Nursing News & Events

Institute Launches New Pathway to Create Nurse Leaders

Continuing its reputation as being a leader in healthcare education, MGH Institute of Health Professions is launching a new Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program for Registered Nurses that will enroll its first class in September 2009.

The new program at the graduate school is in response to the 2006 guidelines set by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing in which it recommends that all advanced practice nurses receive a DNP by 2015.

“We have a history of being an innovative graduate school and this is another step in expanding professional roles at the highest level of clinical practice; we have a responsibility to produce nurse leaders who are at the forefront of creating change in the healthcare system,” said DNP Program Director Dr. Linda Andrist.

The DNP degree is the highest level of educational preparation for advanced practice nurses. This terminal practice degree:
• provides the scientific knowledge base and leadership skills to contribute to improved health care outcomes through scholarship, policy, and practice;
• expands the focus of nursing leadership in increasingly complex systems of care for a culturally diverse patient population through collaborative and independent practice in a variety of health care settings; and
• offers an alternative to research-focused doctoral degrees by providing clinicians with the knowledge and skills essential to accountability for advanced practice. A PhD in Nursing, by contrast, has traditionally prepared nurses for research careers directed at knowledge or theory generation.

The MGH Institute, located in the Charlestown Navy Yard, graduated its first three students from its Post-Master’s DNP program this past August.

The deadline for both the Post-Master’s DNP and RN-to-DNP programs is March 1, 2009. For more information, contact Program Director Dr. Linda Andrist at 617-726-3138 or email dnp@mghihp.edu.

Two Faculty Named as Fellows at
American Academy of Nursing

Sheila Davis, DNP ’08, MS ’97 (right), and Patrice Nicholas, MS ’94, will be inducted as Fellows in the American Academy of Nursing at the organization’s annual meeting on November 8, 2008.

Becoming a Fellow is the highest recognition the AAN can bestow upon a nursing professional. They will join an elite rank of just 1,500 other Fellows in the United States.

“We are thrilled that two of our alumni, now faculty, have been acknowledged for their contributions to nursing,” said Margery Chisholm, EdD, Director of the MGH Institute’s nursing program. “We are very proud of them and their achievements, and value their continuing to provide leadership to our programs of study.”

Davis joined the graduate school’s faculty in January 2008 as a clinical assistant professor in adult primary care, and in August 2008 became one of the first three graduates of its new Doctor of Nursing Practice program with a concentration in global health.

Nicholas spent more than 15 years as a full-time professor at the Institute before becoming director of Global Nursing at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. She continues her association at MGH Institute as an adjunct professor and member of the Leadership Advisory Council for the programs

“Being selected as an Academy Fellow is an important recognition of one’s contributions to nursing and health care,” said Academy President Pam Mitchell.

Selection criteria include evidence of significant contributions to nursing and health care. Each nominee must be sponsored by two current Academy Fellows. Selection is based, in part, on the extent to which nominees' nursing careers influence health policies for the benefit of all Americans.

Davis and Nicholas join Professor Inge Corless and President Janis Bellack as Fellows who teach at the Institute.

Nursing Alums Invited to Pri-Med Reception on Nov. 7 in Boston

Nursing alumni and nursing preceptors are invited to a Networking Reception during the Pri-Med East Conference. The reception will be held at the Westin Waterfront Hotel, next door to the South Boston Convention Center, from 4-6 pm on Friday, November 7.

Alumni and preceptors can reconnect with each other and current nursing faculty, including program director Margery Chisholm, Linda Andrist, Jeanne Cartier, Elissa Ladd, Cheryl Cahill Lawrence, Ellen Long-Middleton, Kathy Simmonds, Nancy Terres, and Elise Townsend. In addition, those attending can meet the Institute’s new Chief Diversity Officer, Dr. Calvin Hill.

RSVP requested, but not required. Local alumni not attending Pri-Med are encouraged to attend. To RSVP or for more information please contact alumni@mghihp.edu or (617) 726-3141. Cash bar with complimentary hors d’oeuvres available.

Programs to undergo accreditation

The nursing programs at the MGH Institute of Health Professions are scheduled for an accreditation visit by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing (CCNE) on November 5, 6, and 7, 2008. The three degree programs are being evaluated: Accelerated Baccalaureate, the Entry-Level Master’s, and the Doctor of Nursing Practice.

Students, alumni, faculty, and the practice community are invited to send written and signed third party comments until 30 days before the visit. Comments should be sent directly to CCNE to the attention of: LiAnn Shepard, Accreditation Assistant, Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 530, Washington, DC 20036-1120.

Accelerated BSN Program Begins

First 3 Doctor of Nursing Practice students graduate

Professor Inge Corless Awarded Nurse of the Year in Boston Globe

Inge Corless, PhD, RN, FAAN, has been honored at the Professor of the Year in the Boston Globe “Salute to Nurses” special section published on May 4, 2008.

Dr. Corless, who has taught at the MGH Institute for 15 years, was nominated by Sheila Davis ’87, who is now a colleague.

“Inge Corless is the ultimate teacher, nurse, and mentor,” wrote Davis, an Assistant Professor at the Institute, in her letter nominating her former teacher. “In her gentle and nurturing manner she enables students to fulfill their potential and exceed their own expectations.”

In the Globe story, Dr. Corless focused on how nurses play an integral role in healthcare.

“There are psychological, social, spiritual aspects for the patient and the family and the nurse provides guidance and support on all those levels,” she said.

Dr. Corless also noted the Institute takes a unique approach to the teacher-student-patient role. “We make absolutely sure that our students are safe to practice before we send them into the community…We find patients teach us so much. And I find I learn so much from my students.”

Dr. Corless has a PhD in Medical Sociology from Brown University in 1978, a Master's in Sociology from University of Rhode Island in 1967, a BS in Nursing from Boston University in 1963. She was Program Director & Clinician at St. Peter's Hospice in Albany, NY from 1979-84, has been a Nursing faculty member at MGH Institute since 1993, a Professor since 1998, became the school’s Coordinator of Global Health in 2007, was an honorary research Fellow at University of Kwa Zulu Natal in 2003-06, and was a nurse consultant on AIDS for the World Health Organization 1989-90.

The Globe produced a video of Dr. Corless, which was shown when she accepted her award at a May 8 breakfast event.

Student Christina Kim featured in Boston Globe story

NEWS: Christine Bridges Scholarship Recipient Named

May 1, 2008 - The MGH Institute has named Valerie Fuller, RN, MSN, FNP, as the 2007-2008 recipient of the Christine Bridges Nursing Scholarship. Ms. Fuller, a Family Nurse Practitioner from Portland, ME , is completing a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree.

The Bridges Scholarship is named after Christine Bridges, who passed away in 2004. At the time of her death, Bridges was a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Graduate Program in Nursing.

The Bridges Scholarship supports nurses who wish to return to school to become nurse educators. Dr. Bridges, a longtime member of the nursing faculty, was actively involved in developing the nurse educator curriculum at the MGH Institute.

NEWS: Recent Alumna Receives Partners in Excellence Award

NEWS: Mary Val Palumbo '85 Receives Sigma Tau Honor