Were you seen? The Nyquist Leadership Series bridges gap between public health and economic development

Posted on by Excelsior Staff

The Nyquist Leadership Series presented by Excelsior College explores New York State’s most pressing contemporary challenges through the eyes of its most prominent government, education, and industry leaders. On June 7, nearly 100 thought leaders and professionals working in both public health and economic development arenas from across the New York State Capital Region gathered together for ‘Strengthening Communities by Bridging Health and Economic Development” – a detailed exploration of how to revitalize the communities we live and serve in.

Panelists, which included local, state, and national level policy decision makers and influencers, discussed a variety of important issues, including:

  • The reciprocal relationship between health and economic development
  • The investment of resources into neighborhoods, buildings, and businesses
  • The collective positive impact on communities

View the event slideshow:

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When Cancer Sits on Your Shoulder

Posted on by Nursing Staff

By Sharon A. Aronovitch, PhD, RN, CWOCN
Lead Faculty Program Director, Graduate Nursing Program

Cat on shoulderSome people are lucky and never have to hear or say the word cancer when speaking about family members, whether they have two legs or are furry and have four legs. I am not one of those individuals. Both of my parents had cancer, though only my father died from his cancer, acute myeloid leukemia, after having been in remission for several years from large B-cell lymphoma. My husband is a survivor of renal cancer. We have two furry “cat-kids” ages 12 and 17. The eldest, Allie, is recovering from her second cancer surgery (metastatic pancreatic cancer) and undergoing chemotherapy again.

I share a piece of my personal life to help people see beyond the statistics identifying the number of people or animals diagnosed with the disease and understand how it touches the lives of others. A diagnosis of cancer creates a numbing effect about the disease. There may be one or more members of the immediate family denying the cancer diagnosis and what has become a new reality in their lives. Though many cancer therapies have improved immensely, many have not. How does one live with a diagnosis as the patient, family member, or caregiver? There is no right or wrong way to live your life once cancer enters the door. Each person eventually finds a way to cope and persevere in this new reality.

Cancer.net has a large volume of information on types of cancer, treatment, coping with cancer, research and advocacy, and survivorship. The coping with cancer section provides helpful information to guide family members and friends through the difficult process of treatment and recovery.

Not as much information is available about cancer in pets as there is about cancer in humans. Comprehensive sites such as Cancer.net do not exist for those whose pets have cancer. However, if you spend some time searching online, you can find many websites for small animal cancer centers and research foundations, and interesting content such as this video about dog cancer research that’s informing the treatment of cancer in humans.

 

Image: Coss and Johanna, 2007. Shoulder cat. https://www.flickr.com/photos/pirateparrot/568510660

Aromatherapy Is a Complementary Modality

Posted on by Nursing Staff

Ellen LaDieu, MS, RN, CNE
Lead Faculty Program Director
Certified Clinical Aromatherapist (CCAP)

A woman smells one of several bottles of aromatherapy oil.
A woman smells one of several bottles of aromatherapy oil.

Aromatherapy has been a long-standing healing method. It is a growing holistic modality recognized and used by nurses worldwide in many health care settings.

Long ago plants were used to produce medicines; plants are also the source of essential oils. The nurse uses essential oils to affect a change in people to help them manage symptoms and enhance health. Essential oils harvested from plants are 100 percent pure and quite potent. Different oils have different chemical proprieties and selection of an appropriate oil for a particular symptom is based upon much more than the aroma or smell.

When considering the use of essential oils, it is vital to know the chemical name and the associated proprieties. For example, Lavendula angustifolia is one of three or more standard varieties of lavender. This variety is relaxing and calming. Another is stimulating and will help a person expectorate sputum associated with a respiratory cold for example.

Consulting with an educated aromatherapist is the best way to identify a safe oil for use. At times, traditional medications may need adjustment based on essential oil use; this is also true in the reverse.  Essential oils work as they are inhaled or absorbed primarily through the skin. In Europe, aromatic medicine is practiced, and physicians order essential oils to be administered by mouth.

Essential oils can help with pain relief, healing of skin breaks and lesions, sleep, nausea, and anxiety to name a few symptoms or concerns. Aromatherapy can be a pleasant, effective method of reducing stress as well as improving health in many ways.

CREDIT
Will & Deni McIntyre / Photo Researchers / Universal Images Group

We need role models

Posted on by Excelsior Staff

 

Women have the necessary skills to transform the cybersecurity sector for the better.
Women have the necessary skills to transform the cybersecurity sector for the better.

Consider these facts…women make up over 50% of the current workforce, and outnumber males in attaining college degrees. However, only about 26% of STEM positions are held by women, and even worse, only about 11-13% of the workforce in cybersecurity are women.  There are numerous documented reasons for the paucity of females in STEM/IT/Cyber, and there are many suggestions as to how this imbalance can be dealt with.

One of the suggestions is to highlight women that have been successful and use them as role models for those making their way through our learning institutions to emulate.  What follows is a list of female corporate executives that have made it to the top of the ladder, many in the tech industries. Granted, the list isn’t as long as it should be, but it does demonstrate to the up and coming that with perseverance, anything is possible.

Mary Barra General Motors
Meg Whitman Hewlett-Packard
Virginia Rometty IBM
Indra K. Nooyi PepsiCo, Inc.
Marillyn Hewson Lockheed Martin
Safra A. Catz Oracle
Irene B. Rosenfeld Mondelēz International
Phebe Novakovic General Dynamics
Carol Meyrowitz The TJX Companies, Inc.
Lynn Good Duke Energy
Ursula M. Burns Xerox Corporation
Deanna M. Mulligan Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
Barbara Rentler Ross Stores
Debra L. Reed Sempra Energy
Kimberly Lubel CST Brands
Sheri S. McCoy Avon Products Inc.
Susan M. Cameron Reynolds American
Denise M. Morrison Campbell Soup
Kathleen Mazzarella Graybar Electric
Ilene Gordon Ingredion
Lisa Su Advanced Micro Devices
Jacqueline C. Hinman CH2M Hill

Learn more about Women and Minorities in Cybersecurity at the National Cybersecurity Institute.

List retrieved from the Internet at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_women_CEOs_of_Fortune_500_companies

Celebrate the Little Successes

Posted on by Excelsior Staff
Vicki Pocorobba, Student Success Coach
Vicki Pocorobba, Student Success Coach

Do you congratulate others for a job well done?  Do you compliment friends and/or co-workers when they do something you admire?  Most of us probably do.  But, do you acknowledge yourself when you succeed? Do you ever pat yourself on the back and feel good about your own personal accomplishments?

I was speaking with a student today who is retaking two courses which he previously failed, and I asked him how he would celebrate his good grades.  He laughed and said , “It’s no big deal, maybe go out to dinner.”  He made me think about how so often, we are focused on spreading ourselves thin between work, school, family and other commitments, that we forget to notice how hard we are working to achieve our own goals.

As a Student Success Coach at Excelsior College, I want to remind all of our students that you have much to be proud of as you continue on this path towards achieving your educational and career goals.  Think of each great discussion you post, each paper you write, each course you complete, each exam you pass.  They are the individual brush strokes that help create the masterpiece that is your future.  So please, take some time to reflect on how hard you are working, how you are balancing so much and still moving forward; reflect on your success and celebrate the little accomplishments.  You might see that this self-awareness motivates you to keep pushing forward, and when a time comes in the future when you’re not feeling as motivated (and we all have those moments), you can look back on these little successes and remind yourself that “I can do this, because I did it before!”

U.S. Office of Personnel Management and Excelsior College partner to provide Federal employees opportunity to pursue a higher education at reduced cost

Posted on by Mike Lesczinski

Excelsior College and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) have announced an agreement that will allow the Federal workforce – representing more than 1 million Federal employees – and their spouses/domestic partners to pursue higher education at a reduced tuition rate. The College will host a series of informational webinars for Federal employees interested in learning more about the alliance.

The agreement is part of OPM’s continuing efforts to build the future Federal workforce by attracting new talent, supporting Federal employee career development, and addressing current Government-wide and agency-specific skills gaps.

“OPM continually works with Federal agencies to ensure their employees are able to handle the very important work they do on behalf of the American people,” said OPM Acting Director Beth F. Cobert. “With this agreement, we are helping them do just that, while also closing vital skills gaps to strengthen our workforce.”

“Professional development has taken on greater importance in recent years as all levels of government look to address the skills gap,” said Dr. John Ebersole, President of Excelsior College. “By this agreement with Excelsior, Federal employees will have access to a quality, affordable education. It will also assist agencies in addressing their current and future workforce needs.”

In 2012, OPM and the Chief Human Capital Officers Council established a joint initiative to address critical skills gaps. The taskforce identified the following Government-wide mission critical occupations: Economists, Human Resources, Cybersecurity, Auditors, Acquisition and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Based on future hiring trends, OPM forecasts health care to be categorized as part of the STEM workforce.

For more information on the program, visit feducation.excelsior.edu or contact Hamisi Amani-Dove, Director of Workforce Partnerships at Excelsior College at partners@excelsior.edu.

 

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Excelsior College

Excelsior College https://www.excelsior.edu is a regionally accredited, nonprofit distance learning institution that focuses on removing obstacles to the educational goals of adult learners. Founded in 1971 and located in Albany, NY, Excelsior is a proven leader in the assessment and validation of student knowledge

 

U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

OPM’s mission is to recruit, retain and honor a world-class workforce to serve the American people. OPM supports U.S. departments and agencies with personnel services and policy leadership including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations and programs to improve work force performance.

Annual Educational Institute Supports Just Culture

Posted on by Nursing Staff

On May 5, 2016, the Annual Educational Institute organized by the Excelsior College School of Nursing was held at The Century House in Latham, New York. Attendees both online and in person were inspired by the key note speaker, Jane Barnsteiner, PhD, RN, FAAN, and her presentation that addressed this year’s theme Promoting a Just Culture Through Nursing Education.

Podium presentations by Suzanne Fischer Prestoy, PhD, RN-BC and Cheryl Dunton, MS, RNC-NIC (an Excelsior College 2015 graduate) discussed a just culture in the academic and clinical setting respectively.

Poster presentations by Mark Wahl, MS, RN and Dawne Olbrych, MS, RN, CNE, Robin Dewald, PhD, RN, CNE and Cathy DeChance, PhD(c), RN and Ruth Barnes, PhD, RN contributed to the academic perspective of just culture. Joanna Scalabrini, MS, RN and Jeanette Acevedo-Brace, MS, RN presented a poster about the just culture in the clinical setting.

National Nurses Week: Indulata Jayapal is a lifelong learner

Posted on by Mike Lesczinski

Indulata Jayapal, MS in Nursing graduateAt 74 years old, Indulata Jayapal was the oldest graduate of the Class of 2015. Three years earlier, after a lifetime spent in the nursing field, she returned to school for her Master of Science in Nursing to become a nurse educator. In this video, she discusses what originally drew her to nursing and how she is using her degree today.

Upcoming: ‘The Nyquist Leadership Series: Strengthening Communities by Bridging Health and Economic Development’

Posted on by Excelsior Staff

The Nyquist Leadership Series explores New York State’s most pressing contemporary challenges through the eyes of its most prominent government, education, and industry leaders. The series honors the late Ewald B. “Joe” Nyquist, a civil rights leader and former New York State Education Commissioner who played a key role in efforts to desegregate New York schools. The “visionary author” of Excelsior College, Nyquist fought to extend quality educational opportunities to learners of all ages.

On Tuesday, June 7, Excelsior College will host public health and economic development influencers from throughout the Capital Region at Wolferts Roost in Albany, New York for the leadership series event, Strengthening Communities by Bridging Health and Economic Development. 

Professionals working in both public health and economic development arenas seek to achieve common goals: strengthening communities and improving quality of life. This Nyquist Leadership Series event will explore the reciprocal relationship between health and economic development – the investment of resources into neighborhoods, buildings, and businesses – and the collective positive impact on communities. Expert panelists will engage participants in dialog about local and national strategies that integrate health and economic development to address public health issues and revitalize communities.

Register today.

This event is sponsored by the Excelsior College School of Health Sciences.

Date: June 7, 2016
Time: 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Location: Wolferts Roost, 120 Van Rensselaer Boulevard, Albany, NY 12204