HCGNE - News & Events

• The John A. Hartford Foundation Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence G-STARS Application Guidelines

Applications Due: November 1, 2012
Funds available upon notification of award

1. Current CV
2. Trajectory & Goals
3. Plans for use of funds: $2,000

Allowable expenses: Tuition Assistance, Professional Travel (Registration/Hotel/Travel), Mileage Reimbursement to attend classes, conferences, Special events as required by advisor, Computer (no handhelds devices allowed)

4. Endorsement by advisor or HCGNE faculty

Graduate Students in Training for Academic Roles and Service (G-STARS). This innovative faculty development initiative will annually identify and select, through a competitive application process, at least two doctoral students in gerontological nursing who aspire to academic leadership roles. Each doctoral student’s primary faculty mentor, role model, and guide will attend at least one professional meeting annually (such as the Gerontological Society of America or Midwest Nursing Research Society meetings) with the student. The faculty mentor will also assist the student in developing and presenting scholarly posters and preparing papers for publication based on the student’s and/or faculty mentor’s research, as well as developing the student’s CV, to be competitive for faculty roles post graduation. Together with the faculty mentors, HCGNE directors and staff will hold strategic faculty development seminars each semester to intensively socialize aspiring gerontologic nursing professors into academic life and related expectations and obligations, including an emphasis on the advantages of post-doctoral training. As part of the seminar series, successful gerontologic faculty and administrators will conduct mock "faculty recruiting" interview sessions to better prepare doctoral graduates to be successful in obtaining academic positions and to understand how to negotiate first faculty appointments that will advantage them in their career development path.

• Grant to Bolster Smith’s Research on Late Life Depression

Marianne Smith, PhD, RN, assistant professor at UI’s College of Nursing, was recently awarded a five-year Research Project Grant (R01) from the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) at the National Institute of Health (NIH).

The grant will provide more than $3 million in funding for Dr. Smith’s research project, which is titled “Improving Mood in Assisted Living Using a Cognitive Training Intervention."

During this study, Dr. Smith and her team will take a closer look at late life depression, which affects 24 percent of assisted living (AL) residents and often interacts with other social and health problems to cause a downward disability spiral that is costly to both older individuals and society.

“Depression is a serious problem in late life, but often isn’t recognized by older people or their care providers,” explained Smith. 

The study will evaluate the effect of a computerized cognitive training intervention on depression symptoms, suspected clinical depression, and depression-related health outcomes among adults in AL settings.

An estimated 300 older adults in 20 or more assisted living facilities in Iowa will be enrolled.

“This computerized program helps overcome all kinds of problems related to identifying and treating late life depression. It’s easy to use, can be done ‘at home’ in the assisted living facility whenever it’s convenient for the person, and is fun for most people,” added Smith.

Dr. Smith will serve as the Principal Investigator (PI), and her team will include Co-Investigators Fred Wolinsky from the College of Public Health, Janet Specht from the College of Nursing, and  Linda Seydel from the Iowa Geriatric Education Center.

“This is an exciting, innovative project that has the potential to really impact treatment of older adults with depression,” said Ann Marie McCarthy, RN, PhD, FAAN, professor & associate dean for research. “Marianne has worked for many years helping older adults and this grant is a fantastic opportunity for her to carry out this wonderful research study."

“If we can prevent serious depression and all the problems that come with it using this reasonably simple program, it will truly be a significant advancement. I am really excited to work with such a great team and our many assisted living partners on such a promising intervention,” concluded Smith.

Abstract

• Colloquium - The Aging Population, Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias: Law and  Public Policy