News and Updates

CNS Title Protection Update

10/ 23/2009

Here is a brief update on Title Protection. The CNS Title Protection Bill is in draft form at NYSNA. Stakeholders have agreed with the wording of the bill. Our next step in the process is to find bill sponsors. NYSNA’s Legislative Council will take the lead on this. Once sponsors agree, we would ask that the bill be circulated for co-sponsorship. Then we wait until January to set up lobbying appointments and start to educate Legislators on the issue. If you have any questions let me know.

Educational Advancement for RNs

8/ 13/2009

NYS Nurses Association 2009 Podcasts

“Educational Advancement for RNs” - This podcast examines the movement to expand the educational requirements for nursing in New York State.

CNS Program

6/ 23/2009

Due to an increase in numbers enrolled in the CNS program the college will run the first CNS clinical course both spring 2010 and spring 2011. The policy of running the first CNS course every other year (even years) will continue after that. Check CNS Program Schedule

CNS Program

CON Convocation Photos, May 2009

5/ 19/2009

CON Convocation Photos, 2009

Ross Student Research Day

3/ 27/2009

Ross Student Research Day Pictures

CNS Program

2/ 13/2009

We are all aware that the New York State budget is impacting many of us, including the College of Nursing.  Because of these issues, we need to make better use of the scarce resources.

Currently, the College offers the Clinical Nurse Specialist clinical course (CNS I) every spring.  Beginning in January 2010, the College will offer CNS I every other year (on even years) in the spring semester.

A CNS I class was admitted this semester (January 2009), and another CNS I class will be offered in January 2010.  The following CNS I class to be held will be in the spring of 2012.  While the number of students is increasing in this program, we have reviewed all admitted CNS students’ programs of study, and we do not believe there will be any students ready to take CNS I in January 2011.

This letter is meant to help you plan your program of study accordingly. The schedule will be as follows:

The College is committed to the CNS track and is not considering closing the program.  This new schedule will make it more cost effective to continue this track.  If you have any questions or concerns or wish to review your individual program of study, please contact Dr. Melanie Kalman, Director, Clinical Nurse Specialist Track at 315.464.3909 or by email at kalmanm@upstate.edu.

Elvira Szigeti, PhD, RN, Dean

STTI Omicron Alpha Induction Ceremony with pictures

11/ 5/2008

Congratulations to our new inductees into Omicron Alpha chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International.
Pictures of STTI Omicron Alpha Inducation Ceremony 2008

Congratulations also award winners to:

• Matthew Carr Memorial Award: Maria Lumbrazo, BS, RN


• Outstanding Student Performance: Mary Ellen Flanagan-Xavier, BS, RN


• Excellence in Nursing Research: Meega Wells, PhD, RN,


• Virginia Byers Professional Organizational Commitment:
  
  
  
  • Priscilla Worral, PhD, RN
  
  
  • Gina Myers, PhD, RN
  
  
  
  

Dr. Janet Sobczak, Assistant Professor Presented a Poster

11/ 5/2008

Janet (Jana) Sobczak, PhD, PMHCNS-BC, Assistant Professor, College of Nursing presented a poster at the 11th Annual National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health, Seattle, WA, October 15-18 titled "Women’s Perspectives of Sexual Function after Menopause: A Grounded Theory Study".

Dr. Melanie Kalman, RN, CNS, PhD presented

11/ 4/2008

Dr. Melanie Kalman, RN, CNS, PhD presented an extended paper at the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario’s 4th International Conference Education for the Future of Nursing: Building Capacity Through Innovation in Toronto Ontario, Canada, October 30, 2008.

Graduate nursing classes proposed at Watertown

10/ 16/2008

Elvira Szigeti, Dean, College of Nursing at Upstate Medical University, said the Upstate will bring the proposed Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and Family Nurse Practitioner graduate programs to Watertown, if at least 20 people sign up.

More details at Watertown Daily Times...

CON Faculty Received DNP Degree

8/ 11/2008

Patty Powers and Margie Wade received their Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree from Chatham University.

Margaret Wells Receives Ph.D.

12/ 7/2007

Faculty member, Margaret (Meega) Wells, received her Ph.D. in Nursing from Binghamton University on Sunday, December 9, 2007. The title of her dissertation was "Resilience in Rural Community Dwelling Older Adults".

Margaret Wells, receives her hood from Nancy Stamp, dean of the Graduate School, and Pamela Stewart Fahs, associate professor and Decker Chair in Rural Health.

(News Source: Binghamton University, Decker: School of Nursing)

Ross Poster Session 2007

11/ 29/2007

Nursing Hourly Rounds: Impact on Falls, Patient Satisfaction, & Call Light Usage

The study is currently being conducted at Crouse hospital with former student Todd Olrich. The purpose of this quasi-experimental, replication study was to determine if hourly nursing rounds effect patient fall rates, patient satisfaction, and call light usage.

Findings from this study will be used to improve nursing practice and promote clinical excellence. Hourly rounds improve patient care by decreasing falls, as well as decreasing cost. For these reasons hourly rounds should be continued. Complete analysis of the data is pending.

Resilience in Rural Community Dwelling Older Adults

Presented By: Margaret Wells, Ph.D, MS, NP, RN

Evidence-Based Practice Awareness: Peer-to-Peer Dissemination

Priscilla Sandford Worral, PhD, RN; Jennifer Lemke, RN; Karen Canale, RN; Anne Carter, MS, RN

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) is an established method for improving clinical practice. Despite the recognized benefits of EBP for patients and professional staff, there are few published studies that have tested theoretically-driven interventions to enhance EBP among nurses. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of EBP content and activities introduced by Nursing Research Council (NRC) members to their fellow RNs to increase staff belief in, knowledge of, and use of EBP in providing patient care. Using Disciplined Clinical Inquiry as a theoretical framework and a mixed-methods design, data were collected from 91 RNs in 9 patient care areas over a total period of 18 months. Of the three instruments used for data collection, the EBP Beliefs Scale and EBP Implementation Scale demonstrated strong homogeneity reliability (Cronbach’s alphas ranging from .89 to .98), weak construct validity at baseline, and fair to adequate construct validity at post-intervention. The EBP Cognitive test demonstrated poor reliability at both baseline and post-intervention periods. Analysis of results for intervention units over time demonstrated a statistically significant increase in EBP use (Chi sq = 6.0, p=.05) and non-significant but consistent increase in EBP beliefs and knowledge over time. Use of ANCOVA to test differences between intervention and control units demonstrated no statistically significant differences, explained perhaps in part by small sample sizes and consequently low power (power .15 to .35). Consistently higher scores for RNs on intervention units suggest peer-to-peer dissemination may be an effective method for increasing RN staff EBP awareness and should be tested in a larger study.