Page 43 - University of Martland Nursing Forum - Winter 2017

Bolstering Community:
Melissa Douglas, MS ’10
elissa Douglas, MS ’10, grew up watching her mother, a public
health nurse, dedicate her
time and energy to advocate
for sickle cell anemia patients
and their families. Witnessing
her mother’s efforts for those
communities is part of what led Douglas to her own career in public health nursing and informed her understanding of how patient lifestyles and community environments have a significant effect on individual health. She recognizes that assessing these environments is a crucial component in providing care. “I always knew the impact of nursing was better when you had a sense of the community the patient represented,” she says.
Douglas created the Melissa Douglas Annual Scholarship for students in the University of Maryland School of Nursing’s Community/Public Health Nursing master’s specialty in an effort to support future students who choose the same career she has. The scholarship is based on both merit and need and is awarded to a student who has completed the first year of the specialty with at least a 3.3 GPA.
While Douglas currently works as a transplant research coordinator at New York- Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, she started her public health career as a research nurse and clinical supervisor for two research studies at The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. “I took on a role that was very new for me, and it was by far the best experience in my career,” she says. In that position, Douglas “covered every corner” of Washington, D.C., with home visits and mobile van services, connecting community members to the health care resources they needed, including laboratory testing, case management, and care referrals, developing relationships with
more than 300 clients. “This connection allowed me to have a greater appreciation of cultural competence, community outreach, and the role of research in the nursing profession,” Douglas says.
That same year, she began her studies in UMSON’s
Community/Public Health Nursing master’s specialty. Douglas says an alumnus of the program nudged her in the direction of community/public health nursing when he recognized her desire to assess patients’ lifestyles and their community settings while providing them care.
Douglas says she is grateful for her own experiences and for the doors that have opened for her, and she is happy to give back to her alma mater. She also funds a scholarship at the institution from which she earned her undergraduate degree, Winston- Salem State University in North Carolina, and doing so was part of her motivation to create a scholarship for UMSON students.
“No donation is too small for your school,” Douglas reminds fellow graduates. She funded her UMSON scholarship through
a monthly payment option. Once Douglas had contributed enough to reach her desired total, Joyce Wanjiku, a second-year student in the Community/Public Health Nursing program, was awarded the scholarship in December 2015.
“I encourage all graduates to consider this method of gifting. Your gift supports the success of a student, allows for the enrichment of programs in the School of Nursing, and transforms the academic experience,” Douglas says. “The creation of a scholarship is a wonderful way to leave a legacy at your institution and make your mark on community/public health nursing.”
—Sarah Karpovich
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND SCHOOL OF NURSING 41
Robin E. Remsburg, PhD ’94
Barbara A. Reville, DNP ’11
Loretta M. Richardson, MS ’71, BSN ’68†
Joyce K. Rosenblatt, MS ’73
Miriam G. Rothchild, MS ’60†
Gina D. Rowe, PhD ’13, DNP ’10
Kathleen H. Sabatier, MS ’80
Dorothy L. Sabolsice, MS ’67†
Kay F. Sauers, MS ’78, BSN ’72†
Kelci Rose Schexnayder, BSN ’16
Barbara Schmitthenner, BSN ’57†
Deborah Lynne Schofield, DNP ’09, MS ’95, BSN ’92
Charlotte Sebra, BSN ’57†
Paul Sekyere-Nyantakyi and Sarpomaa S. Nyantakyi, BSN ’97
Patricia P. Sengstack, MS ’88, BSN ’82
Phyllis W. Sharps, PhD ’88, BSN ’70† Rebecca L. Shelley-Clouse, MS ’05 Beth R. Sherfy, MS ’09, BSN ’95 Marjorie A. Shipley, BSN ’66
Anne Shippen, MS ’10
Becky T. Simmons, BSN ’76
Susan E. Simms, BSN ’78
Joan E. Slavin, BSN ’57†
Claudia M. Smith, BSN ’65†
Elizabeth P. Smith, MS ’99
GeorgeAnna Smith, BSN ’55
Jami Smith
Laura M. Sorkin, MS ’96, BSN ’91†
Eula D. Spratley, BSN ’68
Jean P. Staples, BSN ’68†
Meghan Starner
Sarah Steinbaum
Sheri B. Stern, MS ’91, BSN ’75
Mary M. Stevens, BSN ’78
Barbara J. Stevenson, BSN ’76
Madeline Stier, BSN ’68
William Sutton, Jr.
Carol S. Swamidoss, BSN ’85
Zane Beller Szurgot, BSN ’75†
Jane L. Talbott, BSN ’66
Barbara N. Terry, BSN ’71†
Carol E. Tessman, BSN ’67
LeSean L. Thomas, BSN ’11
Roseanne K. Thompson, MS ’99, BSN ’72
Sheila T. Todd, BSN ’78 Cynthia J. Tollini, MS ’14 Tara L. Traczyk, MS ’14
Jane M. Trainis, MS ’90 Christine A. Treiber, BSN ’74 Angela Tsetsis
Luis and Isabel Valencia Karen F. Vaughan, BSN ’79
COURTESY OF MELISSA DOUGLAS