April 2007

Sigma Theta Tau International

Beta Sigma Chapter Newsletter
School of Nursing « The Pennsylvania State University » Spring 2007

BETA SIGMA CHAPTER We are always looking for members to assist with service
projects, so please contact me with your ideas.
2006-2007 OFFICERS & COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Sharon Falkenstern President This fall, we will be sending our Chapter Delegates to the 39th
Suzanne Kuhn President-Elect Biennial Convention, Baltimore, MD, November 2-7, 2007, and
Lisa Kitko Vice President I have submitted the work of Beta Sigma Chapter members for
Darlene Clark Recording Secretary several awards. Our next induction is planned for Saturday,
Barbara Savino Treasurer September 29, 2007. Please encourage your fellow nurses to
Dean Dieter Eligibility Chair/Governance join our chapter as nurse leaders. Eligibility information is
Committee available at www.nursingsociety.org or please email me at
Susan Loeb Counselor Chair/Governance sxf2@psu.edu.
Committee
Maureen Jones Governance Committee Have a fun summer!
Ellen Weaver Governance Committee
Mary Ellen Yonushonis Governance Committee SHARON
Kathryn Terlinsky Leadership Succession Committee
Chair
Mary Anne Ventura Leadership Succession Committee
Joan Marie Yatsonsky Leadership Succession Committee NEW BETA SIGMA WEB SITE

PRESIDENT’S CORNER Check out our new and improved Beta Sigma web
site! http://www.hhdev.psu.edu/nurs/betasigmastt/
Sharon Koval Falkenstern,
PhD, CRNP, PNP-C

This year has been very busy for everyone
at Beta Sigma. For the first time, we held a
Fall Induction, and welcomed 35 new
members. Linda Caputi, keynote speaker,
inspired us with the history of Sigma
Theta Tau and the future career
possibilities for nurses. Dr. Caputi also
entertained us with her presentation on Humor in the Workplace
during our Fall Scholarly Meeting. We collected over $500 for our
Holiday Service Project for the Women’s Resource Center. The
School of Nursing hosted the Annual Holiday Party, bringing
together university officials, nurses from the faculty, community,
and Mount Nittany Medical Center, and undergraduate and
graduate nursing students. President Spanier particularly enjoyed
talking with students about their career goals.
We are supporting four nursing students with $500 each to travel to
South Africa with Darlene Clark to work in rural community
clinics. They are Emily Sparks, Emily Miller, Kelli Gingerich, and
Julie Smotzer. Every year we support Spring Research Day and
the research efforts of students and faculty as they prepare their
research proposals and projects for presentation. The International
Children’s Fair, sponsored by the International Education Office,
will be the focus of a service project for the next academic year.
Aubrey Banda (our Malawi nurse pen pal)
writes: Receive my heartfelt greetings to your
family and all Sigma members. How is life going on
in this new year? I am sorry I have not
communicated to you for some time. I was busy
preparing to come back to College. Be informed that I
am now back to Kamuzu College of Nursing to do a
Certificate in Midwifery. It’s a one year program and
I understand I will be through by the end of this
December. How is your work going on? By the way,
do you have any plan of establishing any link with the
University of Malawi. I hope this would be a nice
idea. I will be writing again.
Aubrey.
***Sigma members are encouraged to email
Aubrey as he has stayed in touch with us for the
last 7 years. aubreybanda@yahoo.com
 FALL 2006 BETA SIGMA CHAPTER MEMBER’S
INDUCTION CORNER

Beta Sigma Chapter’s Fall Induction was held on Janet Williamson,

Sunday, November 5, 2006 at the Nittany Lion Inn in PhD, M.A., B.S.N.E.
State College, PA. The guest speaker was Linda
Caputi, RN, MSN, EdD, CNE, Professor of Nursing at Associate Professor Emerita
College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Dr. Caputi
of Nursing
spoke on the topic “Celebrating our Leaders of
Tomorrow”.
The inductees consisted of 1 nurse leader, 4 graduate student Dr. Janet A. Williamson, B.S.N.E.(Wilkes College), M.A.
members, and 30 undergraduate student members. in Nursing(New York University), PhD(Penn State
University in Education Administration), Associate
Undergraduate Students Professor Emerita of Nursing served as Head, Department
Heather Alt Allison Hill of Nursing at Penn State from 1976-1980 and was the
Megan Bachman Nikki Hill founding Director of the School of Nursing at Penn State
Holly Baruffalo Ashley Janowski from 1988-1992. She served as a faculty member at Penn
Cynthia Black Vanessa Jones State for twenty four years before retirement.
Michelle Bonawitz Carmen Leer
David Bortel Natalie L’Heureux
Prior to employment at Penn State, Janet worked as a staff
Danielle Callovini Nickie McIntire
Brittany Campbell Cheryl Parry-Sola nurse, head nurse, and supervisor all in the medical-
Katherine Comly Katrina Ryan surgical setting. She was an assistant professor at Baylor
Kimberly Dang Amy Shellington University in Dallas, Texas and Florida State University in
Sarah Daniels Molly Stametz Tallahassee, Florida before coming to Penn State.
Rebecca Deterline Jennifer Thurm
Jill Fiscus Megan Tobias Dr. Laurie Gunter, then Head, Department of Nursing
Zachery Flenner Michelle Walker wrote the construction grant and obtained the funding for
Ashley Griffiths Anne Zanowski the School of Nursing building in 1975-1976. She stepped
down as Department Head and Janet assumed
Graduate Students responsibility for working with the federal government and
Susan Black Jean Kozachuk Penn State to build the physical structure as it sits today.
Cathleen Dillen Ellen Weaver
She received a Book of the Year award from the American
Nurse Leader Journal of Nursing for “Current Perspectives in Nursing
Pamela Lawson, RN, MSN Education, Volume 1. In addition, she has a number of
Lewistown School of Nursing Faculty, Lewistown Hospital
other publications, and training and research grant awards.

ELECTION OF BOARD OFFICERS
The nominations have been accepted and the official ballot is
included at the end of this newsletter. As indicated on the
ballot, please return it to Susan Royer by May 4, 2007. You
have the option of mailing, emailing, or faxing it. Please see
ballot form for detailed information.
NEWSLETTER INFO /
SHARE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Please forward information and/or accomplishments for
upcoming newsletters to Darlene Clark, Penn State, Health &
Human Development East, University Park, PA 16802, or
email at dac128@psu.edu.
She, over the years, has served on almost every Beta Sigma
committee, including the Steering Committee for the
original charter for Beta Sigma Chapter.
In 1995, friends and former students created a fund for
graduate students in her honor. The fund grew with
donations and became the Janet A. Williamson Graduate
Award in Nursing. The award considers full-time PhD
candidates in the School of Nursing in the College of
Health and Human Development who demonstrate an
excellent record of scholarship leading to the preparation
of a dissertation whose topic will significantly advance the
knowledge base in nursing.
Two years ago she moved to The Village at Penn State, a
continuing care retirement community where she lives with
her Burmese cat, Gwyll and does “anything I want
whenever I want”.
 UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
COLLEGE OF NURSING
Darlene Clark, on her first clinical day with third level
nursing students from the University of Arizona College of
Nursing at Oro Valley Hospital, Tucson, Arizona.
COUNCIL FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF
NURSING SCIENCE (CANS)
Susan Loeb with her poster at the Council for the
Advancement of Nursing Science (CANS), National State of
the Science Congress in Washington DC (below).
Beta Sigma Chapter provided her with funding to pay for the
conference registration so that she could present her poster
entitled, "Older Male Prisoners' Health: Status, Beliefs, and
Behaviors" on October 12, 2006. An interesting point of
information is that Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) is
one of the organizations that originally helped to initiate and
continues to sustain CANS. In fact, STTI is acknowledged as
a founding partner and as such has representation on the
Steering Committee for CANS.
MONTREAL, CANADA
RESEARCH CONGRESS
The Beta Sigma Chapter financially supported Hongwei
Wan’s presentation at the Research Congress in Montreal.
Here is an update from her:
I have attended the 17th International Nursing Research
Congress Focusing on Evidence-Based Practice in Montreal,
Canada, which was held July 19-22, 2006. It was my great
pleasure to get this good opportunity to participate in this
congress fortunately.
Actually, I got a lot of benefits from this congress. Not only
having listened to many lectures but also I took part in some
group discussions, especially on community nursing during the
congress. Even after the congress, I can also get some
information about working on nursing via emails. I could get to
know the situation of nursing development in other universities
or countries as well. Therefore, I could think about what we
could do for our nursing in the future. In addition, I have shared
some information with my colleagues in Shanghai, China.
Thank you so much for your financial support so that I do not
need to bare a big burden for the congress.
You will be warm welcomed if you could come to China some
day in the future. Thank you again.
Best wishes,
Hongwei Wan
Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Nursing
phone:86-13917201009
Member Accomplishments
Darlene Clark
2006: Effective Teaching Strategies in a Challenging
Environment. Strategies for Education Excellence
Conference, November. University Park, PA.
2007: 59th Annual Meeting, LERA (Labor Employment
Relations Association), Chicago, IL. Healthcare
Restructuring: Implications for Union Strategies
(Symposium Discussant) January 5
Raymonde Brown
Publication:
Brown, R.A.(2006). Gauging cardiovascular risk with the
PLAC test. Nursing 2006, 36(8), 17.
Certification:
Certified by NLN as a Nurse Educator
Rebecca Beatty
Rebecca Beatty received an award from University
Continuing Education Association (UCEA) at the Mid-
Atlantic Region Programming Award for the Penn State
Continuing Education Faculty Academy in October 2006.
 Member Accomplishments cont…
Mary Lou Kanaski
Mary Lou Kanaski will be receiving the 'Mary Nowotny
Excellence in Cancer Nursing Education Award" at the
Oncology Nursing Society 32nd Annual Congress in Las
Vegas, Nevada, April 24-27, 2007.
Publication:
Kanaskie, ML (2006). Mentoring- A Staff Retention Tool.
Critical Care Nursing Quarterly 29, 248-252.
James K. Fenush Jr.
James K. Fenush Jr. graduated with his Masters in Nursing
from Penn State in May 2006.
In April 2006, he received the 1st place award for
Outstanding Master's Student Poster Presentation: "An
Investigation of Clinical Unit Choices by Graduating
Baccalaureate Nursing Students" at The Eastern Nursing
Research Society (ERNS) 2006 Conference in Cherry Hill,
New Jersey.
He received 2nd Place in the Health & Life Sciences Category
in the 2006 Penn State Graduate Exhibition Award and was
winner in March for the same research poster presentation.
Kim Fenstermacher
As Magnet Project Coordinator for PinnacleHealth System,
Kim Fenstermacher is proud to announce that we were
granted Magnet status in December 2006. Many of their
nurses at PHS are STTI members. PinnacleHealth is now the
tenth Magnet organization in Pennsylvania.
Jo Anne Carrick
Jo Anne Carrick was recently been promoted to Senior
Lecturer in Nursing and assumed the position of Program
Coordinator for the Behrend's nursing program this January.
Publications:
Carrick, J. (2007). Prentice Hall Heart and Lung Sounds
Workbook. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall
Health. (Sole author of workbook to accompany Heart and
Lung sounds CD published by Prentice Hall Health.)
Burke, K. M., LeMone, P., Mohn-Brown, E. L., & Eby, L.
(2007). Medical-Surgical Nursing Care (2nd ed.). Upper
Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall Health. (Role:
Contributing author of instructor resource materials Lecture
outlines, objectives, classroom and clinical activities,
PowerPoint’s for Chapters 24, 35, 42, 43, 45, 46).
D'Amico, D., & Barbarito, C. (2007). Health and Physical
Assessment in Nursing. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:
Prentice Hall Health. (Role: Contributing author of NCLEX
test questions, assessment of the ear.)
Donna Fick
National Presentations Fall 2006:
Symposium presenter "Imagine This: Dementia Care in
2010". Kolanowski, AM, Buettner, L, Fick, D, Brannon,
Wolle-Burnett, S, Buckwalter, K. 59th Annual Scientific
Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America,
November, 2006, Dallas, Texas.
"Research Career Development in Aging, Gerontology and
Geriatrics: Fick, DM & Inouye SK, Training, Mentoring
and Funding" 59th Annual Scientific Meeting of the
Gerontological Society of America, November, 2006,
Dallas, Texas.
Recent publications:
Fick, DM, Hodo, DH, Lawrence, F, Inouye, SK. (February
2007) Assessment of Nursing Recognition of Delirium-
Superimposed on Dementia Utilizing Case Vignettes.
Journal of Gerontological Nursing.
Kolanowski, AM, Fick, DM, Waller, J, Ahern, F (2006).
Outcomes of Anti-psychotic Drug Use in Community-
dwelling Elders with Dementia. Arch of Psych Nurs, P
217-225.
Milisen, K., Braes, T., Fick, D. M., & Foreman, M. D.
(2006). Cognitive assessment and differentiating the 3 Ds
(dementia, depression, delirium). Nurs Clin North Am,
41(1), 1-22.
Irving, KI, Fick, DM, Foreman, MD (2006). Delirium: A
new appraisal of an old problem. International Journal of
Older People Nursing. 1, 106-112.
Fick, D. (2006). Delirium Superimposed on Dementia: A
Review of Occurrence and Outcomes In Research and
Practice in Alzheimer's Disease, Volume. Editors: B
Vellas, LJ Fitten, H Feldman, E Giacobini, M Grundman,
B Winblad, A. Kurz. distributed in USA by Carma
Publishing, www.carmapubs.com. Volume 11, pp. 347-
351.
Fick, D. (2006). Delirium Superimposed on Dementia: A
Review of Occurrence and Outcomes In Research and
Practice in Alzheimer's Disease, Volume. Editors: B
Vellas, LJ Fitten, H Feldman, E Giacobini, M Grundman,
B Winblad, A. Kurz. distributed in USA by Carma
Publishing, www.carmapubs.com. Volume 11, pp. 347-
351.
Fick, D, Nursing, Chapter Update June 2006, The Merck
Manual of Geriatrics, 3rd edition. Editors, Mark H Beers &
Thomas V. Jones,
http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmg/home.jsp
http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmg/home.jsp
 Member Accomplishments cont…

Susan Loeb
Publications:
1.) Penrod, J., Yu, F., Kolanowski, A., Fick, D. M., Loeb, S. J., & Hupcey, J. (2007). Reframing Person-Centered Nursing
Care for Persons with Dementia. Research & Theory for Nursing Practice, 21(1), 61-76.

2.) Loeb, S. J., & Steffensmeier, D. (2006). Health status, self-efficacy beliefs, and health-promoting behaviors of older
male prisoners. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 12, 269-278.

3.) Loeb, S. J., & AbuDagga, A. (2006). Health-related research on older inmates: An integrative literature review.
Research in Nursing and Health, 29, 556-565.

Presentations:
1.) Penrod, J., Yu, F., Kolanowski, A., Fick, D. M., Loeb, S. J., & Hupcey, J. “Integrating Personhood into Dementia
CareTheoretical Perspectives.” Refereed roundtable at The Gerontological Society of American 59th Annual Meeting,
Dallas, TX, November 16 - 20, 2006.

2.) Loeb, S. J. & Steffensmeier, D. “Older Male Prisoners’ Health: Status, Beliefs, and Behaviors.” Peer reviewed poster
presented at The Council for the Advancement for Nursing Science (CANS) special session during the 2006 State of the
Science Congress, Washington, DC, October 12, 2006.

3.) Loeb, S. J. & Steffensmeier, D. “Older Men Behind Bars: Exploring their Health Issues, Self-Efficacy Beliefs, and
Health-Promoting Behaviors.” Peer reviewed poster presented at the National Gerontological Nursing Association
Convention in Cincinnati, OH, October 6 - 8, 2006.

Grants:
1.) Received $500 Teaching Enrichment Travel Grant from Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence to support travel to
the Eastern Nursing Research Society 2007 Annual Meeting.

2.) Awarded $225 research travel grant from Sigma Theta Tau Beta Sigma Chapter to attend the The Council for the
Advancement for Nursing Science (CANS) to present peer reviewed poster presentation in special session during the 2006
State of the Science Congress, Washington, DC, October 12, 2006.

Honors & Awards:

1.) Recipient of the 2006 Judith V. Braun Award for Research that Contributes to the Improvement of Gerontological
Nursing Practice from the National Gerontological Nursing Association.

2.) Selected as a Fall 2006 InSPIRE Academy Fellow. Competitive program for faculty members interested in embedding
their research into the curriculum of their undergraduate courses with the goal of encouraging students to explore and
engage in further research. Awarded $1,000 for course development for Nursing 400

3.) Selected as one of six presenters representing the Eastern Nursing Research Society (ENRS) at the Council for the
Advancement for Nursing Science (CANS) State of the Science Conference. This was a competitive selection whereby
the top scoring abstracts from the 2006 conference were selected to represent ENRS at the CANS Conference, October
12, 2006, Washington DC.

Eric Doerfler
Eric Doerfler is a textbook reviewer for Medical-Surgical Nursing (2005). Elsevier Saunders.

Dina Sorensen
Dina Sorensen received Certification for Emergency Nurses (CEN) and started Graduate school at the University of
Scranton for the Nurse Practitioner Program.
 Member Accomplishments cont…

Lisa Ann Knies

Lisa Ann Knies recently moved to a new position as Director of Emergency Services at Baptist Hospital East in
Louisville, KY. Her new address is below. If there are fellow alumni in the Louisville area that want to get together to
cheer for PSU, send her an email; Lisa Ann Knies, 6802 Caitlynn Way, Louisville, KY 40229 / 502-409-9050
(email) rck_cns@hotmail.com. Also, check out her web site: http://groups.msn.com/LisaandBobKnies.

Carol Wesley
Carol Wesley had an article published in Nursing 2006 December issue. She also passed her certification in nursing
administration exam in 2006 (CNA,BC).

Vicky Schirm
Publications:
Kolcaba, K., Schirm, V., & Steiner, R. (2006). Effects of hand massage on comfort of nursing home residents. Geriatric
Nursing, 27(2), 85-91.

Schirm, V. (2007, January/February). Pre Convention Workshop on Evidence-based Practice a Huge Success. SIGN:
Supporting Innovations in Gerontological Nursing, 14(1), 4.

Cotton, A., & Schirm, V. (2006, November/December). NGNA Board and Dancy, Puetz, and Associates provides fiscal
management for the members. SIGN: Supporting Innovations in Gerontological Nursing, 13(4), 4.

Book Chapter:
Schirm, V. (2006). Quality of Life (pp. 201-220). In I. M. Lubkin & P. D. Larsen (eds.) Chronic illness: Impact and
interventions (6th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

Presentations:
Schirm, V., Haack, M., Lingg, K., & Reck, D. (2007, January). Using NDNQI Participation in Moving Forward to
Magnet Achievement. Poster presentation: National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) Data Use
Conference, LasVegas, NV.

Gail (Peters) Mickalonis

Gail (Peters) Mickalonis '98 completed her MSN from Thomas Jefferson University and has been certified as a Family
Nurse Practitioner by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. She resides in Limerick Township, Montgomery
County with her husband and daughter and looks forward to returning to clinical practice as an NP this summer.

Kay Hamilton
Kay Hamilton at Lewistown Hospital is the Acting President and CEO.

Brooke Schmid
When Brooke Schmid graduated in 2003, she started working in the MICU of University Hospitals of Cleveland. After a
year, she became a travel nurse and moved to Los Angeles, California and was there for 2 years working at various
hospitals including UCLA and USC (and about 5 community hospitals). She currently works as a travel nurse in the
suburbs of Chicago. In these hospitals, she has worked in an ICU setting (SICU, Neuro ICU, MICU, CCU) and floated to
the ER.
 2007 OFFICIAL BALLOT
Beta Sigma Chapter, Sigma Theta Tau International

Vice President (Choose 1)

Sharon LaCue
Sharon LaCue is an instructor of nursing at Penn State Altoona in the Associate Degree program. She earned
a BSN from Carlow University and an MSN from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She is an instructor
for Teaching the Educator: Nurse Aide Training Program affiliated with Penn State and the Pennsylvania
Department of Education. She has previously served as secretary for Sigma Theta Tau.

Carol Smith
Carol Smith, RN, CRNP, DNS is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing at Penn State. She teaches
Nursing Theory and Clinical Nurse Specialist courses in the graduate program. Her research interests include
osteoporosis in post menopausal women and centers on wellness and health promotion interventions. She has
served Beta Sigma Chapter as Research Chair and is currently the Coordinator of the NLNAC Self-study
Report.

Write-in Candidate -

Leadership Succession Committee (Choose 1)

Michele Bichko
Michele Bichko RN, BSN is a 2005 graduate of Penn State University. She currently resides in Hershey and
is employed at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in the Neuroscience Intermediate Care
Unit. She is enrolled as a full-time graduate student in the Family Nurse Practitioner program at Penn State.
Michele's research interests include patient and nurse education, and the Health Promotion Theory and its
effectiveness in helping to prevent obesity in the adolescent population. She is the chair of the Education
council for her unit and volunteers for the Parish Nurse Ministry at St. Joan of Arc Parish in Hershey. She is
a student member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. Michele's personal interests include
travel and volunteering.

Elizabeth Cutezo
Elizabeth Cutezo received her BS and MS in Nursing from Penn State. She teaches Community Health
Nursing in the undergraduate program at University Park, and she recently received her chair for 25 years of
university service. She enjoys her family and volunteers for her church and community.

Write-in Candidate -

Governance Committee (Choose 2)

Pam Spigelmeyer
Pamela C. Spigelmyer MS, RN, CNS, CSNI completed her undergraduate degree in Nursing from
Bloomsburg University (BSN 1987), Masters Degree from The Pennsylvania State University (MS 2006)
and currently is a PhD student at The Pennsylvania State University. She has her certification as a School
Nurse from Millersville University (2003). She has practiced in the acute care areas of Med/ Surg. and
telemetry. Recently, she has worked as a substitute school nurse for the Mifflin County School District and a
clinical instructor for The Pennsylvania State University and The Pennsylvania College of Technology. Her
area of interest for nursing research is community health with an emphasis on preventative health in the rural
communities pertaining to obesity and type2 diabetes prevention.
2007 OFFICIAL BALLOT - Page 2
Beta Sigma Tau, Sigma Theta Tau International

Susan Ososkie
Susan Ososkie, RN, BSN, will graduate this spring with an MS as a Family Nurse Practitioner from Penn
State. She has experience in all areas of nursing and currently works in outpatient surgery. She has
completed clinicals in Women’s Health at University Health Services and Centre Volunteers in Medicine
as well as Family Health at Penn’s Valley Medical Center. She has completed an extensive review of the
literature and evidence-based practice guideline on osteoporosis as her master’s project/scholarly paper.

Nancy Kashlack
After earning a diploma from Montgomery Hospital School of Nursing, she completed a BS from St.
Joseph’s College, Standish, Maine. In addition to an MS in Health Education from St. Joseph’s University
in Philadelphia and an MSN from Gwynedd-Mercy College, Nancy holds a postmaster’s certificate as a
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner with a specialty in hematology-oncology from Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia. She has worked as a certified oncology nurse, served as preceptors for PNP and FNP
students, and currently is an Instructor of pediatric nursing at the Penn State School of Nursing at the
Hershey Campus.

Write-in Candidate -

Voting Options - Deadline: May 18, 2007

1. Mail Ballot to: Sue Royer, Penn State School of Nursing, 210-C HHDev East, University Park, PA 16802
2. Email vote to Sue at skr1@psu.edu
3. Fax ballot to Sue at 814-863-2925