NURSING ANNUAL FUND CONTRIBUTOR’S REPORT – SUMMER 2007
The UVa School of Nursing has much to celebrate as we end a very successful year and prepare for one that is sure to include even more momentous occasions. Your support of the Nursing Annual Fund has led to another record-breaking year; more than $390,000 were donated by alumni, family and friends this year to fund initiatives that will assist students, faculty and the community. It is a pleasure for us to inform our donors about some of the meaningful ways annual dollars have been used this academic year. We are grateful for your investment in nursing education and confident that its returns will be life-changing.
The nursing shortage is a constant reminder of the importance of scholarship support for aspiring new and advanced practice nurses. Ensuring that financial barriers do not prevent students from pursuing their educational goals has continued to be a top priority for the School of Nursing. The Nursing Annual Fund provided more than $82,000 for need-based and merit scholarships and fellowships this year. Your gifts are also supporting a faculty loan reimbursement program for doctoral students who will step into faculty roles. Programs like this, in addition to all scholarship programs, help ensure that nursing schools are equipped to prepare the nurses needed for clinical care as well as the nurse educators who will train them.
We want to share with you the aspirations of a few of this year’s scholarship recipients:
School of Nursing Alumni Association scholarship recipients met donors and Alumni Council officers at a luncheon in March.
"Because I believe that knowledge is power, my goal is to continue to grow as a nurse, not only by continuing to educate myself, but also by educating those in my care."
Colleen Buckley, RN to BSN student
"I will continue my commitment to promoting evidence-based practice in our industry… and I would also like to educate future nurses. This is imperative for the continuance of quality nursing care in our communities"
Megan Chinen,
BSN student
"I feel prepared and empowered to not only be a lifelong advocate for patients, but one for nursing as well."
Julie LeGault, Family Nurse
Practitioner student
Nursing is a rigorous, science-based field. Yet many also consider it an art. The balancing act of completing tasks, providing emotional support and education, and maintaining professional composure in difficult situations is indeed an art form. As nurse managers and educators know, mastering the art of nursing is crucial to nurse job satisfaction and retention. To assist students in understanding and developing their artistry, faculty member Jeanne Erickson established the creative writing contest five years ago. This opportunity is made possible by Nursing Annual Fund donations and gives students a forum in which to process their experiences. This not only benefits the author and other students, but the public as well; through reading these compositions the greater community can better understand the realities of nursing.
Here are excerpts from two of this year’s contest winners:
"I start on that road less traveled in the pearl gray dawn at 6:45… My stethoscope is my necklace and my handbag reads: ‘University of Virginia School of Nursing.’ ... At 9 AM my friends roll out of bed; at 9 AM I am wearing a lead suit in a catheterization lab..."
From ‘Pondering Again’
by Rebecca Marie Green, BSN ‘08
"I have always been a nurse of sorts. The same care, the same desire to serve my fellow man, the same poetic underpinnings occur to me as they always have... My previous experiences with bricks, cement, and mortar have certainly shaped me into the nurse I will be in the future, and I embrace the future with open arms."
From "Bricks and Bones"
by Joseph Welchel, Jr., civil engineer & Clinical Nurse Leader ‘07
(All winning entries may be read in full at www.nursing.virginia.edu/students/creativewriting)
Government funding for scientific research has been on the decline, making private support for 
nursing research increasingly important. UVa’s Center for Nursing Research is proud to select a faculty researcher to receive the Nightingale Award each year. This award provides funding for preliminary research necessary to receive external funding for future project expansions. This year, your annual gifts will allow Dr. Kathy Haugh to research “Physical Activity in Older Adults with Heart Failure.” Dr. Haugh is dedicated to the care of this growing population and will specifically focus on those in underserved communities. While research has previously shown the health benefits of exercise, Haugh’s project “seeks to explore if a pedometer based physical activity prescription can effectively decrease the perceived barriers to activity”; the ultimate goal being to increase the likelihood that patients will carry out the physical activity necessary to achieve an improved quality of life.
These are only a few examples of how your annual contributions make concrete and lasting impressions on nursing education at the University of Virginia and on the communities cared for by our students and faculty.
If you would like more information on any of these funded initiatives, a complete description of Nursing Annual Fund allocations in the 2006-07 year, or plans for 2007-08 uses, please contact Susan Murphy. Thank you for your support!