News and Events - 2003

AACN: Increase in Nursing Enrollment Not Enough to Reverse the Shortage
WASHINGTON, DC, December 1, 2003 - According to preliminary results released today by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), enrollments in entry-level baccalaureate programs in nursing increased by 15.9 percent in fall 2003 over last year. Though this increase continues a three-year upward trend, this growth is still not sufficient to address the current registered nurse (RN) shortage which is expected to intensify over the next 10 years.

Federal Grant Addresses Nursing Shortage
(Oct. 14, 2003) - A new federal grant to the School of Nursing addresses one of the causes of the state's nursing shortage: difficulties encountered by newly minted nurses as they move from classroom to work.

School of Nursing Launches Health Disparities Project
(Oct. 6, 2003) - Could the size of a clinic examining room help a sick person heal? Yes, if that patient happens to be Hmong and the room needs to accommodate several family members who will be involved in the patient's health care and decision-making. But many health care-providers aren't aware of cultural differences like this one that can play a critical role in healing.

U named National Center of Excellence in Women's Health
(Oct. 3, 2003) - The University of Minnesota has been designated a National Center of Excellence in Women's Health by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Women's Health.

Carol O'Boyle to Serve on HICPAC
Carol O'Boyle, Assistant Professor at the School of Nursing, has been appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Health to serve on the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC).

Dean Edwardson to Step Down
(Sept. 15, 2003) - Sandra R. Edwardson, dean of the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, today announced she will step down from her position next summer. She will take a one-year administrative leave to pursue her own research interests, then return to the faculty. She has served as dean since 1991.

The Perfect Storm
"The True Story of How Minnesota Healthcare May Soon Be Shipwrecked ... and How We Can Still Rescue It," by the Nurses of Minnesota: a brochure written at the School of Nursing for a broad coalition of Minnesota nurses.

Faculty in the News: Roxanne Struthers
Roxanne Struthers, Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing, has been appointed to the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice.

Alumni in the News: Sarah Gutknecht
One of our graduates, Sarah Gutknecht, received the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner of the Year Award from the Minnesota Chapter of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners.

Faculty in the News: Donna Zimmaro Bliss
Donna Zimmaro Bliss was the recipient of Villanova University School of Nursing's 50th Anniversary Distinguished Alumni Award, which was presented on April 26.

Bearinger Receives Adolescent Health Award
(April 14, 2003) - University of Minnesota professor, Linda Holm Bearinger, Ph.D., R.N, F.A.A.N., has received the prestigious 2004 Wyeth-Ayerst Visiting Professor in Adolescent Medicine Award from the Society for Adolescent Medicine (S.A.M).

Is Image Part of the Nursing Shortage Problem?
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (Feb. 20, 2003) - "Nursing is little known and understood," says journalist and author Suzanne Gordon, and this phenomenon leads to distorted stereotypes of nurses - as physician's handmaid, self-sacrificing angel of mercy, sex object, or even shrew. How to replace the stereotypes with an authentic, professional image - one that is more attractive to young people seeking a career in health care - will be the subject of Gordon's keynote talk at a nursing conference next week.