School of nursing news
Tweets, posts and notes
Jan 13, 2021U-M School of Nursing friends and family took to social media to share their excitement about returning to campus, welcome a new class of Michigan Nurses, honor the accomplishments of alumni and much more.
Whether you're sharing an accolade, view on a nursing-related topic, memory, suggestion or career update, we love hearing from you. Email us at nursingalum@umich.edu or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.
we're bAAck! (and nurses??)
Josiah Ratts
So...y’all got A lunch or B lunch?
Louis Bryxter Navalta
... Read more
Alumni news and notes
Jan 13, 2021Thank you to the alumni who shared their latest news and accomplishments with us. The world has changed in many ways, but the need for highly educated nurses remains, and the need for nursing leadership grows stronger every day. The world needs us, and you can help. We invite you to join with us on these top priorities:
Make a gift to help the School of Nursing address immediate needs.Support aspiring nursing students with scholarships.Support nursing students facing emergencies and financial hardship.Support important diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.Support... Read more
Faculty news and accolades
Jan 13, 2021Cynthia Arslanian-EngorenRecognized as one of the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing's top three reviewers
Sue Anne Bell
Appointed to a second term on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Advisory Council
Inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing
Barbara Brush
American Nurses Credentialing Center's 2020 Certified Nurse Award in the National Health Care Disaster Professional category
"A participatory mixed-methods approach to define and measure... Read more
A message from Dean Patricia D. Hurn
Jan 13, 2021Over the last year, we have faced new challenges and many different kinds of hardships. Yet these difficult moments have also allowed us to create new opportunities, further our resolve to educate nursing's leaders and best and accomplish our scholarship even in the cold grip of the pandemic.
We are emerging stronger, increasingly focused on advancing nursing’s impact on the health of all who need us. The future of our institution still shines bright, and our school is in a strong position.
I have been privileged to work alongside a community of compassionate... Read more
Learning to heal
Jan 13, 2021When Pamela Katz Ressler decided to leave her hometown of East Lansing and study nursing at the University of Michigan, she wasn’t sure where it would lead, but she knew something felt right. Since earning her bachelor’s degree from the U-M School of Nursing in 1979, Ressler’s professional journey has been marked by changing directions, continuous discovery and profound loss. A combination of challenges and opportunities have helped her become a respected leader in a nontraditional nursing role.
Ressler is the founder of Stress Resources, a firm specializing in building resilience... Read more
Staff-led pilot projects propel new discoveries at the Center for Sexuality and Health Disparities
Jan 13, 2021Two years ago, the U-M School of Nursing’s Center for Sexuality and Health Disparities (CSHD) announced a new initiative giving staff members the chance to develop and lead yearlong pilot projects on a sexual health subject of their choosing. Supported by the Janet Gatherer Boyles Small Project Support Fund for Sexual and Reproductive Health, staff researchers receive up to $3,000 to conceptualize and implement their own research project with mentorship from a faculty member.
To date, five staff members have been awarded pilot grants to examine topics at the forefront of... Read more
Delivering digital education at a pivotal moment
Jan 13, 2021This fall, after two years of exhaustive planning and preparation, the U-M School of Nursing welcomed its first cohort of students in the new Master of Science in Nursing programs in the Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioner (PCFNP), Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (AGPCNP), and Leadership, Analytics and Innovation (LAI) specialties.
Seven virtual courses successfully launched this fall, with 37 new students enrolled in the clinically focused PCFNP and AGPCNP programs and 23 students entering the data-driven LAI program. In addition to students from... Read more
A nursing innovation to connect caregivers
Jan 13, 2021Assistant Professor Sheria Robinson-Lane, Ph.D., RN, is a nurse, educator, gerontologist and internationally recognized expert on care for older adults with cognitive disabilities. She is not a software developer. But that’s a new world she’s found herself in as she works to create a smartphone application that can improve the lives of dementia caregivers.
Robinson-Lane’s community connections and personal experience during pregnancy inspired her to explore the idea for a technological intervention that’s rife with possibilities. Discussions with community partners on issues of older... Read more
My journey on the front lines
Jan 13, 2021Kristi Leicht earned her BSN from the U-M School of Nursing in 2017. Over the last year, she has been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic in an adult surgical intensive care unit at a hospital just outside of New York City. She took the time to share her experiences as a young nurse living and learning through one of the most difficult challenges she has ever faced.
Both my mom and grandmother were nurses, so becoming a nurse was an easy choice for me. Because of them, I was exposed to the medical field at an early age. I knew I wanted to become a surgical ICU nurse after my... Read more
Becoming a nurse and a groundbreaking business leader
Jan 13, 2021Alumna Andra Rush’s U-M School of Nursing education inspired entrepreneurship that has broken barriers and supported communities across the United States and Canada.
Before Title IX legislation helped create more opportunities for women in athletics, Andra Rush (BSN ’82) hid her long hair under a baseball cap and registered for the local boys-only hardball team as “Andi.” Rush, now the founder and CEO of the largest woman-owned business in Michigan and one of the largest Native American-owned businesses in the United States, was eventually found out by league officials and kicked... Read more
