Welcome to the first edition of
Advance
.
Advance
aims to keep the University of Maryland School of Nursing’s Academic-Hospital Partnership coordinators updated on our collaboration and on the accomplishments of our talented students and faculty.
Advance
is being released at a very special time, just following graduation of the Class of 2019. On May 16, 445 nurses, those both new to the field and advancing their careers, became UMSON graduates — some for a second or even third time!
Our
Advance
team extends congratulations to these graduates. We look forward to what their future holds and the impact they will make on their patients, communities, and the nursing profession.
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Jena is an RN-to-BSN student who is earning her degree tuition-free thanks to a Conway Scholarship. She works full time in the ICU at the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center.
My favorite movie is:
The Notebook
Person I would swap places with for a day is:
Ellen DeGeneres. Her love for humanity inspires me to be a better person every day.
Something most people don’t know about me is:
I plan to move across country to San Diego, California by the end of this year.
One thing I desire to learn how to do:
Nursing – I want to continue school to earn my MSN. Looking into informatics or DNP. For fun – I would love to learn to surf.
My hobbies are:
Traveling – my goal is to see all 50 states; exercising at Orange Theory Fitness; and hiking and exploring with my yellow lab, Winston.
Three words used to describe me are:
Kind, curious, optimistic
My proudest accomplishment is:
Becoming a nurse. It was one of the most challenging things I’ve done in my short 27 years of life. It still challenges me today and I think that’s one of the things I love the most about nursing.
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GENA KOSMIDES, MSN, RN-BC
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Gena is our Academic-Hospital Partnership coordinator at Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC). Find out what Gena does to support the nurses there, and how she champions nursing education.
Official Title:
Health Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC) Nursing Grant Coordinator
What is your background in nursing?
I have worked in the ICU, Observation, Cardiac Cath Lab, and Surgical Services prior to becoming an educator in AAMC’s Clinical Education and Professional Development.
What are your main responsibilities in addition to your role as an Academic-Hospital Partnership coordinator?
I am the coordinator of AAMC’s NSP I Nursing Grant (funded by the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission)*. In that role, I manage the grant participants’ school enrollment paperwork and ensure they receive reimbursement for their courses. I also serve as a mentor to those who are thinking of going back to school and those already in school. I am the liaison between our employees and our nursing school partners and will often accompany our nursing school partners to various units so nurses can learn about opportunities at those schools. I manage the Nurse Residency Mentor Program by matching our new nurse residents with an experienced nurse mentor. I manage the Foundation Nursing Scholarship and Nursing Excellence Awards each spring. I also sit on numerous committees throughout the hospital, such as the Clinical Practice Council and the Professional Nurses Council.
*Nurse Support Program (NSP) I grants are hospital-based initiatives to address Maryland’s nursing shortage.
What advice do you have for nurses thinking about returning to school?
If you are on the fence, the longer you wait, the less likely you are to go back to school. If you do decide to go back to school, go at your own pace. Take your time; don’t burn yourself out. It is not a race, and everyone will graduate with a degree. Also, look for resources both at the hospital and elsewhere. It is important to have support at home, but also seek out a mentor at work.
What support do you offer to nurses at your hospital?
There are all different types of support! Throughout the hospital there is a lot of leadership support for individuals returning to school. They will allow for flexible schedules during clinical or practicum experiences. We also offer financial support — not only tuition assistance through human resources, but scholarships and grants offered through our nursing education office. There is also peer support. If you are hesitant to go back to school, there are probably nurses on your unit in the same or a similar program that can help you get through it!
A unique talent I have is:
Juggling three kids! Also, in a past life, I made jewelry.
My celebrity doppelganger is:
Jewel
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Mark your calendars! Explore our programs, and dive deeper into what makes UMSON special.
- Wednesday, June 12 | RN-to-BSN/RN-to-MSN Online Chat
- Tuesday, June 18 | RN-to-BSN Instant Decision Day
- Thursday, June 20 | Monthly Research Seminar: “Informed Consent and Ethical Considerations in Clinical Trials”
- Tuesday, July 9 | Information Session: BSN, RN-to-BSN, and RN-to-MSN Programs
- Monday, July 15 | RN-to-BSN and RN-to-MSN Application Deadline
- Wednesday-Friday, July 17-19 | 29th Summer Institute in Nursing Informatics (SINI)
- Wednesday, July 24 | RN-to-BSN/RN-to-MSN Online Chat
- Tuesday, Aug. 13 | RN-to-BSN/RN-to-MSN Online Chat
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Look at the amazing things our students, faculty, and alumni are doing!
- Linda J. Hickman, PhD, RN, FACHE, assistant professor, presented a poster at the Maryland Nurses Association’s 115th Annual Convention in November along with Academic-Hospital Partnership coordinator Mary Golway, MSN, RN-BC (CalvertHealth Medical Center), and two Health Services Leadership and Management (HSLM) master’s specialty students, Nicole Davies, MSN, RN, CCRN, CEN, and Leah Sturgis, BSN, RN, CCRN, PCCN, TCRN. The poster was titled “Beyond the Bedside: Maximizing Academic and Practice Partnerships to Develop Tomorrow’s Leaders.”
- Hickman presented the poster “Future Oriented Academic-Service Partnerships for Nurse Educational Advancement” at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Master’s Education Conference in Tampa, Florida in February.
- Corey Duggan, RN, Clinical Nurse II, Emergency Department,University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus, was awarded UMSON’s inaugural annual Preceptor Award. Duggan is also a current UMSON student.
- In March, HSLM student Lindsay M. Smith attended the AACN Student Policy Summit in Washington, D.C., along with student (now graduate) Jacob “Jake” Rodriguez, BSN ’19.
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The
Advance
team celebrated National Nurses Week (May 6-12) at various Academic-Hospital Partnership hospitals. We raffled off Clara B. Crab, RN, fondly named after Clara Barton, at the hospitals we visited.
The winners were:
- University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, May 2: Valerie Kowalenski
- Anne Arundel Medical Center, May 7: Stacey Cole
- University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center, May 8: Rachel Harding, BSN ’18 (at left)
- University of Maryland Price George’s Hospital Center, May 8: Jeanette Hulcom
- MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, May 10: Kathleen Hallock, UMSON HSLM master’s student
Look for Clara B. Crab, RN, to be raffled off at our other hospitals soon!
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Our RN-to-MSN program is an accelerated pathway for registered nurses to earn
both
their BSN and an MSN in a specialty of their choosing. Plans of study are individualized and flexible. Two graduate core courses are substituted for undergraduate electives during their BSN studies. And the best news? Those two graduate courses are taken at the undergraduate tuition rate, and we find practicum preceptors for all students.
Email our
Advance
representative,
Julie Pratt
, for more information about applying.
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LEARN MORE ABOUT UMSON PROGRAMS
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Our Academic-Hospital Partnership program offers onsite academic advising and individualized attention from application to graduation for our Health Services Leadership and Management master’s specialty and our RN-to-MSN and RN-to-BSN programs. However, the University of Maryland School of Nursing also offers two entry-into-practice programs, two additional MSN specialties, and many DNP and PhD options.
Check out our programs
, or contact the Office of Admissions at
[email protected]
or 410-706-0501 (option #2).
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Meet the friendly faces behind these emails and your hospital visits! We are your
Advance
representatives. We are proud to work at UMSON and support our nursing students.
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From left to right:
- Linda J. Hickman, PhD, MBA, RN, FACHE, Assistant Professor | [email protected]
- Julie Pratt, Academic Program Specialist | [email protected]
- Mary Etta Mills, ScD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, Professor | [email protected]
- Karen Anthony, Academic Program Specialist | [email protected]
- Beverly Horne, Academic Program Specialist | [email protected]
- Rachel Fender, Academic Program Specialist | [email protected]
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Have questions or want to submit content to Advance?
Contact
Julie Pratt
.
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University of Maryland School of Nursing
Academic-Hospital Partnership Program
655 W. Lombard St., Baltimore, MD 21201
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