CU Nursing - Fall/Winter 2019 - 9

COLLEGE

In the early 2000s, Colleen J. Goode, PhD,
RN, FAAN, and her team at UCHealth
University of Colorado Hospital (UCH)
launched the country's first post-baccalaureate nurse residency program for
new nursing graduates in partnership
with the CU College of Nursing and
then-dean Pat Moritz, RN, PhD, FAAN.
UCH and CU Nursing were one of six
hospital/nursing college partnerships
that initiated the program.
What these nursing leaders have in common is a pioneering spirit, a visionary
approach to health and medicine, and a
commitment to investing in the future.
They are three of 10 Living Legends with
CU connections as either alumni or faculty,
recognized by the American Academy of
Nursing for extraordinary contributions to
the profession and society sustained over
the course of their careers. There have been
only 116 Living Legends named since 1994,
and CU Nursing is proud to have 10.

INVENTING THE NURSE PRACTITIONER
In collaboration with Henry Silver, MD,
a pediatrician and colleague, Dr. Ford
designed and implemented a nurse
practitioner program at CU Nursing,

It was the mid-'60s when Loretta
Ford, BS '49, MS '51, EdD '61, CU
alumna and nursing faculty member,
forever changed the practice of
nursing through the creation of
the world's first pediatric nurse
practitioner program."

Three of our
Living Legends
- Loretta Ford,
Colleen Goode
and Jean Watson
- joined us for a
celebration in April.

which celebrated its 50 th anniversary
in 2015. Their work expanded nurses'
roles in health care delivery, leading
to rapid expansion of a profession that
now boasts nearly 270,000 nurse practitioners who are connected to virtually

every aspect of health care - practicing autonomously
or working as clinicians in hospitals, long-term care facilities and health care agencies. At CU Nursing, Dr. Ford
has furthered her impact by supporting nurse practitioner
education through the Loretta C. Ford Nurse Practitioner
Endowed Professorship.

GIVING A FRAMEWORK TO NURSING PRACTICE
In diverse settings worldwide, physicians, hospital staff, nurses
and patients have adopted Dr. Watson's Theory of Human
Caring, a framework for healing practices. The theory provides
a unique set of principles for nursing practice, including preserving patients' dignity, accepting their positive and negative
feelings, and co-creating a healing environment. One of the
largest health care delivery systems, Kaiser Permanente, has
been implementing Dr. Watson's theory in California for more
than seven years.
Dr. Watson held the country's first endowed chair in caring
science at CU Nursing, where she is a distinguished professor
and dean emerita. There, she also generously supports caring
science educational programs.

CHARTING PATHS FOR ASPIRING NURSES
Dr. Goode is known for setting high standards in patient
care, training and mentoring new nurses, and charting
paths for future nurse managers and administrators alike.
Because of the nurse residency program, designed by Dr.
Goode and her team, future nursing leaders receive the
preparation and foundation they need to enter clinical
practice. Dr. Goode's work paved the way for the residency
program's national accreditation and a Magnet designation for excellence in nursing and patient care at UCH.
Today, more than 60 hospitals are using the residency
program's evidence-based curriculum.
Dr. Goode is carrying forward her legacy by philanthropically
supporting scholarships and graduate student research at
CU Nursing through the Dr. Colleen Goode Fund for Nursing
Research and Evidence-Based Practice Projects.

SUPPORTING FUTURE NURSES
Drs. Ford, Watson and Goode are luminaries in their
field - brilliant nursing leaders who have transformed
nursing practice, blazed trails for future generations of
nursing professionals, and made a positive difference for
countless patients and their families. Their legacies live
on through the many lives touched by their generosity,
creativity and care.
This article first appeared in the 2019 edition of Momentum.
Reprint courtesy of CU Anschutz.

CU Nursing - Fall/Winter 2019

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