On November 17, UTA nursing students volunteered as facilitators in a Guinness World Record Event where 4,626 participated in the largest CPR training event with 8th grade students from the Arlington Independent School District.

Patricia Turpin, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the MSN Nursing Administration Program, has been appointed as the Department of Veterans Affairs Leadership Fellow. Funds available from this endowed Fellowship will support her research.

In a time of economic distress, the UT Arlington School of Nursing has received some relief for students in the Masters of Science in Nursing programs. This year, 16 Texas schools received funding from the Department of Health and Human Services Health Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Professional Nurse Traineeship Grant and UT Arlington received the largest award - $118,298.

During the past 28 years, the program has received an award each year -- a phenomenal record and a total of $2,281,288.78 distributed to our students. This is the largest grant award received by the school through the Nurse Traineeship Grant since the first award of $28,700 received in 1981.

The Health Careers Institute in the Division of Enterprise Development at The University of Texas at Arlington has announced the Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) training program has established a collaboration with the UT Arlington School of Nursing Smart Hospital™. The Health Careers Institute will begin using the facility’s state of the science classroom and laboratory skills training site to enhance the learning experience of the CNA students.

Dean of the School of Nursing, Elizabeth Poster, noted “ having the CNA students affiliated with the Smart Hospital™ is a good example of how we can provide educational resources for this region’s health care programs ranging from certificate programs to doctoral education and health professional research.”

Mary E. (Beth) Mancini, PhD, RN, FAAN, has been selected to be among the inaugural fellows of the American Heart Association (AHA) in the area of Quality of Care and Outcomes Research. Selected for her outstanding contributions and involvement in the American Heart Association, the FAHA award recognizes scientific contributions to the field and volunteer service within the association.

Mary Lou Bond, PhD, RN, CNE, ANEF, FAAN Distinguished Teaching Professor at UT Arlington School of Nursing has been selected as a faculty mentor in the National League for Nursing (NLN) Johnson & Johnson Faculty Leadership and Mentoring Program. The program, created in 2007, pairs five early and mid-career faculty members with five NLN Academy of Nursing Education fellows who are recognized leaders in nursing education.

Barbara Raudonis, PhD, RN, FNGNA, Myrna R. Pickard Professor in Nursing at the UT Arlington School of Nursing, has been selected by the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association Board of Directors as a Fellow of Palliative Care Nursing (FPCN). As a member of only the second group to be appointed as Fellows, Dr. Raudonis joins just 15 other individuals who received this award in the inaugural class of 2009.

Cheryl Gainer, MSN, CNM, RN, clinical instructor at the UT Arlington School of Nursing has been honored as a finalist for the NurseWeek Excellence Award for her community service to the Celiac community and especially her service to children on a gluten free diet. Ms. Gainer is the director of nursing and one of the camp nurses for the annual Great Gluten Escape Camp. Ms. Gainer was one of four advisors to the Girl Scouts who started the camp for their Gold Award and where she continues to serve on the Board of Directors.

Adventist Medical Center has hired Leslie Furlow (BSN, 1985) as vice president of patient care services after an extensive national recruiting campaign.

In her new role, Furlow will oversee patient care services for a variety of departments including: nursing services, pulmonary services, cardiology services, pharmacy, preoperative services, the emergency department, disaster programs, palliative care, and the hospital’s hyperbaric program.

This year, the UT Arlington School of Nursing is pleased to honor Dr. Rodney Hicks, who is an Alumnus (1991 and 2002) as well as a former faculty member in the School of Nursing. During his time on faculty he was the Clinical Coordinator for the MSN program and taught in that program for a number of years before moving to Washington DC where he completed his PhD. Dr. Hicks has distinguished himself as an outstanding researcher, scholar, and consultant in the areas of medication errors, safe medication use, and patient safety. A Professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, he is the first to hold the Endowed Chair for Patient Safety; and he co-leads a multidisciplinary, transcampus team that develops patient safety solutions.

Dr. Hicks will be inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing this fall and has been named the school's commencement speaker for the December graduation.

Tickets for the October 17th Gala are available from the Alumni Association 817- 272-2594.

QUESTION: What do The Chesapeake Energy Corp, the Travelocity Business Group, the North Texas Tollway authority and the UTA School of Nursing Smart Hospital™ have in common?

They were the 4 Tech Titans finalists for a technology award presented in the "Adopter" category at the 9th annual technology awards presented by the Metroplex Technology Business Council (MTBC), the largest trade association in Texas. It was a proud moment for UTASON to be in the limelight in front of 1000 attendees from the Metropex’s top technology groups, legislators and universities. The black tie event was held at the Renaissance Hotel in Richardson and much excitement was generated when the Smart Hospital's patients (manikins) were highlighted on the screen.

While UTA's Smart Hospital™ was not selected for the highest award - there's always next year!

Congratulations to Dr. Carolyn Cason, Dr. Tiffany Holmes, Dr. Elizabeth Poster and Dr. Ron Elsenbaumer, vice president for research who were all in attendance.