To:
Graceland University Board of Trustees
From: Claudia Horton, Dean
Date: May 17, 2014
RE:
Report on the School of Nursing
______________________________________________________________________________
Another historical commencement ceremony: Graceland will “hood” the first doctoral graduates
in the history of the university. Approximately six DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice) students
have or will graduate by the spring. Three graduated in December, 2013. At least three of the
graduates will attend commencement and be hooded by their faculty advisor and the dean of the
SON. They will first be recognized at the Nursing Recognition Ceremony in Independence on
Friday May 16. Dr. Dustin Williams (the first DNP graduate) will be a speaker at the ceremony.
Dustin earned his BSN, MSN and DNP degrees at Graceland. We’re very proud that he is a
Graceland alum and we’re anxious to hear what he has to say about his experiences.
We’re very happy to announce that Drs. Thelma Sword, Susan Vogelsmeier and Peggy Van
Dyke were nominated for the Teaching in Excellence Award this year at Graceland. This is the
first year that the Alumni Board will be presenting an award to a professor from both Lamoni
and Independence campuses.
As noted in the Board’s interim letter, the re-accreditation site visit by CCNE (the national
nursing accrediting body) of the MSN program in March was a success. We are now preparing
for a site visit this fall from the Iowa State Board of Nursing for the final evaluation of the DNP
program. We have hosted approximately seven site visits from various accrediting and approval
bodies in the last six years. That does not include the number of interim progress reports that we
have written as well. Nor does it include the number of reports we have done for other states in
which our students reside. Staying accredited and maintaining our stellar reputation requires
ongoing vigilance and attention to detail! We’re very happy that the new Department of
Institutional Research, led by Dr. Katie Clauson Bash, has started to monitor the regulations in
the other states. There’s enough work to do for all of us!
Twenty-five BSN students graduated in January and the majority are practicing in area hospitals.
Thus far we have knowledge that twenty-two of the graduates have taken and passed the
licensure exam! Our final pass rate for 2013 was just over 90% which is where we want it. Last
April the difficulty of the exam was increased significantly causing the national pass rate to drop
to 83% from 90% in 2012. We’re proud of our graduates and our faculty for the work they do
together to facilitate student success and achieve our 90% benchmark.
Another historical moment: We’re preparing for our last spring Nursing Recognition Ceremony
to be held in May. Since we implemented our new 18-month curriculum, all BSN students will
be graduating in December. Therefore, another NRC will be held at the end of finals week on
December 12, 2014. The BSN program has continued to evolve since it was established at
Graceland in 1969. We continue to respond to the changes in the nursing discipline, the
healthcare system, and higher education in order to keep moving forward. It is sometimes
difficult to meet the demands of these three “entities” in addition to the needs of our changing
student population. Achieving our program outcomes and maintaining accreditation is validation
that we are responding successfully.
Scholarly Activities:
Graceland’s Pi Eta Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (STTI)
hosted a community wide program Advancing Practice through Scholarship, 2014 Spring
Research Symposium on April 14, 2014 in the Carmichael Auditorium on the Independence
campus. The event was a collaborative effort of Pi Eta, the St. Luke’s College of Health Sciences
and William Jewell’s STTI chapters. Approximately 100 attendees enjoyed interacting with a
number of poster presenters displaying a variety of research and evidence based practice
projects. The keynote speaker, Dr. Enrique Chaves, a clinical professor at the Kansas University
Medical Center, Kansas City. Dr. Chaves was born in Costa Rica. He’s currently serving as a
Clinical Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and History and Philosophy of Medicine at
the Kansas University Medical Center. His main interests include: History of Tropical Medicine,
Malaria, Yellow Fever He published an article “Clara Maass, Yellow Fever and Human
Experimentation” in the Journal of Military Medicine 2013. Dr. Chaves enlightened us on the
history, research and eradication of Yellow Fever in Havana many years ago. His talk was
informative and interesting and resulted in an excellent discussion.
The juniors from the Evidence Based Practice course presented a number of posters at the event
as did some of the faculty:
Michelle Hornack and Michelle Septer presented their poster, "Assessing, planning & outcomes,
oh my!"
Drs. Wilai and Jan Rice presented their poster, “Evidence-Based Practice Skills, Knowledge,
and Attitudes of On-line Graduate Nursing Students”
Rice, J., Rojjansrirat, W., Crigger, N., Reflection & Realization of a Scholarly Culture, Poster
presentation at the 2014STT Research Symposium, Graceland University School of Nursing,
April 14, 2014.
Rojjansrirat, W., Rice, J., Evidence-Based Practice Skills, Knowledge, and Attitudes of On-line
Graduate Nursing Students, Poster presentation at the 2014STT Research Symposium,
Graceland University School of Nursing, April 14, 2014.
Dr. Wilai Rojjanasirat will be returning to Thailand this summer to continue the relationships she
built as a Fulbright Scholar. She has been invited to the previous host University, one is
Naresuan University in Phitsanulok for four weeks and the other is Sukhothai Thamatirat
University in Bangkok for one week, in Thailand as a visiting professor. Wilai will present
lectures at graduate and undergraduate levels, take part in specialized academic programs and
conferences, develop and/or assess academic curricula or educational materials and conduct
teacher-training programs at the college/university level
Drs. Nancy Crigger and Wilai Rojjanasirat were invited to conduct a scholarly writing workshop
together at the SukoThai Thamatirat University in Bangkok for 4-5 days in August/September.
They’re very excited for the opportunity to be working with the university faculty and graduate
students.
Dr. Rojjanasirat has also been invited to conduct research for four universities this year but has
chosen to work with the two where she has been before. She is in high demand!
Oba, N. & Rojjanasrirat, W. Using Telecommunication Technology in Delivering Primary
Health Care to Patients in rural Community, Thailand.
Ross, V., & Rojjanasrirat, W. Assessing Knowledge, Attitudes, and Skills related to EvidenceBased Practice among Graduated Nurse Residency Program. Truman Medical Center, Kansas
City, Missouri.
Dr. Nancy Crigger will be taking several graduate students with her to Honduras in June where
they will be providing much needed healthcare to the local citizens. Some of the students will be
working on their doctoral projects in the community. Nancy has been coordinating this trip for
many years. She has a strong collaborative relationship with the community and is a wonderful
role model for our students.
Michelle Septer was a panelist for the Clinical Faculty Academy in January 2014 in KCMO.
Michelle shares her advice and experience with direct care nurses who are transitioning to the
clinical faculty role.
Beverly South became certified in Mental Health First Aid. The certification validates her ability
to help people who are experiencing mental health crises. Beverly will be able to teach in the
certification course to others this summer.
Cindy Waits is now the chair of education for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Coalition in
Independence. They have attended two education fairs at the Independence School district and
are attending a seminar this summer about risky behaviors in teens.
Jeri Sindt presented a poster at Midwest Nursing Research Society conference in March, 2014 in
St. Louis, MO. “The Development of Clinical Reasoning in Student Nurses.”
Dr. Wilai Rojjanasrirat also presented a poster at Midwest Nursing Research Society, Saint
Louis, MO, March 27-30, 2014. “Students’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Skills Related to
Evidence-Based Practice Among On-line Graduate Nursing Students.
Linn Howell attended the National League of Nursing (NLN) daylong workshop entitled
Advancing Care Excellence for Seniors (ACES) Innovations in Teaching hosted in Kansas City
on April 4th, 2014.
Lin Howell attended the National Nurse Educator Summit held in Orlando, Florida on April 1416 hosted by Assessment Technology Institute.
Thelma Sword presented Online Teaching & Learning 101: Best Online Practices on April 7,
2014 at the 14th Annual Nurse Educator Institute, Pre-Conference all day session. Branson, MO
Dr. Wilai Rojjanasrirat led the SON Faculty Development Day. The focus was “Actualizing the
Boyer Model”. Several faculty demonstrated application of the components of the model
through a stimulating discussion.
Dr. Rojjanasrirat: Poster presentation at AACN Master Education Conference, Scottsdale, AZ,
February 26-27, 2014. Students’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Skills Related to Evidence-Based
Practice Among On-line Graduate Nursing Students.
Mary Dugan completed a Fellowship with the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine in
December. She has spoken at national conferences on anti-aging topics from the perspective of a
nurse aesthetician.
Publications:
Rojjanasrirat, W. & Rice, J., (manuscript in progress). Evidence-Based Practice Skills,
Knowledge, and Attitudes of On-line Graduate Nursing Students.
Rojjanasrirat, W. & Wambach,K. (2014). Employment and Breastfeeding. In J. Riordan,
Breastfeeding and Human Lactation, 5th Edition, MA: Jones and Barlett Publisher. In
progress.