Jean W. Lange, Ph.D., RN, professor of nursing at Fairfield University, has won a 2010 End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) award, a national honor bestowed by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) to individuals considered central to improving palliative care in the United States.

In a letter to Dr. Lange, Pam Malloy, MN, RN, ELNEC project director at AACN, wrote: "This is given to you for many reasons, but primarily for your outstanding work within Fairfield's School of Nursing. Your work is remarkable and certainly worthy of this award."

A national initiative to advance end-of-life nursing care, ELNEC is  significantly impacting nursing education across the country. Dr. Lange is one of ten prominent nurse educators who were honored.

She has a passion for educating healthcare providers about the unique needs of older adults and improving their quality of life. As a certified ELNEC faculty trainer, Dr. Lange shares her expertise in palliative care and the latest best practices with Fairfield's faculty and nursing students. She teaches in both the graduate and undergraduate nursing programs.

Dr. Lange, a recognized scholar in gerontological education and end of life concerns, cross-cultural research and instrument development, has chaired the integration of gerontology education across the curriculum at the School of Nursing.

Geriatric care has been a high priority of the School. Toward that end, Dr. Lange has played an important role in many of its achievements. Her strong belief in collaboration led to the formation of partnerships with local universities, health centers, older adult care agencies and area hospitals to produce programs that best served the needs of the community of interest, while enhancing student learning. The AACN and the John A. Hartford Foundation recognized Fairfield for curricular excellence in gerontology in 2005.

Dr. Lange's research interests are centered on vulnerable population access to quality care. Her current research is a continuing project to translate best practices in the care of older adults regarding cultural competence, team building and palliative care to nursing personnel in home care and long term care settings.

In addition, she has co-authored several articles about this work with faculty colleagues, including a recent article in which she was the lead investigator for refining an instrument measuring knowledge outcomes of end of life care programs. Since its publication last fall, Dr. Lange has had numerous requests from educators in health care and university settings nationwide seeking permission to use this instrument.

Posted On: 01-26-2010 10:01 AM

Volume: 42 Number: 177