An older man carefully walks a straight line marked on the carpet while students assess his gait. Down the hall, a woman rises from her wheelchair to demonstrate a new prosthesis. In a room nearby, students advise a woman on medication use.

The young woman cradling the bundled-up baby at the back of the room appears anxious and standoffish. The two dozen University of Rhode Island freshman nursing students huddled around the bed of an infant with a racing heart across the way barely notice. After several minutes, student Jillian Bernier of Woonsocket, R.I., approaches her.

Last month Rhode Island Monthly magazine chose Associate Professor Deb Erickson-Owens as Nurse Midwife of the Year as part of its Excellence in Nursing awards, presented with the Rhode Island State Nurses Association.

Two scholars from URI (supported by the Rhode Island Foundation) and their mentors attended the Robert Wood Johnson Future of Nursing Scholars Summer Institute on Science and Innovation.

Caroline Burns, a volunteer in the Maternal Child Health Division of Peace Corps Rwanda, lives in the small village of Gituku. She invites fellow CON grads, students, and faculty to follow her blog about about Rwanda and her experiences there.

Betty Rambur said last year that all health professionals must become part of the solution to America’s costly health care system, which ranks 11th among wealthy countries on measures of quality, access, efficiency and equity. Nurses, as the largest health profession, hold a particularly central role.

Indonesia may be a half-a-world away, but for twelve URI nursing, pharmacy, and physical therapy students, it provided invaluable lessons and an opportunity to expand their perspectives on health care.

The College of Nursing awarded pins and diplomas to 135 new nurses that comprised the Class of 2016 on May 22. Associate Dean Patricia Burbank, DNSc, RN, FAAN presided over the ceremony.

Bintou Camara ’17 was recruited from the Talent Development Program to the CON Pathways Program. After attending Bay View Academy and Bishop Keough High School she graduated from Central Falls High School, where her teacher David Upegui first sparked her interest in science and steered her toward a career in the medical field.