Parkinson’s Foundation selects Nursing instructor for prestigious visiting faculty program

August 08, 2018

Anoka-Ramsey Community College Nursing Instructor Debra Mayer, MSN, RN, CNE, was selected to participate this summer in the prestigious Edmond J. Safra Visiting Nurse Faculty Program. After completing the program offered by the Parkinson’s Foundation, she was also invited to serve on a nursing advisory board for the foundation.

The accredited Edmond J. Safra Visiting Nurse Faculty Program aims to improve nursing care for those diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, by training faculty leaders across the U.S. to better educate nursing students. Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that develops slowly and worsens with time. People with the disease may experience tremors, slowed movement, limb rigidity and problems with their balance and gait.

The Edmond J. Safra Visiting Nurse Faculty Program is a 40-hour course which includes clinic shadowing, didactics, participation in a Parkinson’s disease support group and the development of an independent project.  A $2,000 stipend is offered after completing the program. Mayer took part in the program in June at the Struthers Parkinson’s Center in Golden Valley, where she participated alongside faculty from colleges across the country and Minnesota.  

“The program takes a holistic approach to treating individuals with Parkinson’s disease,” said Mayer. “Their goal is to train faculty so that they can go back to their respective colleges with the tools they need to better educate nursing students to care for patients with Parkinson’s disease.”

According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, the number of people living with Parkinson’s disease is expected to double by 2040 to nearly 13 million individuals. Though the cause remains largely unknown, the treatment options given to patients vary and include surgery or medication.

“Medication doesn’t cure the disease. Medication only helps to alleviate the symptoms,” said Mayer. “We learned how to use a team approach to help treat patients. It’s very interdisciplinary. The patients we met benefited from the holistic approach to healing, which involved physical therapists, occupational therapists, neurologists and others.”

The scholars selected for the program help to prepare the next generation of nurses to care for the growing population of people with Parkinson’s disease. They provide education to more than 20,000 nursing students on an annual basis, helping students learn how they can improve the outcomes for those diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease from the start.

“It was a good experience. It was great to see everyone come together in support of the patients,” said Mayer. Mayer said she was honored to be chosen for the selective program, which gave her the opportunity to hear from nationally renowned speakers and guests. “We teach collaboration in our classrooms, but to actually see it in a clinical setting was very inspiring.”

By 2020, the Parkinson’s Foundation aims to grow the number of students educated by Parkinson’s Foundation Nurse Scholars to 30,000, in order to address the urgency of preparing nursing students to deliver the best care for Parkinson’s disease.

“What struck me the most was the differences in the presentations of the patients,” said Mayer. “It was eye-opening. We can’t treat each patient the same. The more we can tailor treatments to each patient and take a holistic approach, the better the outcome will be.”

Mayer plans to conduct her own independent study and incorporate some of the results into simulations at Anoka-Ramsey. While some concepts will be integrated into her teaching right away, she hopes her research will allow her to give students a more holistic approach to treating Parkinson’s disease.

For more information about the Parkinson’s Foundation, visit: Parkinson.org