faLL 2010 Harbor Reflections VOL. 7, NO. 2 COLLEGE OF NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES (CNHS) www.cnhs.umb.edu CNHS/Partners HealthCare Diversity From the Dean Collaborative: Where We Are Today— Imagine: A Latina nursing undergraduate leading an Where We’ll Be Tomorrow international health project, or completing a post-doc focused on cancer disparities, or a doctoral student from Kenya negotiating with the Ministry of Health to set up health clinics or proposing a U.S. bill on equitable access to health care. Now think about an exercise and health sciences student teaching Boston Public Schools children how to stay fit and active at GoKids Boston. As the most ethnically and racially diverse public university in New England, engaged in collaborative partnerships with more than 200 world-class hospitals, health care agencies, and physical fitness settings, and emerging contributor to global health, we share with you our urban mission with CLC members enjoy UMass Boston’s harbor cruise. a global perspective. We imagined it; we are achieving it. We are: How does change happen? It happens slowly, sachusetts General Hospital (MGH)—that became • Becoming New England’s expert on deliberately, purposefully—and, when it comes the CLC. cancer, health disparities, and cultural to making a sea change in a large multicenter Achieving a diverse workforce meant that competence organization, with patience and devotion. All of PHS and CNHS would create a program to provide • A leader in combining academic rigor those attributes resonate with the Clinical Leader- leadership opportunities to promising nursing with clinical practice through innovative ship Collaborative for Diversity in Nursing (CLC), students who would serve as a tapable cadre of academic service partnerships: a workforce development agreement designed upwardly mobile, baccalaureate-prepared minority • Clinical Leadership Collaborative for to achieve, in part, Partners HealthCare System’s registered nurses. Toward that end, PHS has thus Diversity in Nursing with Partners (PHS) and the College of Nursing and Health far dedicated $1.5 million to support 55 racially HealthCare (as described in an accom- Sciences’ (CNHS) vision of diversity by facilitating and ethnically diverse nursing students here at panying article). the successful progression of diverse undergradu- UMass Boston. More than just a scholarship, the • Dedicated Education Units with Massa- ate nursing students who, upon graduation, are CLC program seeks to: chusetts General Hospital (MGH) and expected to obtain employment and eventually 1. Support CLC nursing students through tuition Brigham & Women’s Hospital (BWH): nursing leadership positions with PHS. reimbursement, stipends, and the cost of An education-practice partnership That concept of diversity not only recognizes NCLEX-RN review courses. that represents an innovative clinical the fact that too few diverse patients in PHS are 2. Facilitate the smooth transition of CLC students education delivery model in which both cared for by a nurse who is also diverse, but also to employment as registered nurses at PHS staff nurses and nursing faculty take on that increased acceptance and respect of cultural facilities by: new roles to deliver more efficient and differences is strengthened by a diverse workforce, a. Maximizing the number of PHS clinical effective clinical instruction to nursing which strengthens PHS. This is the vision—shared placements a CLC student is assigned students. by Dean Greer Glazer, PhD, FAAN, RN, CNP, and b. Scheduling CLC students’ senior capstone Jeanette Ives Erickson, RN, MS, FAAN, Senior Vice preceptorship clinical in a PHS hospital —Greer Glazer, Dean, President for Patient Care and Chief Nurse, Mas- (Cont’d on page 2) College of Nursing and Health Sciences 2 3 – 4 4 5 6 7 Featured Research Global Focus on Student Photo News Corner Health Faculty & Staff Highlights Album FEATURED NEWS Meeting the Standards for a Quality Matters Review In spring and summer from the 40 items listed in the QM Rubric. (To Carol’s first course, submitted for review 2010, two online courses learn more about the rubric, visit http://www. in spring 2010, was NURSNG 360: Professional developed by Carol Allen, qmprogram.org/rubric.) The standards are based Issues in Nursing. It was exciting to get the report MS, RN, were submitted to on research and published best practices for on- back: “Your course has met QM standards and Carol Allen Quality Matters® (QM) for line education. The set of standards evaluate the scored 83 out of 85 points on the rubric.” The review. “Quality Matters design and the content of online courses. A team report was detailed, with each of the review- (QM) is a faculty-centered, peer review process of three reviewers, who have been trained in QM, ers commenting on each of the 40 points of the that is designed to certify the quality of online conducts the review. At least one of the reviewers rubric with positive feedback and suggested and blended courses” (Quality Matters, 2010). has some expertise related to the course content. improvements to consider. The second course, The review process is based on a rubric of To prepare the courses for a QM review, NURSNG 361: Health Assessment and Health evidenced-based standards for quality assur- Carol attended a three-week course about apply- Promotion, also met the QM standards as of ance in online education. Both courses received ing the QM rubric to her course. The focus was the first week of September. Both courses now certification and national recognition of meeting on the 17 essential standards and analyzing how display the QM logo on the home page. QM standards. the course meets those standards. It is important The experience of passing the QM review According to QM (2010), the program has to know that the standards are not prescriptive— twice was rewarding. The peer review of course national recognition with a mission “to promote there are several ways to meet the standards. The content and the certification of meeting online and improve the quality of online education and course was helpful because it was set in a very delivery standards was a validation of utilizing student learning.” In order for a course to receive collegial environment. Members in the class were best practices. Our students deserve this level QM certification, it must meet the 17 essential from various disciplines from colleges and univer- of quality, and these courses now have national standards and score at least 75 out of 85 points sities across the country. recognition of quality. Quality does matter. CNHS/Partners HealthCare—Diversity Collaborative (Cont’d from page 1) • Lucette Teixeira volunteered as a nursing serves as faculty advisor, and CLC administrative c. Assigning PHS registered nurse mentors assistant at a remote Cape Verdean hospital assistant Jariza Rodriguez. The commitment and to each CLC student for the purpose that services an impoverished community. collaboration of Gaurdia Banister, RN, PhD, ex- of imparting strategies for effectively • Cintia Crespo provided bilingual (English/ ecutive director of the Institute for Patient Care, managing the various racial, ethnic, and Portuguese) health care workshops to over Patient Care Services, Massachusetts General cultural issues that CLC students may 200 women in several community churches. Hospital (MGH), facilitates recruitment of men- encounter in their professional careers, • Christian Young and Cintia Crespo com- tors while championing the CLC at finance and while encouraging a career as a PHS bined their talents to provide affordable nursing leadership meetings. Similar support by nurse CPR training programs for nursing stu- members of the CLC steering committee occurs d. Assisting with summer PCA employment dents. All proceeds benefited the Student at other PHS hospitals. opportunities at PHS agencies (optional) Nurses Association (SNA). To date, 34 of the 37 CLCs who have • Seventeen CLC students have been graduated have found employment as registered 3. Employ CLC RN graduates with the expecta- inducted into the Theta Alpha Chapter of nurses in a PHS hospital. Graduated CLCs are tion that they will invest in PHS and eventu- the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor employed at MGH, BWH, Spaulding Rehabilita- ally move into nursing leadership positions. Society of Nursing. tion Hospital, and North End Rehabilitation and The program’s strength can be seen in the accom- • Airiau Constant has been training peer Nursing Center. Also, CLC graduate Ana Duarte plishments of the CLCs while still undergraduates: coaches for the Cultural Communication was recently accepted into UMass Boston’s Doc- • In 2009, graduating senior Alessandra Collaborative (CCC), which offers students tor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program. Adamo was nominated as the College of whose primary language is not English ad- What’s next? Drs. Banister and Winfrey are Nursing and Health Sciences’ candidate ditional assistance with textbook readings looking to expand the CLC to support diverse for the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Award, through computer software. PHS registered nurses seeking graduate nursing the highest commencement award that an • Neldine Alexandre, Farah Fevrin, and Lu- degrees, while continuing to support under- undergraduate can receive. cette Teixeira organized a candlelight vigil graduate nursing students. Although facilitating • CLC Lyns Hercule participated in Kenya for Haitian earthquake relief. All proceeds the completion of graduate degrees does not Heart