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Member Stories
Discourses on Asthma Management Disparities: A Critical Analysis of the
Opinions of Public Health Leaders and African American Adolescents in
Washington State.
by Robin Evans-Agnew
In this study, I described the discourses arising from discussions with
public health leaders and African American adolescents about asthma
management disparities. To spur discussion, the adolescents took photos and
wrote accompanying texts that expressed their opinions on disparities. In a
final meeting, they displayed a selection of their photo-texts to asthma
leaders in Washington State. I made participant observations, and I recorded
and transcribed the discussions held by both groups.
 I
found that discourses existed for the adolescents that did not exist for the
state health leaders: discourses on unequal school exposures and having to
move homes that unfairly affected the way they were able to manage their
asthma compared to White adolescents in Seattle.
I also found that while state leaders did not discuss policy solutions to
ending some of the root causes of disparity, they were able to agree with
the adolescents that air pollution, housing inequality, healthcare
communication, and indoor air quality were important discourse topics.
This study implies that state health leaders might increase their impact
and capacity to reduce asthma management disparities if they expanded their
discourses, and that an engagement strategy that uses photo-techniques may
be an innovative way to make this happen.
STTI Psi-at-Large Chapter Sponsors Nurse Camps for High Schoolers in the
Seattle and Tacoma Areas
This year, STTI Psi-at-Large Chapter launched our Philanthropy Committee.
Psi-at-Large has always been involved with the community, and the
Philanthropy Committee will help us to organize and prioritize our
activities for impact at the local, regional, national, and international
levels. Below are stories from two local Nurse Camps that were co-sponsored
by Psi-at-Large Chapter.
UW School of Nursing Diversity Awareness Group (DAwGs) Nurse Camp,
Seattle, WA
By Steven
Simpkins (member, STTI Psi-at-Large)
Three years ago the idea for Nurse Camp came out of the School of
Nursing’s Diversity Awareness Group (DAwGs), composed of minority nursing
students, alumni and allies. Their desire to better create community and
inclusion for underrepresented communities in healthcare motivated them to
create this free camp for students. Out of over 75 applicants, this year’s
participants included 24 students, all of whom were from underrepresented or
underserved populations. Three young men were amongst those chosen to
attend. This year’s Nurse Camp was made possible in part by financial
support from STTI Psi-at-Large Chapter.
Each year SON DAwGs, along with advisors Carolyn Chow and Lauren Cline,
work and plan throughout the school year to raise funds for and to create an
exceptional and educational week for the campers, taking what worked well
from the previous year and adding new and exciting events. In addition to
students from the school of nursing, former campers from the past two years
joined the campers to work as volunteers during the week.
Activities at this year’s camp included a first day crash course for
hospital staff including first aid, CPR, HIPPA (federal patient privacy
rules), hand washing, infection control and technology in health care.
Campers got to experience the UW Farm where they made pizza in the brick
oven. They also heard from the “Organ Lady,” UW School of Nursing alumna
Colleen McElroy-Williams who gave campers an inside look at real human
organs. The campers also heard from SON faculty including Dr. Joachim Voss
and Dr. Hilaire Thompson.
Throughout the week, campers spent time shadowing nurses at University of
Washington Medical Center, practicing nurse skills in both the Center for
Excellence in Nursing Education (CENE) learning lab and the Institute for
Simulation and Interprofessional Studies (ISIS). They also had the
opportunity to discover different nurse specialties in a nursing "speed
date" where campers met and talked with nurses working in all areas of
healthcare, from forensic and public health to emergency services and
research. Attendees also learned the ins and outs of applying to college and
understanding financial aid from advisor Carolyn Chow. Finally, camp came to
an end with a celebratory closing ceremony with family and friends.
MultiCare Nurse Camp, Tacoma, Washington
by University
of Washington Tacoma
A few years from now, the teens who participated in MultiCare's Nurse
Camp may be working alongside of Psi-at-Large members. At nurse camp, about
100 high school students hear from health care professionals, watch them on
the job and participate in hands-on activities to learn what providers do.
STTI Psi-at-Large Chapter co-sponsored the five-day camp in July 2011,
along with the primary sponsor, MultiCare Health System, and help from
numerous community partners including Pacific Lutheran University and
University of Washington Tacoma. Many of the UWT Nurse Camp helpers
including Marilyn Edwards, Anne McDivitt, Carrie Park, Malia Pickett, Janet
Primomo, and Christine Stevens are members of STTI Psi-at-Large Chapter and
recent UWT graduates or faculty.
At the University of Washington Tacoma, campers learned about various
aspects of community and public health practice. Students first learned
about the many opportunities in community and public health nursing ranging
from the Nurse Family Partnership, outbreak prevention, forensics, to the
role of nurses as policy advocates.
In a session on nutrition led by MultiCare Center for Health Living
staff, students learned about the explosion of childhood obesity and that
trying to eat more fresh vegetables and fruits is often more expensive than
eating fast food. In another session, the teens, all clad in scrubs, walked
the perimeter and down the grand staircase of the UW Tacoma campus to learn
to see how conductive communities are to walking and bicycling.
Students at Bethel High School who participated in the “walkability”
exercise thought the assessment tool they used was a good way to inform
people about the need to exercise and to build features that encourage
walking! “It was an eye-opening experience,” one said. “You don’t think
about it when you’re walking…. Someone in a wheelchair could trip and fall
if walkways aren’t designed for people of all physical abilities.” Through
such activities, students learned about healthcare roles and how to support
physically active, healthier lifestyles.
For additional information about Nurse Camp see:
http://www.multicare.org/home/calendar/2397
Delegate Report: 40th Biennial Convention
Prepared by Sara Swett, President, and Anne Poppe, Community Counselor
The 40th biennial convention was held in Indianapolis, Indiana from
October 30 through November 4, 2009. There were 439 chapters represented.
In attendance as Delegates for Psi-at-Large Chapter were President Sara
Swett and Community Counselor Anne Poppe. There were delegate sessions held
prior to voting which provided ample opportunity for questions and
discussion of proposed international bylaws amendments and resolutions. The
convention also provided delegates with opportunities to speak with the
candidates as well as attend concurrent sessions.
- Officer elections: The results of the officer elections can
be found
here. This webpage not only provides the results of the election but
recorded statements of the new officers.
- International awards: The International Awards were also
conferred at the biennial convention and can be explored at
this link.
- Concurrent sessions. There were numerous concurrent sessions
that were offered to participants and the following webpage contains the
abstracts of all presentations at the conference.
Click
here to access the PowerPoint presentations.
- Networking opportunities. At the Region 1 meeting, delegates
from chapters that span the Pacific Rim gave reports on chapter
activities over the past biennium. We also visited the International
Headquarters for STTI and located the paving brick donated by Psi-at-Large
Chapter.
- Call to action. Incoming President Karen Morin presented the
Call to Action.
- Action on by-laws. Delegates voted on
five proposals. All of the proposed by-laws changes were passed by
the House of Delegates.
Proposal 1: 100% voted yes to approve. Result: ADOPTED
Proposal 2: 98% voting yes to approve, 2% voting no and 4
abstentions. Result: ADOPTED
Proposal 3: 93% voting yes to approve, 6% voting no and 1%
abstaining. Result: ADOPTED
Proposal 4: 97% voting yes to approve, 3% voting no and 0%
abstaining. Result: ADOPTED
Proposal 5: 98% voting yes to approve, 1% voting no and 1%
abstaining. Result: ADOPTED
- Action on resolutions. Delegates voted on
10 resolutions. The House of Delegates passes all of the 2009
proposed resolutions. There was lively discussion on Resolution 6 and
the impact of a virtual chapter operated by Sigma Theta Tau
International and concern for its impact on existing chapter
memberships, lack of academic institution affiliation and connection and
relationship building capacities of virtual members in a virtual
structure.
The targeted participants within the “virtual chapter” were reported to
include community leader applicants with no other chapter affiliation,
dual members and military personnel. The resolution was amended to
eliminate the word “first” as one existing STTI chapter at a University
is already on-line only. Delegate voting results on this resolution were
73% yes to support, 25% no to support and 2% abstaining. Because it was
a resolution, only a majority vote was needed for it to pass. The
virtual chapter is not an official chapter yet. It is still in the
application process.
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Member Honors
Elizabeth Babler, a PhD student at the University of
Washington School of Nursing, was named as one of six UW Warren G.
Magnuson Scholars. The award recognized academic and research excellence
in the health sciences. Elizabeth Bridges, Assistant Professor, UW Seattle, was
honored at the March of Dimes Washington Nurse of the Year awards in
December 2008. She received the award for Research/Advancing the
Profession for helping advance research through her work in breaking
down barriers that prevent nurses from engaging in research. Basia
Belza, PhD, RN, FAAN and co-PI Phyllis Christianson received a 3-year
training grant from the Health Resources Service Administration for the
project, “Promoting Competencies of Advanced Practice Nurses in Caring for
Older Adults. The grant is funded for just under $963,857.
Betty Bekemeier, PhD, RN was one of 12 individuals selected for
the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Nurse Faculty Scholars program for her
research, “Creating a System for Monitoring How Changes in Public Health
Services Impact the Health of Vulnerable Populations.”
Doris Boutain, PhD, RN received the UW School of Nursing 2010
Sandra Eyres Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award.
Diana Brosten, a BSN student at the UW School of Nursing, was one
of two university students selected to receive the President’s Award for a
distinguished academic record. Ms. Brosten will be inducted into STTI this
June.
Margaret Heitkemper, PhD, RN, FAAN was selected to receive the
2010 Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research Pathfinder award.
Vicky Hertig, PhD, RN received the University of Washington School
of Nursing 2010 Rheba de Tornyay Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award.
Amelia Knopf, BSN, MPH was recognized at the 2010 Western
Institute of Nursing for receiving the 2009 STTI/WIN Research Grant. The
grant will fund her travel to Western Kenya for a pilot study.
Terry Miller, Sheri Shull, Kathy Ueland, and Marlow Moss accepted
both the Quigg Award for Innovation and Multicare’s President’s Award for
Community Partnerships for their leadership of the Heart Failure Transition
Program—a partnership between PLU and Multicare.
Pamela Mitchell, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN was one of three recipients
of the 2010 Nursing Leadership Award at the Nurses Recognition Banquet
sponsored by the UW School of Nursing and the UW Alumni Association.
C. June Strickland, PhD, RN, received an NIH Center Grant,
“Building a Sustainable Indian Tribal Infrastructure for Translational
Research” to establish a partnership infrastructure between the UW School of
Nursing and two rural tribes to enhance tribal capacity to engage in
behavioral science translational research.
Joachim Voss, PhD, RN received the University of Washington School
of Nursing 2010 Research Mentorship Award.
Teresa Ward, PhD, RN and colleagues at Seattle Children’s Hospital
were funded by the Center for Research on the Management of Sleep Disorders
(CRMSD) to conduct a one-year pilot study on sleep, fatigue, and biological
measures of disease activity in 7-12 year-olds with juvenile idiopathic
arthritis (JIA).
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Member Educational
Presentations
Christine Henshaw, EdD, RN, CNE presented the workshop “Effective
PowerPoint Presentations for Beginnings” November 6 at Seattle Pacific
University.
Patsy Maloney presented Concurrent Session: “Developing a Course
and Syllabus” Concurrent Session AACN’s Fourth Annual Faculty Development
Conference. Albuquerque, NM (90 minutes long) February 2010.
Patsy Maloney presented Concurrent Session: “Teaching Graduate
Students” AACN’s Fourth Annual Faculty Development Conference. Albuquerque,
NM (90 minutes long) February 2010.
Patsy Maloney co-presented “Leading, Developing, and Coaching for
Excellence in the Care of Older Adult” at the NNSDO 2010 Convention’s
Preconvention Workshop, San Diego, July, 2010.
Patsy Maloney presented Concurrent Session “Developing and
Documenting Continued Competence Through the Use of Portfolio” Concurrent
Session at the NNSDO 2010 Convention, San Diego, July, 2010
Diana Taibi, PhD, RN presented the workshop “Simulation 101” at
the Interprofessional Collaboration for Innovative Technologies in Education
annual workshop in Spokane in June, 2010. |
