that could enhance their safety as drivers, and/or increase their mobility in the community. Older drivers are often the safest drivers in that they are more likely to wear their seatbelts, and less likely to speed or drink and drive. However, older drivers are more likely to be killed or seriously injured when a crash does occur due to the greater fragility of their aging bodies.
Where in the World is Mike Voight?
PT Professor Mike Voight serves in a variety of consulting roles for businesses and organizations which provides opportunity for him to travel the world and meet fascinating people. Where has he been lately? The answer – Madrid, Spain.
Dr. Voight was one of two keynote speakers at XI Jornadas Nacionales y Internacional de Fisioterapia held in Madrid, Spain recently. The event was held in conjunction with the Spanish Olympic Committee and hosted at their National headquarters. The topic of his presentation was Current Concepts in Hip Pathology. In addition, Dr. Voight was also a guest of the Spanish Soccer Federation and the Real Madrid Football club and spent time in their facilities.
Chirico presents to local caregiver group
Dr. Mark Chirico, faculty member in the School of Pharmacy, recently presented to the Older Adult Caregivers’ Support Group at the First Presbyterian Church in Nashville. The title of his presentation was “Medication Safety in Older Adults: An Issue of Poison Control”. The audience consisted of church members and caregivers who were seeking advice on how to safely manage medications for older adults.
School of Nursing Hosts Simulation Conference
Nearly 150 educators and hospital administrators from Tennessee and various other states attended the second annual Tennessee Nursing Simulation Conference at Belmont University last weekend. The conference was presented by Belmont’s School of Nursing and The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee through a grant from the Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future – a collaborative initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Northwest Health Foundation.
The conference theme was Education and Practice: Working Together to Improve Patient Outcomes and included over 40 sessions which covered all aspects of medical simulation. The conference was designed to provide a comprehensive overview of simulation technology and resources and to build communication networks for educators in Tennessee. Conference faculty included nationally renowned experts on simulation technology in healthcare education and training from such institutions as Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt Medical Center, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital, Fort Sanders Regional Hospital, Austin Peay State University, Maury Regional Medical Center, Union University, University of Kentucky School of Nursing, Tennessee Center for Nursing and Belmont University.
Belmont’s Gordon E. Inman Center and Healthcare Simulation Center provided excellent facilities for the conference, with comfortable meeting rooms and state-of-the-art laboratories and simulation mannequins. The Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences and Nursing is a Laerdal Center of Educational Excellence for simulation, one of only 12 such centers designated in the United States. Also featured were demonstrations by several companies, including Laerdal, METI, Elsevier, Pocket Nurse, and Kyoto Kagaku, all which specialize in the latest simulation equipment and accessories.
4 of The 14 Best Jobs in America
Money magazine recently published a list of The 50 Best Jobs in America which bodes well for graduates of the Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing. Four of the top 14 jobs were careers for which our students are preparing. The 4th best job in America was a Nurse Practitioner. At #7 was a Physical Therapist. At #13 was a Pharmacist. And at #14 was an Occupational Therapist. With doctoral programs in Physical Therapy, Pharmacy and Occupational Therapy, and master’s programs in Family Nurse Practitioner and Occupational Therapy, Belmont is well positioned to prepare students for some of the best jobs in the 21st century.
In the companion lists to The 50 Best Jobs in America, Physical Therapist was ranked as the 8th best position for job growth with a 27% increase in opportunities expected during the next 10 years for 181,000 total jobs. Physical Therapist was ranked 2nd for low stress with 59.5% of those surveyed saying their job is low stress. Occupational Therapist was ranked 9th for low stress with 50% saying their job is low stress. 97.3% of those nurse practitioners surveyed said their job was secure ranking Nurse Practioner as the 4th best for job security. Physical Therapist also made the job security list at #8 with 96% saying their job is secure. Nurse Practitioner was #7 on the list for future job growth and #6 on the list for job satisfaction. Occupational Therapist came in at #10 for job satisfaction. And finally, Nurse Practioner was ranked as 9th best for those who think their job makes the world a better place.
See more at http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/2009/.
OT Professor Qualifies as a General Civil Mediator
Yvette Hachtel, Professor of Occupational Therapy, has met the requirements of Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 as a General Civil Mediator. For many years Professor Hachtel has volunteered as a mediator for the Victim and Offenders Reconciliation Program (VORP) of Sumner County, now referred to as Sumner Mediation Services. Last fall she was invited to serve on their Board and currently serves as Secretary of the organization.
Rule 31 Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) proceedings are initiated by the court, including case evaluations, mediations, judicial settlement conferences, non-binding arbitrations, summary jury trials, mini-trials, or other similar proceedings. Included are all civil actions except forfeitures of seized property, civil commitments, adoption proceedings, habeas corpus and extraordinary writs, or juvenile delinquency cases.
This achievement provides Professor Hachtel yet another opportunity to use her formal legal education. She holds the following degrees: JD, MEd and OTR/L.
Nursing student also excels on the soccer field
Jayme Trocino, a junior nursing student, was featured recently in a story in Nashville’s City Paper on balancing her coursework with her position on the Belmont women’s soccer team – leading the Lady Bruins to a share of the Atlantic Sun Conference regular-season title this fall. In the article, Trocino is quoted, “Some places they won’t let athletes be in the nursing program because of the time it takes. That’s one of the reasons I’m so thankful to be here. … It can be difficult but my coaches and my teammates have inspired me.”
Click here read the full article.
OT Faculty Member contributes to book and conferences
Teresa Plummer, a faculty member in the School of Occupational Therapy recently published a chapter, “Leadership in the Occupational Therapy Classroom” in An Occupational Perspective on Leadership (Slack, 2009) edited by Sandee Dunbar.
Teresa also was the invited guest speaker for Black Bear Medical Annual Conference in Portland, Maine and the Central Illinois Therapeutic Enrichments Conference in Homer, Illinois this fall. Both presentations were in the “Relationship of vision and posture and the implication to seating and mobility.”
School of Pharmacy Students Featured in News Story
Students enrolled in the Pharmacy Communications and Counseling Course were featured on WTVF News Channel 5 as part a report on Tennessee’s prescription drug usage. Second-year pharmacy students Diane Akin and Tyler Ammarell were highlighted in the story during a role-play exercise for the class, and Dr. Sal Giorgianni was interviewed on how Belmont’s pharmacy students are trained to avoid duplication and error and rationalize costs of prescription and non-prescription medications. To see the story, click here.
Social Work Alum Receives Leadership in Diversity Award
Social work alumnus Claudia Avila (’03) was recently named the recipient of the 2009 Multicultural Council Award for Leadership in Diversity. It comes from the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). She will go to Washington D.C. on Nov. 10 to accept the award.
PT Students Hear from Amputees
from Ashley Vidrine, PT Class of 2011
Second year physical therapy students recently participated in a prosthetics lab in which local amputees volunteered their time to come in and talk about their conditions. The class was able to perform an evaluation and get an understanding about what it’s like to live with a prosthetic limb. Earlier this year, the class also participated in a disability project in which everyone was to spend 4 hours in a wheel chair. Students got a taste of what it feels like to be a disabled person in public, and experiences were shared in class. It was a learning experience that most won’t soon forget.
Tommy Thompson to Speak at Belmont
Former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson, will be on campus Monday, November 16, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. for a Healthcare Reform Briefing: How Will Reform Impact Providers, Payors and Individuals? An RSVP is required, but admission is free compliments of Medical Reimbursements of America, who is co-sponsoring this event with Clayton Associates, the Nashville Health Care Council, and the Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing. The lecture is part of the Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing Diagnosing Our Future Speaker Series.
Look on the Speaker Series webpage for upcoming presentations in the speaker series with Fred Gray on January 20, 2010 and Dr. David Williams on March 25, 2010.
Belmont Tops Out New Health Science Building, Home for Schools of Pharmacy and Physical Therapy Ceremony celebrates completion of $30 million building’s frame
Nearly one year after breaking ground, Belmont University celebrated the “topping out” its new $30 million health sciences building last week, which will serve as the future home for the School of Pharmacy, a Belmont program which welcomed its second class this fall. The building, which has an anticipated completion date of June 2010, will also house the School of Physical Therapy and will include expansion space for the Schools of Nursing and Occupational Therapy as well as the Social Work and Psychology programs. (Click here to view a photo of gallery of the event.)
Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “In addition to providing a time to celebrate and thank all the workers behind this immense project, a topping out is also a time to look forward to when this structure is complete. This building will be a model, 21st century academic facility, providing a venue where our students and faculty resources can intersect in service to help meet the medical needs of our community and our world.”
Iganga Bob
Dr. Ruby Dunlap’s Uganda Fulbright Blog
The non-verbal expression, “eh,” is most consistently noticeable in North America among English speakers dwelling near and around the U.S.-Canadian border. It shares company with such verbal expressions as “you bet!” a response so characteristic of the area that when an agricultural expert from Minnesota answered a question with it recently, I couldn’t help but smile with memories of miles of northern forests and lakes riding in on the coattails of “you bet!”
My own southeastern United States, on the other hand, is known for the spoken elaboration of multiple syllables into words which are written with only one. One of my favorite examples was from a patient who asked me, “Can you give me a nerve pill—I’m fixin’ to have a spell.” I hadn’t realized before that moment how many syllables a southern woman could put into the word “spell.” Practice saying, “Spay–ee—ell” and you’ll get an approximation. Make sure you draw it out to communicate adequately the threatened onset of something most dire.
PT alum named an Emerging Leader
Cara Felter, a 2004 DPT graduate of the School of Physical Therapy at Belmont University, has been named as an Emerging Leader by the American Physical Therapy Association.
Felter was recognized in the October 2009 issue of PTinmotion Magazine with the following tribute: “Cara Felter, PT, DPT, is a senior physical therapist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute International Center for Spinal Cord Injury, in Baltimore, Maryland. Also a Brain Injury Specialist certified by the Brain Injury Association of America, she has a passion for working with individuals with brain and spinal cord injuries. Felter, who joined APTA in 2001, has been a member of the APTA Neurology Section since 2005. A former member of the Tennessee Physical Therapy Association, she is a current member of the APTA of Maryland, where she serves on the Continuing Education Committee and is being mentored to become the director of education. Felter expects to complete her Master of Public Health degree at The Johns Hopkins University in December 2009. In addition to her APTA activities, Felter raises dogs that are trained to help people with disabilities.”
In relating her honor to the School of Physical Therapy, Felter provided the following comments: “When Belmont says, ‘From here to anywhere,’ they really mean it. My education in the Belmont DPT program prepared me academically and clinically. My professors challenged me to think analytically and use research to guide clinical decision making. They also encouraged me to get involved in the APTA as a means of protecting and promoting my profession. I could not have asked for better mentors on the path to becoming a physical therapist.”
Nursing Professor Leads the Way in Safe Patient Handling
Not many a day goes by that Lynne Shores doesn‟t influence lives in the nursing world. As a college professor, author, lecturer and community advocate for more than 30 years, she has helped educate and direct the energy of thousands of registered nurses who care for today‟s patients. And, she has played a key role introducing hospitals and universities to safe patient handling instruction.
“Someone once told me, I have the passion and patience needed for working with beginning nursing students,” explained Shores. “It‟s true. I love to see that fire ignited when a student does well!” To that end, Shores served as Belmont University‟s representative at ANA‟s Safe Patient Handling Conference five years ago. Learning about new research and state-of-the-art lift equipment energized her to tackle the neglected topic of safety in nursing instruction. And, it granted her the chance to work with peers at ANA and NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) to implement core curriculum for teaching students about on-the-job safety. Currently, Shores serves on the National Advisory Committee for the newly launched ANA Safe Patient Handling Recognition Program.