CU Nursing - Commencement Spring 2020 - 15

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G R A D U AT I O N

&

C O N V O C AT I O N 2 0 2 0

C O M M E M O R AT I V E E D I T I O N

"Coming to CU was important to me," said
Waters as he and Dr. Lori Trego were stationed
together in Hawaii before Trego retired from
the Army Nurse Corps and became a CU
faculty member. "It was her influence
that started me on the path of eventually pursuing a graduate education."

James Waters
with Dr. Lori Trego.

Opening
the Floodgates

W

By Dana Brandorff

hen Army nurse James "Rob"
Waters wanted to pursue
a dual degree - Doctor of
Nursing Practice (DNP) and
a Master's in Public Health
(MPH) - Anschutz Medical Campus was not
on the list of approved campuses.

Fortunately for Waters, the Army
decided to make an exception to
its rule about distance-based programs. "The public health portion
of the dual degree is all face-to-face,
so it balanced out the online portion
of the nurse practitioner degree," said
Waters. Once he and classmate Major
Jasmine Dede were allowed to enroll
at CU, the floodgate opened. Now, there
are half a dozen Army nurses at Anschutz
Medical Campus.
Furthering one's education is not that simple
in the Army. Once a year, the Army Nurse
Corps releases a memorandum stipulating
the number of people it will send back to
school. "It is a big investment. The Army has
to let you go away and attend school while
it continues to pay your salary," said Waters.
The selection process is highly competitive.
To be considered, applicants obtain recommendations from leaders, perform well on
the GRE, and must have excellent evaluations
throughout their careers.

Before Waters' selection, the Army had
"rarely sent public health nurses to school
for anything other than a Master's in Public
Health." According to Waters, there are
two Army Public Health Nurses who have
earned a DNP in the Nurse Corps. "Major
Dede and I will be numbers 3 and 4. So, it's
a big deal that we are graduating."
Post-graduation, Dede is being promoted to
Lieutenant Colonel and is off to Texas as
a consultant for the Army's store system.
Waters will be assigned to Army Public
Health Command on the East Coast.

DOCTOR OF
NURSING
PRACTICE/
MASTER OF
P U B L I C H E A LT H
C A N D I D AT E S
JASMINE DEDE
"Improving Timely Access to
Treatment for Patients With
Chlamydia or Gonorrhea."

That's because the Army has strict rules when
it comes to higher education programs. "At the
time, all classes had to be 75% face-to-face,"
said Major Waters. CU Nursing's graduate
programs are 100% distanced based. "I was
actually thinking of resigning my commission
to stay here in Colorado because my youngest
son was finishing up school and I didn't want
to move him," said Waters.

JAMES WATERS
"Public Health Emergency
Preparedness for Persons Living
with Disabilities: A Health Equity
Initiative for Military Personnel &
Families Living with Disabilities
on U.S. Army Installation, Fort
Carson, Colorado"
MAJ Aeri Hodges, CPT Evan Kohoutek,
MAJ James Waters, MAJ Jasmine Dede, and
CPT Sarah Kitchin.
CU Nursing - Commencement Spring 2020

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