This is the third part of our Vox series called “Hoya Citings” in which we feature Georgetown students’ research projects and pursuits in academia. Last week we profiled a student who researched foot-and-mouth disease at a laboratory in China.

As International Health majors in the Nursing and Health School,   Alexandra Melo (NHS ’13) and Ally Noyes (NHS ’13), were required to spend the first semester of their senior year in a developing country having a “practical experience” in the international health field. They are working at a public health clinic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that serves a low-income population.

However, they are not simply spending time in the clinic and shadowing doctors. The two are also conducting a research project for their thesis which investigates how the Internet impacts a person’s health, through surveys and on-site interviews of patients in the clinic.

“Our hypothesis is that people who use the Internet more and are better connected are going to have a better perception of their own health, going to be more compliant with medicine, and be more regular with doctor’s visits,” Noyes said. “We’re kind of looking at this whole psycho-social model of health and how the interent is influencing that.”

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The last of Georgetown’s  four undergraduate schools, we end here with a review of the School of Nursing and Health Studies (NHS).

So you’re in the NHS, easily the smallest of the undergraduate schools. There’s a good chance you’re pre-med, a better chance you’re female, and a sure-shot that you’re a particularly good finder (we win the Hogwarts game, College).

Class-o-physiology

Being in the NHS means having fewer general education requirements than most of your friends. Everyone is required to take two classes each in humanities, philosophy, and theology, but that’s usually all the liberal arts you’ll have to take. And, with the exception of International Health, there is no foreign language requirement.

But that doesn’t mean you can take whatever classes you want. The would-be gen eds are replaced by a slew of major-specific requirements, which don’t leave much time for electives. For instance, Nursing majors can only take three open classes.

For most students, freshman year is synonymous with Human Biology, a memorization-heavy anatomy and physiology course that will test your commitment to your major. Be prepared for the workload, and remember to take advantage of the weekly tutoring sessions the NHS holds because, when it comes to Human Bio, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.

Also, the school all but guarantees you a spot in its required in-house classes. Be glad, as this will spare you the semesterly headache that is preregistration.

St. Mary’s and beyond

Student life in the NHS benefits from its intimate size. The academic council treats students to a couple pancake breakfasts and faculty dinners throughout the year. Also, the NHS holds a barbecue in the St. Mary’s parking lot each semester – a good time to schmooze with next semester’s professors.

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As part of the Undergraduate Research Conference, Alan Leshner, CEO of American Association for the Advancement of Science and Executive Publisher of Science, delivered a keynote address on the evolving relationship between science and society as a whole. Although Americans resoundingly acknowledge the vital role science plays in society, he contended, there are huge gaps in understanding between scientists and non-scientists over what science is, how it functions, and how much money it needs.

He dedicated his talk to two truisms:

Truism #1: The health of the scientific enterprise is embedded in and reflective of the broader society.

An increasing number of scientists (particularly young ones) view their work in terms of its practical considerations, and this is primarily why society supports research. Those who pursue their research only because it is interesting and provocative tend to be funded at similar levels to classical archaeology, Leshner joked. (For the uninitiated, most academic science is funded through federal grants.)

Because science as an institution is coming to terms with its pragmatic role in society, America is increasingly seeing more grants for high-risk/high-rewards research as well as a greater push for diversity in fields.

“The greatest progress in science comes from diversity,” Leshner said, referring to both demographic diversity and varied ways of thinking.

But of course, funding is always an issue, regardless of the field. In the past year, federal grant-giving institutions (e.g. NASA, NIH) are more likely to see less funding in efforts to balance the budget. Last year, almost across the board, science agencies’ budgets didn’t just not increase with inflation, they were cut. To the individual scientist, this translates to a longer interval between graduate school and their first grant (generally held as the measure of when a scientist’s career starts). Leshner said that he received his first grant at 25—now scientists with PhDs are having to wait until their forties to research independently.

However, this is mainly a problem for the individual scientists. From a macro perspective, the rate of publications is still rising, and the arrested development is manifesting in increased collaboration. Leshner said that Science barely receives any single-authored papers, and many of the submissions will have co0authors from different institutions in different countries.

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Today, the School of Nursing and Health Studies announced the name of its new pediatric simulator. Everyone, meet Pete E. Atric. Pete joins GUS, Noelle, Neonate, and Stan in the NHS’s family of creepy clinical simulators.

Pete, who clicks when he blinks, has a pulse, can be intubated, and can even turn blue. Read the rest of this entry »

This week, Vox wanted to give the Class of 2015 a sneak peek into each of Georgetown University’s four undergraduate schools. Today, we take a look at the School of Nursing and Health Studies (NHS).

So you’re in the NHS, easily the smallest of the undergraduate schools. There’s a good chance you’re pre-med, a better chance you’re female, and a sure-shot that you’re a particularly good finder (we win the Hogwarts game, College).

Class-o-physiology

Being in the NHS means having fewer general education requirements than most of your friends. Everyone is required to take two classes each in humanities, philosophy, and theology, but that’s usually all the liberal arts you’ll have to take. And, with the exception of International Health, there is no foreign language requirement.

But that doesn’t mean you can take whatever classes you want. The would-be gen eds are replaced by a slew of major-specific requirements, which don’t leave much time for electives. For instance, Nursing majors can only take three open classes.

For most students, freshman year is synonymous with Human Biology, a memorization-heavy anatomy and physiology course that will test your commitment to your major. Be prepared for the workload, and remember to take advantage of the weekly tutoring sessions the NHS holds because, when it comes to Human Bio, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.

Also, the school all but guarantees you a spot in its required in-house classes. Be glad, as this will spare you the semesterly headache that is preregistration.

St. Mary’s and beyond

Student life in the NHS benefits from its intimate size. The academic council treats students to a couple pancake breakfasts and faculty dinners throughout the year. Also, the NHS holds a barbecue in the St. Mary’s parking lot each semester – a good time to schmooze with next semester’s professors.

Read the rest of this entry »

Correction: Dr. Jacobs is still on staff at the University.

Earlier today, University President John DeGioia announced the appointment of UCLA professor Martin Y. Iguchi as Dean of the School of Nursing & Health Studies starting July 1.

Iguchi currently serves as chair of the Department of Community Health Sciences in the School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is also the former director of the RAND Corporation’s Drug Policy Research Center.

According to his profile on the UCLA website, Iguchi’s recent research concentrates on the sexual behaviors of drug users and the exacerbating effect of drug criminalization on health disparities in the Black and Hispanic communities.

Iguchi will replace Interim Dean Julie Deloia, who assumed the post on July 1, 2010. The last permanent dean of the NHS was former Dean Bette Jacobs, who retired left the position in 2010 after 11 years of service to the University.

Georgetown University’s School of Nursing and Health Studies is bringing a part of its graduate programs online this spring.

The program will combine lectures from Georgetown professors using streaming video and other technology. Online class meetings and discussions are also scheduled to be part of the program.

“Our new online initiative will allow us to extend our mission and magnify our impact on health and health care across the nation, particularly in rural and underserved areas,” Julie DeLoia, interim dean of the NHS, said in a statement.

Students in this class will have some experience on the Hilltop before they graduate, as two weekends of practice with patient simulation technology on campus is required for the program.

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The Georgetown University Career Center has compiled and released the data from surveys it took of graduating students of the Class of 2009. The report presents the class as a whole and then breaks it down by school. So, without further ado:

Georgetown University Class of 2009

The most immediate things apparent in the results, comprised of the responses of 60 percent of last year’s senior class, or 1024 of the 1716 graduates, won’t shock you: employment rates immediately after graduation were down—but not dismal—and so were starting salaries.

Fifty-seven percent of the Class of 2009′s respondents reported being employed post-graduation. By contrast, 62 percent of the Classes of 2006, 2007, and 2008 reported being employed post-graduation. Twelve percent of Class of 2009 respondents listed searching for employment as their primary activity after graduation, the highest percent recorded since 2004.

The average starting salary reported employed Class of 2009 graduates was $46,989, about six percent lower than the average starting salary reported by the Class of 2008.

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Joan Riley (right) with two NHS professors at NHS Graduation

On Thursday, Georgetown Professor Joan Burggraf Riley (NHS’76, G’97) was named the District of Columbia Teacher of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

Riley, an assistant professor at Georgetown’s School of Nursing and Health Studies, has attended and taught at Georgetown for more than 30 years. She has worked with other faculty to integrate mental health and wellness topics into other academic departments through the Bringing Theory to Practice project.

She also serves as the faculty advisor for Georgetown’s chapter of Best Buddies International, which pairs student volunteers with individuals who have intellectual and developmental disabilities, and works in the Student Health Center as a family health practitioner.

“I have known Joan for many years, and her commitment to the development and well-being of our undergraduates is a model for all of us in the academy,” President John DeGioia said on Thursday at a reception held in the District for Riley, four national winners of the award, and other winners from 38 states and territories.

Riley’s award marks the second year in a row that a Georgetown professor was selected for the award. Math Department Chair James Sandefur won in 2008.