Lorraine Thirsk, PhD, RN, is the Education Lead, Palliative Institute, Covenant Health in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Her role involves developing palliative care education curriculum and supporting education and best practices in palliative care for the organization. Covenant Health provides health services across Alberta in both rural and urban areas, with a particular focus on excellence in palliative care, seniors care, mental health, and rural health. The Palliative Institute also supports research in palliative care. Lorraine completed her PhD (2009) at the University of Calgary in Family Systems Nursing, and has a particular interest in supporting nursing practice in therapeutic conversations with families regarding end of life care. She has served on the IFNA Education Committee. For more information contact IFNA member, Lorraine Thirsk: [email protected]
A Real Birmingham Family: Bronze Sculpture Honors Diverse Family Structure
A Real Birmingham Family bronze sculpture was recently unveiled in the city of Birmingham, United Kingdom that honors the diversity of family structure. Residents of the city were invited to nominate their families to represent a “real” family and have it immortalized; over 350 families applied. The Jones family consisting of two sisters, Roma and Emma, both single parents, and their two sons Kyan and Shaye, was chosen as the “real” family. Artist Gillian Wearing’s work depicts a bronze sculpture of both women and their children.
Research Collaboration Between Family Nursing Scholars in USA and Iceland Advances Care of Children with Disabilities
An ongoing research collaboration focused on parallel studies in USA and Iceland has been advancing knowledge about school nursing and family centered care of children with disabilities in Reykjavik and Minnesota. Members include Drs. Ann Garwick, Wendy Looman, and Lori Anderson from the USA and Drs. Erla Svarsdottir, and Brynja Orlygsdottir from Iceland. This group of scholars has been collaborating mostly via technology (email, teleconference, videoconferencing). Two recent publications in the Journal of Advanced Nursing (see references below) report the development of an International School Nurse Asthma Care Coordination Model.
Drs. Ann Garwick and Wendy Looman recently received funding to continue this work (Dr. Erla Svavarsdottir is applying for funding in Iceland). They will examine the extent to which school nurses in Iceland and Minnesota use a Family Systems approach in caring for children with asthma and learning disorders. For more information contact IFNA member, Ann Garwick: [email protected]
*Garwick, A. W., Svarvarsdottir, E. K., Seppelt, A. M., Looman, W. S., Anderson, L. S., & Orlygsdottir, B. (2014). Development of an International School Nurse Asthma Care Coordination Model. Advance online publication. Journal of Advanced Nursing. doi: 10.1111/jan.12522
*Svavarsdottir, E. K., Garwick, A. W., Anderson, L. S., Looman, W. S., Seppelt, A., & Orlygsdottir, B. (2013). The International School Nurse Asthma Project: Barriers related to asthma management in schools. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 69(5), 1161-1171. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2012.06107.x
*IFNA Member
Dr. Margherite Matteis: IFNA YouTube Video on Family Nursing Education
Dr. Margherite Matteis, is an Associate Professor at Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts, USA. Her specialty is psychiatric nursing and family therapy. In this IFNA YouTube video (produced for IFNA by Dr. Sharon Denham), Dr. Matteis focuses on educational resources to help graduate students “think family”. Students report that these learning strategies help them to close the theory-practice gap. For more information contact IFNA member, Margherite Matteis: [email protected]
Dr. Patricia Kelly Studies Family Reintegration Experience Following Deployment to Combat Zones
Patricia J. Kelly, PhD, MPH, APRN, is Professor, School of Nursing and Health Studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, USA, where she mentors doctoral students and teaches quantitative methods courses. With colleagues from the School of Education and funding from the Department of Defense’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Unit, Dr. Kelly has conducted a mixed methods study of women in the U.S. National Guard units and their family reintegration experience following deployment to combat zones. Two articles describing the qualitative findings have been published; a manuscript describing the quantitative findings is under review. Findings have been used to inform the content of a pilot intervention. The pilot examines the feasibility and logistics of offering an internet-based support group focusing on improved coping skills for women who have been recently deployed. For more information contact INFA member, Patricia J. Kelly at [email protected].
*Kelly, P. J., Berkel, L. A., & Nilsson, J. E. (2014). Postdeployment reintegration experiences of female soldiers from National Guard and reserve units in the United States. Nursing Research, 63(5), 346-356. doi: 10.1097/NNR.0000000000000051
*IFNA member
