C-Sections. Epidurals. Contractions. All scary terms for a woman going into labor. However, does child labor really have to be like that? Haven’t women been giving birth since before there were hospitals? What happened to the midwife?

Nursing Fairfield Alumni Vanessa Daou came to share with students about the heavily misunderstood job of the midwife on Thursday, February 4. While Daou works in a hospital at the present moment in labor and delivery, she is concerned about the large number of C-sections doctors are performing, and is working on completing her certified nurse midwife degree at Frontier Nursing in Kentucky.

C-sections are easy for doctors,” Daou explained. “You can schedule a C-section, and they make more money doing it. However, there are a lot of problems with C-section babies. They may have trouble breathing and breast feeding, and if taken too early, may end up being low birth weight babies.”

It’s easy to trust our doctors and hospitals, Daou asserts, thinking we are getting the care we need. The hospital seems safe with its monitors, IVs, and pain medications, and the image of a midwife with a bag full of herbs doesn’t sound so appealing when you know you’re preparing for an intense amount of pain. However, today’s certified midwife is fully equipped with all of the necessary modern nursing tools in case something does go wrong during childbirth, and works collaboratively with physicians to provide the safest care for mothers and babies.

In all, Daou says that with midwives, it is possible to receive more continuity of prenatal and post natal care. Midwives take a holistic focus that includes a healthy diet, exercise, and stress reduction. Daou’s illuminating lecture emphasized how imperative it is that we advocate for the kind of quality care we think we should be getting. As she put it, “Being pregnant is not a disease, and it shouldn’t be treated like it is one. We need to give choice back to the woman.”

For more about the midwife profession, click here.

Fairfield University is launching a new Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program, making it the University’s very first doctoral program.

The DNP program at the School of Nursing will begin classes in September, 2010. It allows nurses to select or build on a specialized clinical focus as a family or psychiatric nurse practitioner. Nurses with either a M.S.N. or B.S.N degree can go directly through to Fairfield’s DNP program, unlike many universities where a master’s degree is required to enter a DNP program.

The School is now accepting applications to the DNP program in family and psychiatric nurse practitioner specialty tracks.

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Jean W. Lange, Ph.D., RN, professor of nursing at Fairfield University, has won a 2010 End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) award, a national honor bestowed by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) to individuals considered central to improving palliative care in the United States.

In a letter to Dr. Lange, Pam Malloy, MN, RN, ELNEC project director at AACN, wrote: “This is given to you for many reasons, but primarily for your outstanding work within Fairfield’s School of Nursing. Your work is remarkable and certainly worthy of this award.”

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Student Spotlight: Eileen Smith '10 Hometown: Little Neck, NY Major: Nursing Extracurricular: Eucharistic Minister, Service Immersion Trip Student Leader, Student Nurses Association

There’s a reason Eileen Smith ‘10 is spearheading a Bone Marrow Registration Drive for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute on Fairfield’s campus, Wednesday, December 9, 2009. Two reasons, in fact.

First, Smith’s father has a best friend who was diagnosed with leukemia a year and a half ago. Everyone in her family – Katie Smith, her mom; Paul Smith, her dad; Dan Smith, her brother; and herself all joined the registry but were not matches. Feeling helpless, both Dan and Eileen decided to spread the word on their respective college campuses to get more people involved. Dan just graduated from Binghamton University and Eileen attends Fairfield University.

If members of the Fairfield University community sign up for the bone marrow registry, will the Smith’s family friend be helped? “Not likely,” says Smith, “but when he heard about what we were doing, he was just grateful that someone else might have a chance.”

Second, Smith’s best friend’s mother, Patricia Kovalski, is a Donor Services Coordinator at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and it’s her job to attract as many prospective bone marrow donors as possible.

A Live-Saving Registry

On any given day, more than 6,000 men, women, and children are searching the National Marrow Donor Program’s (NMDP) Be The Match ? Registry for a life-saving donor. These patients have leukemia, lymphoma, and other life-threatening diseases that can be treated by a marrow, stem cell, or cord blood transplant.

But the sad fact is, today only 2 out of every 10 patients will receive the transplant that could save their lives. “Thousands of patients are looking for a match,” says Smith, “and every new donor we register might help save a life. We are especially encouraging people of diverse ethnic backgrounds to join, as all minorities are minorities in the registry as well.”

Racial and ethnic heritage play a vital role in tissue matches. Because tissue types are inherited, a patient is more likely to match someone from his or her own race or ethnicity. Adding more donors from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds to the Be the Match Registry increases the likelihood that all patients will find a life-saving match.

Where, When & What Will Happen

Fairfield University’s Bone Marrow Drive will be held in the Lower Level Barone Campus Center, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., on December 9. Students, faculty, staff, and the greater community are all encouraged to participate. The only charge for the day is to have interested applicants fill out paperwork and get a mouth swab – a quick cotton dab inside the cheek – to enter into the registry.

From there, a donor is on the Registry until age 61. It is possible those on the registry may never be called as a match, or may receive a call from the Institute many years down the road, or sooner! It all depends if the patient searching the registry for a donor has a similar tissue type. The cheek swab given during registration determines the tissue type.

For those called as a potential match, the next step is to get a good health check and blood work drawn. A majority of donations do not involve surgery. Today, the patient’s doctor most commonly requests a Peripheral Blood Stem Cell (PBSC) donation which is non-surgical. The other way is marrow donation, which is a surgical procedure. With both types of donations, donors usually go home the same day they donate. Those donating marrow receive general or regional anesthesia, so they feel no needles or pain during donation. Marrow donors can expect to feel some soreness in their lower backs for a few days.

Because only a small fraction of the body’s life-giving cells are donated, the donor’s immune system stays strong and the cells replace themselves within 4-6 weeks. The donor’s cells are then taken to the transplant center and infused into the patient. These healthy “donated” cells settle into the patient’s bone marrow, and begin to grow and produce new healthy blood cells and platelets, giving the patient a second chance at life.

Although the registry is anonymous, the donor is entitled to know the patient’s age, sex, and type of disease. In many cases, after a year past donation, donors and recipients can choose to communicate and even arrange to meet each other.

Helping Others – A Nurse’s Calling

Smith entered Fairfield University’s School of Nursing undergraduate program four years ago, following the career print of her mother, who is an occupational health nurse at the Health Center of the Merrill Lynch Building in Manhattan. Smith has looked up to her mother since she was a child. “I know all moms take care of their children when they’re sick, but mine was really special,” she says with a smile.

Smith has been happy with her Fairfield experience since her freshman year – she loves her teachers, her classes, her roommates, the campus, and all the activities available to her. Smith became a Eucharistic Minister her first year here, is a member of the Student Nurses Association, and took a service immersion trip to the Philippines and Australia two summers ago, for three and a half weeks.

“It was a life-changing experience,” maintains Smith. “These families who have nothing want to give you everything.” At night, the families offered their beds to the students; since it was considered disrespectful to refuse them, Smith and her fellow students slept on beds while their host families slept on the floor. “It’s such a different culture. In America, we have so much, but just want more.”

Smith looks forward to leading a service immersion trip to Belize in Central America this winter break. But before she goes, she plans to put her all into the Bone Marrow Drive scheduled for the day before classes end.

“Hopefully we’ll get a big turnout for the drive,” Smith says, her face lighting up in anticipation. “Hopefully, someone will be a match.”

Student Spotlight: Erin Griffin '10
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
Program: Second Degree Accelerated BSN

When it comes to getting her nursing degree, nothing is going to stop Erin Griffin ‘10. She has all the confidence that comes from knowing you’re on the right track. And Griffin is on the right track.

She proved this in October when she saved the life of a patient while on a clinical at the West Haven Veterans Hospital. On a routine visit with a veteran, Griffin and partner John Apinis ‘10 immediately noticed that something was wrong – the patient’s mouth was clenched, his face was purple, and his pulse was alarmingly slow.

While Apinis activated the emergency response for help, Griffin stayed cool-headed and acted swiftly, applying the CPR skills she picked up in Fairfield’s program just months earlier. With poise and focus, she administered a simple maneuver she calls a “jaw thrust” to open his airways, allowing him to take the breaths needed until the emergency crew arrived.

How did the experience affirm Griffin’s decision to become a nurse? “I realized I wasn’t going to run away in an emergency. I acted intuitively, saving my emotional response until after it was all over,” says Griffin. “This was an important moment for me – to know I can be useful, to know I’m going to be a competent nurse some day.”

It’s also clear she’s on the right track because only three weeks after being involved in a life and death situation, she was in another one, and still she’s determined to move forward with the program. This time, her life was in danger as a truck rammed into her 2007 Chevrolet Aveo, totaling the car and leaving Griffin with a half swollen face.

“I’m not thrown by any of this,” says Griffin. “I had to miss my first two medical-surgical clinicals, which was hard for me. But my professors said don’t worry, you take care of yourself right now, we’ll take care of the hours later.”

Why Fairfield?

Griffin was attracted to Fairfield University’s School of Nursing, Second Degree Accelerated Bachelors of Nursing Program because of several factors. Among them were:

• A recommendation by a friend who works at the Southern Central Connecticut Visiting Nurse Association. The word was that Fairfield’s facilities, faculty, and the School’s reputation were all top notch.
• A personal tour by Carole Pomarico, Adult Program Director, of the campus and the facilities.
• A well-paced, 15-month program that was “doable,” compared to the 12-month accelerated programs she found elsewhere.
• A 100% student pass rate of the NCLEX-RN licensure exam, pointing to the strength of a Fairfield education.

Once here, Griffin found that the philosophy of Fairfield’s School of Nursing resonated deeply with her, as “it sums up how nursing should ideally be pursued – as an intersection between personal morals, social and global responsibility, and the pursuit of excellence through evidence-based practice and ongoing research.”

Griffin further explains, “Any healthcare provider in today’s world has a moral and social responsibility to advocate for the best healthcare they can for their patients. Our role is to put the patient first, do best by them, taking into account their background, their culture, their religion. That’s what Fairfield’s mission is all about, and what I want my nursing career to be about too.”

The Value of Clinicals

Griffin puts this philosophy into practice twice a week at her clinicals, which are eight-hour shifts intended for students to apply their nursing skills and acquire independence. Clinical focuses include geriatrics, mental health, wellness, and medical-surgical, and after each shift students meet to share experiences with each other and a seasoned faculty member.

After her pivotal experience at the West Haven VA Hospital, it was Dr. Doris Lippman, a veteran herself and a long-time veteran advocate, who helped her debrief. “One of the most important aspects about the clinicals is having the opportunity to talk about them afterwards with someone who’s been there and done that,” says Griffin. “You’re encountering new experiences every time and sometimes you don’t know how to act. It’s so important to have someone knowledgeable and available like Dr. Lippman to help you sort things out.”

Paths to a Nursing Career

The community aspect of the undergraduate program has also been a high point in Griffin’s Fairfield experience. She has approximately 45 classmates, all who are “so enthusiastic and bring something different to the table.” The nursing students hail from a wide array of academic and career backgrounds, including biology, business, finance, journalism, advertising, and psychology.

Griffin herself received a B.A. in English and Creative Writing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2001. “From 22 to 28 I had a change of heart,” she explains. “In high school I would do anything to get out of a science class, now I’m so interested in everything to do with science and medicine and pathophysiology.” Griffin believes that for many, 18 years old is too young to know what you really want to do with your life. In her case, she always loved reading and writing so she pursued an English degree because no one challenged her otherwise.

But her interest in helping others hands-on has been a thread throughout her life as well. The daughter of two pediatricians who strongly encouraged volunteerism, Griffin volunteered at a crisis nursery and then at a cancer care center as a teenager. “I didn’t know when I was young that I wanted to be a nurse,” she says, “but I would go home at night knowing I did good that day, that I helped someone, and that was a great feeling.”

Staying On the Right Track

Reflecting on her two recent near-death experiences, Griffin comments, “Everything happens for a reason. I’m meant to be where I am and continue with this nursing program that I love.” As for her courage and composure in aiding a failing veteran patient that fateful day in October, she says, “That’s what we’re being trained to do. In situations like I was in, our skills are going to back us up. In the end, it’s the confidence in what you’ve learned that will get you through. I have no doubt that anyone else in my class would have done the same.”

On Tuesday, October 27, 2009, the Colleges of Arts and Sciences revealed new ways of thinking about the required core curriculum through an interactive event in the Barone Campus Center Oak Room, from 11:30 a.m. till 3 p.m. Each department displayed their own booth where students learned more about the University’s graduation requirements and the ways they form an integrated whole grounded in the liberal arts and Jesuit educational tradition. The event, which is on its third annual, was organized by Dr. Kathy Nantz, Director of the Core Integration Project and an Associate Professor of Economics, along with members of the staff of the Center for Academic Excellence.

Students who entered the Oak Room were handed a free t-shirt that displayed the logo of a colorful mask and a title. Each booth had its own games, raffles, and many give a-ways. The room was never empty as students were rushing in to better understand the core. There were food, drinks, raffles, and more.

“The basis of a Jesuit education is the liberal arts curriculum which enhances the study of any major, including the majors in the Schools of Business, Engineering, and Nursing,” said Dean of Freshman Dr. Debnam Chappell. “The core enhances those majors because it gives students writing, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, so that they can deal with any issues that come up in their chosen fields.”

Dr. Chappell was near the entrance behind the booth for the Freshman Experience as she made herself available to answer student questions. A faculty representative at each booth helped students understand how the core integrates with their majors and minors. As Arts & Sciences Dean, Dr. Robbin Crabtree, describes it, “The core is about breadth of study, which is important for any well-educated person. It’s also about developing the habits of mind and heart that form students as life-long learners who care about the world around them.”

Dr. Brian G. Walker was behind the biology table, where he presented different core requirements for science. He explained that students can take a variety of sciences, even without a separate lab class. Walker stated, “When you are exposed to diverse topics outside your major, you learn in ways you wouldn’t have imagined.”

The core exposes students to classes they would not likely take on their own. A student who likes math might not think of taking a philosophy or religion course. An English major might not want to take mathematics courses. However, through the core, students graduate as well-rounded individuals, and may just find an unlikely academic or career path that’s a perfect fit.

“If I had not taken a biology course on the environment, I probably wouldn’t have become an Environmental Studies minor,” said Laura Gilmartin ’12. “Sometimes the core opens up a door. I never considered myself a science person, but the material was interesting, and now I have a minor that I love!”