Kelley Obringer, MSN, RN - Has been named an FY 2012 Illinois Board of Higher Education Nurse Educator Fellow. Kelley is only one of 18 nurse educators in the State awarded this competitive fellowship. Kelley plans to use her fellowship monies to partially fund her doctoral education. Her planned program of research will focus on end-of-life care in diverse patient populations. The purpose of the Nurse Educator Fellowship Program is to ensure the retention of well-qualified nursing faculty at institutions of higher learning that award degrees in nursing. Participation in this program is open to Illinois institutions of higher learning with a nursing program approved by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) or the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC). Kelley is only the second faculty member at St. John’s College to receive this award. Jennie VanSchyndel, MSN, RN, Assistant Professor was selected as a fellow in FY2010.

Associate Professor Jane Diers, EdD, RN - Has been selected as a 2012 HRSA Health Information Technology Scholar (HITS). Jane’s project is “Interprofessional Simulation and Informatics for Collaborative Practice.” This competitive Scholars program will use e-learning modules, simulation and use of electronic health records to leverage and expand our current college Interprofessional learning experiences. The focus will be on developing student competencies in collaborative practice communication to realize safe, quality and effective patient care. This scholars program is supported by a five-year, $1.5 million grant provided by The Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA’s) Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr) in partnership with the Office of Health Information Technology (OHIT), the University of Kansas School of Nursing and with the Schools of Nursing at the University of Colorado Denver, Johns Hopkins University, and Indiana University, in partnership with the National League for Nursing (NLN). The purpose of the program is to develop, implement, disseminate and sustain faculty development to integrate information technologies in nursing curriculum and expand the capacity of collegiate schools of nursing to educate students for the 21st century.