xt7q2b8vdw5s https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7q2b8vdw5s/data/mets.xml University of Kentucky College of Nursing Kentucky -- Lexington University of Kentucky College of Nursing 2010  newsletters  English University of Kentucky College of Nursing  Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. University of Kentucky College of Nursing publications Nursing Opportunities, Fall 2010 text Opportunities, Fall 2010 2010 2010 2019 true xt7q2b8vdw5s section xt7q2b8vdw5s Opportunities

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF NURSING

OPPORTUNITIES

Opportunities

OPPORTUNITIES/Fall 2010
OPPORTUNITIESOpportunities

UK College of Nursing 50th Anniversary:

Opportu

two visionary leaders

Take a Look Back.

* 2010

1960
dean’s
LETTER

A year of celebration

Fall 2010

page

Feature

8

UK College of Nursing 50th Anniversary:
Two Visionary Leaders Take a Look Back

16

page

Research

Nursing Researchers Lead the Way

Without a doubt, it is an exciting year in the University of Kentucky
College of Nursing as we celebrate our 50th anniversary. In reflection, one
might ponder how the time went by so fast. In reality, when exciting work is happening in
nursing education, research, and practice there never is enough time!
The College of Nursing’s founders laid a strong foundation for the work that has unfolded
over the last 50 years. This foundation will continue to serve us well in the years to come
as the College of Nursing strives to be one of the nation’s top nursing programs through
excellence in nursing education, research, practice, and service in an ever-changing health
care environment.

Marcia A. Dake, EdD, RN
1958-1971

22

page

Marion E. McKenna, EdD, RN
1971-1984
Carolyn A. Williams, PhD, RN, FAAN
1984-2006
Jane M. Kirschling, DNS, RN, FAAN
2006-present

them in nationally prominent nursing education programs.

2– Attain national and international prominence in practice, scholarship, and research.
3– Develop the human and physical resources of the College to achieve
the institution’s top 20 goals.

4– Support an environment that promotes diversity of thought, culture, gender,
and ethnicity.

5– Enhance the health and quality of life of Kentuckians.
I hope that this inaugural issue of Opportunities captures the richness of our work over
the past year and also provides wonderful memories. We know that times change but
the College of Nursing’s mission has not. Whether you are an alumnus, current student,
friend, faculty or staff member, or a colleague within UK HealthCare, congratulations on
all of your accomplishments and your ongoing commitment to excellence. I look forward
to seeing you at one of our 50th anniversary celebration events (see page 34).

Jane Kirschling, DNS, RN, FAAN
Dean and Professor

28

page

The College’s Strategic Plan for 2009-2014 sets the stage for our work. Our goals include:

1– Attract, retain, and graduate outstanding and diverse students while engaging

Practice

Meeting the Commonwealth’s Need for BSN Nurses

Students

Latest Rankings
The UK PhD Program in nursing is ranked
10th out of 99 private and public PhD
programs in nursing (2008 Academic
Analytics, LLC Report).
The College was ranked 40th among all
schools of nursing in National Institutes of
Health (NIH) funding in 2009.
Our first-time pass rate for BSN
graduates taking the NCLEX (National
Council Licensure Examination) over
the last nine years has been an average
of 97 percent, compared with 86 percent
nationally.
The College’s Graduate Program is
tied at 26th among graduate schools of
nursing according to U.S. News & World
Report in its 2008 edition of America’s
Best Graduate Schools.

DNP: Degree of Distinction

27

32

page

Profiles

page

Opportunities to Impact Health
Opportunities to Impact Communities

2
5
34
36
40

Grant Productivity
Awards
50th Anniversary Events
Scholarship Banquet
Donors

table of
CONTENTS

* grant
PRODUCTIVITY

FUNDS

Grants awarded

RESEARCH

COPD and Strength of Smoke-free Laws
Ellen Hahn (principal investigator), Mary Kay Rayens, and
Susan Frazier; funded by the Flight Attendant Medical Research
Foundation, 7/1/10-6/30/13, $324,000

The goal of this study is to determine the impact of strength
and extent of coverage of smoke-free laws on hospitalization and
mortality for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
in Kentucky. The long-term objective is to reduce exposure to
secondhand smoke by enacting comprehensive smoke-free legislation
in areas disproportionately affected by high smoking rates and
relatively weak tobacco control laws. Since April 2004, 14 Kentucky
communities have enacted smoke-free workplace laws with few or
no exemptions, covering 30 percent of the state’s total population.
There are no known studies of the effects of enactment of smoke-free
laws on COPD hospitalizations or mortality. A time series design
will be used to analyze hospital discharges and mortality from
COPD pre-and post-enactment of smoke-free laws using data from
the Kentucky Hospital Association over a nine-and-one-half year
period (July 2003 through December 2012). The impact of strength
and extent of coverage of the law on the monthly adjusted COPD
discharge and mortality rates for each county will be evaluated.

Efficacy of a Culturally Appropriate
Outreach Intervention for Smoking
Cessation in a Rural Community
Karen Butler (principal investigator) and Ellen Hahn; funded by
the HEEL Program, UK College of Agriculture,
1/1/10-12/31/10, $16,850

Tobacco use remains the single most preventable cause of death
in the United States. Little is known about the most effective
population-based strategies to reach rural smokers. This study
examines fidelity, acceptability, practicality, effectiveness and reach
of culturally sensitive interventions in motivating smokers in a
rural southern community to participate in tobacco dependence
treatment. Personal testimonials were developed from focus groups
with 21 smokers/former smokers for use in interventions. Themes
included access to tobacco cessation programs, quitting with
support of family, faith, quitting for health, freedom of individual
choice, and pride of place. Interventions included printed materials,
earned/paid media and a quilt made by local artisans representing
the themes. Cooperative Extension agents use a brief lay-delivered
tobacco dependence treatment intervention and choose from a
menu of intervention options. These pilot findings will guide future
studies to improve rural health outcomes by testing the effects of
the interventions to promote tobacco dependence treatment on
enrollment, attendance, nicotine dependence and quit outcomes.

2

OPPORTUNITIES / Fall 2010

An Intervention for Promoting Smoke-free
Policy in Rural Kentucky
Ellen Hahn (principal investigator) and Anna Kostygina
(postdoctoral fellow); funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute, National Institutes of Health, 7/1/09-6/30/11, $276,884

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness and reach of
low-cost media campaigns and branding used in smoke-free campaigns
in rural communities. While the intervention tested in the parent
grant involves building demand through the development of low-cost
media campaigns and branding strategies, the specific aims of this
study are to: (1) Test the effects of direct mail and branding message
framing in rural communities on perceived seriousness of secondhand
smoke exposure, views toward smoke-free laws, and potential to prompt
involvement in smoke-free campaigns, controlling for perceived
social norms and self-efficacy to get involved in smoke-free campaigns;
and (2) Evaluate reach and effectiveness of direct mail campaigns in
rural communities on recall, recognition, frequency of exposure, level
of understanding of the message, views toward smoke-free laws, and
prompt to take action, including an analysis of how reach and
effectiveness vary among demographic subsets within communities.

Chronic Inflammation of Oral and
Cervico-vaginal Mucosa
Kristin Ashford (principal investigator), Jeffery Ferguson
(Medicine), David Dawson (Dentistry) and M. John Novak (Dentistry);
funded by the National Center for Research Resources, National
Institutes of Health under a subproject of the Center for the Biologic
Basis of Oral/Systemic Disease, Jeffery Ebersole (Dentistry, principal
investigator), 8/1/09-7/31/14, $891,000

Preterm birth (less than 37 weeks gestation) and low birthweight (less
than 2,500 g) deliveries continue to increase in the United States resulting
in substantial economic and societal costs. Adverse pregnancy outcomes
are disproportionately expressed in ethnic and racial minority populations
and historically underserved populations, particularly from rural regions
of the nation. However, a substantial proportion of the general overall
increase in incidence of preterm birth and low birth weight, including
severe preterm birth (less than 32 weeks) and very low birthweight
(less than 1,500 g), cannot be explained by classical risk factors for
these negative birth outcomes. Thus, a broader view of the potential
interrelationships leading to adverse pregnancy outcomes, including
biologic markers or processes, could provide some predictive value
allowing earlier intervention to reduce this burden in the population. This
investigation will test the hypothesis that women who deliver preterm
will have higher levels of prenatal inflammatory markers in whole saliva,
serum, and cervico-vaginal fluid, measured early in pregnancy, compared
to women who deliver term. The specific aims of this study of a multiracial/ethnic sample are to: (1) Compare and contrast the expression of
trimester-specific prenatal inflammatory markers in whole saliva, serum
and cervico-vaginal fluid; (2) Evaluate if there are differences in the
expression of trimester-specific prenatal inflammatory markers between
women who do and do not experience preterm birth; and (3) Determine
if trimester-specific prenatal inflammatory markers are linked with

psychosocial and biobehavioral variables that pose a significant risk
for preterm birth (e.g., self-reported levels of prenatal depressive
symptoms, anxiety, stress, urine cotinine, and self-reported prenatal
secondhand smoke exposure).

Tobacco Prevention and Cessation
Programs—GIFTS
Kristin Ashford (program evaluator); funded by the Kentucky
Cabinet for Health and Families, 7/1/09-6/30/10, $22,922

Kentucky ranks second highest in the nation in prevalence of
women who smoke during pregnancy (26.3 percent). Complications
including low birth weight, preterm birth, and Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome are associated with smoking and secondhand smoke
exposure during and after pregnancy. Smoking prevalence is much
greater in low socio-economic status populations. The Kentucky
Department for Public Health initiated a pilot project, Giving
Infants and Families Tobacco Free Starts (GIFTS), in a nine-county
region of Appalachia with pregnancy-smoking rates between 31-53
percent. GIFTS supporters offer an innovative bundling of researchbased interventions at local health departments. Supporters who are
trained in motivational interviewing counsel pregnant women using
the 5 As, refer to the Tobacco Quit Line, screen for social support,
depression, domestic violence, and secondhand smoke exposure and
provide the women with gifts as incentives to participate at three
time points. Biomarker validation of smoking status is captured
via carbon monoxide monitors to determine the effects of the
intervention on smoking status.

Strategies for Safety of Older
Adult Farmers
Deborah Reed (principal investigator) and Pamela Teaster
(Public Health); funded by the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
7/1/10-6/30/12, $370,247

Farmers over age 55 make up more than one-half of the operators
of the 2.2 million U.S. farms. Fatalities to older farmers accounted
for more than half of adult farm fatalities between 1992 and 2004.
The long term goal of the project is to develop strategies to assist
older farmers and their families in selecting appropriate and safe
farm jobs acceptable to the farmers and families. The specific aims
are to: (1) Identify the top 10 most hazardous tasks of older farmers;
(2) Develop a job hazard analysis matrix that includes the task
hazards, minimum ability set, personal risk factors, and action plan
for the top 10 hazardous tasks; (3) Test the feasibility of developing
work guidelines or other injury prevention interventions for these
hazards; and (4) Establish sustainable work groups to design and test
approaches to injury prevention.

Risk-taking and Use of ATVs by
Older Farmers
Jessica Wilson, PhD candidate (subproject principal investigator)
and Deborah Reed; funded by the National Center for Occupational
Safety and Health via a grant to the Southeast Center for Agricultural
Health and Injury Prevention, University of Kentucky, Robert
McKnight, (Public Health) principal investigator, 6/1/10-9/30/11,
$10,000

The purpose of this study is to expand knowledge of all-terrain vehicle
(ATV) use by farmers age 65 and older. The goals are to: (1) Examine
older farmers’ use of ATVs for farm work and leisure; (2) Explore older
farmers’ perception of farm injury and willingness to accept ATVrelated risks; and (3) Provide preliminary data for an ergonomic study
on older farmers’ operation of ATVs (balance, load, and reaction time).
Data from the Kentucky ATV Farm Safety Survey (N = 2,292) will be
analyzed to address these aims.

A Model of Decision Making in
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Elizabeth Salt (principal investigator) and Mary Kay Rayens; funded
by the American College of Rheumatology, 7/1/10-6/30/12, $125,000

Despite the number of effective medications available to treat rheumatoid
arthritis, only 30 percent of patients regularly take their prescribed
medications. The purpose of this study is to evaluate a process of decision
making used by 100 rheumatoid arthritis patients as they decide to take
medications for this disease and to determine if medication adherence
impacts disease activity. In a university clinic setting, rheumatoid arthritis
patients will complete self-report scales, record adverse effects, and
provide demographic information. Self-report scales will measure pain,
knowledge about rheumatoid arthritis and treatments for rheumatoid
arthritis, functional status, a trusting patient-health care provider
relationship, self-efficacy, social support, and medication adherence.
Electronic medication monitoring devices will be used to measure
adherence, and the Disease Activity Score 28 will be used to measure
disease activity.

Biobehavioral Cardiovascular Health
Promotion Intervention in a State
Prison System
Debra Moser (principal investigator), Terry Lennie, Misook Chung,
Mary Kay Rayens, Baretta Casey (Public Health), Allison Bailey and
Allison Connell (Medicine), Maria Boosalis (Health Sciences), Nancy
Schoenberg (Medicine); funded by the National Institute of Nursing
Research, National Institutes of Health, 9/22/10-7/31/11, $1,913,322

The purpose of this study is to test the effects of a behavioral
cardiovascular risk-reduction intervention on health outcomes of male
inmates in four Kentucky state-run prisons. The intervention is a
12-week cardiovascular health education/behavior change and aerobic
physical training program delivered by certified health educators,
cardiovascular risk-reduction trainers, and other trained professionals
from the community. Moser and her team will test hypotheses to
determine if there is a significant decline in mortality risk score and
University of Kentucky College of Nursing

3

* AWARDS

CONGRATULATIONS Recipient List
improvement in modifiable risk factors, HgA1c for diabetics,
and lipid profile. The data generated in this study will provide the
basis for a proposal for state-wide testing and implementation
of the intervention at all of the 13 state-run prisons in order to
sustain the program.

HeartHealth in Rural Kentucky
Debra Moser (subproject principal investigator), Terry Lennie,
Gia Mudd, M. John Novak (Dentistry), Subproject of Rural
Health Outreach Special Initiatives, M. John Novak (principal
investigator); funded by the Health Resources and Services
Administration, 9/1/09-8/31/10, $397,643

Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of men and women
in the United States and in Kentucky where it is responsible for 35
percent of all deaths. In 2005, cardiovascular disease accounted for
15 percent of all Kentucky hospitalizations, and Kentucky inpatient
hospitalization costs for cardiovascular disease-related diagnoses
totaled over $2.2 billion. The goal of this project is to test the
effects of a culturally appropriate, individualized, self-management
intervention in decreasing cardiovascular disease risk factors and the
incidence of cardiovascular disease, and to prevent the progression
of existing cardiovascular disease to increase the quality and
years of healthy life of 1,000 people residing in rural Appalachian
Kentucky. This program involves adoption of basic healthy choices
that should be used for life including eating behaviors, activity,
adherence to prescribed medications, and self-management strategies
to improve health outcomes. Individuals in the target communities
who are at risk for acute cardiac events by virtue of having one
or more cardiovascular disease risk factors or who have existing
cardiovascular disease will be invited to participate.

Community-based Education Model
for Cardiovascular Risk Reduction in
Rural Appalachian Kentucky
Debra Moser, Terry Lennie, Gia Mudd, M. John Novak
(Dentistry), Allison Bailey (Medicine), and Baretta Casey (Public
Health); funded by the University of Kentucky Commonwealth
Collaborative, $10,000

Kentuckians residing in rural Appalachia have an extremely high rate
of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular disease risk factors. The
purpose of this initiative is to extend the HeartHealth Project, a oneon-one cardiovascular disease risk-factor management education and
support program that is culturally appropriate for rural Appalachia.
It focuses on promotion of individual and cultural strengths for
risk reduction and elimination of barriers to risk reduction. The
education component targets self-management of cardiovascular
disease risk factors using state-of-the-art educational strategies to
promote behavior change. Currently, the program is delivered on an
individual basis to people with one or more cardiovascular disease
risk factors and who live in Perry, Breathitt or surrounding counties.
For the Commonwealth Collaborative initiative, the program will
be expanded to be conducted with groups in these same areas. The
group approach is more cost effective and has a larger reach.
4

OPPORTUNITIES / Fall 2010

Supporting Transition to Practice in
Rural Kentucky
Jane Kirschling, Karen Hill (Central Baptist Hospital, Lexington,
Ky.), Carla Bauman (Madison County, Ky. Health Department),
Rosalie Mainous (University of Louisville School of Nursing), Cecelia
Page (UK HealthCare), Suzanne Prevost (UK College of Nursing),
Kim Dees (Kentucky Hospital Association), and Charlotte Beason
(Kentucky Board of Nursing); funded by the RJW Executive Nurse
Fellows Alumni Association, $10,000

The purpose of this project is to design and pilot a residency program
for registered nurses in rural parts of Kentucky. The residency program
focuses on new nurses in rural hospitals with less than 150 beds.

SIMPROF: the Ultimate Faculty
Simulation Experience
Suzanne Prevost (co-investigator), Elizabeth Weiner (principal
investigator, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing); funded by the
Health Resources and Services Administration, $1,607,884

This project uses a combination of human patient simulation and webbased simulation experiences, including Second Life, to increase faculty
competency in the use of simulation for nursing education.

Bridging the Gap to Quality Care:
The ISAT (Informatics, Simulation, and
Telehealth) Initiative for Nursing Faculty
Elizabeth Weiner (principal investigator, Vanderbilt University) and
Suzanne Prevost (co-principal investigator, UK College of Nursing);
funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration,
$1,367,082

The purpose of this project is to prepare nursing faculty to incorporate
informatics, simulation and telehealth technologies into nursing
curricula.

2009-2010

2009-2010

2009-2010

2009 Marie Cowan Promising Young
Investigator Award from the American
Heart Association Council on
Cardiovascular Nursing
RECIPIENT: Jia-Rong Wu

Louise Zegeer Award
RECIPIENT: Jennifer Cowley

awards

UK Provost’s Award for Outstanding
Teaching 2010 for Lecturer
RECIPIENT: Jennifer Cowley

Student Awards

Awarded third place in the Student
Poster Division at the 2010 meeting of the
Southern Nursing Research Society
RECIPIENT: Christin Huff
Accepted to the Summer Genetics Institute
2010, sponsored by the National Institute
of Nursing Research
RECIPIENT: Demetrius Abshire

CON Annual
Award Recipients

Gloe L. Bertram Award
RECIPIENT: Sophia Weathers
Employee of the Year Award
and UK Best Staff Member 2010
RECIPIENT: Kathy Begley
Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award
RECIPIENT: Sharon Lock
Excellence in Part-time Teaching Award
RECIPIENT: Sally Kinnaird

Young Investigator Award at the HeartBrain Summit in Chicago in October 2009
RECIPIENT: Rebecca Dekker

Excellence in Service Award
RECIPIENT: Ruth “Topsy” Staten

Central Baptist Nursing Leadership Award
RECIPIENTS: Andrea Packer (Dec. 2009),
Celeste Cross (May 2010)

Excellence in Undergraduate
Precepting Award
RECIPIENT: Rachel Clipson

CON Alumni Association
Nightingale Award
RECIPIENTS: Susan Perry (Dec. 2009),
Cheedem Kuzu (May 2010)

Excellence in Undergraduate
Unit/Agency Award
RECIPIENT: A.B. Chandler Medical
Center MCC-2

CON Undergraduate Student
Faculty Award
RECIPIENTS: Kathryn Hughes (Dec. 2009),
Megan Lanham (May 2010)
Omicron Delta Kappa (2010)
RECIPIENT: Jacob Adams

CON Alumni Association Presidential
Award (May 2010)
RECIPIENT: Regina Rouse
CON Alumni Association
Carolyn A. Williams Award (May 2010)
RECIPIENT: Rebecca Dekker
CON Alumni Association Sebastian/
Stanhope Award (May 2010)
RECIPIENT: Marjorie Wiggins

Excellence in Graduate Precepting Award
RECIPIENT: Pam Branson

2009-2010

Other CON Special
Distinctions
UK CON Undergraduate research
intern option, developed in 2002, was
recognized with the 2009 Innovations in
Professional Nursing Education Award
from the American Association
of Colleges of Nursing
Community-Based Education Model for
Cardiovascular Risk Reduction in Rural
Appalachian Kentucky—selected as
UK Commonwealth Collaborative 2010
Principal Investigators: Debra Moser
(Nursing), M. John Novak (Dentistry),
Baretta Casey and Allison Bailey
(Medicine), Terry Lennie and Gia Mudd
(Nursing)

Other Faculty/
Staff Awards

Teacher Who Made a Difference Honoree
2009; UK Alumni Association
RECIPIENT: Mary Jayne Miller
Great Teacher Award 2010
UK Alumni Association
RECIPIENT: Darlene Welsh
Kentucky League for Nursing, Excellence in
Nursing Education Award 2009
RECIPIENT: Darlene Welsh
Kentucky Nurses Association
Nursing Education Cabinet Research
Utilization Award
RECIPIENT: Patricia Howard
Kentucky Nurses Association
Nurse Researcher of the Year
RECIPIENT: Debra Moser
2010 Distinguished Research Alumna
Presentation, West Virginia University
School of Nursing 50th Anniversary
Celebration
RECIPIENT: Patricia Burkhart
2009 Alumni Fellow Award
from the School of Nursing at the
University of Louisville
RECIPIENT: Patricia Howard
Inducted into Kentucky Institute of
Medicine 2010
RECIPIENT: Ellen Hahn
Fellow of the American Academy of
Nurse Practitioners
RECIPIENT: Kathy Wheeler
Inducted into Sigma Theta Tau
International Nurse Researcher
Hall of Fame 2010
RECIPIENT: Ellen Hahn
Inducted into American Academy
of Nursing 2009
RECIPIENTS: Terry Lennie and
Jane Kirschling

University of Kentucky College of Nursing

5

* faculty

PROFILES

PROMOTIONS
RETIREMENT

Faculty Appointments

Faculty Transitions

faculty

2009
Elizabeth Salt, PhD,
RN, ARNP

Demetrius Abshire,
MSN, RN

Abshire is a twotime graduate of
the UK College of
Nursing, earning
his BSN and MSN,
and is currently enrolled in the BSN-PhD
Option. He is a certified adult clinical nurse
specialist, is teaching in the undergraduate
program and is supporting simulation
in health professions education. As an
undergraduate student, Abshire was a
research intern for five semesters.
Paula Roberts Kral,
MSN, RN

Kral is a lecturer in
the undergraduate
program and is a
graduate of our
master’s program,
where she specialized in adult nursing.
She also is involved in the development
and evaluation of nursing skills laboratory
content for sophomore-level curricula.
Ana Maria
Quelopana,
DNS, RN

Quelopana, an
assistant professor,
teaches obstetric
nursing in the
undergraduate program. Before coming to
UK, she was on faculty at the Universidad
de Tarapaca in Arica, Chile, where she was
director of the midwifery school. Quelopana
earned her DNS from the Universidad
Autonoma de Nuevo Leon in Monterrey,
Mexico. Her research interests are predictors
of prenatal care initiation and violence
against women in the prenatal period.

6

OPPORTUNITIES / Fall 2010

Assistant professor
Elizabeth Salt is a
three-time graduate
of the UK College
of Nursing (BSN,
MSN, and PhD). She is an advanced
registered nurse practitioner in the
UK Rheumatology Clinic and teaches
pathopharmacology in our undergraduate
program. Salt’s research focuses on quality
patient-health care provider communication
and medication adherence in adults with
rheumatoid arthritis.

2010
Mollie Aleshire,
DNP, RN, FNP-BC,
PNP-BC

Aleshire is a graduate
of our master’s and
DNP programs
and is an assistant
clinical professor in both the undergraduate
and graduate programs. Before coming to
UK, she worked as a nurse practitioner in
private practice. She practices half time in
the Department of Family and Community
Medicine at UK.
Rebecca Dekker,
PhD, ARNP, ACNSBC, RN

Assistant professor
Rebecca Dekker, a
graduate of our PhD
Program, teaches
pathopharmacology in the undergraduate
program. She also completed our MSN
program and is an adult health clinical nurse
specialist. Dekker worked at A.B. Chandler
Hospital prior to entering the PhD program.
Dekker’s research focuses on depression
in heart failure inpatients using a brief
intervention delivered by the bedside nurse.

Peggy El-Mallakh,
PhD, RN

El-Mallakh is an
assistant professor
and coordinator
of the Psychiatric/
Mental Health
Track in the Doctor of Nursing Practice
(DNP) graduate program. She is a graduate
of our MSN Program, specializing in adult
psychiatric/mental health; she is also a
graduate of our PhD program and completed
a post-doctorate fellowship with a focus on
evaluation research in mental health services.
Before her teaching appointment at UK, she
was an assistant professor with the University
of Louisville School of Nursing.
Jan Odom-Forren,
PhD, RN, CPAN,
FAAN

Odom-Forren,
an assistant
professor, teaches
our undergraduate
research/evidence-based practice course.
She is a graduate of our PhD Program.
Odom-Forren has extensive clinical
experience in post anesthesia care and has
presented and consulted widely on this
topic both nationally and internationally.
She has served as the co-editor of the
Journal of Perianesthesia Nursing since 2001.
Odom-Forren co-edited Perianesthesia
Nursing: A Critical Care Approach (5th ed)
which received a 2009 American Journal
of Nursing Book of the Year Award. Her
research interest is postoperative symptom
management.
Mary Margaret
Harrison, MSN, RN

Harrison has an
MSN from UK,
specializing in
parent/child nursing.
She is a clinical
instructor in the undergraduate program,
providing student supervision on the
pediatric clinical units.

Whitney KurtzOgilvie, MFA

Kurtz-Ogilvie is a
lecturer in the DNP
and PhD programs.
As a writing
specialist in the
College and at UK HealthCare, she focuses
on tutoring and mentoring graduate students
and health care staff in scholarly writing and
presentations. She holds a Master of Fine
Arts in writing from the School of the Art
Institute of Chicago.
Celeste PhillipsSalimi, PhD, RN,
CPON

Assistant professor
Celeste PhillipsSalimi is a PhD
graduate of Indiana
University School of Nursing and a pediatric
clinical nurse specialist. Before coming to
UK, she worked in the stem cell transplant
unit at Riley Hospital for Children in
Indianapolis. Phillips-Salimi teaches
pediatric nursing in the undergraduate
program. Her research focuses on
connectedness and communication among
adolescents/young adults with cancer and
health care providers and its effect on cancer
survivorship.
Leslie Scott, PhD,
ARNP, CDE

Scott is an assistant
professor and
coordinator of the
Pediatric Nurse
Practitioner Track in
the DNP Program. She is a graduate of both
our MSN and PhD programs, specializing
in primary care of pediatric patients. Scott
is well known in the College from her years
of teaching in the College’s undergraduate
program and from her work at UK
HealthCare.

Deborah B. Reed
Reed has been promoted to professor in the College of Nursing.
She holds a joint appointment in the Department of Preventive
Medicine and Environmental Health in the College of Public
Health. She is known for her leadership in influencing public policy,
research and education in the field of agricultural health and injury
prevention, and is also known for her excellence as a teacher and
her extensive service to the College, University and profession.
Reed has sustained an active program of funded research since being tenured in 2003,
including $2.6 million as a principal investigator and $8.8 million as a co-investigator.
Her expertise has greatly impacted the College’s national reputation and it has also
truly benefited our undergraduate and graduate students.

Misook Lee Chung
Chung has been promoted to Associate Research Professor
in the College. Since 2004, Chung has secured three grants
from the American Heart Association and NIH/National Institute
of Nursing Research, on which she has served as principal
investigator.
Her program of research focuses on improving outcomes in
persons with heart failure and their family caregivers. Chung’s research contributions were
recognized through her first place selection in the Oral Research Competition, American
Association of Heart Failure Nurses in 2006.

Ruth “Topsy” Staten
Staten, associate professor, retired from the UK College
of Nursing in May 2010 after 30 years of service. During her
tenure she made substantive contributions to the College,
University and greater community as a psychiatric nurse,
educator, researcher, and clinician. She has given back to her
profession through long-standing leadership and service
to the Kentucky Nurses Association, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for
Nurses (Delta Psi Chapter), and the American Psychiatric Nurses Association.
Staten was proactive in improving the mental health of all students campus-wide through
her clinical work with University Health Service and through involvement with Stepping
Up—Stepping Out, Alcohol Prevention Program, CAUSE, and as co-chair of
the Presidents’ Campus-Community Coalition on Reduction of High Risk Drinking among
College Students. She was a board member for the Kentucky Agency for Substance
Abuse Policy-Fayette County and served for many years on the Mayor’s Alliance on
Substance Abuse.
Her work in preventing substance abuse on campus, particularly high risk drinking, was
done in partnership with University Health Service, the Offi ce of the Dean of Students, the
Testing Center, the Athletics Department, and many other entities at the University.

University of Kentucky College of Nursing

7

* prepage

8

feature

1960

1956 President Dickey
breaks ground on medical
center—wants a nursing
program from the beginning.

1960s
1957 Only 13 nursing
schools in Kentucky; only
one with baccalaureate
program; rest were hospital
diploma programs.

1958 Marcia Dake named
dean—youngest dean of a
nursing school in United
States.

Fall 1960 First class—
35 women (30 undergrads; fi ve RNs).
Only UK undergraduate program at the
time to have a selective admissions
policy (grades, ACT scores, interviews).

Fall 1963 First two-year program
starts at Henderson Community College.
By 1967, 36 percent of new nurses in
Kentucky graduate from these programs.

1964 First class of 15 students graduates.

May 22, 1965

1965 College of Nursing

Students choose own uniform and cap.

Dake receives telegram announcing
full accreditation for College o