Health Sciences
Connection
November, 2007
Publication VI (4)
DEAN’S MESSAGE
The Value of Framing Stories
As the fall semester begins to heat
up prior to winding down, I thought I would share a concept that
was introduced to me recently in a book I am reading. The author
speaks of the use of what he calls “framing stories” or “framing
narratives” to help guide how we see ourselves, those around us,
and the world in general. His use of this construct caused me to
consider what impact the identification and organization of our
individual framing stories might have on not only in our individual
and family lives and accomplishments but also on our relationships
and interactions in the workplace and the community that surrounds
us.
To use a quote from the book—“each
of us is a complex society of almost sixty trillion cells. These
cells are organized in ten organ systems …that are unified and
integrated into one person—you—in a completely unique way, through
what might be called the framing story of your life. Your story may
unify your cells and systems to become an Olympic gymnast and
parent of three children, while someone else uses her/his cells to
become an astronaut, a kindergarten teacher, or a drug dealer. The
unique framing story of you describes how you have unified your ten
systems so far, and that story then frames how you will do in the
future.”
This is exciting stuff! If you
consistently frame a view of yourself in a negative way, e.g., “I
have never accomplished much of any worth in my life”, then chances
are that you will continue to experience the less than positive
self fulfilling prophecy that mirrors your story. However, if your
story reads like this, “Despite a few roadblocks in my way over the
years, I continue to accomplish much in my life”, then the future
path will most likely be much brighter.
Yes, as previously noted a personal
framing story is important to us as individuals, but it also forms
the foundational bulwark identifying how you and I contribute to a
collective framing story for any group to which we belong. This
collective narrative is the engine that either propels our
programs, our departments, and our college to new levels of service
to students and to the community and nation or, under a different
scenario, it might portend a future where our organization will
become irrelevant to the university and our community. The best
part of this whole equation is the fact that we hold in our power
the ability to shape what we become.
Over the past two and a half years,
our semi-annual college and program advisory board meetings have
focused on eliciting staff, faculty, and community input to assist
in defining: 1) the types of programs we should offer, 2) the
direction the programs in the college will follow over the next
five years, 3) how we might accomplish the goals we established, 4)
and how we measure progress. In short, we have been carving out a
pathway that helps create in a tangible document (the strategic
plan) our organizational framing story for the next five years and
beyond. Thanks for your support and effort in this regard.
Now, it is up to each of us in
tandem with our community partners to continue to shape, mold, and
refine our program, department, and college framing narrative to
reflect the dynamic and ever evolving nature of our role. Just as
important, however, is the need to acknowledge that the
accomplishments of any one of us are often bolstered, if not made
entirely possible, because of the contributions of the unsung
others around us. In that way, each small rivulet representing our
individual framing stories blends together to form a vast,
efficient, effective, adaptable flow that creates/carves out and
sustains programs others want to emulate.
Thanks for contributing the skills
honed from your framing story to our students and our programs. In
the months ahead, I will be asking you to write out your personal
narrative so that it can be shared with colleagues (no joke--but
your name will not be revealed without your permission). Of course,
you will also be asked to posit how your framing story contributes
to the whole of our effort. Stay tuned!
UNIVERSITY NEWS
A
reception to recognize Heidi Reeder, an associate professor of
communication who was chosen as the 2007 Idaho Professor of the
Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching,
was held on November 28 in the Student Union. Eight other Boise
State University professors who have received the award in the
past, including Pam Gehrke, associate professor in the
Department of Nursing, were also recognized at the reception.
On November 9, the Center for Health Policy and the
Department of Kinesiology hosted a presentation by Dr. Hilary
Flint-Wagner. Flint-Wagner, who spoke on the topic of "Building
a Research Team," is a Research Faculty member whose appointment is
shared across the College of Health Science and the College of
Education. She works in the Center for Health Policy, the
Department of Kinesiology and the Department of Community and
Environmental Health.
Connections with Canadian Studies
Kathy
Reavy,
associate professor in the Department of Nursing, is part of Boise
State University’s Canadian Studies Board, and was involved in
organizing the recent visit of the Canadian studies speaker Dr.
Hester Jiskoot, a physical geologist from the University of
Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada. Reavy was also Boise State
University’s fellow for the 2007 International Canadian Summer
Institute.
During Canada Week in March 2008,
Dr. Doreen Barrie from the University of Calgary will be an invited
speaker. An event is being planned for the campus to hear Barrie
and Sarah Toevs, associate dean and chair of the Department
of Community and Environmental Health, discuss United States and
Canadian health care policies. Barrie will be available to speak to
classes on Canadian policies (including health care) during her
visit. Interested faculty may contact Kathy Reavy for more
information. 426-1598 / kreavy@boisestate.edu
COLLEGE NEWS
Dean of the College of Health
Sciences, Jim Girvan, and Development Director, Barb
Myhre, attended the Council for Advancement and Support of
Education (CASE) conference entitled “Development for Deans,” held
November 7-9, in Vancouver, BC Canada. The purpose of the
conference was to create stronger relationships between academic
and advancement officers to better meet the mission of higher
education.
Girvan and Myhre received practical
information for use in fulfilling their roles as dean and
development director during the Comprehensive Campaign for Boise
State University, shared what works – and what doesn’t work – with
other deans and development officers, networked with peers, and
took a fresh approach for viewing successful development.
Sessions at the conference included
topics such as:
The Role of the Dean
The dean has a special role in
successful development, including creating a compelling vision,
designing the case for support, participating in and deepening the
engagement of top potential givers.
Joyful Givers
A potential giver normally has some
relationship with the institution. They have a philanthropic
motivation and the interest and capacity to assist with supporting
the mission and vision of the institution.
Advisory Boards and Volunteer
Management
The session taught how the role of
deans and development officers is to select and inspire the very
best people to become their college’s very best advocates.
Campaign Fundamentals
Boise State University is deep into
its very first Comprehensive Campaign. The College of Health
Sciences has formulated and is in the process of articulating its
vision for our future. This session explained why institutions
conduct campaigns, and explained how to define a campaign,
establish priorities and goals, and successfully market
opportunities to potential givers.
The College of Health Sciences’
Office Staff Development Day was held on November 19. Organized by
Anita Castello, Administrative Assistant I in the dean’s
office, the day’s guest speakers included: Jennifer Dunn, LMT;
Glenda Hill, director of Pre-Professional Studies for the
Department of Community and Environmental Health; Mark Johnson,
news anchor for KTVB Channel 7; and Dr. Mamie Oliver, faculty
member at Northwest Nazarene University.
One View from the APHA Annual
Meeting
November 2-7, 2007, Washington, D.C.
- written by Ingrid Brudenell,
professor, Department of Nursing
This year I attended the meeting as
a delegate to the governing council of American Public Health
Association (APHA). I was part of a nine member delegation from the
Public Health Nursing section. The APHA has sections, special
interest groups and caucuses for member involvement. It was very
interesting and intense to see how a large national organization
operated in a democratic manner.
The way policies are developed and
finally approved by the delegates was an interesting process. Each
policy is reviewed for scientific merit (if possible); and
evidenced-based public health was clear. I enjoyed the discussions,
which were conducted over two days with public hearings and
questions to the advocates of the proposed policy. These were then
discussed, and either approved at the meeting of the delegates, or
returned to the advocates for additional work. Building consensus
and using influence with delegates were strategies used to earn
policy approval. I have included a link to those polices which were
approved by APHA and you can see that they covered many topics. I
have copies with the scientific support if you would like to read
them. Here is the link to those policies:
http://www.apha.org/about/news/pressreleases/2007/07newpolicies.htm
The scientific sessions were
excellent as well as the “expo” with many vendors, government
agencies and poster sessions.
Future Meetings: The 2008 APHA
meeting, themed Public Health Without Borders, will be held October
25-29, in San Diego, California. For anyone interested in becoming
a presenter, the abstract submission will open December 17, 2007,
and will close February 4-8, 2008. In 2009, the Annual meeting will
have the theme, Water and Public health: the 21st
Century Challenge. Water was chosen as the theme and not climate
change because of the importance of water to public health.
The APHA is also the lead organizer
of National Public Health Week, which will be April 7-13, 2008; and
will focus on Climate Change: Our health in the Balance. Watch for
information from the Idaho affiliate.
Thank you
to the Department of Nursing for the support to attend the
Annual Meeting. It was a pleasure to see faculty from the
College of Health Sciences attend, make presentations,
collaborate and network with others from throughout the nation.
Serving as a council delegate was a high point and one that I will
remember. It was impressive to participate with so many talented
people addressing health problems.
- Ingrid
Brudenell, RN, PhD
DEPARTMENT NEWS
Department of Community and Environmental Health
The
Environmental Health Club finalized its second year of recycling
efforts with the City of Boise in late November 2007. For the past
6-months the club has been responsible for organizing and running
the recycling efforts for five Boise City events. In response to
the dedication and time shown by the students in the club, the City
of Boise has provided a monetary donation of $3000 for use in
advancing the education of environmental and occupational health
students at Boise State University. Among the events attended were
Race to Robie Creek, Hyde Park Street Fair, Women’s Fitness
Celebration and the Tour de Fat.
Ed
Baker,
associate professor and director of the Center for Health Policy,
and physicians from the Family Medicine Residency of Idaho, the
University of Washington and the Denali National Park and Reserve,
had a paper accepted in the Journal of Wilderness and Environmental
Medicine in November of 2007 entitled “CO exposure on Denali:
Comparing the 2004 and 2005 climbing seasons.”
Lee
Hannah,
assistant professor, was the recipient of the Idaho Public
Health Association’s President’s Award. The award was given by
outgoing President Jean Woodward during the Idaho Healthcare
Conference held in Pocatello Idaho.
Elaine
Long,
professor, was one of eleven professors selected to be a member of
the Boise State Teaching Scholars (BSTS) group on undergraduate
research. The purpose of the BSTS program is to bring together
faculty from various disciplines and study how undergraduate
research can be integrated into courses for the benefit of both
faculty and students.
Karen
Magnum,
adjunctive faculty, was quoted in an Idaho Statesman story on the
dangers of ingesting too much of certain food, vitamins and
minerals.
Uwe
Reischl,
professor, and Conrad Colby, emeritus professor of Health
Sciences, received an $18,600 follow-on contract from the Idaho
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The project calls for
the introduction of the Asthma Slide Rule to selected schools in
the Treasure Valley and to develop a “public health marketing
program” for future distribution of the Asthma Slide Rule to
schools throughout Idaho. The Asthma Slide Rule will be
manufactured commercially and will provide teachers,
administrators, and parents with a durable instrument for
educational and home use.
Uwe
Reischl
received a $10,000 gift from Caring Technologies, Inc., a
Boise-based telehealth technology development company. The gift was
made to the Boise State University Foundation and will support
Reischl’s public health research projects, travel, and other
scholarly activities.
Uwe
Reischl
presented a paper at the APHA Annual Meeting in Washington,
DC, November 3-7, entitled “Bird Flu Business Continuity Management
Tool. “ The paper was co-authored with Newell Gough (Dept. of
Management) and Vidya Nandikolla (Dept. of Biomedical Engineering).
During his stay in Washington, DC, Reischl was invited to present
the APHA paper to Idaho Senator Larry Craig and his staff.
A paper by Uwe Reischl and
co-authored by Newell Gough (College of Business and Economics),
and Vidya Nandikolla (College of Engineering) entitled “Business
Continuity Management Tool for Disaster Preparedness Planning” has
been accepted for presentation at the International Conference on
Global Health which will be held in Washington, DC, May 27-31,
2008. The paper focuses on the application of the Boise State
University Bird Flu Business Continuity Management Tool to
companies in developing nations.
Dale
Stephenson,
associate professor and director of the Center for Excellence for
Environmental Health and Safety, continued his efforts with
Treasure Valley Air Quality Council by providing two separate
presentations at the Pacific Northwest Air & Waste Management
Conference and the City of Boise’s Air Quality Summit. The focus of
these presentations was to highlight the Council’s recommendations
to preserve and protect air quality in the Treasure Valley.
Sarah
Toevs,
associate dean and chair, was elected as President of the Idaho
Public Health Association (IPHA). IPHA is the oldest non-profit
public health organization in Idaho. The mission of the
organization is to provide a forum for individuals and
organizations to work collectively in order to assure conditions in
which Idahoans will be healthy.
Department of Nursing
The Department of Nursing has added
a second admission deadline to allow students more flexibility in
applying to the program. Students may now apply to the nursing
program by meeting either the original March 1 deadline or a new
Oct. 1 deadline. The new deadline will allow students who meet
their prerequisites over the summer to apply in October and
potentially start nursing classes in January.
“This gives our students flexibility
to apply during the spring and/or during fall semester,” said
Pam Springer, associate dean and chair. “The addition of a
second admissions deadline is a direct result of the requests we
have had from our prospective nursing students.”
Idaho joins the rest of the nation
in anticipating a severe nursing shortage in the near future. By
the year 2020, demand for nurses nationwide is expected to outpace
supply by 800,000. Idaho currently ranks 49th in the nation for
registered nurses per capita.
The recent brown bag research seminar, sponsored by
the Department of Nursing and the Mu Gamma chapter of Sigma Theta
Tau, was held November 30, and was open to students, faculty, staff
and community members. Richard Abood, RPh, JD, presented on “Direct
to Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising: Law, Ethics, and Social
Policy.”
Graduate students of Pam
Gehrke, associate professor, wrote a Reader’s View that
ran in the Idaho Statesman on Nov. 17. The students talked about
the problems inherent in the use of penalties to deter unhealthy
behavior.
Bonnie
Lind,
assistant research professor, gave a presentation about the work of
the Idaho Nursing Workforce Center to the Governor’s Nursing
Workforce Center Advisory Council, on November 14.
Dawn
Weiler,
assistant professor, successfully defended her dissertation on
November 13.
Congratulations Dr. Weiler!
Barbara
Allerton,
assistant professor, and Pam Springer were recognized by the
March of Dimes as “honored nurses of the year.” The award ceremony
was held Saturday, November 3, at the Doubletree Riverside Hotel in
Boise.
Ginny
Gilbert,
assistant professor,
has earned the designation
Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) after successfully completing a
rigorous certification examination. The examination is developed
and administered by the New York City-based National League for
Nursing.
At the National Academic Advising
Association (NACADA) 31st annual conference, which was
held October 17-21, in Baltimore, Maryland, Evelyn Floyd,
assistant professor, and Vivian Schrader, associate
professor, presented a poster titled Mentoring Acuity Program
(MAP). One major component of this advising model is assigning
students, by their semester level, to faculty who teach in those
levels. Skilled staff members in the department are utilized to
provide the prescriptive items of advising allowing faculty to
focus on mentoring students through the nursing program.
Pam
Strohfus,
assistant professor, also joined Floyd and Schrader at the
conference. There were over 3000 attendees representing academic
advisors and faculty advisors from every state. The following are a
few “take home” messages.
-
There were many sessions that
focused on the multitude of stressors that students have to cope
with while going to college. One speaker reiterated the
importance of mid-term check points and development of a plan of
study to successfully pass the course. They developed an
instrument that helps the advisor “focus in” in just the areas
that the student identifies as major barriers to succeed.
-
SWOT analysis for advising
problems. It is important to identify strengths, weaknesses, and
opportunities with our students when assisting them in their
career/study plans.
-
Utilizing peer advising leaders is
an exceptional idea. If we are able to pay them, it would be even
better.
-
Helping the student set “goals” is
another thread among college level advisors. Weekly, monthly,
semester end, and graduation goals are suggested.
-
Faculty mentoring of students was
another topic of interest. Instead of focusing on course
selection, connecting with and engaging students is becoming more
indicative of numbers of students staying in school.
The Professional Nurse Educators
Group (PNEG) 34th annual conference was held this past
October, in Portland, Oregon. The conference had attendees and
participants coming from the United States, Canada and Australia.
Participants from Boise State University (BSU) included: Cindy
Clark, professor, who delivered a plenary address; Pam Springer
and Kathy Reavy, associate professor, (also actively
involved in planning the program for the conference), who
participated in a panel presentation with Randall Hudspeth and
Catie Prinzing from Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center; Val
Greenspan, interim associate chair of graduate studies, who
presented a poster with Karen Ray from St. Luke’s Regional Medical
Center; Mary Hereford, associate professor, who presented a
poster; and Susan Parslow, assistant professor, who also
presented a poster.
Department of Radiologic Sciences
The Department of Radiologic
Sciences exhibited poster displays in the Health Sciences Riverside
building during the week of November 4-10. This was in observance
of National Radiologic Technology Week, an annual event that
celebrates the importance of medical imaging and radiation
oncology. During this week the national organization, Alliance for
Quality Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy, held a virtual march
on Capitol Hill to encourage lawmakers to cosponsor and enact the
Consistency, Accuracy, Responsibility and Excellence in Medical
Imaging and Radiation Therapy bill, or CARE bill (H.R. 583 and S.
1042). Please visit the following site to learn more about this
bill and ways to support it:
http://capwiz.com/asrt/home/
Department of Respiratory Care
On
November 8, the Department of Respiratory Therapy was featured in
the Boise State University student newspaper, The Arbiter, in an
article titled “Respiratory care: a rising medical career.”
The article highlighted many features of the department, including
the following: it is
one of the highest ranked respiratory care programs in the nation;
it
is gaining international
acclaim though professor and chair,
Lonny Ashworth's work on the International Respiratory Care
Committee of the American Association for Respiratory Care;
it has
a history of international students from countries such as Japan,
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait
in
2005, six students were recognized with the Respironics Award for
research in mechanical
ventilation
(normally
this award is given to experienced researchers
with years of RC background).
CENTER NEWS
Center for Excellence for
Environmental Health and Safety
Health and Safety Training
The Center continues to receive a
large number of requests for health and safety training. In the
month of November, the Center’s Training program delivered HAZWOPER,
blood borne pathogen, confined space, and general health and safety
courses to community clients. These clients included, WGI, USGS,
Mountain Home Air Force Base, BLM, and Terra Graphics.
Occupational Safety and Health
Consultation
The Center’s Occupational Safety and
Health Consultation program was recognized by Federal OSHA for it
efforts in aiding the City of Boise’s Bigelow Tea Company in
achieving Safety and Health Recognition Status. Federal OSHA awards
this status to companies based on their actions to reduce workplace
injury and illness. The consultation program’s contributions, which
were made to help Bigelow Tea improve its occupational environment,
were recognized in a ceremony hosted by, Jerry Hockett, director of
the Federal OSHA’s Boise Area Office.
Center for Health Policy
Boise State University Research
Center to Help Certify Medicaid Contract Rates
Boise State University’s Center
for Health Policy, and Milliman Inc., a global consulting and
actuarial firm, have contracted with the Idaho Department of Health
and Welfare Division of Medicaid to set capitation rate ranges for
specific health-care services provided under Medicaid. Capitation
is a method of payment where the provider is paid a fixed amount
for a patient over a given period of time, regardless of the actual
number or nature of services delivered.
The principal investigator is
Ed Baker, associate professor and director of the Center for
Health Policy. Tim Barclay, principal and consulting actuary for
Milliman, will be responsible for actuarial and analytical
activities. “Public-private collaborations such as this give us
access to the best resources to address significant statewide
health-care issues, including those associated with Medicaid,” said
Baker.
Boise State University Teams With
Family Medicine Residency of Idaho to Study
Family Medicine Work Force in Rural
Communities
Boise State University’s Center for
Health Policy (CHP) and Family Medicine Residency of Idaho (FMRI)
have teamed up to assess the challenges of recruiting and retaining
family medicine physicians in rural areas of Idaho. This research
will build on findings of an earlier CHP/FMRI study to address the
following question: What characteristics are predictive of success
or failure with regard to a rural Idaho community’s recruitment and
retention of qualified family medicine physicians?
Researchers will attempt to better
understand the relationships that affect the rural family medicine
physician work force in Idaho. One tool will be the development of
an “Apgar score” for rural Idaho communities. Identifiable
parameters include geographic remoteness, scope of services in the
local community hospital, scope of services provided by family
medicine physicians, loan repayment programs, and more.
Ed
Baker
and David Schmitz, Rural Director for FMRI, are co-principal
investigators. Ted Epperly, chairman and program director at FMRI,
and Alex Reed, director of behavior science and mental health at
FMRI, are co-investigators.
”The Center for Health Policy is
committed to engaging in collaborative research that addresses real
problems in Idaho communities,” Baker said. Added Schmitz: “FMRI
has a successful track record in partnering with Boise State
University and we look forward to working with researchers in the
Center for Health Policy on this important project.”
The research is being funded by the
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, State Office of Rural
Health and Primary Care, through a grant from the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services
Administration. The project is slated to be completed in summer
2008.
Ed Baker
and David Schmitz, Rural Director for Family Medicine Residency of
Idaho, presented the results of their recent research at the Annual
Statewide Flex Meeting in Boise, Idaho, sponsored by the Idaho
State Office of Rural Health and Primary Care. Their talk, entitled
"Idaho Family Physician rural workforce assessment" was delivered
to administrators of critical access hospitals from across Idaho.
Center for the Study of Aging
The Center for the Study of Aging
recently completed a study for the Osher Lifelong Learning
Institute at Boise State University on the adult education
preferences of adults 50 and older in southwestern Idaho. The
purpose of this study was to investigate the potential for
involving the greater community in the Osher Lifelong Learning
Institute, and also to determine which lifelong learning
opportunities most people are likely to embrace, and where untapped
membership may be located.
The survey was designed to collect
basic demographic and socio-economic information, past lifelong
learning experiences, preferences for future activities, and
participation in volunteer activities. The survey was sent to a
random sample of 3,000 adults 50 years and older who lived in
private residences in southwestern Idaho and who had phone service.
The sample included individuals in the following nine counties: Ada,
Adams, Boise, Blaine, Canyon, Elmore, Gem, Payette, and Valley.
Holly
Beard,
assistant research professor and director of the Center for the
Study of Aging, presented a poster with Drs. James Alan Neff,
Stacey B. Plichta, Karen Karlowicz, and Bonnie Lind entitled
"Longitudinal Predictors of Caregiving Type in Elderly Stroke
Survivors" at the American Public Health Association in Washington,
D.C on November 5.
Carissa
Miller,
research assistant for the Center for the Study of Aging, and Dr.
Jerry McMurtry, University of Idaho, presented "Research Using
National Large Scale Data Sets" at the Idaho Lifelong Learning
Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho on October 22.
CALENDAR
November 30 Nursing’s brown bag
research seminar
December 18 College
Holiday Luncheon
December 24-28 Christmas Week
(University closed)
December 31 New Year’s
Eve (University closed)
January 1 New
Year’s Day (University closed)
January 16 College
Meeting
January 21 Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day / Idaho Human Rights Day (University closed)
