From the Dean's Desk
From the Dean's Desk
Dear friends,
According to the U.S. News and World Report Best Graduate School rankings released in early April, our Doctor of Nursing Practice Anesthesia Nursing program is #3 in the country. We are proud of the program and the ranking, but the people of Iowa are the real winners. As you will read in our cover story, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) are the sole provider of anesthesia services in 75 percent of Iowa’s hospitals and are pivotal in keeping rural hospitals open. Two-thirds of our CRNA graduates are practicing in the state of Iowa, contributing every day to the health and well-being of our communities.
Each spring, I attend the annual meeting of American Association Colleges of Nursing deans in Washington, D.C., and the college sponsors a small number of students to attend the corresponding AACN Student Policy Summit. Together we visit Capitol Hill and speak with our Iowa legislators on health policy. Watching our students develop their voices as advocates is always inspiring. Closer to home, a group of Doctor of Nursing Practice students is working to pass a nurse practitioner Preceptor Tax Credit bill in Iowa. While we have many preceptors who give generously of their time to mentor our students, there is still a preceptor shortage. The proposed bill (HF 327/SF 391) would add a tax incentive for Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners who serve as preceptors.
In this time of uncertainty, we remain grounded in our mission: to prepare nurse leaders to advocate and advance healthcare across the lifespan for the people of Iowa, our nation, and the world. Thank you for standing by our side.
Have a wonderful summer,
Julie Zerwic, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN
Kelting Dean and Professor
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Tyler Tuttle (23DNP) cares for an anesthesia patient at Waverly Health Center in Waverly, Iowa. Photo: Rebecca F. Miller/College of Nursing
A two-and-a-half-year-old patient was rushed to the Waverly, Iowa, emergency department after swallowing a handful of his parent’s pills. His body was not oxygenating properly, and quick intubation was necessary. Even though the child did not need anesthesia, the Emergency Department staff called Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Tyler Tuttle (23DNP). “Securing an airway on smaller kids is hard, especially when you don’t intubate kids often,” says Tuttle. As one of five CRNAs contracted to work at Waverly Health Center, a critical-access hospital in Waverly, Iowa, Tuttle regularly intubates children – sometimes 15 a day for tonsil removals. He secured the child’s airway and the stabilized patient was transferred to University of Iowa Health Care in Iowa City.
“I don’t know what else would have happened,” says Tuttle. “Without anesthesia in these rural areas, what does that mom do with the toddler? Drive an hour and a half away [to access care]?”
Top row, L-R: Angela Melsa Worrell, Yamnia Cortés, Kitty Buckwalter; Bottom row, L-R: Jennifer Jones, Sandra Daack-Hirsch
College faculty, staff receive university-wide awards
Awards received by College of Nursing faculty and staff include the David J. Skorton Staff Excellence Award; Faculty Communicating Ideas Award; Hancher-Finkbine Medallion; Outstanding Staff Award; and Regents Award for Faculty Excellence.
Farag receives national innovation award
Amany Farag, PhD, RN, associate professor, received the American Nurses Association 2025 Individual Nurse Innovation Award. The highly competitive award recognizes and celebrates nurse innovators who improve patient safety and health outcomes within their communities. Farag received the award for her electronic school medication administration record system known as eSMAR.
Grandfather’s art arrives as granddaughter graduates
Nationally-known artist Byron Burford earned his BFA in 1942 from the University of Iowa, where he studied under Grant Wood. He later earned his master’s from UI and joined the faculty, teaching painting for 38 years. Burford’s granddaughter, Maddy Kent, graduated with her BSN in December 2024, and his son, Kevin Burford, recently donated three of the artist’s nursing-related xerographic collages to the college.
One Day for Iowa supports scholarships and SIM-IA
One Day for Iowa, the university’s 24-hour online giving day, was held on March 26, 2025. Hundreds of Hawkeyes and friends of the college raised more than $17,000 to support College of Nursing student scholarships and the Simulation in Motion – Iowa program.
Hawkeye Caucus Day
Dean Zerwic, students, and the SIM-IA team joined other members of the university community to talk with state leaders on Hawkeye Caucus Day at the state capital in Des Moines.
Dare to Discover: Alaa Harb
PhD student Alaa Harb’s nursing career began in Jordan, where she gained more than a decade of experience in clinical practice, teaching, and research. A psychiatric and mental health nurse with a longstanding commitment to mental health and aging, she joined the College of Nursing PhD program in 2022.
Harb was featured in the 2025 Dare to Discover banner campaign, and we recently asked her about her participation in the campaign and career in nursing research.
Shining Bright: Nursing students and faculty lead at MNRS annual conference
Each year, nurse researchers from across the country travel to the Midwest Nursing Research Society annual conference. From the opening keynote to the poster awards, the College of Nursing was well represented at this year’s conference, held in Indianapolis, Indiana, March 26-29.
Scholarship honors mother’s strength, determination
Adam (09BA) and Karley (14BS, 18DDS) Brantman established the Jennie Brantman Scholarship to honor Adam’s mother Jennie (80BS, 03MSN). This scholarship supports students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing or Master of Science in Nursing–Entry into Practice programs with a preference to students who are single parents.
“This scholarship was created to honor my mother, a woman whose strength and determination had a lasting impact on me,” Adam said. “I remember her working a full-time job and then coming home and studying at the kitchen table.”
June 26-27
Golden Alumni Reunion
We're excited to celebrate with the classes of 1969-1975.
Know a College of Nursing alum who deserves recognition?
Nominate them for an Alumni Award!
We have two awards, the Emerging Nurse Leader Award and the Distinguished Alumni Award. Nominations are due JULY 1.
Alumni Updates
Have you started a new job, gone back to school, or earned an award? Did you have a baby, run a marathon, or write a screenplay? Do you just want to update your former classmates about where you are these days? We want to hear it all!