Engage with the IHP Community
Greetings from the Office of Alumni Relations! May is Mental Health Awareness Month. As the Director of Alumni Relations for a graduate school dedicated to the health professions, I feel it is my duty to acknowledge how important it is for you, our alumni, to seek out practices and activities that promote your mental wellbeing. The National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) has selected the theme "More than Enough" for this year's campaign. During the month of May, I encourage you to take time to pause and reflect on your mental health, to write down the ways that you are "more than enough", to engage in activities that keep you mentally well, and to seek help, when needed.

Please check out the rest of this newsletter to learn more about what's happening at the IHP, including alumni events curated just for you. As always, feel free to reach out with your thoughts and ideas.


~Katie Mulcahy, Director of Alumni Relations
From the Alumni Office
Congratulations, Class of 2023!
Welcome to the IHP Alumni Community.
Commencement Stories
2023 Alumni Award Recipients
The 2023 alumni award recipients are dedicated health care professionals in their respective disciplines. Both are committed to providing quality care to their patients. It was a pleasure to present them with their awards at the Institute's 43rd Commencement earlier this month. Learn more about each award recipient by click on their names below.

Bette Ann Harris '83 Distinguished Alumni Award

Photo courtesy of Angela Patterson

The Emerging Leader
Alumni Award

Photo courtesy of Valerie Ricker-Bussie
Knitting/Crocheting for Wellbeing Group Starting in July
Health care professionals are more likely than others to experience mental health challenges given their current working conditions, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the stigma associated with accessing care, and their tendency to place the wellbeing of others before their own (1). Research has shown that the rhythmic motion of knitting/crocheting coupled with the social connections forged when individuals are part of a group can have a positive impact on mental wellbeing (2,3).

To support the wellbeing of our IHP community, the Wellness Council and the Office of Alumni Relations are joining forces to create a knitting/crocheting for wellbeing group. This new group, which starts in July, welcomes alumni, students, faculty, and staff who are either novice or seasoned knitters/crocheters. In addition to creating community and learning a new skill, the organizers hope to study whether the IHP's knitting/crocheting for wellbeing group improves participant wellbeing.

Detailed plans on the group's structure and activities as well as the research question(s) to be answered are just emerging. At this time, we invite you to help us formalize the plan, share your research skills, show interest in being a participant, or do all three! Join us.

Resources:

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. (2022, December 1). Healthcare workers: Work stress and mental health. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/healthcare/workstress.html

Riley, J., Corkhill, B. & Morris, C. (2013). The benefits of knitting for personal and social wellbeing in adulthood: Findings from an international survey. The British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 76(2), 50-57. https://doi.org/10.4276/030802213X13603244419077

Burns, P. & Ven Der Meer, R. (2021). Happy hookers: Findings from an international study exploring the effects of crochet on wellbeing. Perspectives in Public Health, 141(3), 149-157.  DOI: 10.1177/1757913920911961

The IHP Alumni Business Directory is Gathering Steam
Since the unveiling of the IHP Alumni Business Directory initiative last month, we've enjoyed a steady response from all of you. We would love to keep the momentum going, so please consider joining the IHP Alumni Business Directory and community today.

The aim of the alumni business directory is to connect alumni business owners to each other so they can share best practices and find community. It is also meant to give alums the chance to support their fellow alumni in the work they are doing. Further, it may give alumni resources for where they can direct current clients for additional services.

If you would like to be included in the Institute's Alumni Business Directory and community, please complete an Alumni Business Profile Form.

Disclaimer: The MGH Institute's alumni business directory is meant to serve as a resource for the alumni community. Listings that appear in the alumni business directory are not endorsements by the MGH Institute of Health Professions, Massachusetts General Hospital, or Mass General Brigham. The MGH Institute of Health Professions is not legally affiliated with any of the businesses to be listed.
Let's Engage with a Question!
Just for fun! When you were an IHP student, what did you use as your mode of transportation?
Bike
Bus
Car
Ferry
My Feet
Other
Alumni Making a Positive Impact
Laura Bitterman, MS-NU '16
presented “Gender-Affirming Healthcare for Nurse Practitioners” at the Northern New England Nurse Practitioner Conference held at Mount Washington Resort in April. Bitterman has worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) since graduating in 2016, which made representing the organization at this conference even more special.

Photo courtesy of Laura Bitterman
Kelli Neville, BSN '19, of Mass General for Children (MGfC), sang the national anthem at Fenway Park as part of the Boston Red Sox and nurse.org’s seventh annual Nurses Night celebration. Neville, a nurse on the Pediatric Inpatient Unit, was selected to perform after submitting an audition tape to nurse.org, a virtual community for nurses and nursing students. More than 100 MGfC staff – plus nurses from around New England – gathered to support Neville as she fulfilled a lifelong dream.
Impact statement & photo courtesy of Massachusetts General Hospital daily announcements.
May is National Nurses Month
“You Make a Difference”
In recognition of National Nurses Month, the IHP celebrates the significant contributions each of you are making to the healthcare industry. We hear of your dedication to the profession and to your patients from your faculty members and read about the same in news stories like the Boston Globe's annual "Salute to Nurses". Your efforts are noticed and appreciated. We also know that each day brings new rewards and challenges, and we thank you for all that you do to support the health and wellbeing of your patients and their families.

The American Nurses Association (ANA) has selected the theme "You Make a Difference" for 2023. In the stories below you will read about members of the IHP community who are making a difference in the lives of the patients and families they serve. We appreciate that these stories are just a sampling of the collective impact all of you are making within the nursing profession. Happy National Nurses Month to each of you!
This is My "Why"
"Heartbeats in a Bottle"
Michelle Peterson, BSN '16
Tell us about your current workplace setting as well as the focus of your work?

I work in a 24 bed Intensive Care Unit at South Shore Hospital, which is a level 2 trauma center. We see patients of all kinds and as nurses we oversee the entire hospital for any codes or rapid responses that require an ICU nurse at the bedside.  

South Shore Hospital has a practice called "Heartbeat in a Bottle." Can you describe this practice for us? 

Prior to the pandemic, some nurses would print out a dying patient's last EKG strip and give it to their family in a small red tube used for blood draws. During the pandemic, we lost most of our patients without family present, which meant that we were unable to give the family their loved one’s last EKG strip or provide them with any comfort. Nurses became the last ones to say goodbye and to hold their patients' hands. Family members could only watch from home on Facetime.  
As soon as the hospital’s restrictions on family visits were lifted, I knew I wanted to make sure that each family member received their loved one’s last heartbeat. With my mission set, I got to work putting the strips in blood tubes as was done in the past. Then, a new nurse I was training, who is super crafty, recommended I use little glass bottles she had at home (pictured right). We decorated the bottles with a ribbon, added a heart, and a tag with the saying "My heart is with you, always". 

When I presented the first newly designed bottle, my patient's family members smiled and hugged me with gratitude as they walked out the door without their loved one. This experience brought me a sense of closure, too. I tried so hard to keep my patient alive yet they passed despite my best efforts. It warmed my heart to see my patient’s family members smile after such a stressful and emotional period. 

What is your “why” for participating in this tradition?
 
My “why” for participating in this practice is due to watching so many patients die without family during the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, I could offer kind words and gestures to patients’ families when they came in for their daily visit or when I could see that they were hardly eating or sleeping due to the stress. During the pandemic, phone calls and Facetime while I was completely gowned up were my only ways to communicate. I didn't have the ability to hug family members or offer my sincere condolences. It was as traumatic on us as it was for the patients’ families. The final heartbeat in a bottle is an incredible gesture for families in mourning and it helps the nurses as well. 
 
May is National Nurses Month. The theme for 2023 is “You Make a Difference.” How do you think that you are making a difference in the lives of your patients and their families when you present this bottle?  

I think I am making a difference with the last heartbeat in a bottle because I am turning a traumatic and very sad moment into a time of gratitude and reflection for my patient's life. A patient who comes to the ICU typically does so in dire need of the life support measures that I can provide. While in our care, I put my heart and soul into prolonging their life. When I offer this keepsake to families, I see it as a way for me to honor the patient that I fought for and to provide my families with an everlasting keepsake of the last time their loved one’s heart was beating. 
 
What knowledge, skills, and attitudes do you feel you bring from the IHP into your work today?

During my clinicals at the IHP, I was immersed into my patients lives and their family dynamic. Taking care of patients and involving their family caretakers while in the hospital is something that I have always brought into my practice. Hands on teaching and education about procedures and medications can relieve some of the anxiety that families experience when their loved ones are in the hospital. 

If you would like to learn more about the "Heartbeat in a Bottle" practice happening at South Shore Hospital, please contact the Office of Alumni Relations to be connected to Michelle.
Boston Globe's "Salute to Nurses": IHP Edition
The excellence of the MGH Institute’s School of Nursing was on display in the Boston Globe’s 2023 Salute to Nurses publication.

The section, printed in the paper’s May 7 edition and on its website during the annual National Nurses Month, included recognition of a professor, a dozen clinical instructors, and 13 alumni who were nominated by Globe readers. Two of the alumni received multiple letters of commendation.

“It’s always wonderful for nurses from the MGH Institute to be applauded for their excellence,” said School of Nursing Dean, Dr. Ken White. “It’s a recognition of the faculty and graduates who make a different in the lives of patients each day.” Read the individual commendations here.

Photos courtesy of the Boston Globe
Campus News
U.S. Dept. of Labor Awards Grant to MGH Institute to Help Expand Nursing Pipelines
There’s no end in sight for the nationwide shortage of nurses – more than 200,000 openings per year are projected between now and 2031 - and few reinforcements are on the way as more than 90,000 nursing school applicants were turned away in 2021 because there aren’t enough people to teach them. 

Now, the U.S. Department of Labor has just announced plans to fix the problem, and it’s turning to the MGH Institute of Health Professions and its affiliation with Mass General Brigham for help.  Read on to learn how the IHP will make an impact.
School of Nursing Initiatives & Campus Events
The School of Nursing Goes Social!
Stay up to the minute on all things School of Nursing related by following their new Instagram account. On @IHPSON you will have an inside view of the classroom, which is likely to conjure memories from when you were a student at the IHP, information on new initiatives, and fun pics and quotes from your former faculty. And, what would a nursing Instagram account be without humorous and highly relatable memes?

The School of Nursing wants to interact with you, so head on over to Instagram and follow @IHPSON. As soon as you do you can start liking, sharing, commenting, and being part of the community like you were when you were a student. If you want to tag @IHPSON in a post, please use the hashtag #ihpnursing. We look forward to connecting with you.

Photo by Alexander Shatov
Office of Accessibility Resources
Disability as Diversity Workshop: Disability in Healthcare
June 12, 2023 ~ 4:00 - 5:00 pm EDT ~ Virtual
In this workshop, Emily Komarow, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders student, and Luella Benn, MEd, Director of Accessibility Resources and Wellness, will lead a discussion on different types of disabilities, the social vs. medical models of disability, identity first vs. person first language, and examples of disparities and inequities disabled patients face in the U.S. healthcare system.

This is a new workshop! It was created as a supplement to the existing Disability as Diversity workshop series. This session puts concepts such as ableism and models of disability, which were discussed in previous sessions, into the context of the impact they have on access and equity in health care systems. Register here.

Correction: The original version of this announcement identified Emily Komarow as a Department of Occupational Therapy student.
Gain Access to Today!
Fulfilling the Promise of ACCESS
FREE for MA Providers ~ 100% online ~ Self-Paced
This online course will explore the ACCESS law, its provisions and limitations, as well as empower health care providers and pharmacists to best meet their patients' contraceptive needs. It will also cover the new standing order for emergency contraception pills. Ideal for Massachusetts providers and pharmacists who prescribe and/or dispense birth control and emergency contraception pills. This includes physicians, physician assistants/associates, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists. The MA Department of Public Health is covering the cost of the course for an extended period. Learn more.

Photo by Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition on Unsplash
Comprehensive Review for Psychiatric Mental Health
Nursing (PMH-BCTM) Certification
Alumni 40% Off ~ 100% online ~ Self-Paced ~ Begin Anytime!
Learn about assessment & diagnosis, care planning, implementation, and evaluation through interactive modules with video content, enrichment resources, critical thinking exercises and knowledge checks. Structured to align with ANCC's blueprint for the certification exam, this course provides a comprehensive foundation for advancing your nursing career in psychiatric-mental health nursing. Learn more.
Photo by Nappy at Pexels