Second Annual Series to Run Through Spring 2007
New York University’s College of Nursing has announced the names of 20 Fellows who will participate in the second annual Leadership Institute for Black Nurses. The goal of the institute is to empower nurses who seek career advancement in education, research, and administration.
“This program was established in keeping with a long tradition of commitment to Black nursing leadership,” says Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN, FAAN, dean of the College of Nursing. “Through education and mentorship, the institute serves as a resource to assist nurses who have shown great potential as health care leaders and seeks to expand the opportunities available to them.
The Institute was conceived by Dr. Fulmer with Yvonne Wesley, PhD, RN, FAAN, adjunct associate professor of nursing and an alumna of the NYU College of Nursing. It is directed by NYU faculty member May Dobal PhD, RN, and is sponsored by a grant of $100,000 from HIP Health Plan of New York. It was founded not only to advance Black nurses’ careers but also to address the extreme disparities in health between African Americans and other groups in the United States.
The Institute’s six training sessions, held monthly, address topics such as individual efficacy, leadership paradigms, and negotiation and collaboration. Participants not only build on personal strengths to develop leadership ability, but also gain practical management skills, such as developing a vision, evaluating and measuring program outcomes, and understanding health care management and finances. Each participant is paired with a leading African-American nurse who serves as a mentor and an advisor on a community-health project.
The Institute’s director, Dr. Dobal emphasizes the significant role of race in nurses’ self-image and in how they are treated in the workplace. “Black nurses, even those in managerial positions, often feel powerless,” she explains. “The Institute focuses on helping participants to express and pursue their career goals within the workplace and to negotiate across an uneven table.”
The Leadership Institute recruits nurses by contacting chief nursing officers in hospitals, deans of nursing programs, and Black nursing associations. Participants must have a minimum of a baccalaureate degree and have shown leadership ability. Of the 20 current participants, 18 hold master’s degrees, and almost all serve in management-level positions.
In moving Black nurses toward positions of greater authority, the Institute’s founders aim to develop health-system leaders who will be in positions to find solutions to racial disparities in health care. African Americans are more likely than members of other groups to die from some of the leading health problems today, such as cancer, heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes.
“Research shows that Blacks receive lower-quality care even when they have insurance and access to health care,” says Dr. Wesley, who hopes that with more black nurses in executive leadership positions, these problems will receive closer examination and greater resources.
The 2007 Leadership Institute for Black Nurses Fellows are:
- Ranekka Bell, MPA, BS; Assistant Nurse Manager, NYU Medical Center
- Elizabeth A. Corshu, BSN; MS, Nurse Manager, Trinitas Hospital
- Yvette Cummings, BSN, MSN; Clinical Practice Manager, AIDS Center; Nurse Manager, Radiation Oncology, Mount Sinai Hospital
- Patricia Nottingham Dzandu, BSN, MA, MS, APN; Psychiatric CNS, Veterans Affairs Medical Center
- Kimberly Fuller, BSN, MSN/MPA; Assistant Nurse Manager, NYU Hospitals Center
- Sandra R. Hardy, BA, BSN, MA; Infection Prevention & Control Practitioner, NYU Medical Center
- Sheryl A. Holloway-Davis, BSN; Director, Clinical Health Care Operations, HIP Health Plan of NY
- Elizabeth Igboechi, RNC, MSN, FNP; Administrative Nurse Manager, Montefiore Medical Center
- Debbie Keeys, BSN, MSN; Nursing Instructor, Hackensack University Medical Center
- Julia LaFleur, BSN, MPA; Associate Director, Patient Care Services, Kings County Hospital Center
- Joyce Lemon, BSN, MSN, MPA; Staff Registered Nurse, NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases
- Gwendolyn Bradham Lewis, BSN, MA; Senior Clinical Training Spec/Nurse Planner, Continuing Education Program, HIP Health Plan of NY
- Sharron M. McCoy, BSN; Nurse Manager, NYU Medical Center
- Phyllis L. McPherson, BSN, MA, CPUR, CCM; Clinical Director, Case Management, HIP Health Plan of NY
- Arlene C. Meyers, BS, MS, PhD; Associate Director, Nursing; Director, Medical Nursing, Coney Island Hospital
- Kathleen Parisien, BSN, BA, MA; Senior Manager, Professional Practice Programs, Mount Sinai Hospital
- Jennifer Roberts-King, BS, MS; Assistant Head Nurse, North Shore Long Island Jewish at Syosset
- Sharon V. Sledge, BS, MA, MS; Manager, Bloodless Medicine and Surgery Program, Trinitas Hospital
- Sandra Nicole Thompson, BSN, MSN; Nurse Manager, New York Hospital Queens
- Tanielle Watson, BSN, MSN; Clinical Nurse Manager, Mount Sinai Hospital
The College of Nursing at the College of Dentistry is located on New York University’s historic Greenwich Village campus in New York City. The College of Nursing is one of the leading nursing programs in the United States. The College offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing; Master of Arts and Post-Master’s Certificate Programs; and a Doctor of Philosophy in Research Theory and Development. For more information, visit www.nyu.edu/nursing