Get Immunized
In Idaho, college students are not required to receive the meningitis vaccine. Strohfus has secured several thousand doses of the vaccine from the Idaho Immunization Program to be given free to Idaho college students, staff and faculty between the ages of 19 and 55. There are several clinics being held throughout Idaho. To get your free vaccine, visit the Idaho Meningitis College Campus Campaign Facebook page or website.

The program received approval from Boise State’s Board of Trustees, the Idaho State Board of Education, in February and will begin in January 2014.

The AGNP program will include a master’s degree in adult-gerontology nursing and two new graduate certificates: adult-gerontology nurse practitioner in acute care and adult-gerontology nurse practitioner in primary care. The AGNP program is part of a broader set of existing and newly approved graduate programs in Boise State’s School of Nursing. They include an existing master of science in nursing and master of nursing and a new doctor of nursing practice.

Boise State will continue to work closely with local hospitals and other health care providers who partner with the university to offer clinical placements for students and faculty assistance. Graduates from this program will be well prepared for practice roles in both primary care and in acute care settings.

Nurse practitioners are advanced practice nurses who treat illness and disease with a prevention focus. They are registered nurses who have acquired the formal education, extended knowledge base and clinical skills beyond the registered nurse level to practice in the advanced role of a direct health care provider. Nurse practitioners utilize critical judgment in the performance of comprehensive health assessments, diagnose health problems/illnesses and order blood tests, X-rays and other tests to evaluate a patient’s health status. Nurse practitioners also prescribe medications and other treatments in the management of acute and chronic illnesses.

For more information about the program, please contact Dawn Weiler, PHD, APRN-ANP, BC, at dweiler@boisestate.edu or (208) 426-1239, or Marian Graham, at mgraham@boisestate.edu or (208) 426-3789.

The Wysing Arts Centre exhibit, “Relatively Absolute Day of Live Events” is a group exhibition consisting of newly commissioned work, as well as the source material that has informed it’s making, by the twelve artists, and the writer and musician who worked in the Wysing residency program. Central to the Relatively Absolute is the idea that hidden systems and structures can be used to uncover meaning, narrative and paradox.

Evans’ interview focused on her research on phantom limb pain and was intended as an informative session for non-healthcare professionals and included specifics about phantom limb pain and general pain topics.

View Evans’ interview below:

Left to right: Betty Miller, Darcy Anderson, and Mary Hereford – newly certified in Quality Matters

Betty Miller, MS, adjunct faculty coordinator for the RN-BS Online/Distance Completion Track, Darcy Anderson, RN, MS, remote special lecturer for the RN-BS Online/Distance Completion Track, and Mary Hereford, PhD, RN, CEN, associate professor for the School of Nursing, successfully completed training and certification at the QM Works! Great Northwest Regional Conference 2013, held in Vancouver Washington on April 25-26.

Quality Matters is a faculty-centered, peer review process that is designed to certify the quality of online and blended courses. The conference provided opportunity for regional and international faculty, administrators and instructional designers to meet, share and learn best practice standards, research findings and instructional design principles to promote student learning and continuous quality improvement.

Gaining certification in “Applying the Quality Matters Rubric” enhances the RN-BS Online/Distance Completion Track’s initiative of enhancing best practices related to universal design in online programming. Miller, Anderson and Hereford will also participate in QM’s training and certification for Addressing Accessibility in May.

Students valued the “repetitive practice” and employees enjoyed interacting with enthusiastic students. A total of 131 Micron employees were screened by seven students. The HDSP team is analyzing the data collected from these screenings.

Lucy Zhao, MSN, MPA, RN, clinical instructor for the School of Nursing, and Christina Ford, BA, BSN, RN, clinical coordinator for the School of Nursing, served as faculty for the event. The student volunteers were:

• Samantha Fundingsland
• Jessica Kelley-Bickford
• Lauren Kraemer
• Alisha Hawk
• Aide Salinas
• Megan Hull
• Jacob Floyd

Wenyi Chen with her poster at the Undergraduate Research Conference

Nine College of Health Sciences students from the Department of Community and Environmental Health and the School of Nursing presented their research at the annual Boise State University Undergraduate Research & Scholarship Conference, held on April 15 in the Student Union.

“Research is central to the undergraduate experience here at Boise State,” said Sharon McGuire, vice provost for undergraduate studies. “The projects being presented at this conference demonstrate the scope and depth of undergraduate research being conducted at Boise State. We appreciate our faculty for creating these opportunities for students that facilitate engaged learning, critical thinking and application of knowledge.”

Boise State undergraduate students play a prominent role in research programs across various disciplines around the university. The 10th annual event, which will be a blend of podium, poster and performing arts presentations, allows the campus and greater community to meet students and learn about their meaningful explorations of everything from choreography to cancer treatment and alternative energy to marketing.

COHS Poster Presentations:

Current Research Assistant’s Learning Experience at Boise State University School of Nursing
Presenter: Wenyi Chen
Faculty Mentor: Cathy Deckys, MSN, RN, COHN-SNC – School of Nursing

Civility as a Learned And Essential Skill In Nursing Education
Presenter: Danh Nguyen, Lyn Ages
Faculty Sponsor: Cindy Clark, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN – School of Nursing

The Benefits of Undergraduate Research Assistantships in Nursing
Presenter: Ryoko Pentecost
Faculty Sponsor: Jane Grassley, PhD, RN, IBCLC – School of Nursing

Enhancing Access to Cultural Health Assessment Instruments for Refugees in Idaho
Presenter: Samantha Fundingsland
Faculty Sponsor: Karen Breitkreuz, MSN, ED.D., RN, CNE – School of Nursing

COHS Podium Presentations:

Survey of Health Care Attorneys Regarding Content of an Undergraduate Health Law and Ethics Course
Presenters: Connor Sheldon, Brandon Skenandore (Honors), Veronica Hollingshead, Liz Moorhead
Faculty Sponsor: Andy Hyer, JD, MHS – Department of Community and Environmental Health

The Idaho Smiles Medicaid Plan: Benefits, Issues, and Effects on Children’s Dental Care
Presenter: Brandon Skenandore (Honors)
Faculty Sponsor: Andy Hyer, JD, MHS – Department of Community and Environmental Health

The students focused their Service-Learning projects on assisting Libertad and Chan Chen elementary schools. Some students wrote curriculum for “Easter camps” for both schools for children between the ages of 6 and 12. These camps were a half a day long and featured four classes: healthy lifestyles, such as hygiene, nutrition, families, friends, self-views; literacy; healthy activities, which resembled American physical education class activities; and arts and crafts, with a health focus.

Another group of students designed community gardens for the schools, though the group was only able to build the Chan Chen garden this spring. A third group organized a community fair while a fourth group of students designed an educational trail about Belizean wild animals.

The theme of healthy lifestyles was selected in part because, according to the CIA World Factbook, Belizeans have a high risk of major infectious diseases, one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in Central America, and, in 2009, only 0.828 physicians for every 1000 people. Breitkreuz reports that the district of Corozal, where the Peace Village was established, has only one registered nurse for the entire district.

In addition to their projects, several nursing and pre-nursing students were able to observe local community health workers, who often focus on health promotion and teaching. A nurse comes once a month with limited medical supplies to set up a pediatric clinic, which offers vaccines and pre-natal checkups as well as filling certain prescriptions. Community health workers have only been available to locals in Corozal for the last 25 years.

The course is a part of an innovative, five-year commitment by the university. Groups from Boise State will continue to visit the district over the next five years, bringing additional resources, knowledge, and students for cultural exchanges. As the group asked questions about how they can assist in the future, locals were amazed to hear that the group would return as the locals are used to foreign assistance coming on single trips, with no maintenance of the initial support. While grateful for any assistance, the locals find the concept of the Boise State group returning to review and build on what they have started astonishing.

The Campus Read book, “The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw,” was the inspiration for the class. The group visited the Belize Zoo and spent the morning with Sharon Matola, the lady who inspired the book. Additionally, the students used Matola’s dual language book, “Pat the Great Cat,” for their literacy classes in the “Easter camps.” Many children come from dual language homes and struggle with literacy. Pat is an actual jaguar at the Belize zoo and Matola’s children’s book shares his story in Spanish and English.

The trip was a transformational experience for the students, who are now sharing their experiences with the campus community through a series of panel events. The Boise State group found the people of Belize to be very happy, regardless of their very limited resources. Seventy-seven percent of people in Belize live in poverty.

Learn more about the Belize trip by reading the participants’ blog at http://belizecmtrip2013.blogspot.com.

Dr. Vahey held a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from College Misericordia in Dallas, Pa, a Master’s Degree in Nursing from Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and a doctorate from Columbia University in New York City, N.Y.

Following graduation from Columbia University, Dr. Vahey moved to Boise to become Chair of the Department of Nursing at Boise State University. She held a variety of teaching and administrative positions. One of her many accomplishments during her Boise State career included a major grant award to start a Baccalaureate Nursing program, which subsequently received accreditation from the National League for Nursing in 1991. Previously, only an associate’s degree was offered in nursing at Boise State. Dr. Vahey also started a Continuing Education Consortium located at Boise State University in collaboration with local hospitals to offer continuing education to all RNs in the Valley.

Dr. Vahey also held a number of other administrative positions while at Boise State University. From 1992 through 1994, she worked as a Special Assistant to the Provost for the coordination of the total University Accreditation by the Northwest Commission on Accreditation. A self-evaluation study format, developed under her leadership, was subsequently used as a model for other educational institutions seeking accreditation.

Dr. Vahey retired from Boise State University in 1999. After her retirement, she established a nursing scholarship in her parents’ name with the Friends of Nursing at Boise State.

“JoAnn truly was a living legend for our School of Nursing,” said Dr. Pam Springer, associate dean of the College of Health Sciences and director of the School of Nursing. “She chaired the department during turbulent times and always looked after the well-being of the department as she held other administrative positions at the university. Even after her retirement from Boise State, JoAnn continued in her role as mentor for many of the faculty.”

Read Dr. Vahey’s full obituary at the Idaho Statesman website.