Heather Leutwyler, RN, PhD, NP, and Glenna Dowling, PhD, RN, FAAN, recently published The Impact of a Videogame-Based Pilot Physical Activity Program in Older Adults with Schizophrenia on Subjectively and Objectively Measured Physical Activity in the online journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.

       On Wednesday, October 29 HCGNE Master's, post-Master's, doctoral and post-doctoral students had the tremendous opportunity to lunch with Mary Naylor, PhD, FAAN, RN, and UCSF Presidential Chair for 2015-16. Dr. Naylor is a renowned gerontological nurse researcher who has been extremely influential in health policy and clinical practice advocating for and documenting the important role APRNs/RNs play in care coordination for our most vulnerable elders. She is the first nurse to be appointed UCSF Presidential Chair.

Congratulations to Fall 2015 Hartford Center Scholarship Award Recipients!

Doctoral and Postdoctoral Students

Heather Greysen, Jeannie Schmit Kayser-Jones Scholarship, and Rafael Romo

Masters Students

Susan Collins, Sukardi Suba, Hardeep Aulakh

Kathy Dracup, RN, PhD, FAAN was awarded the UCSF Medal at the Founders Day celebration this year. The UCSF Medal recognizes individuals who have made outstanding personal contributions in areas associated with the university's health science mission.

Lynda Mackin, PhD, AGPCNP-BC, CCNS, Professor of Physiological Nursing and Associate Director of the UCSF John A. Hartford Center for Gerontological Nursing was chosen to receive the GAPNA Award for Excellence in Education for 2015. This award for excellence in education recognizes an individual involved in the teaching and/or design of gerontological nurse practitioner curriculum or course content. The faculty member demonstrates knowledge of the care of older adults and the ability to translate that knowledge to enhance students’ understanding in innovative ways.

UCSF John A. Hartford Foundation HCGNE Associate Director Glenna Dowling, PhD, RN, FAAN, received the UCSF 150th Anniversary Alumni Excellence Award. The Award is granted for distinction in research, clinical care, education, business, and/or public service. Awardees selected reflect the excellence of UCSF's entire alumni community.

Rafael Romo, PhD, received the 2015 Distinguished Dissertation Award in Nursing from UCSF’s School of Nursing at its 2015 Commencement Ceremony. His work, Decision Making Among Older Adults with a Limited Prognosis, was selected among the dissertations completed in the 2014-2015 academic year for its scholarliness, innovation, and contribution to the field of nursing.

In May 2015, Laura Kee, PhD, RN, CNS, a long time volunteer faculty in the Department of Physiological Nursing, won the School of Nursing Excellence in Teaching Award for Clinical Mentoring. 

At the American Geriatrics Society Annual meeting the poster: “They don’t trust us”: The Influence of Perceptions of Inadequate Nursing Home Care on ER Transfers and the Potential Role for emerging Health Technologies won Best Poster as part of the Presidential Poster session. UCSF’s team consists of Caroline E. Stephens, PhD, MSN, APRN, BC, Elizabeth Halifax, PhD, RN, Nhat Bui, BS, RN, and Janet Shim, PhD, Christine Ritchie, MD, MSPH, Charlene Harrington, PhD, RN, FAAN, and Sei J. Lee, MD, MAS. Pictured are Nhat Bui and Caroline Stephens.

Caroline Stephens, PhD, MSN, APRN, BC, was interviewed by National Public Radio about her work on caring for older adults, specifically persons with dementia. Calming Dementia Patients — Without Powerful Drugs is available at the KQED website (http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2015/05/20/calming-dementia-patients-without-powerful-drugs/). Listen and comment on the bottom of the webpage in the "comments section". Share with colleagues!

Sueann Mark, RN, PHN, Adult Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist - Oncology student was recently awarded the prestigious Graduate Scholarship in Cancer Nursing Practice from the American Cancer Society.

Yelena Kruse, AG CNS-Oncology student received the Nursing Student Award for Meritorious Service sponsored by the Nursing Alumni Association for 2015.

Our Spring Leadership Networking event was all about learning how to network! Anna Correa from UCSF's Office of Career and Professional Development provided guidance on the importance of networking and how to do it successfully. Participants appreciated the fun and interactive activities and learned not only how to approach individuals, but also how to give and receive cues about moving on from a conversation.

The UCSF/Hartford CGNE continues to host noontime presentations on “Trailblazing Topics in Gerontology.” These sessions provide opportunities for nursing doctoral and masters students to present on a topic of their expertise and receive feedback and also enable students to learn about other Trailblazing Topics. Learners provide evaluative feedback to student presenters as a way for him or her to learn and grow as a leader in Gerontology and Geriatrics.

Spring 2015 Talks

Nhat Bui is in her first year as Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner student and received a Hartford UCSF CGNE Scholarship.

Why did you decide to work in Adult Gerontology?

Pictured here: Susan Chapman and Nancy Dudley

Nancy Dudley, RN, PhD(c) 2014-16 Patricia G. Archbold Scholar, presented at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nursing and Health Policy Collaborative conference Integrating Health Policy into Doctoral Nursing Programs: Continuing the Conversation in 2015. Her topic was Health Policy in the Palliative Care Minor Program; Susan Chapman, RN, PhD, FAAN, and DorAnne Donesky, RN, PhD, NP were co-presenters.

Pictured here: Lauren Hunt and Harriette Grooh

Students and faculty from the MEPN, AGNP, AGCNS, PMHNP, and PhD programs all gathered for the Fall/Winter Networking evening on January 28, 2015.  Nancy Dudley, RN, 2014-16 Patricia G. Archbold Scholar, relayed her experience at the recent Robert Wood Johnson Foundation health policy conference and Caitlin Hildebrand, AGNP, about her experience with the Master of Science in Healthcare Administration and Interprofessional Leadership (MS-HAIL) program. Both spoke about the importance of the Hartford CGNE network to their overall experience.

Caitlin Hildebrand, AGNP, is in her second quarter of UCSF’s Master of Science Healthcare Administration and Interprofessional Leadership (MS-HAIL)  program, an online program designed for working professionals that includes an interprofessional capstone project that addresses a key issue for the organization. While MS-HAIL does not have a specific gerontologic focus, Caitlin’s work does.

Pictured here: Denise Wishner and Nancy Dudley at the Change AGEnts Conference

Denise Wishner, Nancy Dudley, and Schola Matovu, all UCSF doctoral students, are John A. Hartford Foundation Change AGEnts. They joined more than 150 other Change AGEnts at the initiative’s inaugural conference in Philadelphia in December. 

Doctoral Students

Lauren Hunt, Jeannie Schmit Kayser-Jones Scholarship; Lorinda Coombs, Mahmood Khosravi

Masters Students

Nhat Bui, Julee Kim, Heather Roff, Colleen Waters

Scholarships are awarded biannually and are designed to assist graduate students with documented need and who show a commitment to the care of older adults.  These awards are made possible by the generosity of the John A. Hartford Foundation and donors to the CGNE scholarship fund.

On June 9th, 2014 at the UCSF School of Nursing’s graduation ceremony, Anna Strewler deservedly received the award of Outstanding Master’s Student.  We are thrilled that Ms. Strewler was recognized, as she is an exceptional student and nurse committed to the highest quality of care for older adults.  During her time at UCSF in the sub-specialty area of gerontological nursing, she has served as a leader in the School of Nursing and an interprofessional link to the School of Medicine, Geriatrics Division.

On Monday, June 2, 2014, Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN, FAAN visited UCSF shared her knowledge and expertise with the UCSF community on the importance of Interprofessional education & team based care.  Dr. Fulmer, Dean of Bouve College of Health Sciences at Northeastern University, Vice-Chair of the board of the New York Academy of Medicine, board member of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, & the 1st Nurse President of the American Geriatrics Society. 

The Hartford Center is pleased to announce the 2014-15 Hartford Academy Scholars. The Hartford Academy is offered to UCSF and Bay Area nursing faculty and preceptors who participate in the UCSF NorCal Geriatric Education Center Interprofessional Faculty Development Program. Nursing faculty are provided with guidance and mentoring to develop and grow as leaders in teaching, research, and practice in geriatric nursing. 

On June 11-13, 2014, Hartford Associate Director and Assistant Professor, Community Health Systems, Laura Wagner, PhD, RN, FAAN attended the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing Center for Innovative Care in Aging, Summer Research Institute, "Developing Behavioral Interventions." The Institute is designed to help participants develop

Pictured here: Rafael Romo (2014 graduating doctoral student) and current doctoral student Nancy Dudley.

On May 21, 2014 the Hartford Center hosted a celebration event for newly graduating Masters and Doctoral students with interest in the care of older adults. Students from SF State attended along with their mentor Dr. Robert Pope, faculty at SF state and UCSF School of Nursing and Hartford Center alumni.  

We are very pleased to announce that Hartford doctoral students Denise Wishner and Schola Matovu have been selected to receive support from the Jonas Center for Nursing and Veterans Healthcare (Jonas Center). 

The Hartford Center is pleased to announce the 2013-14 Hartford Academy Graduates, pictured here (from left) Miranda Kramer, MSN, ADN, Nurse Practitioner, Stanford Medical Center, UCSF School of Nursing Doctoral Candidate;  Nancy Dudley, BSN, MSN, MA, Nursing Health Policy Doctoral Candidate, UCSF School of Nursing, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences; Maria Cho, PhD, Assistant Professor, California State University, East Bay, Department of Nursing and Health Science; Liz Gatewood, RN, FNP-C, Nurse

We are very pleased to announce that Hartford doctoral student, Nancy Dudley, was named a 2014-16 Patricia G. Archbold Scholar by the National Hartford Centers of Gerontological Nursing Excellence (HCGNE). The goal of the NHCGNE Scholar Award program is to increase academic gerontological nursing capacity in the United States by increasing the number of well-prepared gerontological nursing faculty.