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School of Nursing Teaching Awards
May 1, 2007, Volume 53, No. 32

  • Faculty Teaching Award
  • Undergraduate Advising Award
  • Dean’s Award for Undergraduate Teaching
  • Dean’s Award for Undergraduate Scholarly Mentorship
  • Academic Support Staff Teaching Award
  • The Barbara Lowery DSO Faculty Award
  • Dr. Afaf I. Meleis, Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing, announced the recipients of the School of Nursing’s 2007 faculty awards. 

    Faculty Teaching Award

    Joseph Boullata

    The Faculty Teaching Award honors a member of the School of Nursing faculty who exemplifies excellence in teaching.  The 2007 recipient, Dr. Joseph Boullata, an associate professor of pharmacology and therapeutics and clinician educator, “consistently offers support to students and encourages questions and input” says an MSN/MPH student. In nominating Dr. Boullata for this award, his students report his vast experience, ability to incorporate real-life clinical scenarios into his teaching, accessibility to his students and responsiveness to concerns and questions, and humor as keys in helping to make “dry and technical” subject matter understandable.  As a student noted in the nomination letter, Dr. Boullata “expects his students to be proficient and safe, and he provides the tools for them to do so.”

     


    Undergraduate Advising Award

    Therese Richmond

    The Undergraduate Advising Award is presented to the faculty member who excels in advising the School’s undergraduates. Dr. Therese Richmond, associate professor of nursing, is this year’s honoree. Dr. Richmond is dedicated to the academic and personal development of her advisees and encourages her students to pursue the areas of study about which they are most passionate. She frequently involves her advisees in her research investigating depression after head trauma or firearm injury which has helped to make students who might be unsure of their choice of a nursing career excited about being a nurse and participating in research that will have a direct impact on patients. “This ability of Dr. Richmond’s to involve young students in nursing research is a unique and effective way of hooking students on nursing and perpetuating an interest in nursing research,” says one colleague.

     


    Dean’s Award for Undergraduate Teaching

    Sean Clarke

    The Dean’s Award for Undergraduate Teaching is presented to the faculty member who demonstrates commitment to educational leadership, undergraduate education, and students. Dr. Sean Clarke, associate director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research and Class of 1965 25th Reunion Term Assistant Professor of Nursing, is the 2007 recipient. As course director for the Advanced Clinical Practicum-Theory, the final mandatory course in the BSN program, Dr. Clarke explores subjects such as leadership concepts, quality and safety management, and legal and ethical issues clinical providers often encounter.  The course helps students make the transition from student to practicing clinician. Under his guidance, students learn to consider cultural, ethnic, racial, and gender differences when analyzing conflict, patient care variance, and healthcare policy changes. In nominating him, a colleague writes that Dr. Clarke “creates a forum in which students can express and articulate their positions on controversial issues.” As his students have commented, “The subject matter of this course is imperative for a new nurse and we feel fortunate that we received the information from Dr. Clarke, who is so enthusiastic about the field of nursing.”

     


    Dean’s Award for Undergraduate Scholarly Mentorship

    Nancy Hanrahan

    The Dean’s Award for Undergraduate Scholarly Mentorship is awarded to the faculty member who has served as an exceptional mentor to undergraduate students in the introduction and participation of undergraduate nursing research for a minimum of one semester. This year’s recipient, assistant professor Dr. Nancy Hanrahan, consistently works with undergraduate students to create learning and research opportunities that best suit the students’ interests. “Dr. Hanrahan does outstanding work as a standing faculty member raising awareness about research among Penn students and sowing seeds for the next generation of researchers in nursing,” says a colleague. Dr. Hanrahan’s mentorship has resulted in the publication, review, or presentation of several student-faculty papers. 

     


    Academic Support Staff Teaching Award

    Angela Iorianni-Cimbak

    The Academic Support Staff Teaching Award is presented for excellence in teaching, including knowledge of the subject matter, ability to stimulate student interest, ability to present subject matter clearly, interest, accessibility, and willingness to work with students. This year’s honoree is Angela Iorianni-Cimbak, director of the Mathias J. Brunner Instructional Technology Center. In her position, Ms. Iorianni-Cimbak contributes to the educational experiences of students at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels, meeting with the students on an individual basis to review their clinical needs to create a plan that will help the students be successful. As a result of her work to develop learning exercises that challenge the students’ critical thinking skills, “Penn Nursing graduates enter the workforce particularly well-prepared for all clinical positions, especially those in critical care,” writes one faculty member in her nomination letter. Not only does Ms. Iorianni-Cimbak provide guidance to the School’s students, she also supports the faculty and has made invaluable contributions to the School and its mission. “As a result of Angela’s hard work and dedication, the simulation center is viewed as a prototype for simulation education within the University community,” says a Penn Nursing faculty member.

     


    The Barbara Lowery DSO Faculty Award

    Barbara Riegel

    The Barbara Lowery Doctoral Student Organization (DSO) Faculty Award recognizes a faculty member who has advanced nursing science through “exemplary and unwavering doctoral student mentorship.” Presented in honor of Dr. Lowery and the impact she had on Penn doctoral students, the award is presented each year to a member of the School’s standing faculty as voted by the DSO membership. This year, the DSO has selected associate professor of nursing Dr. Barbara Riegel. A fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the American Heart Association and serving as editor of The Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, Dr. Riegel is renowned for her studies of heart failure self-care and disease management, providing national and international leadership in clinical research in the area of heart failure in the elder patient population. Even while maintaining her global research relationships, her students report she has remained committed to them. As the students wrote in their letters of support of her nomination, “Dr. Riegel is the quintessential mentor, offering opportunities to co-author research papers, encouraging the writing of research proposals for extramural funding and multiple manuscripts for submission to high impact journals, and seeking out national networking opportunities for her students. She fosters perseverance and the importance of collegial relationships. Because of her exemplary work with doctoral students in particular, she is a credit to the University, the School of Nursing, and the nursing community at large.”

     

    Almanac - May 1, 2007, Volume 53, No. 32