University of Louisville Magazine

FALL 2013

The University of Louisville Alumni Magazine: for alumni, faculty, staff, students and anyone that is a UofL Cardinal fan.

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SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HE ALTH AND INFORMATION SCIEN CES STUDENTS LEARN GLOBAL ASPECTS OF PUBLIC HEALTH THROUGH INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL SCHOO L OF NURSING FAMILY GENEROSITY HELPS SHAPE THE FUTURE OF HEALTH CARE As health care changes and the number of baby boomers in need of medical care rises, the demand for nurses and nurse practitioners is becoming more crucial by the day. Pat Schafer, a 1950 graduate of Louisville General Hospital's nursing program, a predecessor of the School of Nursing, is doing her part to help. Schafer established the Zetta Mitchell Endowed Scholarship for undergraduate nursing students to support the education of people charged with caring for the sick and vulnerable. Scholarship funding came from Schafer's late aunt, Zetta Mitchell, a former nurse who wanted the money to help nursing students earn an education and make a difference in the profession. Sophomore Breanne McArtor is the frst Zetta Mitchell scholarship recipient. She plans to work either as a labor and delivery nurse in a metropolitan area or as a traveling nurse. "Students who receive scholarship money can worry less about paying for school after they graduate; scholarships help students offset student loan debt," said School of Nursing Dean Marcia Hern. The School of Nursing, which celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2014, gives one award from the Zetta Mitchell Endowed Scholarship annually and selects recipients based on need and merit. VISION | We have strong aspirations to become a local, regional and national leader in nursing education, research, service and practice that bolsters Kentucky's health care workforce through our baccalaureate, master's and doctoral degree nursing programs and adds to the science and practice of nursing. 50|LOUISVILLE.EDU UofL students are getting an international education on the challenges facing global public health in developing countries, thanks to generous donations from the Lyndon and Helen M. Schmid Charitable Foundation to the School of Public Health and Information Sciences. SPHIS alumna Caitlin Wills, 10A,12GP, said her three-week trip to Ghana in 2011 helped put the world in perspective for students who learned about public health issues like malaria, one of the top 10 causes of death in that country. "Meeting with locals in the health care feld and hearing their concerns in their own environment…helped me to see what kinds of public health problems exist. It further enforced the idea that my goal in public health is to help improve quality of life," Wills said. "This opportunity was the experience of a lifetime, and I will carry the lessons I have learned with me in everything I do in public health." "The goal is for students to experience how their public health education can be translated into the global setting," said Muriel Harris, an associate professor who leads the trips. Students have an opportunity to help with projects like understanding workforce retention factors within a hospital setting; using photography as a tool for environmental assessments; developing public health programs within an academic setting; analyzing data; and presenting public lectures on public-health-related topics. VISION | SPHIS endeavors to lead local, national and global efforts to solve some of this century's greatest health and environmental challenges which require a new approach that integrates how information about the public's health is acquired, evaluated, acted on and disseminated, and how these affect the public and its health.

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