Author: mathwigj

A few weeks ago, you were notified the Wisconsin Legislators in the Senate were considering bills which support the approval of a Nurses’ License Plate for Wisconsin nurses, friends and families.  We are happy to announce similar bills are being circulated NOW in the Assembly.  These bills are similar in nature to those proposed in the Senate.  Please call or email your Representative in the Assembly today.  Ask their  support Assembly Bill 702 which supports a bill to create a nurses’ license and for their support of Assembly Bill 754 which eliminates the need for legislation to create a new license plate.  We are not confident both bills will be passed therefore their support of both bills is essential.

Although we provided testimony to the Assembly’s Transportation Committee this week, it is unclear if both bills will progress to a full vote in the Assembly. Therefore we ask you contact your representative today.  You can easily find your legislator at this web site, email or call them directly.

UW-Green Bay and the Professional Program in Nursing are looking for your help to fund the Mimi and Ken Kubsch Endowed Scholarship to support our nursing students. Dr. Sylvia (Mimi) Kubsch, along with the help of Sweet Willow Naturals of Green Bay, has developed a Lavender Lullaby Aromatherapy Spritzer. Dr. Kubsch’s interest in holistic nursing, and her belief that nurses should understand and use integrative healthcare with patients/families, was the creative force behind creating the essential oil with benefits for relaxation and sleep. Your purchase of this spritzer helps support the Kubsch scholarship while providing you with an evidence-based relaxation/sleep support tool that doesn’t have the side effects of many other options available on the market today.

Cost of the spritzer is $9.95 a bottle. $2 from your purchase of each bottle is a tax-deductible donation to the Kubsch Endowed Scholarship. The spritzer can be purchased at the following locations:

• Sweet Willow Naturals
  • Mail order option available
• The Phoenix Bookstore
  • Will be available for online purchase in the near future
• Professional Program in Nursing Office
  • Rose Hall 325, UW-Green Bay

The Mimi and Ken Kubsch Endowed Scholarship has been created to recognize Dr. Mimi Kubsch and her late husband. Mimi and Kenny’s commitment to nursing education and healthcare has led to establishing the endowed scholarship. Scholarships have been available to less than 2% of UW-Green Bay nursing students. The average UW-Green Bay graduate has an average of $26,000 in loan debt. By making a Nursing Degree more affordable for students, the talent and quality of the healthcare community will flourish.

Dr. Sylvia (Mimi) Kubsch began her career at UW-Green Bay in 1980 when she was hired to develop the RN to BSN program. She has been instrumental in expanding the program, making it available online with the BSN@HOME program for Wisconsin students in 1995 and then BSN-LINC in 2000 for students across the U.S. Most recently, she assisted in starting the UW-Green Bay MSN Program.

Dr. Kenneth Kubsch, Mimi’s husband, began his medical practice in 1975 in Internal Medicine. He served his patients at the West Side Clinic and later Prevea until his retirement in 2006. He was a trusted and caring doctor, even making home visits when this practice had long since been discontinued by most others in the medical community. Ken passed away in 2009.

If you would like to make a gift donation to the Kubsch Scholarship, you can do so through the UW-Green Bay Foundation website or by calling (920) 465-2074.

Wisconsin Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) is pleased to announce their Summer 2016 opportunities for health professions students at any Wisconsin college or university. All interested students are encouraged to apply for these AHEC summer programs. The selection process is competitive and are expecting to receive a strong group of applications again this year.

Community Health Internship Program (CHIP)
An 8-week internship ($2,400 stipend) to work full time in a local health department or community agency. The full-time schedule requires a commitment of 40 hours per week, 8 hours per day during the 8 week internship. 70+ sites are offered June 6 – July 29, 2016. Each intern is hosted by an experienced professional, and participates in additional curriculum and enrichment activities coordinated by AHEC. A wide range of focus areas are available among the internships, offering opportunities for any academic major, all with the common theme of community health. Applications due Monday, February 15, 2016.  CHIP application: www.ahec.wisc.edu/chip

Wisconsin Express
A week-long cultural immersion at a regional community site. 12 sites are offered May 15-20, 2016. Small interprofessional groups of college students learn about and discuss the healthcare resources and challenges of the local population. Program fee is $200 for the week (includes 5 nights lodging, meals, curriculum, materials, and special activities). Applications are due Friday, February 12, 2016 for the summer program. Wisconsin Express application: www.ahec.wisc.edu/wisconsin-express

Nursing Program graduate Teresa Talmadge met UW-Green Bay Nursing Prof. Susan Gallagher-Lepak for the first time (in person, at least) prior to mid-year commencement Saturday (Dec. 19) at the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts.

Talmadge, of suburban Kingwood, Texas, near Houston, made her first trip to the UW-Green Bay campus this weekend to receive her bachelor’s in Nursing. She took all of her coursework online, as many students choose to do given the solid reputation of UW-Green Bay’s online BSN option.

She left cool 60-degree weather in Houston for a brisk 20-degree day in Green Bay, but relished the chance to soak up the warm commencement-day atmosphere.

Originally from Northwestern Wisconsin (St. Croix Falls), Talmadge earned her nursing diploma a dozen years ago at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. She relocated to Texas and today works as an emergency room nurse.

Knowledgeable about the quality of the UW System from earlier studies at Stevens Point, she followed a friend’s recommendation to enroll online with UW-Green Bay when she decided a bachelor’s degree (and perhaps graduate studies to follow) would suit her nursing career and interests.

“It’s a very good program,” Talmadge says of UW-Green Bay Nursing. “I would absolutely recommend it to others.”

This entry was posted in News and tagged commencement, Nursing, online learning on December 19, 2015 by Christopher Sampson.

The National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE) has recognized the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Professional Program in Nursings’ Associate Professor Christine Vandenhouten PhD, RN, APHN-BC, CPH and Lecturer Rebecca Hovarter MS, RN, APHN-BC, CPH as Certified in Public Health (CPH).  With this accomplishment, Dr. Vandenhouten and Hovarter demonstrate not only a mastery of the core sciences of public health, but also a strong commitment to staying on the cutting-edge of public health issues.

The publics served by Dr. Vandenhouten and Hovarter can be assured that they have a fundamental breadth and depth of core public health knowledge and will continue their professional development through the NBPHE’s maintenance of certification process.  Those seeking to verify a CPH credential may do so through the NBPHE’s online recertification system at www.nbphe.org/recert/employer.

“With this new CPH class, the entire field is elevated to new standards and the health of the public can continue to be enhanced,” said Dr. Richard Kurz, chair of NBPHE and Dean of the University of North Texas Health Science Center School of Public Health. “The CPH process raises the bar for public health workers by highlighting the need for a standard benchmark for students and graduates and a certified dedication to the field.”

This is the first year public health nurses were allowed to take the examination and Dr. Vandenhouten and Hovarter participated as part of a pilot project to expand the disciplines eligible for certification by exam.

About the NBPHE

The NBPHE Certified in Public Health (CPH) program demonstrates that students and graduates from CEPH-accredited schools and programs of public health have mastered required core and cross-cutting competencies and addresses the need for greater recognition of public health as a health profession. More information can be found at: www.nbphe.org.

The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), a national nursing accreditation agency officially recognized by the US Secretary of Education, recently completed a rigorous evaluation of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and new Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree programs.  On November 19, UW-Green Bay was notified that its BSN program was re-accredited for the maximum 10-year accreditation period through 2025.  Additionally, its MSN program was accredited for the maximum five-year accreditation period for new programs.  Both programs met all accreditation standards and had no compliance concerns.

“Specialized accreditation affirms the high level of quality in the UW-Green Bay nursing programs and well-qualified faculty teaching in our programs,” says chairperson/director of the nursing programs Susan Gallagher-Lepak, RN, PhD. “This ‘seal of approval’ from CCNE helps students to know that they will receive an excellent education at UW-Green Bay.”

For more than 30 years, UW-Green Bay’s Professional Program in Nursing has specialized in educational offerings for registered nurses to complete the BSN Degree via campus (since 1981) and/or online (since 1995) courses. The program is a recognized leader of online nursing education across the country. The program continually meets the highest standards to ensure the students are receiving the best education possible.

In 2012, a MSN program was launched at UW-Green Bay. This program has an emphasis in Leadership and Management in Health Systems. The program’s first graduates commenced at the Kress Events Center on campus in May 2015. CCNE requires a program be operative for a minimum of two years before evaluation for accreditation.  These graduates, along with future graduates will have graduated from an official CCNE accredited MSN program.

The BSN and MSN degrees at UW-Green Bay are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (www.aacn.nche.edu/ccne-accreditation).

Susan Gallagher-Lepak, professor of nursing, shared insights on the value of music to individuals with dementia in the December 8 edition of the Green Bay Press Gazette. Her article titled, “Powerful gift for people with dementia: Music”, describes  research from a recent issue of the scientific journal Brain about the resilience of the brain with musical memory in cases of dementia. This is especially true for well-known music. Gallagher-Lepak suggests translation of the research into practice by playing familiar music throughout the holidays for individuals with dementia and their families. Developing a playlist of favorite music, for example, can be a gift and reap psychological and behavioral benefits. Other examples, such as use of a music app for dementia patients, are also given. The article is online at greenbaypressgazette.com.

RWHC (Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative) has created a new “Men in Rural Nursing” Task Force/Roundtable to meet quarterly beginning January 22, 2016. Following the structure of RWHC roundtables, the group will begin operation as a task force to build its own agenda as well as work on advancing the directive of the Institute of Medicine to increase the gender diversity in the nursing workforce.

The group will come together to plan strategies to meet this goal, as well as supporting members in their work as rural nurses who are male. At the end of this initial year’s scheduled meetings, it will be determined if the group would like to continue as an ongoing roundtable.

It is hoped that results of the work of this group will be shared statewide through other RWHC clinical and administrative roundtables, and through the WI Center for Nursing (WCN) State Implementation Program (SIP grant) through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Please email Jo Anne Preston at jpreston@rwhc.com if you or one of your staff would like to participate.

“Men in Rural Nursing” Task Force/Roundtable

E-learning isn’t simply learning with technology, says Susan Gallagher Lepak, a Professor of Nursing at UW-Green Bay.

It is a process of teaching and learning supported by e-technologies that provides a structure for learning directed at impacting knowledge construction by the learner. “Students generate knowledge and meaning through interacting with content,” she says… “access content, think about it, negotiate meaning, apply concepts, communicate about it, etc… It’s an active process!”

It’s obviously a topic Gallagher-Lepak is passionate about, and as a faculty member heavily involved in teaching online courses at UW-Green Bay, it is why she chose to share, “E-Learning: The Train has Left the Station,” a topic of her choosing if she had only one final lecture left to give. She is the third of six UW-Green Bay faculty members taking part in the Last Lecture Series, a program which celebrates UW-Green Bay’s 50th Anniversary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0EcBcSh_gc&feature=youtu.be

This entry was posted in 50th Anniversary News and tagged Last Lecture Series, Nursing, online learning on November 19, 2015 by Kimberly Vlies. 

UW-Green Bay Nursing was in the limelight on Wednesday, November 18th. A video crew from The Post House were on campus  in the Nursing Lab interviewing and filming nursing faculty and students for a video being created to promote the recruitment of nursing educators for the UW System. All six UW nursing programs are a part of this project, with leadership from the UW-Eau Claire nursing program. The video will contain a vignette of each nursing campus, and comments from nurse educators on the role and reasons for becoming educators. Funding for this project is through a University of Wisconsin System Incentive grant.

Significant shortages are projected in nursing faculty over the next 2 decades, according to the Wisconsin Center for Nursing (2013). A number of strategies have been proposed to address the potential faculty shortage to assure a sufficient supply of nurses for the future. A finished video is slated for January, and will be hosted in several different locations.