Honored by VUSN were, front, left to right, Margaret Mcgill, Terry Capton-Snell, and Barbara Petersen. Back, Donna McArthur, Joan King, and Melanie Lutenbacher. (photo by Anne Rayner)
School of Nursing honors accomplishments, efforts
The School of Nursing added a new feature to its annual Spring Faculty Meeting: Excellence in Teaching Awards. The awards were presented to recognize faculty accomplishments and contributions.
This year also marked the return of several prestigious nursing awards including the Ingleborg Mauksch Award, named after the school’s first Valere Potter Professor, which was the first endowed chair in nursing in the country.
The following awards were presented during the annual meeting:
•The Dean’s Award for Outstanding Service to Faculty and Students – Terry Capton-Snell, director of the Maternal Infant Care Program and director of Maternal Infant Care Nurse-Midwifery Services at General Hospital. This award, established in 1985, recognizes individuals from the university or the community for outstanding efforts to advance the recognition and standing of the School of Nursing. This award was last presented in 1993.
“Terry is a longtime friend of Advanced Practice Nursing and the School of Nursing,” said Colleen Conway-Welch, dean of the School of Nursing. “As the director of the Maternal and Infant Care Nurse-Midwifery Service at General Hospital, and later the director of all the MIC programs, she has assisted and precepted nurse-midwifery students, pediatric nurse practitioner and family nurse practitioner students. We are thrilled to honor Terry for her service to the profession, to the School and to her community.”
•The Dean’s Award for Recognition of Faculty Achievement in Scholarly Endeavors – Melanie Lutenbacher, Ph.D., RN, CS-PNP, assistant professor of Nursing and program director of the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner specialty. This award was created in 1984 to recognize faculty at VUSN who have made major contribution to the scholarly advancement of one or more of the School’s tri-partite mission of Teaching, Practice and Research. This award was last presented in 1993.
“Melanie’s involvement in the community really has been extraordinary,” said Conway-Welch. “Her interdisciplinary research on violence and abuse has made contributions in many areas including a better understanding of the violence cycle in families, more understanding of barriers within the service delivery arena that prevent victims from securing needed services and a proposed delivery model using academic and community collaboration to impact violence.”
•Ingeborg Mauksch Award for Excellence in Faculty Mentoring – Barbara Petersen, CNM, Ed.D., FACNM, associate professor in Nursing and program director of Nurse Midwifery specialty. This award was established in 1984 in honor of Mauksch to recognize a current faculty member for excellence in mentoring other faculty, nurses in the community or alumni. This award was last presented in 1996.
“She has been called the midwife to midwives,” said Conway-Welch. “For the last six years, faculty and students have lauded her efforts to assist them in their professional development as midwives and as academic faculty.”
The following awards were created in 2001. Although previously announced during the Medical Center’s Spring Faculty Meeting, they were officially awarded during the Nursing School ceremony:
•School of Nursing Excellence in Teaching Award (Teaching in the lecture or small group setting) – Margaret McGill, CNM, MN, instructor in Nursing, Nurse Midwifery specialty.
•School of Nursing Excellence in Teaching Award (Teaching in a clinical setting) – Joan King, Ph.D., ACNP, associate professor in Nursing and program director of Acute Care Nurse Practitioner specialty.
•School of Nursing Excellence in Teaching Award (Educational innovation) – Donna McArthur, Ph.D., RN, assistant professor in Nursing and program director of Family Nurse Practitioner specialty.