HITS: Health Information Technology Scholars Program

Associate Dean for Integrated Technologies and E. Jean M. Hill Endowed Professor
University of Kansas, School of Nursing

With her innovative vision and ability to marshal change, Dr. Helen R. Connors has forged a distinctive path in the nursing profession. As the KU School of Nursing's Associate Dean for Integrated Technologies and Executive Director of the KU Center for Health Informatics, Dr. Connors strives to expand the use of advanced information technologies for education and practice, to establish policy for telecommunications and telehealth, and to promote the image of nursing nationally and internationally.

Dr. Connors is a recognized leader in educational innovations. Through her efforts, the School of Nursing has developed academic and business partnerships with such entities as the Kansas Health Institute, Cerner Corporation and HealthGate Corporation to support and expand the use of health care information technologies.

Her innovative efforts to bring the classroom to nurses and to increase the number of nurses in rural areas were included in Time magazine and CNN’s spotlight on the "Heroes of Medicine." Dr. Connors has a BSN from Villanova University, a MSN from Russell Sage College, a PhD from University of Kansas, and an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service from Russell Sage.

Diane J. Skiba, Ph.D., FAAN, FACMI

303-724-8527

Email: Diane.Skiba@ucdenver.edu

http://hschealth.uchsc.edu/son/grad/healthinformatics.htm

Diane J. Skiba, Ph.D., FAAN, FACMI, is a Professor and I-Collaboratory: Partnerships in Learning University of Colorado Denver College of Nursing. Since 1982, she has taught nurses in the field of nursing informatics. She currently is funded by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) Division of Nursing Advanced Nurse Education for a training grant to prepare nurses in the field of informatics. This grant supports their online Master’s degree program and funds the I-Collaboratory, an innovative online community to support informatics learners.

Secretary Leavitt recently appointed her to the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice (NACNEP). NACNEP advises the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Congress on policy issues related to the Title VIII programs administered by the HRSA Bureau of Health Professions Division of Nursing, including nurse workforce supply, education and practice improvement.

She writes a column on Emerging Technologies for Nursing Educational Perspectives journal. She along with Dr. Mary Anne Rizzolo co-chair the Education Collaborative of the Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform (TIGER) Project.

Pamela R. Jeffries, DSN, RN, FAAN

410-614-4081

Email: pjeffri2@son.jhmi.edu

Dr. Pamela R. Jeffries is the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She has over 25 years of teaching experience in the classroom, learning laboratory, and clinical setting with undergraduate and graduate nursing students. Jeffries has been awarded several teaching awards including the NLN Lucile Petry Leone Award for nursing education, the prestigious Elizabeth Russell Belford Award for teaching excellence given by Sigma Theta Tau, and numerous outstanding faculty awards presented by the graduating nursing classes. She is Project Director of the 3-year National League for Nursing (NLN/Laerdal) Simulation Study, a national multi-site research project with eight Project Coordinators. The overarching purpose of the exploratory, national, multi-site project was to study various parameters related to the use of simulation in basic nursing education programs and selected student outcomes. She also served as the Project Director for a second NLN/Laerdal grant focused on faculty development for designing and implementing simulations. Nine Web-based courses have been designed and marketed for this project in addition to a global simulation Web site called the “Simulation Innovation Resource Center (SIRC)”. Dr. Jeffries has been involved with numerous technological development projects including an SBIR grant developing a CD ROM on for clinical skills in nursing, an STTR grant that consisted of developing an online acute care respiratory module for nurse practitioners and was Co-PI on a federally-funded Department of Education Grant (Funding from Post-Secondary Education- FIPSE) to develop three online critical care courses. Most recently she is serving as PI on an American Heart Association (AHA) grant to study ACLS instruction using high fidelity manikins.

Mary Anne Rizzolo earned her doctorate in Communication, Computing, and Technology in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is the Senior Director of Professional Development at the National League for Nursing, where she is responsible for program planning, development, and implementation. Dr. Rizzolo came to NLN from Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Publishers, where she was Executive Director of NursingCenter.com, a web portal for nurses. Previously, Dr. Rizzolo worked at the American Journal of Nursing Company as Director of Interactive Technologies. In that capacity, Dr. Rizzolo was author and Principal Investigator of a Special Projects Grant from the Division of Nursing, PHS, DHHS that developed the award-winning World Wide Web site AJN Online, the precursor of NursingCenter.com. While at AJN Company, Dr. Rizzolo also developed award winning interactive videodisc and other CD ROM and multimedia programs that won national and international awards. Dr. Rizzolo has been a faculty member and director of Learning Resource Centers in ASN, BSN and masters degree nursing programs. She has presented at numerous national and international conferences on computer applications for nursing education, and has written several articles and book chapters. She was the recipient of Sigma Theta Tau's International Honor Society of Nursing, Region 6 Information Technology Resources Award, received the International Recognition Award for Advancement of Computer Technology in Healthcare from Rutgers University, was inducted into Seton Hall University’s College of Nursing Hall of Honor, and is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.

Dr. Rizzolo brings a background in nursing education, a wealth of past experiences with a variety of technologies, a national perspective on faculty development needs, and the resources of the NLN to reach faculty across the nation in all types of nursing programs.

Diane M. Billings, RN, EdD, FAAN, Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus, Indiana University School of Nursing is an internationally known expert on e-learning. She is experienced in mentoring faculty to adopt and use educational technologies and innovations. She is the recipient of state and federal grants to develop web-based instruction. She serves on editorial boards of 5 nursing education journals.

Executive Management Team