Highlights:

The Trajectories of Aging and Care Center (TRAC) received a continuation of funding (2004-2007) for its P20 Nursing Research Development Center from the National Institute of Nursing Research.

Julie V. Barroso, RN, MSN, PhD, an assistant professor, received a $2.6 million RO1 grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research for her research study on fatigue in HIV-positive people.

Special Achievements:

Nancy Short, RN, MBA, DrPH, assistant professor and assistant dean, was named one of seven Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellows for 2004-2005 by the Institute of Medicine. She is the first Duke nurse and only the third Duke health care provider to receive this award, established in 1973.

A study published in the January 2004 Oncology Nursing Forum showed that virtual reality, when used as a distraction for breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, reduces side effects and fatigue. Susan Schneider, PhD, RN, CS, AOCN, director of the graduate Oncology Nursing Education Program, was lead author.

Leaders of the Duke School of Nursing's Trajectories of Aging and Care (TRAC) Center, established in 2000 with a grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research, are (from left): Elizabeth Clipp, RN, PhD, director; Ruth Anderson, RN, PhD, pilot/feasibility core director; and Eleanor McConnell, RN, PhD, administrative core director.

Awards and recognition:

Susan Schneider, PhD, RN, CS, AOCN, received the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Mary Nowotny Excellence in Cancer Nursing Education Award.

Brenda Nevidjon, RN, BSN, MSN, associate clinical professor, received the North Carolina Great 100 Nursing Award and the Juanita Long Community Leader Award from the Beta Epsilon Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau.

In November 2003, the Beta Epsilon Chapter of the national nursing honor society Sigma Theta Tau inducted 14 students from the ABSN program and 29 graduate students.

Faculty and staff appointments:

• Pamela Edwards, RN, BC, MSN, EdD, associate consulting professor and director, nursing education program; deputy director, Duke Area Health Education Centers Program
• Mary Hall, RN, MSN, assistant clinical professor
• Judith Hays, RN, PhD, associate research professor and director of the A-BSN program
• Lawrence R. Landerman, PhD, associate research professor
• Judith Payne, RN, MSN, PhD, AOCN, CS, assistant professor
• Nancy Short, RN, MBA, DrPH, assistant professor and assistant dean

School statistics:

In the academic year 2004, 314 students (10.7 percent males, 15.6 percent minorities) were enrolled in the master's, post-master's and post-doctorate programs of study. Eighty-eight students were enrolled in the A-BSN program of study.

Major gifts:

• A $10 million bequest from Bettye Martin Musham, N'54, for endowed professorships
• A three-year, $3-million appropriation from The Duke Endowment toward construction of a new School of Nursing headquarters building (PDF).
• More than $2 million in commitments from members of the Duke University Board of Trustees toward the building fund.
• Members of the Duke School of Nursing Advisory Board and other friends established the Mary T. Champagne Assistant Professorship.