Boise State University is proud to announce and recognize two members of the School of Nursing who earned well-deserved recognition at the annual Nurse Leaders of Idaho (NLI) 2017 Celebrating Nursing Dinner. Pam Strohfus, associate professor and coordinator for the Doctor of Nursing Practice program and Becky Bunderson, director for the College of Health Sciences Simulation Center, were two of the many recognized at the dinner. Strohfus received the Outstanding Nurse Leader in Education Award, while Bunderson was nominated for the Outstanding Nurse Leader in Innovation Award.
Strohfus, has been the coordinator for the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program for the last five years. The Outstanding Nurse Leader in Education Award reflects Strohfus’ education, administrative, research, and practice career. Pamela Gehrke, associate professor for the School of Nursing, by whom Strohfus was nominated, believed Strohfus’ work deserved such recognition as she portrayed all of the criteria for the award. The award criteria asked for a nominee that “demonstrates competence in promoting evidence based practice, scholarly activities to prepare future nursing professionals and improve general health of citizens, and demonstrates a level of commitment to the nursing profession beyond the daily operation of their employment.”
“The collaborative leadership style used by Dr. Strohfus enables faculty and staff to provide transformational education in the doctoral program.” said Gehrke. “By that I mean, faculty are empowered to design and enact innovative courses to stimulate students to think and act to promote health in the populations they serve. Staff are empowered to creatively identify program improvements, ways to communicate with students, and to serve them. Students see a change in their view of nursing and are empowered to go forward and act as leaders in policy, practice, and scholarly endeavors in their own communities.”
Bunderson, who has worked as the director of the College of Health Sciences Simulation Center the last seven years was nominated by School of Nursing Director Ann Hubbert who sees Bunderson portraying all the criteria for the award. Bunderson, “demonstrates competence in evidence based practice, interdisciplinary teamwork, collaborative learning and leadership. She is recognized as a positive role-model by leaders and interdisciplinary colleagues in their organization.”
“Becky is nationally recognized in simulation education for her out of the box thinking and innovative problem solving which propelled the Boise State Simulation Center into the national and international spotlight.” said Hubbert. “When the simulation center opened in 2010, Becky was at the helm. She began work on the two year process to get the center internationally accredited by the Society for Simulation Healthcare. In 2013 the simulation center was accredited and remains only one of a handful of accredited centers in the world without an affiliation to a hospital or medical school. The Society for Simulation in Healthcare has since adopted Becky’s original reporting method as a standard for all accreditation and training.”
In addition to these nominees, Jody Acheson, a current student in Boise State’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program and Hematologic Malignancies Program Manager at St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute received the Aspiring Clinical Nurse Leader Award. The criteria asked for a nominee that “demonstrates emerging leadership skills in a leadership position in a clinical practice that has made a positive contribution to patient care.”
Acheson’s colleagues testified to her dedication to quality patient care in their nomination letter: “Jody is an outstanding manager who believes in improving systems to make it safer and better for patients. She strives for excellence in everything she does. Not only is she supportive of staff, she has integrity and respects her staff. She has extreme compassion for patient success, as seen in her additional role as quality manager.”
“Jody’s knowledge and expertise as a clinical leader along with her passion to improve the quality of her patients’ care in marrow transplantation made her an excellent choice for our Doctor of Nursing Practice program,” said Strohfus.