School Notes: School of Nursing
November/December 2011

YSN to offer new doctorate

Beginning in the fall of 2012, the School of Nursing will offer a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degree. The DNP at YSN is the product of two years of work by a faculty task force, chaired by Margaret Moss, who will serve as director of the DNP program. The program will enroll 12 students for the fall semester of 2012, and ramp up to 18 students by the third year of operation. “This degree will be a professional doctorate in contrast to an academic research degree like the PhD,” commented Moss. “This will be a terminal degree that prepares senior clinicians who also are seeking leadership and policy roles related to the future of healthcare.”

Heart Association honors professor

YSN professor Marjorie Funk has been selected for the highest award of the American Heart Association (AHA) Council on Cardiovascular Nursing. The Katharine A. Lembright Award will be presented to Funk during the AHA Scientific Sessions on November 15 in Orlando, Florida. As honoree, Funk will present a lecture at the conference. The Lembright award is an acknowledgment of contributions and achievements in the field of cardiovascular nursing research.

Connecticut nurses recognize YSN faculty

Nancy S. Redeker, professor and associate dean for scholarly affairs, has been selected by the Connecticut Nurses’ Association (CNA) to receive the 2011 Virginia A. Henderson Award for Outstanding Contributions to Nursing Research. This award represents the highest honor that the nursing profession in Connecticut can bestow on one of its own. Ms. Henderson, a former member of the YSN faculty, conceptualized 14 basic needs of all people—one of which is sleep and rest. Redeker has focused her research on sleep in people with cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions.

The CNA presented the 2011 Josephine A. Dolan Award for Outstanding Contributions to Nursing Education to Linda H. Pellico, associate professor at YSN, for her use of a variety of teaching strategies that build upon the arts and humanities. Pellico has collaborated with the Yale Center for British Art and Yale School of Music in the creation of Looking is Not Seeing, Listening is Not Hearing, a program to improve the observational, diagnostic, and reflective skills of students through art and music.