From left: Dr. Susie Harris, Lacey Williams, Angela Falsetti, Tina Carlton, Callie Woodard, Deniece Russell, Ethel Wright, Susan M. Haddock, Faisal Olayan Alharbi, Dr. Xiaoming Zeng. Not pictured: Dawn Camden

East Carolina University graduated its final class of Health Information Management students on May 10, 2013. 

The graduation ended a long history of educating close to 600 health information management professionals.

The Medical Records Administration department was created in 1970, with Mrs. Peggy Wood as the first chairperson.  She remained in that position for 26 years. In 1993, the department was renamed Health Information Management.  It was later expanded to include the BS in Health Services Management, and renamed the Department of Health Services and Information Management in 2002.

Since its beginnings, more than ninety percent of the health information management professionals in eastern NC received a degree from ECU.

The decision to discontinue the bachelor’s degree is due to the change in health information technology. In the future, more emphasis will be placed on the sharing of medical information, and computer specialists trained at the graduate level in health informatics will be needed.   Accordingly, as one chapter closes, another will open through the MS in Health Informatics and Information Management.  The first class of students will enter in fall 2013.

Congratulations HIM students!

The ECU School of Dental Medicine recently celebrated its designation as an Apple Distinguished Program. Pictured with Assistant Dean Dr. Todd Watkins, third from left, and Dean Greg Chadwick, third from the right, are dental students, left to right, Vivek Thanawala, Diana Luckhardt, Isaac Morton, Loren Moles and Barry Price. (Photo by Cliff Hollis).

Apple executives from North Carolina visited the School of Dental Medicine in April to celebrate the school’s designation as an Apple Distinguished Program for 2012-2013 with students, faculty and staff.

The Apple Distinguished Program title is reserved for programs that meet criteria for innovation, leadership and educational excellence and demonstrate Apple’s vision of exemplary learning environments. The school uses innovative technology in all aspects of its teaching, problem-solving and clinical education programs.

The School of Dental Medicine has created an environment with 31 rooms and clinical spaces connected by video teleconferencing, integrated seminar rooms, and simulation labs in Ledyard E. Ross Hall on campus and at community-based centers in rural parts of North Carolina.

Dental faculty and residents currently treat patients at ECU Community Service Learning Centers in Ahoskie and Elizabeth City. Eight more centers will be built in North Carolina in the near future. “Within the next two years, we’ll be placing fourth year students in underserved areas across the state to help improve oral health,” said Dr. Greg Chadwick, dean of the ECU School of Dental Medicine. “This concept is resting upon connectivity through these technologies.”

While at ECU, Dr. Sarah Farrell, development executive Apple Education, recognized Dr. R. Todd Watkins as a member of the 2013 Class of Apple Distinguished Educators. Watkins, assistant dean for dental education and informatics and the first faculty member hired by the school, was given the task of developing and implementing a new vision for health science curriculum, which involves an emphasis on problem-solving and critical thinking.

The Apple Distinguished Educator Program began in 1994. Today it has grown into a worldwide community of visionary educators and innovative leaders who are doing amazing things with technology in and out of the classroom. Apple describes its distinguished educators as “part of a global community of education leaders” who “explore new ideas, seek new paths, and embrace new opportunities.”

As part of the program, Watkins will meet with other educators from around the world to discuss trends and technologies at a conference in Austin, Texas, in July.

Bagley, director of nurse-midwifery education in the ECU College of Nursing, will provide services such as taking vital signs, checking blood pressures, and dispensing over-the-counter drugs for headaches, upset stomachs, or allergies to legislators and legislative staff members.

The day is made possible by the North Carolina Nurses Association.

“I chose to serve as Nurse of the Day to broaden my horizons,” Bagley said. “I am a soon-to-be DNP graduate at Duke University and this is a great way to sit in on legislative sessions.”

Many NCNA members who previously served have said the experience has validated their choice of the nursing profession. The nurses enhance the positive image of nursing in the state of North Carolina, officials said.

The North Carolina Nurses Association

The North Carolina Nurses Association is the professional organization for all registered nurses in North Carolina. Through NCNA nurses become powerful advocates patients and the nursing profession. For more information please visit www.ncnurses.org.

For our students studying the complex procedural techniques demanded of today’s nurses, reading instructions out of a textbook is no substitute for the real thing. That’s why Laupus Library works with the Division of Health Sciences to provide learning resources that give our students hands-on, real-world exposure to their intended field.

On and off-campus, College of Nursing students have access to cutting-edge, interactive technological resources that complement the traditional curriculum they study hard to master. On campus, our students have access to the state of the art simulation lab, where they can practice scenarios that might take place in an everyday primary care setting. And at home, they can access step-by-step tutorials using our expanding video library, which now includes the Nursing Education in Video collection from Alexander St. Press.

Nursing Education in Video is an expansive collection of videos created specifically for the education and training of nurses, nursing assistants and other healthcare workers. All of the videos are regularly reviewed to ensure that they are accurate and contain the most up to date information. They also meet all OSHA and CMS regulations.

The collection is available now via the e-resources page: http://www.ecu.edu/laupuslibrary/research/erinfo.cfm?ID=337 . MARC records for individual video titles will be added when available.

For questions about this tool, or any of the other resources that we offer at Laupus, come by or contact us here. We look forward to learning with you.

–Kelly R. Dilda
Public Communications Specialist
Laupus Library

Ken Widmer, a student in the online substance abuse graduate certificate program, tells why he chose this field.

My name is Ken Widmer and I live in Wasilla, Alaska. I have a master’s degree in vocational rehabilitation counseling, but only worked in this field for a few years. I enjoyed the work, but I was young and looking for something more exciting.  I chose to become a firefighter for the Anchorage Fire Department where I worked for 31 years, before I was forced to retire because of a debilitating injury.

I have always had a desire to help people, which is one of the reasons I chose to be a firefighter and why I am currently enrolled in the substance abuse certificate program at ECU. Working as a firefighter, I had firsthand experience with the homeless, alcoholics and drug abusers in Anchorage. Over the years, I came to the realization that they were not that different from what society considers “normal people.” Many were quite intelligent and had skills that would provide them with all those things necessary to be a member in good standing in society except:  a few bad decisions, genetic factors, being born in the wrong place, a predisposition toward addiction, coming from a dysfunctional family, etc.

My plan is to return to work to see if I can help people like this make changes that will improve the quality of their life. The classes that I have taken through ECU have taught me that there is no simple solution to substance abuse, but I feel that whatever difference I can make will be worth the effort.

In my life time I have dealt with many people whose job it is to help the sick, the drug addicted and the mentally ill. Some are great while others make you wonder why they are in this line of work. My advice to those that are planning to enter this field is to go to an AA meeting or a NA meeting, volunteer with the homeless. Instead of passing the street person, stop and talk to them. If after doing this, you do not feel empathy for them, then, in my opinion, you have chosen the wrong field.

Next week, imagine how many people you can touch by taking a moment to thank a nurse for a job well-done. First, you will bring a smile to the nurse. Then, the nurse will unknowingly share that smile with patients and colleagues throughout the day and those people will pass the gesture along to the people they interact with. In a busy clinic or hospital, your simple “thank you” to a nurse will touch hundreds of people.

We celebrate National Nurse’s Week in early May to coincide with Florence Nightingale’s birthday. Just as Nightingale tirelessly cared for soldiers during the Crimean War (1853-1856), our nurses care for all types of patients—some are very sick and others are generally healthy.

Make plans to surprise a nurse with a random act of kindness during Nurse’s Week and know that your thoughtful expression will not only make the nurse’s day, but you will share kindness with many people who may need a boost. You will never know it, but your actions may help a patient overcome a frightening diagnosis or help a young family cope with grief. What a terrific way to say thank you and honor our nurses!

Sylvia T. Brown, EdD, RN, CNE
Dean & Professor
ECU College of Nursing

ECU libraries subscribe to a number of authoritative video sources that cover a huge variety of educational topics, including the health sciences. The sources below are particularly useful to our Division of Health Sciences community:

• Access Surgery features videos highlighting the latest surgical techniques
• Counseling and Therapy in Video allows users to view counseling sessions and observe techniques, lectures and interviews
• Nurse Theorists: Portraits of Excellence features interviews and insights from nursing’s premiere scholars
• Sports Medicine and Exercise Science in Video features videos on injury assessment and treatment
• Films on Demand covers a large subject area, but includes films from the likes of PBS, HBO, and other credible sources on health sciences-related topics

Laupus Library provides access to all of these video streaming services both on and off-campus; Health Sciences community members need only enter their PirateID. So, just like YouTube, members of the Health Sciences community can watch from their couches.

And because many of the links are sharable, it’s easy for students and faculty to link to the actual videos from within BlackBoard or a class website, making the learning experience more interactive. These videos are another example of how Laupus Library – and the entire ECU campus – continues adopting forward-thinking learning tools that meet our students where they already are: online.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to access and use these videos, please Contact Us at Laupus for more information.

–Beth Ketterman
Laupus Library

Dr. Samuel F. Sears accepts the O. Max Gardner Award from UNC Board of Governors Chair Peter Hans. Sears will be featured on UNC-TV’s “N.C. Now” airing at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 15.  (Photo by ECU Photographer Jay Clark)

An East Carolina University professor has received the highest faculty honor bestowed by the University of North Carolina for his work to improve quality of life in heart patients.

The UNC Board of Governors named Dr. Samuel F. Sears, director of the doctoral program in health psychology, as the winner of the 2013 O. Max Gardner Award.

The honor pays tribute to one faculty member within the UNC system who, during the current academic year, made the greatest contribution to the welfare of the human race. Sears accepted the award at the Board of Governors’ monthly meeting at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke on April 12.

After a video on Sears and his work at ECU was shown to the board, UNC Board of Governors Chair Peter Hans called Sears to the podium saying, “You richly deserve this award.”

Sears received a standing ovation from the 150 people in attendance, including his parents, wife and sons, fellow ECU faculty members and Chancellor Steve Ballard.

“I have referred to this award as the academic Heisman for North Carolina,” Sears said. “The recognition…allows me to magnify the challenges of the future. Universities like ours have to respond.”

Sears is the world’s leading expert on the psychological implications for patients living with life-saving heart devices. The implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) can deliver a shock as strong as a mule’s kick when it detects potentially life-threatening heart arrhythmias. Sears works with patients to alleviate fear and anxiety in anticipation of shocks and to improve their overall quality of life.

He serves as a psychologist, patient advocate, researcher, and professor. His goals are to provide the latest information on coping strategies and to prepare tomorrow’s health psychologists to reach more patients.

The O. Max Gardner Award was created through the will of Oliver Max Gardner, the late senator, lieutenant governor and governor of North Carolina. It is the only award for which all faculty members at the 16 university-system institutions are eligible. The 2013 award carries a $20,000 cash prize.

Sears is the eighth ECU professor to earn the O. Max Gardner and only the second psychologist to win since the award’s creation in 1949. Most recently, he joins Dr. W. Randolph Chitwood, Jr., who won in 2004 for cardiothoracic surgery, and Dr. Walter J. Pories, who was named the winner for biochemistry in 2001.

Other past ECU professors awarded the O. Max Gardner Award are William E. Laupus, 1989, medicine; Edgar Loessin, 1986, theater; Stanley R. Riggs, 1983, geology; Francis Speight, 1975, art; and Ovid Williams Pierce, 1973, literature.

A profile of Sears will air Monday, April 15, at 7:30 p.m. on UNC-TV’s “N.C. Now.”

Meaghan Johnson, on an adaptive tricycle, is a second year ECU OT student. She describes why she decided to pursue occupational therapy.

I was first introduced to OT a few years ago when I was a teacher assistant in a pre-kindergarten special needs classroom. While there, I was able to observe the school OT as she worked with a few of our students within the classroom setting. But, it was when I observed a private OT session for a student that I was babysitting that I was really drawn to OT and knew it was the perfect career for me. The students’ OT had me sit in the room during the therapy session and explained all the things that she was doing and why she was doing them. She then explained activities and techniques that could be implemented in the classroom based on school related concerns that I mentioned. Her ideas resonated with me; I was able to immediately see how occupations can be used as a means to improve quality of life. I began researching more about the field- the more I learned, the more excited I became to start pursuing OT as a career.

 Tell me about being an OT student at East Carolina University.

I am a second year student in the OT program at ECU with only a few more weeks of classes remaining.  After completing the spring semester, I will begin two 3-month fieldwork experiences—one at WakeMed Hospital in Raleigh and the other at Duke Hospital in Durham.  Although my time as a classroom student is coming to an end, I can look back at my time and see how much I have learned and grown from my experiences in this program. 

 There are 25 students in the OT program; we all have every class together except for labs where the class is split in half. Needless to say, we have grown very close to one another. Our program focuses on teaching us the fundamental skills we need to be competent therapists in whatever environment or setting we choose. Our curriculum is a balance of theory, assessments, and treatment techniques and how to implement these to address participation in daily life activities such as dressing, feeding, social participation and leisure activities. Our professors encourage us and want us all to succeed, not only in the classroom but out in the field as well. 

 We are all members of the Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA).  Through this organization we have had the opportunity to volunteer at events and programs like the Special Olympics and the Autism Society and participate in walks to raise money for ALS and Autism. We have also learned from educational events- like CarFit and non-violent crisis prevention.  These community activities have helped us to advocate for occupational therapy as well as expand our professional knowledge and develop new interests.

The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons says: “While smoking and heavy drinking are still major risk factors, the fastest growing segment of oral cancer patients is young, healthy, nonsmoking individuals under the age of 40. Recent research has identified the human papilloma virus version 16 as being sexually transmitted between partners and related to the increasing incidence of oral cancer in young non-smoking patients.

There are also links to young men and women who use conventional “smokeless” chewing or spit tobacco. Promoted by some as a safer alternative to smoking, this form of tobacco use is actually no safer when it comes to oral cancers.

Other factors that may promote oral cancer include physical trauma, infectious disease, poor oral hygiene and poor nutrition; however, the research regarding their involvement is uncertain. It is likely that there is a complex interaction of many external and internal factors that play a role in the development of oral cancer.”

For an Oral Cancer Self Examination Guide and Oral Cancer Fact Sheet, visit http://www.aaoms.org/oral_cancer_awareness.php.

The American Dental Association and the Oral Cancer Foundation encourage people to take part in Oral Cancer Awareness Month by visiting a dentist for an oral cancer screening. 

Free Screenings

ECU School of Dental Medicine faculty and students will conduct free oral cancer screenings 12:30-2:30 p.m., Saturday, April 6 at the Clark-LeClair Stadium Gate #2 during the home baseball game. The stadium is located on Charles Boulevard just south of Greenville Boulevard in Greenville.

There also are several income-based dental clinics in the vicinity of ECU that provide cancer screenings such as the Bernstein Community Health Center in Greenville, 252-695-6355; Kinston Community Health Center, 252-522-9800; and the Greene County Dental Clinic, 252-747-8181. Additionally, N.C. Missions of Mercy dental clinics provide screenings and treatments without cost; visit www.ncdental.org/ncds/NCMOM.asp.