January

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Allow Me to Introduce Myself
Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,

I am indeed honored and humbled to introduce myself to you as your new Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions at Drexel University.

Why am I here?

Throughout my career, I have been committed to exploring connections between the health and life space of vulnerable individuals and designing programs and strategies that can make life better. I have had the opportunity to collaborate with individuals and organizations representing each of the professions represented in the College of Nursing and Health Professions. I am a researcher, mentor, and educator. I have been involved in many initiatives bringing evidence to education and practice and I have helped to design various clinical practices.

I was attracted to Drexel University because of its central mission of civic engagement and the College of Nursing and Health Profession’s commitment to social justice, health equity and interprofessional education, research and practice. I have been very impressed with the ambition and passion of College of Nursing and Health Professions’ students, faculty and staff to address complex health issues, including health inequalities and social determinants on health—like housing, education and the environment—and the use of creative therapies and novel interprofessional approaches to make people’s lives better. I see our College students, faculty and staff working from of a strong sense of purpose—that is, all of us are trying to make powerful and transformative contributions to the health and wellbeing of our communities, both from our respective disciplines as well as through interprofessional efforts.

Let’s talk

These first few months of my deanship will be an important initial period of “discovery.” I look forward to meeting each of you. We are planning a variety of “meet and greets” and other forums to facilitate meaningful exchanges. I will be actively listening, learning and asking a lot of questions. I want wanting to know:

What is working well?
- What do we value?
- What do we want to keep?
What is not working or what is not working as well as it could?
- What are we not doing that we should or could be doing?
- What are we doing that we can stop doing (that does not add value)?
What is your vision for your own professional growth? For your major/department? For CNHP? For Drexel?

Based on my meetings and hearing from you, I will share my impressions, aggregated comments and a plan for moving forward purposely and productively. I am very action-oriented, passionate about solving problems and will be floating ideas to hear your honest opinions and learn about your ideas. This is a team sport!

My sincere thank you

I want to express my sincere gratitude to Dean Emeritus Gloria Donnelly, PhD whom I have met with numerous times to learn of the history and state of the College. I am also grateful to Sue Smith, PhD in her efforts as interim dean and for making this transition as smooth as possible. Drs. Donnelly and Smith along with all of you, have left the College in excellent standing and I am eager to roll up my sleeves, meet with all of you and get to work. Also, my gratitude goes to President Fry, Provost Blake and the University and College leaders whose support and guidance have been exceptional, providing a solid foundation for positively moving forward.

Thank you all for a very warm welcome. I view this next chapter in my career as a wonderful and important opportunity to optimize impact in health, education, practice and science. I am committed to working with all of you to maintain excellence, grow research, education and evidence-informed practices and support everyone to do their best and maximize our impact.

Sincerely,

Laura N. Gitlin, PhD
Dean and Distinguished Professor

Click here to learn more about Dean Gitlin.
January 31
Faculty Appointment to Board of Directors

Theresa M. Campo, DNP, FNP-C, ENP-BC, FAANP, FAAN has been appointed to the American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians’ board of directors representing the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners. She is the only nurse to have been appointed to an emergency physician organizational board of directors.

January 27
CNHP PhD candidate selected as a 2017-2018 LEAH Fellow
Abby Duffine, MS, RD, LDN, a doctoral candidate working with Stella Volpe, PhD, was selected as a LEAH Fellow for 2017 to 2018! The LEAH (Leadership Education in Adolescent Health) fellowship is a grant awarded to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) provided by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resource and Services Administration. The grant is awarded to seven institutions across the country. The fellowship prepares professionals from a variety of health care disciplines to be leaders in clinical care, research, public health policy and advocacy as it related to adolescent health. The interdisciplinary team is composed of fellows representing medicine, nursing, psychology, social work and nutrition.

January 26
CAT Alumna Wins Research Award

Creative Arts Therapies PhD graduate Minjung Shim, PhD received the American Dance Therapy Association Research Award at the American Dance Therapy Association’s 52nd Annual Conference, San Antonio, TX, November 3, 2017. ADTA Recognition Award recipients are nominated by ADTA members and the Board of Directors to acknowledge outstanding contributions to the profession of dance/movement therapy and to ADTA.

January 26
DoD Grant for a Spinal Cord Injury Research Project Awarded

Margaret Finley, PT, PhD, physical therapy and rehabilitation sciences associate professor, and collaborators have been awarded a $662,720 grant for a Spinal Cord Injury Research Project by the Department of Defense. The three-year project, “Development of a Biopsychosocial Prospective Surveillance Model of Shoulder Pain in Individual’s with Spinal Cord Injury,” will investigate presentation and progression of musculoskeletal pain and psychosocial impairments the first year following spinal cord injury beginning with inpatient rehabilitation in the acute phase. The overall goal is to develop a biopsychosocial Prospective Surveillance Model to provide a proactive approach for early identification and intervention programs to ameliorate the debilitating consequences of activity limitations and participation restrictions in individuals with spinal cord injury, reducing burden to military service members, veterans, their families and caregivers. Co-investigators are CNHP’s David Ebaugh, PT, PhD, physical therapy and rehabilitation sciences clinical professor; Edward Gracely, PhD, associate professor in the College of Medicine and Dornsife School of Public Health; and Thomas Trojian, MD, professor, in the College of Medicine. The multisite project will be conducted in collaboration with Magee Rehabilitation Hospital and the University of Maryland Rehabilitation and Orthopedic Institute.

January 26
Researcher Wins $1.2M National Institute of Nursing Research Grant

Joke Bradt, PhD, MT-BC, an associate professor in the Department of Creative Arts Therapies and principal investigator, and collaborators have been awarded a $1,270,000 grant by National Institute of Nursing Research (R01NR016681) for their study Mechanisms of Music Therapy to Palliate Pain in Patients with Advanced Cancer. Chronic pain is one of the most feared symptoms in people with cancer. Insufficient relief from pharmacological treatments and the fear of side effects are important reasons for the growing use of complementary pain management approaches in cancer care. The purpose of this three-year multi-site randomized controlled trial is to examine the underlying mechanisms of interactive music therapy for chronic pain management in people with advanced cancer. The study will recruit outpatients with advanced cancer and bone metastases pain at Hahnemann University Hospital and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

January 26
Interim Dean Named Distinguished Fellow

Sue Smith, PT, PhD, CNHP associate professor and dean emerita, was elected a Distinguished Fellow in the National Academies of Practice (FNAP). A Distinguished NAP Fellow is a very high honor that acknowledges outstanding achievements and recognition in promoting Interprofessional Practice and Education toward the goal of improving healthcare.

January 26
Three CNHP Professors Named Fellows in the AAN

The American Academy of Nursing inducted 173 nurse leaders as Fellows in the Academy Three of those receiving one of nursing’s highest honors are CNHP professors. The inductees are: associate professor Joan Rosen Bloch, PhD, CRNP; associate clinical professor Theresa Campo, DNP, FNP-C, ENP-BC, FAANP, and associate clinical professor and department chair Kymberlee Montgomery, DrNP, CRNP-BC, CNE, FAANP. With the addition of this new class, the total number of Academy fellows stands at over 2,500. Representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 29 countries, the fellows are nurse leaders in education, management, practice, policy, and research. Academy fellows include hospital and government administrators, college deans, and renowned scientific researchers. Fellow selection criteria include evidence of significant contributions to nursing and health care, and sponsorship by two current Academy fellows. Applicants are reviewed by a panel comprised of elected and appointed fellows, and selection is based, in part, on the extent the nominee's nursing career has influenced health policies and the health and wellbeing of all. The induction ceremony was in Washington, DC on Saturday, October 7, 2017.

January 25
Invited talks in India

Deeptha Sukumar, gave three invited talks in India in December 2017 titled “Nutritional Regulation of Bone Metabolism” at Department of Nutrition, Food Service Management and Dietetics, Ethiraj College for Women; “Nutritional Influences on Bone Health” at Department of Home Science, Queen Mary’s College for College for Women; and “Principles of Clinical Trial Management” at Department of Clinical Nutrition, PSG College of Arts and Science.

January 25
Two receive first place in AMerican Journal of Nursing 2017 Book Award

A text book titled Medical Imaging, of which Theresa M. Campo, DNP, FNP-C, ENP-BC, FAANP, FAAN was the lead author, has won first place in the American Journal of Nursing 2017 Book Award in the category of Adult Primary Care.

A chapter titled "Caring for Caregivers in an Aging Society: Contributions of Nursing Research to Practice and Policy" by incoming Dean Laura Gitlin, PhD is part of Using Nursing Research to Shape Health Policy, which has won first place American Journal of Nursing 2017 Book Award in the category of History & Public Policy.

January 25
Faculty Elected to Board

Beth Desaretz Chiatti, PhD, RN, CTN, CSN has been elected secretary of the Transcultural Nursing Society and a member of the board of directors. Her two-year term begins this month. She has also been chosen to be a Drexel Liberty Scholars Mentor.

January 25