Welcome Back, Nursing Owls! | |
On behalf of our faculty and staff, I am thrilled to kick-off the 2023-24 school year! In the coming days, I am looking forward to welcoming students back to the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and seeing them around campus. The Fall 2023 semester officially begins on Saturday, August 19.
This academic year promises to be an exciting one, and it is already off to a terrific start. Students and faculty alike have participated in numerous research activities, retreats, events and conferences throughout the summer months. Over the last few weeks, we were pleased to welcome several new faculty and staff members who recently joined the College, host our Pinning Ceremony for graduates of the Second Degree Part-Time BSN track for Working Professionals and celebrate all of our summer graduates.
On Friday, August 18, the incoming class of 2027 will launch the start of their Florida Atlantic academic journeys at the university's annual Freshman Convocation. The College of Nursing will host its Fall Convocation on Friday, Sept. 15, which is expected to be a special event to mark the College’s involvement and commitment to our newest students.
I wish everyone a fantastic year! Go Owls!
- Dean Safiya George
|  | Study Uncovers Barriers to Mammography Screening Among Black Women | |
Breast cancer health disparities disproportionately impact Black/African American women in the United States. Black women have a 40 percent higher death rate compared to white women. Strikingly, breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths for Black women, underscoring the need to address this public health challenge.
Mammography screening is considered a critical tool in mitigating disparities. However, Black women experience barriers to screening and are more likely to be diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer at younger ages, and with advanced stage breast cancer.
To address these barriers, researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing conducted a study in a sample of Black women receiving care at its nurse-led FAU/Northwest Community Health Alliance Community Health Center (CHC) in West Palm Beach, which provides services to vulnerable underserved populations. Findings, published in the European Society of Medicine’s journal Medical Research Archives, show suboptimal utilization of annual screening mammograms among low-income Black women and several reported barriers.
“Our findings suggest that Black women actually see the benefits of having an annual mammogram; however, some perceived and actual barriers may be preventing these women from obtaining screening mammograms at the appropriate age,” said Tarsha Jones, Ph.D., senior author and an assistant professor in FAU’s College of Nursing. Read More
|  | New FAU College of Nursing Video Released | The Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing is pleased to announce the release of a new video which highlights the school's nationally-ranked undergraduate programs and high-quality clinical programs. Watch Video |
FAU College of Nursing Receives $1.3 Million Grant for Alzheimer's Services in Broward County
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Dr. María de los Ángeles Ortega, principal investigator, Associate Dean of Clinical Practice, Director, Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center, and Professor, has been awarded a $1.354 million grant from the Administration for Community Living Alzheimer’s Disease Program Initiative. The grant began on July 1, and will run through June 30, 2026.
Her project, "Connecting Communities to Caring-Based Dementia-Specific Services and Supports," is designed to link historically underserved and marginalized communities in Broward County with specialized dementia services and support. The primary focus is to advance health equity and improve the quality of life for individuals living with or at high risk for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) and their family caregivers. In addition, this initiative also aims to improve dementia capability for service provision to individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) who are living with dementia and their families.
This grant comes as a beacon of hope, promising to ignite the inauguration of the Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center at Florida Atlantic University’s Davie campus. It will provide an opportunity to replicate successful best practices of the Boca Raton location and implement them in Broward. In addition, the funding will enable staff to collaborate with new community partners and foster the development of innovative programs and services.
"This grant represents a substantial opportunity for our interprofessional team to make a profound difference in the community," said Dr. Ortega. "Not only will it allow us to extend specialized, caring-based services to those most in need, but it also presents an invaluable learning opportunity for our students at the Davie campus. They will gain firsthand experience about the Memory and Wellness Center's mission, and most importantly, the essence of transforming lives and practice through embracing caring, knowledge and compassion."
|  | Support Broward County Back to School Community Event | |
Florida State Representative Patricia Williams is hosting a Back to School community event on Saturday, August 12, from 12 to 4 p.m. at Boyd H. Anderson High School, 3550 NW 41st St., Lauderdale Lakes, FL. Representative Williams represents District 98 in Broward County and is very passionate about educational issues. She has hosted back to school community events in the past, but this is the first community event since before the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus of the event is to provide K-12 families with supplies, resources and information about transitioning back to school in a healthy and productive way.
The Representative is partnering with many local nonprofits, with the Unity Church of Christ being the primary partner and host of the event. FAU was asked to support this event by providing supplies, day-of volunteers and educational resources. The College of Nursing and other colleges collected donations for the school supply drive.
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The Freshman Convocation welcomes the incoming class of 2027 to Florida Atlantic University. This year’s event will take place on Friday, August 18, at 4 p.m. in the Carole and Barry Kaye Auditorium, on the Boca Raton campus.
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Welcome, new students! Accelerated BSN and Online Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) new student orientation will be held Thursday, August 17, from 9 a.m. to noon, in NU 201, and a virtual graduate student orientation will take place on the same day. On Friday, August 18, Freshman Direct BSN orientation will occur from 9 a.m. to noon, in AUD 113.
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Registration is open for the Fall 2023 semester. Take the time to register early to ensure you have a great semester. Read More
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The graduates of the Second-Degree, Part-Time BSN track for Working Professionals received their diplomas at the August 3 Pinning Ceremony in Boca Raton. Congratulations to them and the following awardees: Excellence in Scholarship: Chrystine D’Ambrosio
Excellence in Leadership: Scania Mathieu
Excellence in Caring: Hilde Causey
Excellence in Service: Nick Schindler
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Congratulations, summer graduates! We are so proud of you and your many accomplishments. The College of Nursing's Summer 2023 commencement ceremony took place on Tuesday, August 8 on the Boca Raton campus.
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Thinking about grad school? The Graduate College regularly hosts hour-long information sessions to provide prospective students with an overview of FAU and the graduate admissions process. Most sessions are held virtually. View the upcoming schedule here.
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The award-winning staff at FAU's Career Center can help you get ahead on your job search. Make an appointment today or check out the hottest jobs in Handshake.
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Save the date! The annual Kay Carpenter Scholarship Pinning Ceremony will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 20. The scholarship is a never-ending cycle of philanthropy as past scholarship recipients graduate and secure stable employment are expected to contribute back to the fund as a way to “pay it forward” and support future nurses.
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Alumni Spotlight:
M. Christopher Saslo, D.N.S. '07
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M. Christopher Saslo, D.N.S. ‘07, ARNP-BC-FAANP, currently works as the Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Patient Care Services/Chief Nursing Officer. The Florida Atlantic alumnus has been a nurse for more than 37 years and has served the Veterans Health Administration for more than 27 years.
He has worked in multiple areas, including ambulatory care as both a nurse practitioner and program manager, medicine service in the HIV and hepatology clinics and associate chief nurse for clinical practice in nursing.
“I am also eternally grateful [to FAU] for the ‘reboot’ to my learning opportunity and reminds me that as nurses, we are never done with the journey of learning and growth,” shared Dr. Saslo. “For our new nurses entering this profession, remember, we are the future of health care and each step we take, changes it forever!” Read More
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Save the date! The College of Nursing will host its annual faculty retreat on Monday, August 14, at the Hillsboro Club, in Hillsboro Beach.
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The International Association for Human Caring's 44th annual conference, "Human Science and the Praxis of Caring: A Global Conversation," is available through Sunday, Sept. 3, and features over 75 on-demand podium, poster and workshop presentations. Sessions are only available to registered participants. For details or to register, click here.
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The inaugural Careers in Aging Day at the Gerontological Society of America annual Scientific Meeting will take place Friday, Nov. 10, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., in Tampa, FL. During this full-day event, participants will be exposed to various careers through speakers and discussions. This event is free to attend. Learn More
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Academic Advisor Matthew Patterson represented the College of Nursing at the Cleveland Clinic Education Fairs in Weston and Vero Beach in July.
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The College of Nursing hosted a summer staff luncheon on July 13. Everyone enjoyed connecting over a delicious lunch, conversation and lots of laughter. Two lucky people were the winners of summer goodie baskets.
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On July 17, FAU BSN students joined FAU/NCHA Community Health Center Executive Director Dr. Karethy Edwards and Nursing faculty members Dr. Olu Akinpelu and Faye Postell to provide school physicals and information on nutrition to 55 elementary, middle and high school students at The Salvation Army of Palm Beach County summer camp.
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Drs. Nancy Harris and Elizabeth Tsarnas worked with College of Nursing FNP and DNP students at the Back to School Expo sponsored by the City of Fort Pierce, on July 22. The students completed almost 60 sports physicals for the youth of St. Lucie County.
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As part of FAU's Nurse-led Mobile Health Unit HRSA grant, several students joined Dr. Karethy Edwards at the Palm Beach County Back to School event at the Palm Beach County Convention Center on July 22.
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Fifteen FAU Nursing students joined Drs. Nancy Harris and Elizabeth Tsarnas to perform over 200 screenings at the ALPI Head Start/Early Head Start Health Fair in Fort Pierce on July 27 and Port St. Lucie on July 28. Students performed height/weight, nutritional counseling, blood pressure, hearing and vision screenings, and assisted with speech/language screenings for children under age 5.
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The College hosted its inaugural dermatology symposium, “Foundations in Dermoscopy,” on July 29. The keynote speaker for the event was Dr. Ashfaq A. Marghoob, a world-renowned authority in dermoscopy and director of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Hauppauge, Long Island.
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College of Nursing alumnae Drs. Jinga Oglesby and Flore Jesuca joined Dr. Nancy Harris and DNP students to provide physicals at the July 29, Pahokee Back to School Bash. City Manager Rodney Lucas, Deputy City Manager Jongelene Adams and Director of Community and Economic Development Peggy Boule-Washington also attended the event.
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Dr. Armiel Suriaga delivered an oral presentation during the 46th Japan Neuroscience Society Annual Meeting at the Sendai International Center, Japan, from August 1 to 4. His research presentation was titled, "The Neural Consequences of Cannabis Use in Florida."
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Researchers from FAU’s Christine E Lynn College of Nursing will collaborate with FAU’s Sandler School of Social Work on a five year, $4,200,449 R01 grant from the National Institute of Aging of the National Institutes of Health for a project titled “The Role of Air Quality and Built Environment in Social Isolation and Cognitive Function among Rural, Racially/Ethnically Diverse Residents at Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease.” The study will test the impact of individual and environmental characteristics on social isolation, cognitive function, and risk of Alzheimer’s disease in rural residents at the southern end of Lake Okeechobee, Palm Beach County, FL.
The project will be conducted by FAU researchers with complementary scientific backgrounds: Principal Investigator Dr. Lisa Kirk Wiese, Multi-Principal Investigator, Dr. Christine L. Williams, and Co-Investigator Dr. Janet Holt from the College of Nursing; Co-Investigator Dr. JuYoung Park, from the School of Social Work, and Co-Investigator Dr. Diana Mitsova from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, in collaboration with Co-Investigator Dr. Lilah Besser from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Co-Investigator Dr. Sheryl Magzamen from Colorado State University School of Public Health, and Consultant Dr. Diane Cook in smart environments and ambient intelligence from Washington State University.
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Orientation for new College of Nursing faculty will take place on Thursday, August 10.
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Assistant Dean Suzanne Ffolkes attended the National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing & Media conference, July 19 to 21, in Atlanta, where her presentation on “Caring Science Communications” in the context of Sister Simone Roach’s "Six C’s of Caring" was featured in the poster sessions.
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Dr. Terry Eggenberger gave the keynote presentation at the Broward Health 2023 Research and Evidence-Based Practice Symposium on July 28. Her speech was on “Innovation Through Interprofessional Collaborative Practice.”
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College of Nursing Instructor Dr. Maude Exantus presented her research on improving muscle health in adults using nutrition coaching and education in collaboration with Dr. Sareen Gropper at the ninth annual Florida Nurses Association Research and Evidence-based Practice Conference, on July 29, in Orlando. Dr. Candy Wilson was the keynote speaker and spoke about the “Theoretical Framework in Research: Advancing Nursing Science and Practice.”
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Dr. Maria Ortega has been selected to receive the Distinguished Educator in Gerontological Nursing Award from the National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence. The recognition will be presented at the NHCGNE Annual Conference to be held virtually from Oct. 24 to 26.
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Dr. Lisa Wiese presented her session “Improving Dementia Care Through Technology and Digital Interventions” at the 2023 Alzheimer's Association International Conference on July 16. The event was held both live and in-person in Amsterdam, and it was attended by over 10,000 people. Her presentation in Amsterdam was highlighted in the July 17 issue of the AA newsletter.
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Dr. Debra Hain has been elected for a two-year term to the National Forum of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Networks as a Member-at-Large. The forum advocates for organizations that monitor the quality of chronic kidney disease, dialysis and kidney transplantation care in the United States.
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Dr. Katherine Chadwell was featured in South Florida Hospital News and Healthcare Report’s front-page article, “FAU’s College of Nursing Offers Array of MSN Programs.” (August 2023) Read More
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Cancer Health cited Dr. Tarsha Jones' study published in Medical Research Archives regarding the barriers to mammograms that still persist for Black women. (August 1, 2023) Read More
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Articles:
# Adenmosun E. O. & Archibald C. M. (2023). Caring attributes in interventions for sexual risk behaviors among adolescents. International Journal for Human Caring, 27 (2), 104 - 115. http://dx.doi.org/10.20467/IJHC-2021-0038
Dos Santos Diogo, R. C., Silva Butcher, R. C. G. E., & Peres, H. H. C. (2023). Diagnostic concordance among nursing clinical decision support system users: A pilot study. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, ocad144. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocad144
*Koszalinski, R. Tappen, R., Ghorrani, B., Viera, E., Marques, O. Furht, B. Use of sensors for fall prediction in older adults: A Scoping review. Computers, Informatics, Nursing (CIN).
# Koszalinski, R. Tappen, R., Newman, D. (In Production). Relationship of Social Support and Social Engagement with Cognition in a Community-Based Diverse Older Population. 27 pages. The Journals of Gerontology series b: Social Sciences.
Eapen, D., Mbango, C., Daniels, G., Mathew Joseph, N., Mary, A., Mathews, N., Carr, K.K., Wells, C., Suriaga, A., & SaintFluer, A. (2023). Recommendations to improve maternal health equity among black women in “The South”: A Position Paper from the SNRS Minority Health Research Interest & Implementation Group. Research in Nursing and Health. https://doi:org./10.1002/nur.22332
Book Chapters:
Gengo e Silva Butcher, R.C., Peres, H.H.C., Tsukamoto, R., Oliveira, N.B. & Ortiz, D.C.F. (2023). Nursing theories, process, and classifications in adult and older adult health. In Y.A.O. Duarte, M.F.F. Vattimo, & K. Sichieri. Nursing in Adult and Older Adult Health (pp. 47-66). Atheneu.
Hain, D. (2023). Vitamin B12. In K.S. Castler & K. Gawlik (Eds.), Laboratory screening & diagnostic evaluation: An evidence-based approach (pp. 765-778). Springer Publishing.
Krause-Parello, C.A., Torres, A., Pratt, B.A., Moreno, S.J., & Hibler, D.A. (2023). Human-animal interaction in the treatment of PTSD. In Gee, N., Townsend, L., & Findling, R.L. (Eds.). The Role of Companion Animals in the Treatment of Mental Health Disorders (Chapter 9). American Psychiatric Association Publishing: Washington, D.C.
Lima, G.S., Gengo e Silva Butcher, R.C., Maia, F.O.M., Duarte, Y.A.O., & Salvetti, M.G. (2023). Resilience and self-efficacy in the older adult. In Y.A.O. Duarte, M.F.F. Vattimo, & K. Sichieri. Nursing in adult and older adult health (pp. 785-798). Atheneu
(* = data-based, # = Caring Science)
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Invest in our nursing students today to prepare for Florida’s health care needs tomorrow. | | | | |
