This Month in Nursing eNotes: September 2004 (go to archives)

* Oregon Program to Improve Care For Seriously-Ill Patients is Widely Used, Successful, Studies Show
* Distinctive Excellence
* Senior Years (a NurseWeek article)
*Thinking of Applying to Graduate School? ________________________________________________________
Oregon Program to Improve Care For Seriously-Ill Patients is Widely Used, Successful, Studies Show

Two new studies published this week demonstrate that a unique Oregon program designed to provide seriously-ill patients greater control over life-sustaining interventions is widely used. Both studies, directed by Oregon Health & Science University researchers, are in the current issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society .

“Funding from The Greenwall Foundation of New York enabled us to conduct two statewide research studies. The first examined use of the POLST [ Physicians Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment] program in nursing homes and the second explored emergency medical technicians experiences with the program in the field,” explained Susan Hickman, Ph.D., assistant professor in the OHSU School of Nursing and senior scholar with the Center for Ethics in Health Care. Hickman is lead author on one of the studies and a contributing author on the other. To read more about these studies, go to:

http://www.ohsu.edu/son/news/polst090204.pdf

To read more about POLST, go to:

http://www.polst.org ________________________________________________________
Distinctive Excellence

The School of Nursing is rich with top caliber educators and researchers, and welcomes opportunities to celebrate such talent. Distinguished professorships are one avenue for emphasizing the tradition of excellence at OHSU. The School of Nursing is pleased to announce the appointment of two new distinguished professors: Heather M. Young, Ph.D., G.N.P., F.A.A.N., has been named as the Grace Phelps Distinguished Professor, and Christine A. Tanner, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., has been named as the A.B. Youmans Spaulding Distinguished Professor. For more information about these distinguished educators and the importance of endowed professorships in the midst of a critical faculty shortage, go to:

http://www.ohsu.edu/son/giving/oo-prof.shtml ________________________________________________________
Senior Years (a NurseWeek article)

For decades, nursing schools have recognized that children are not simply little adults and have educated nurses to address kids' needs accordingly. But it's taken much longer to recognize that the elderly are not the same, developmentally and physically, as they were when they were younger. As the older adult population continues to rise, more nursing schools are recognizing the need to incorporate gerontology education into the curriculum.

“In oncology nursing, geriatric patients present a unique challenge. For instance, many have difficulty in skin self-exams for cancer because of degenerating vision or cataracts, said Karen Greco, R.N. Ph.Dc., M.N., A.N.P., a predoctoral scholar in the OHSU School of Nursing Hartford Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity Program. To read more about how more nursing schools are recognizing the need to incorporate gerontology education into curriculum, read the August 23, 2004, NurseWeek Mountain Edition article at:

http://www.ohsu.edu/son/news/nw_082304_senioryears.pdf ________________________________________________________
Thinking of Applying to Graduate School?

Now is the time to begin completing your application. Check out the school's program options and review the new online application process:

http://www.ohsu.edu/son/academic/ms-applying.shtml

For more helpful tips, go to:

________________________________________________________
For more information about OHSU School of Nursing, visit the Web site at: http://www.ohsu.edu/son

To share a story idea for future Nursing eNotes, e-mail sonnews@ohsu.edu

Update your mailing address or other contact information at:
http://www.ohsu.edu/son-alumni/syn-index.shtml

To visit the OHSU academic and research Web site, go to: http://www.ohsu.edu

To visit the OHSU health care Web site, go to: http://www.ohsuhealth.com

To unsubscribe go to:
http://www.ohsu.edu/son/news/enotes-unsub.shtml

Last updated January 19, 2005 by OHSU School of Nursing Web Managers.
Please send comments, questions, and reports of problems to sonnews@ohsu.edu.