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Mary Cramer, Ph.D. |
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Karen Grigsby, Ph.D. |
The new names reflect the departments’ commitment to nursing education, practice and research, as well as modernize the focus of each department.
The gerontological, psychosocial and community health nursing department is now the department of community-based health and the parent-child, administration department is now the department of families and health systems.
“The name changes were more than just a technical point,” said Virginia Tilden, D.N.Sc., dean of the UNMC College of Nursing. “Omaha faculty and staff have been hard at work this past year revitalizing the Omaha academic departments. The new names bring the college in line with national trends in naming academic nursing departments and signal the revitalized direction of the specialties within these departments.”
The department of community-based health specializes in four principal areas:
- gerontological nursing;
- psychosocial nursing;
- community health nursing; and
- the family nurse practitioner program.
The name reflects inclusion of the family nurse practitioner program and the department’s community-based ties.
“The purpose of the name change is to provide more transparency in who we are,” said the department’s chairwoman, Mary Cramer, Ph.D. “My goal as chair is to see that department faculty is able to meet goals in the areas of research, teaching, and service.”
The department of families and health systems has four nursing specialties:
- women’s health;
- children’s health;
- administration;
- and informatics.
The name was changed to provide more clarity about what the department does — which is prepare nurses to provide care to families and prepare leaders who develop, monitor and evaluate systems in which care is delivered.
The department faculty promotes excellence through the scholarship of discovery, integration, teaching, and application, said department chairwoman Karen Grigsby, Ph.D.
“The department also focuses on sustaining the integrity and visibility of its specialties and supports the professional growth of faculty, staff, and students,” Dr. Grigsby said. “My role is to mentor, coach and provide the necessary resources for faculty to strive toward excellence in teaching, research and practice.”