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Being a “Carolina Nurse” has many dimensions.  This 7-minute video tells the story from the perspective of students, alumni, faculty, SON and hospital leaders who all experience the quality, energy and emotion of being connected to one of the leading Schools of Nursing in the United States.  Unrestricted private gifts made this video possible and we are grateful to our alumni and friends who provide on-going support to the School.  For giving opportunities, please contact Director of Advancement Norma_Hawthorne@unc.edu

Landon entered the School of Nursing in 1952 as part of the second BSN class in the state.  When this group of outstanding students graduated in 1956 they were at the vanguard of nursing education in the State of North Carolina.  They set an example and became role models for future Carolina nurses.

Over the years, Landon has enjoyed the camaraderie and friendships with her classmates that could have developed only through the shared experiences of living and studying together in the nurse’s dorm, guided by Dean Elizabeth Kemble.  After graduation, Landon worked in pediatric nursing.  She married Tom Fox, a graduate of the UNC School of Medicine.  They lived in Charlotte, NC, where Tom practiced psychiatry and Landon volunteered at family-oriented, non-profit organizations.  The Foxes have three married daughter.

Now, the couple has retired to Chapel Hill and enjoy many University alumni and athletic activities.  Tom serves as a Director of the School of Nursing Foundation, Inc. and Landy volunteers in the community.

When you see Tom and Landy, please give them your heartfelt thanks for their love and support of our School.

Hodges conducts his research in the recently-completed behavioral observation laboratory in the School of Nursing’s Biobehavioral Laboratory. Housed inside Carrington Hall, this space gives study participants a relaxed environment in which to interact and allows Hodges to observe their behaviors in a non-invasive way.

The School of Nursing has produced a documentary, highlighting the benefits and unique nature of this lab. With Hodges’ research as a backdrop, you will be taken into this new facility to see how nurse researchers develop knowledge that translates evidence into practice.  Enjoy!

Kristen M. Swanson, PhD, RN, FAAN, began her term as the sixth dean for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing on Aug. 1, 2009

“I came to the School of Nursing because I saw the commitment of administration, faculty, staff and students to ‘getting it right.’ There is clear evidence of integrity, a passion for excellence, openness to collaboration and a sense of pride in knowing that the work here makes a difference,” Swanson said. “The School’s values and mission match my personal and professional beliefs about nursing education, clinical research and the delivery of care.”

Swanson earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Rhode Island and continued with her academic pursuits, culminating with a master’s degree in adult health and illness nursing from the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD in psychosocial nursing from the University of Colorado. She completed her postdoctoral work at the University of Washington. In addition to holding a faculty position at the University of Washington, she taught at Trenton State College, the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and the University of Colorado School of Nursing.

Swanson’s particular area of research interest is in miscarriage and early pregnancy loss. She began this work with her dissertation, “The Unborn One: A

Profile of The Human Experience of Miscarriage,” and has continued studying this area both as an investigator and as a consultant to other researchers’ works. She has been the principal investigator or co-investigator on 10 grants dealing with early pregnancy loss, caring and related topics since 1985. It is during this time that she developed the Swanson Theory of Caring. Since developing the theory, she has consulted with and guided 20 healthcare institutions on the proper way to implement her caring theory in clinical practice.

In recognition of her work, she received an Outstanding Researcher Award from Sigma Theta Tau and has been an invited speaker or visiting professor on multiple occasions, most recently at the National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan in 2007. In 2002, she was awarded the University of Rhode Island College of Nursing Distinguished Alumni Award. She is also on the editorial board or serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Nursing Scholarship, Nursing Outlook, Research in Nursing and Health and the International Journal of Human Caring.

We thank you in advance for your assistance!

1. What does Carolina Nursing mean to you?
2. When you think of the School and your education here, what one word pops to mind?
3. What is the most important thing you learned here?
4. What difference has the School made in your life?
5. What is the one thing you always wanted people to know about the School?
6. If you had to describe nursing in one phrase, what would it be?

Day 1 – Service Learning Project 2009 Community Health Survey

Our group had a mouth-watering breakfast at the 4-H Center and then headed out to the Visitor Center in Columbia where we met our partners from the Conservation Fund, Buck and Justin. We followed them to one of the more than 800 Rosenwald Schools in NC.

This one was located in the Alligator Community of Tyrrell County. There is an amazing history behind the Rosenwald schools. In a nut shell, Chicago philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, CEO of Sears, Roebuck and Company financed the building of over 5000 school houses in black communities from the early 1910s into the early 1930s. Today some of these schools are being identified and restored, which was one of our assignments during this trip. Our group gathered into the small, one room Rosenwald school house in which a large blackboard spanned one of the walls, there were several church pews inside and several other dusty nick knacks being stored. Justin and Buck gave us a brief orientation of the school and noted that the school was used to educate the white children of the community–not the black children, which was Rosenwald’s vision. This was confirmed by several older members of the community who told us that the black children were schooled in one of the local churches. I was taken aback by this revelation and it forced me to think of the history and events of that time period.

After the orientation we were given our assignments for the day. Because of the weather forecast the decision was made to first work outside in the Palmetto-Peartree Preserve and then come back to the school house. We left the school house and made our way to the preserve. Our assignment was to clean up the area of trash and CRABPOTS!! These large wire boxes had become tangled up in the brush and forested area after being blown ashore from Albemarle Sound to the shore. At the end of the day we removed enough crab pots and trash to fill 2 large dumpsters. We have pictures!!!

During our cleanup we found 2 voter boxes with sample ballots from the late 1800s and early 1900s!! We also found several books and magazines from that time period. Within an hour the place was cleaned up and made ready for our community meeting and cookout. Our group greeted the residents of Alligator community as they strolled into the school house. We inquired about their experience of rural living, asked about any issues or concerns they had and suggestions for future service projects, while eating hamburgers and hotdogs. I spoke to one resident who was a fisherman by occupation, who recently returned to Alligator community after a few years up North. He said he enjoyed rural living and the outdoors. What I found interesting was that he was able to name everyone who was in the school house that night, a testament to what a close-knit community Alligator is.

Day 5 – Service Leaning Trip / Alligator Community

We started our last day of the trip with another wonderful breakfast at the 4-H Center and made our way to the Visitor Center in Columbia

We were able to do a little shopping before heading to the auditorium to watch “Unnatural Causes”. After the movie we each reflected on our trip. For me, as a graduate nursing student, the week’s events led me to be more aware of the social determinants of health, like employment and housing. The face-to-face surveys allowed me to get a first hand, up close glimpse of the lives of those who are underserved and how their health is being determined, in part, by the social factors around them.

After our reflection we had lunch at one of the local restaurants in Columbia and then headed off for a tour of Somerset Place. Somerset Place is a state historic site that offers a view of antebellum plantation life.

Our tour guide led us through a typical day of plantation life as we walked in the rain between various buildings on the plantation, including a hospital with intriguing and somewhat horrifying instruments and tools. The tour cumulated at the Great House of the planters, which was furnished with original pre-civil war items some of which were donated by the original family.

After the tour we got into our vans and drove back to Chapel Hill. It was an amazing trip of learning, discovery and full of new experiences. We visited places and people we would have never crossed paths with. All in all I can say with confidence that we all had a good time and it was a life changing experience in some way.

Colette Allen, BSN, CCRN

Graduate Nursing Student, FNP Program

Yet, we have a huge gap that continues to widen. There are not enough doctoral students who will become the faculty to teach our current and future nurses. Why? One reason is support. At a public university like Chapel Hill, we are only able to provide support to doctoral students IF we have T-32 government training grants tied to our research projects that offer stipends to students. But, this support for nursing is decreasing nationally, and our only other option to be competitive with other universities vying for the same doctoral candidates, is to offer private scholarship support. To date, there is ONE privately funded doctoral scholarship in our School. It takes $26,000 per year to support one doctoral student. A $100,000 investment in an endowed scholarship fund will guarantee that support and the continuity of faculty to teach students to become nurses. We raise this issue because public institutions of our caliber must be responsive to public needs, yet without these key resources, it will be impossible to meet these needs.

Our Doctoral Education Committee told me yesterday that they are concerned that the public does not understand why it is necessary and important to educate doctorally-prepared nurses. What do you think?

Here, I am attaching a Wall Street Journal article about the economy, the nursing shortage and how critical it is for us to have qualified nurses giving us care. Imagine the risks, then think about the link between the nursing shortage and the faculty shortage and what you might possibly do to help.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121011475341071811.html?mod=pj_main_hs_coll

Donors to the SON’s Community Partnerships and Practice Fund to make this trip possible are Paul Chused, Valerie Ann Stafford-Fox, Alpha Alpha Chapter/Sigma Theta Tau, Inc., Linda Trembath Reeder, Harriet Walker Buss, Jo-Anne Trowbridge Martin, Diane Snakenburg Gordon, Anonymous, Sharon Hill Price, Rebecca Dodson, Margaret McCain, Ann Marie Polk, Melissa Dixon LeVine, Carolyn Cook Spalding, Denise Taylor Darden, Shelby Dunivant, Anne Fishel, and Nancy B. Freeman. Individual gifts ranged from $25 to $1,000, demonstrating how important grass roots support can be.