A Message from Dean Narsavage 

West Virginia University School of Nursing envisions optimal health, enhanced quality of life, and excellent health care for the people of West Virginia and the global community. This "new" statement of our vision embodies the accomplishments of our graduates and the future of our students. Our alumni are truly exemplars for our current and future nursing students, and I am confident our graduates will continue to assume leadership roles within West Virginia, our nation, and the world.

This past fall we had a memorial service for one of the first graduates of our school - Dr. Patsy Haslam - who went on to become the founding Dean for WV Mountain State School of Nursing. Her daughter Ann Marie, now a faculty member at the University of Wyoming, has written a lovely commemoration of her mother's work which you will see in the Spring 2009 issue of our magazine. Service that includes the Rural Health Education Program (RHEP) is one of the four keystones for our new WV Quality of Life Institute, directed by Professor Laurie Badzek. You may have seen national coverage of Shane Cruse- a May 2009 graduate and his student rural health rotation at a prison and in Zambia; also, Lya Stroupe, a Fall 2008 graduate working under the direction of Susan Pinto, was selected to receive an Outstanding Student Community Service Project award at the annual RHEP/AHEC Awards and Recognition Dinner in March 2009. These are only a few of the happenings at our school of nursing - please check in on our web site to see our "Message of the Week".

We have much to celebrate! Our PhD summer residency program continues to prepared nurse scientists and educators - two more students graduate in May 2009. The first DNP student will graduate in May 2009, and the first class of DNP students should all be finished by December. The new interdisciplinary simulation center is finally in construction on the 3rd floor of the Robert C. Byrd Health Science Center - and thanks to YOU and Senator Byrd - our generous donors - we are furnishing the sim-center and our learning resource center with state of the art equipment to educate the next generations of nurses, using an inter-professional learning environment with student doctors, and pharmacists. Applications remain strong for our undergraduate programs, with expansion underway for the second degree, 18-month BS/BA to BSN program. Student support is funded through scholarships from the Robert Wood Johnson "New Careers in Nursing" grant written by Dr. Betty Shelton, as well as new funds provided by Valley Health Systems and others who responded to the "fast- track scholarship" initiative led by our SON development professional, Christy Meredith. Our master of science in nursing (MSN) program is continuing to thrive with consistent certifications rates from 94% to 100% and two new tracks, Womens' Health and Geriatric Nurse Practitioner, thanks to a grant from the DHHS Health Resources and Services Administration to Dr. Nan Leslie. Our new Nursing Leadership program has been approved and begins accepting students for the Fall. Faculty and student research and scholarship are accelerating -at the Southern Nursing Research Society meeting in February we had six faculty, three DNP students and 11 PhD students present their research and practice projects.

This has been a remarkable year for WVU SON and you might wonder what else we can prepare to celebrate - well hold your calendars open for April and October 2010! WVU School of Nursing will observe the 50th anniversary of our founding; Suzanne Gross, with her committee, are planning two major events to bring alumni, students, faculty and friends together. We are proud of our school's legacy of leadership, excellence, and service - but to present a true picture of the past 50 years, we need to know more about YOU! As our 50th Anniversary approaches I would encourage all of you to share your pictures, memorabilia, and stories with us (mail or email to Judith Turner - jturner@hsc.wvu.edu ) so we can share with others how one educational institution located in "Wild and Wonderful" West Virginia has changed health care - tell us about what has happened since you left our portals to your doorstep - tell us about those you serve directly and how you have helped the global community - we know many benefit from your accomplishments - we just need the details! LET'S GO MOUNTAINEERS!

Georgia L. Narsavage
Dean and Professor, WVU School of Nursing
PhD, CRNP, FAAN