A textbook co-edited by Linfield University-Good Samaritan School of Nursing Dean Paul Smith and former Associate Dean Melissa Robinson has won first place in the Environmental Health category in the American Journal of Nursing’s Book of the Year awards, the most prestigious in the field.
The seventh edition of Family Health Care Nursing: Theory, Practice, and Research, published in 2022, focuses on individual- and trauma-informed care for families.
“It is a point of pride that so many of our faculty, both current and former, contributed to this work that really embraces the impact we as nurses can have on the entire family, no matter how that family is defined,” Dean Paul Smith said.
He added that Linfield has quite the history with Family Health Care Nursing; this edition of the book is dedicated to Joanna Rowe Kaakinen, a now-retired longtime professor who helped shepherd the very first edition into being, and served as lead editor for the fourth, fifth and sixth editions.
Beyond Smith and Robinson, 11 current and former faculty members and both of the current associate deans are listed on the contributor page, with Linfield voices appearing in 12 of the book’s 19 chapters, including “Trauma and Family Nursing”; “Environmental Health and Families”; “Nursing Care of LGBTQ+ Families”; “Families and Aging”; and “Family Mental Health Nursing.”
Provost Mark McPhail hailed the book’s themes as emblematic of the larger Linfield mission.
“In creating a text that is inclusive, it underlines the idea of creating a climate of mutual respect,” he said. “Living a life of courage, of moral and spiritual principle is central to nursing. These are people who have dedicated their lives to serving and healing others — and in a time when we all need healing, that kind of leadership is absolutely critical.”
It also highlights, he said, the unique nature of those who are called to teach nursing.
“Our faculty who are practitioners are also scholars, and it really reveals the Linfield story — bringing together the theoretical and the practical for the purpose of good, the purpose of serving others.”
The book itself is a rich text even to non-nursing students; within the first few pages, it offers an expansive view of what constitutes a family, then goes through five types of families ranging from ‘rigid, inflexible’ to ‘chaotic, overly flexible’, describing power structures and emotional attachments, or lack thereof, in each category.
And, Smith said, they are already considering how to make the 8th edition even stronger.
“We did a big revamp of the LGBTQ+ chapter this year, and I think we may look at doing that with several other chapters in the next edition,” he said, adding that the goal is always a text that teaches nurses to care not just for the person, but the people in social and support structures around them.
“Things are changing very fast — the nuclear family, as it’s known, is not our sole focus. Our focus is on the whole person including the people in their lives, and inclusive ways to make nursing itself more kind, humane and responsive to those we serve.”
Contributors:
Current:
- Henny Breen, director of RN-to-BSN and MSN programs and professor: author of “Family Mental Health Nursing” chapter
- Jordan Ferris, assistant professor of nursing and director of clinical education, co-authored “Family Nursing in Acute-Care Adult Settings”
- Julie S. Fitzwater, associate dean, co-authored “Family Nursing in Acute-Care Adult Settings”
- Kiki Fornero, assistant professor, co-authored “Nursing Care of LGBTQ+ Families”
- Kimberly Kintz, co-director of traditional BSN program, co-authored “Families Living with Chronic Illness”
- Morgan Torris-Hedlund, adjunct and former assistant professor, co-authored “Environmental Health and Families”
- Paul Smith, dean, co-edited book, co-authored “Family Nursing Assessment and Intervention”, “Nursing Care of LGBTQ+ Families” and “Family Nursing in Acute-Care Adult Settings”
- Delene Volkert, associate dean, co-authored “Family Nursing Assessment and Intervention”
- Mindy P. Zeitzer, co-director of traditional BSN and assistant professor, co-authored “Families Living with Chronic Illness”
Former Linfield faculty:
- Kimberly Dupree Jones, former dean, co-authored “Families and Population Health”
- Gary Lausten, former professor, co-authored “Environmental Health and Families”
- Melissa Robinson, former associate dean, co-edited and co-authored “Families in Palliative and End-of-Life Care”, “Trauma and Family Nursing” and “Families in Aging”
- Elizabeth Strauss, former assistant professor, co-authored “Family Health Nursing” and “Families in Aging”
- Jacqueline F. Webb, former assistant professor, co-authored “Families and Population Health
