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From the September 2003 University Reporter:

HHS Grant Helps Bring the Best to Nursing

When College of Nursing and Health Sciences (CNHS) professor Linda Dumas studied nursing, she was part of a ten-member cohort who took classes together, formed study groups, and forged friendships. She believes small learning communities make sense--and current research confirms her claim.

Now, with the help of a new $729,000 three-year Department of Health and Human Services grant and the assistance of colleagues Deborah Mahony, Jane Cloutterbuck, Victoria Palmer-Erbs, Lin Zhan, Joel Grossman, and others, Dumas hopes to create a special community of learners for CNHS.

The program, called "Bringing the Best to Nursing" (BBN), is designed especially for CNHS students of color, those representing linguistic minorities, and those from economically or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds. Dumas cites research from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) supporting the idea of small learning communities, particularly for students of color.
read more: HHS Grant

On Nursing: College of Nursing and Health Sciences Convocation Keynote Address, September 24, 2003

Presented by Jacqueline Fawcett, PhD, FAAN, Professor, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, UMass Boston

"Nursing's story," declared Martha Rogers, one of my all-time nurse heroines, "is a magnificent epic of service to humankind. It is about people: how they are born, and live and die; in health and in sickness; in joy and in sorrow" (Rogers, 1966). Nurses, Martha went on to tell us, develop and use knowledge that "brings with it increased capacity for meaningful service (Rogers, 1970, p. xi).

I am honored by this opportunity to welcome you to the world of nursing and nursing stories. I will do so by sharing just a little bit of my nursing story--of my 39 glorious years of being a nurse. Those years have been filled with fabulous opportunities to contribute to the health-related quality of life of individuals, families, and communities, through direct practice; practice through teaching and mentoring of undergraduate, master's, and doctoral nursing students; and practice through research with students and colleagues. I share this brief glimpse of my career so that you might begin to write and live your own stories of the many ways in which you, too, can contribute to the health-related quality of life of those people who come to you for nursing. read more: Convocation