Nurse Anesthesiology Program

The pass rate for UDM's Nurse Anesthesia 2007 cohort of first time certification exam takers was 100 percent. This rate exceeded the preferred threshold pass rate of 84 percent set by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs.

Nursing

The Student Nurses Association hosted a blood drive, Nov. 4 in the Student Center for the UDM community. Of the 100 people who went through the process, 89 pints of blood were donated from 86 donors, with three individuals donating "double red."  This blood drive was the best on record for the University!

Physician Assistant Program

UDM PA student Cheryl Cieszlak received the 2008 annual scholarship award from the Michigan Physician Assistant Foundation (MPAF), which provides annual scholarship awards to Physician Assistant (PA) students attending one of five PA programs at Michigan universities. The MPAF is a non-profit foundation established to provide scholarships to Michigan physician assistant students based on financial need, academic achievement, and professional involvement. Cieszlak received her award at the Michigan Academy of Physician Assistants conference in Traverse City, Oct 10.

PA student Aeli Harmann will have her co-authored research paper, "Concentrations and Correlations for Eight Metals in the Human Liver" by Griesmann, Hartmann, Farris, published in the International Journal of Environmental Health Research.

UDM PA student Shannon O'Connor was published in Current Hypertension Reports. The article, "Does Earlier Attainment of Blood Pressure Goal Translate Into Fewer Cardiovascular Events?" (2008 Oct;10(5):398-404), is based upon research O'Connor did with Samar A. Nasser, PA-C, MPH, Zongshan Lai, MPH, Xuefeng Liu, PhD, and John M. Flack, MD, MPH. The abstract cites clinical trial data, which showed that rapid attainment of goal blood pressure (BP) reduces the risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. This study indicated that patient characteristics influence speed of BP control and recommended that practitioners avoid therapeutic inertia.

PA students support Race for the Cure

A team of students from UDM's Physician Assistant Program participated in the 17th annual Komen Detroit Race for the Cure in June. The team raised over $800 for the event, which is devoted to funding breast cancer treatment and research.

UDM PA Program celebrates PA Week, Oct. 6-12

University of Detroit Mercy celebrated PA week with multiple events this year. New PA faculty members Amy Dereczyk and Coni Schmidt developed a PA Week banner, which was funded by the University's Mission and Identity team and hung on the fence outside of the McNichols Campus during PA Week, Oct 6-12. The William Beaumont Society, the University's student PA organization, held two food drives to help the hungry in metro Detroit as well as in Northern Michigan. PA students also collected non-perishable foods throughout the month for donation to the Gleaners Food Bank.

PA students, faculty attend annual PA meeting in Traverse City

Students and faculty attended the annual state PA meeting held Oct. 9-12 at Grand Traverse Resort to participate in networking, continuing education, PA practice business and fun. PA Professors Sharon Moser and Debra Knight presented at the conference. UDM's PA Program hosted an alumni reception, which had excellent attendance and celebrated the classes of 1978, 1988, 1998 and 2008.

PA students collect pop tabs for Ronald McDonald House

UDM PA students have collected one gallon of pop tabs to support the Ronald McDonald House in Detroit.

Many Ronald McDonald Houses work with local recycling centers to raise money by collecting tabs from aluminum cans. Ronald McDonald Houses collect pop tabs instead of entire aluminum cans because the tabs are pure high-quality aluminum, unlike cans, which consist of aluminum and other alloys. Tabs are also easier to store than whole cans.

The cardboard collection containers in the shape of a house are conveniently located in the Health Professions Building to encourage pop tab contributions. After the tabs are collected, the local RMHC Chapter brings the collection to local recycling centers, where they are weighed to determine their value. One pound of tabs is worth 57 cents, and one gallon of pop tabs (4,175 tabs) is worth $1.49.

The recycling center then sends the local RMHC Chapter or House a check for the total value. To date, more than 400 million pop tabs have been collected, generating more than $4 million so every gallon adds up to make a difference.