FIRST ANNUAL CONVOCATION



FIRST ANNUAL CONVOCATION

Friday, August 28, 2009

Prologue

It is so exciting for us to initiate this new ritual of Convocation within our community. As a ritual Convocation marks renewal, recommitment to our missions and our shared values, and recognition of the uniqueness of nursing as a discipline and profession focused on nurturing the wholeness of person-environment through caring. We come together as a community of students, alumni, staff, benefactors, faculty and administrators dedicated to caring: studying its meaning, advancing the science, practicing the art and living it day-to-day. We hope that through living this commitment we transform healthcare and the lived experiences of persons, families and communities by responding to calls for nursing in the most critical times of their lives.

I have this quote by Martha Rogers on my desk….I read it often to remind me of my commitment to Nursing and the importance of the work that we all do:

Nursing’s story is a magnificent epic of service to humankind.

It is about people: how they are born, and live and die; in health and in sickness; in joy and in sorrow. Its mission is the translation of knowledge into human service.

Nursing is compassionate concern for human beings. It is the heart that understands and the hand that soothes. It is the intellect that synthesizes many learnings into meaningful ministrations.

For students of nursing the future is a rich repository of far-flung opportunities --- around this planet and toward the further reaches of our exploration of new worlds and new ideas. Theirs is the promise of deep satisfaction in a field long dedicated to serving the health needs of people.

And now I would like to recognize three of our faculty who have been honored for their special contributions to the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing.

First, I would like to recognize the John F.Wymer Distinguished Professor in Nursing and tell you something about the benefactor who made this professorship possible. John F. Wymer Jr. was the CEO of Good Samaritan Hospital for 34 years and served on numerous health care boards throughout his career. John had a longstanding recognition of the value of nursing to the healing of patients. In fact, in a letter he sent to friends asking them to support the establishment of the John F. Wymer Distinguished Professorship he wrote: “Although what I am asking you to consider is identified with me personally, it, more importantly, speaks to my deep personal and professional respect for those committed to the nursing profession. I believe nurses have played, and will continue to play, an ever more paramount role in influencing the well-being of our society”. It is because of this dedication to nursing that John and his wife, Barbara, worked tirelessly to make this professorship possible. Barbara is with us today. Barbara, we thank you. Please stand so that our community show our appreciation to you and John for your generous support.

Last year the faculty and administration of the College selected the first recipient of the John F. Wymer Distinguished Professorship. The recipient was selected based on a distinguished record of research, national and international recognition for the impact of the research, a demonstrated record of exceptional commitment to students, both inside and outside the classroom, including engaging students in research; and significant contributions to advancing the reputation and missions of the College of Nursing. The Professorship has been awarded for two years: from 2009-2011.

The recipient of the John F. Wymer Distinguished Professorship is Dr. Rozzano Locsin. Dr. Locsin is a Professor in the College of Nursing. There is so much I could tell you about Dr. Locsin and his accomplishments. His research has focused on life transitions: Examples are pain relief using complementary therapies in the post-operative transition, understanding developmental transitions such as time experiences among the elderly, transitioning to life-threatening situations such as those experienced by persons exposed to Ebola hemorrhagic fever, and the transitions experienced by nurses desiring a practice in which technological competency and caring in nursing can be reconciled. At times he has studied these life transitions through art and aesthetic representations.

Dr. Locsin’s work seeks to preserve our focus on the wholeness of persons, particularly as influenced by technologies in nursing practice, the caring for persons dependent on mechanical devices, and the prospect of futuristic appreciations of humans as “beings” demanding and expecting nursing congruence in a post-human world."

 

Dr. Locsin is committed to service particularly in the international arena. He believes that the “smallness” of the world has created a more diverse global citizenry. He says that “Appreciating this diversity furthers one’s commitments to knowing others as participants in the drama of what it is to be in this world.” Publishing in international journals, facilitating international conferences, participating in global networks and collaborating in multi-national research endeavors are some of the strategies through which he envisions bringing this vision to fruition.

 

Dr. Locsin was a recipient of the Fulbright Scholar Award to Uganda in 2000, the Fulbright Alumni Initiative Award in 2004, and through various consultancy works, initially with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and other international projects, he lives as a “citizen of the world” committed to knowing, appreciating, and understanding of persons through international nursing and health.

Dr. Locsin has numerous publications, among them the books: Technological competency as caring in Nursing: A model for practice; Technology and Nursing Practice co-edited with Alan Barnard and A Contemporary Nursing Process: the (Un)Bearable Weight of Knowing in Nursing co-edited with Marguerite Purnell. Dr. Locsin has received many honors including induction into the American Academy of Nursing.

Please recognize the John F. Wymer Distinguished Professor, Dr. Rozzano Locsin.

Next, I would like to acknowledge our two Master teachers. The Master Teacher program was initiated last year from the Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Studies at the University. The purpose is the enhance the quality of undergraduate teaching and the undergraduate educational experience of students. The Master Teacher of Nursing is a faculty member who is distinguished in his/her practice of teaching in Nursing. As a Master Teacher, he/she is well-grounded in Nursing, and exemplifies the ideals of teaching nursing from a caring perspective. The designation is for a 2-year period. Two faculty members received this honor: Dr. Charlotte Barry and Dr. Kathryn Keller.

Let me first introduce Dr. Barry. Dr. Charlotte Barry is an Associate Professor in the College of Nursing. She is well-known for her creative teaching approaches. Dr. Barry is well-grounded in Caring, shares this substantively with students and lives Caring in her classes and in relationships with students. She teaches across programs in courses such as the Masters caring course, family theories, transcultural caring, community health and health policy. Dr. Barry’s research interests are focused on exploring the meaning of nursing across practice settings and across the lifespan. She is particularly interested in nursing theory-based practice in community and school settings, and with Dr. Marilyn Parker has developed a community nursing practice model. Dr. Barry is committed to service…she is a leader in promoting sustainability at the College and University level and has worked tirelessly to advance nursing education and health care in Uganda as an honorary professor at Mbarara University. Dr. Barry has numerous publications and has received awards for her research and work in school nursing. Please recognize Dr. Charlotte Barry, Master Teacher.

Our next Master Teacher is Dr. Kathryn Keller. Dr. Keller is an Associate Professor in the College of Nursing. She was a recipient of the FAU Distinguished Professor of the Year in 2007, and is the Coordinator of the Nurse Educator track in the Master’s program. Dr. Keller teaches across programs as an expert in adult health, acute and critical care, and creative teaching methods. She is one of the early adopters of simulation in teaching, developing a creative simulation scenario through which students learn how to engage in a “code” while living our philosophy of Caring. Dr. Keller's primary research interest is nurses’ knowledge of arrhythmias. Her doctoral research was the "Development of an Instrument to Assess Critical Care Nurses' Arrhythmia Knowledge." Additionally, she is interested in the use of simulation in nursing practice to improve quality and safety outcomes. Dr. Keller frequently publishes in the Cardiology Casebook section of the American Journal of Critical Care along with her mentor Dr. Louis Lemberg.  Dr. Keller has a passion for teaching; and this passion will live on in her legacy of mentorship with current and future teachers including some of our faculty. Please recognize Dr. Kathryn Keller, Master Teacher.

I am honored to present Dr. Pamela Reed, our Visiting Scholar, who will deliver our Convocation Address. Dr. Reed is a Professor at the University of Arizona in Tuscon. She is a leading nursing scholar known for her pioneering work on spirituality as an area for scientific inquiry in nursing. Dr. Reed is well-known for the development of a theory of self-transcendence and in the development of tools to measure spiritual perspectives and self-transcendence. Her research on spirituality, mental health and well-being at end of life has been strongly influenced by Martha Rogers and by lifespan developmental theories. She frequently writes about philosophical dimensions of nursing and with colleagues edits a widely used textbook Perspectives on Nursing Theory. Dr. Reed received her academic degrees from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan; a BSN and an MSN with a double major in child and adolescent psychiatric-mental health nursing and nursing education, and a PhD in Nursing research and theory with a minor in lifespan development and aging. She will be sharing her perspectives on “Celebrating the Practice-Inquiry Path to Nursing Knowledge”. Please welcome Dr. Reed.

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