Extra Semester Paves Way
From Student to Teacher
By Ina Fried
When Nancy Alexander entered
the graduate program in the School
of Nursing to Team more about
critical care nursing she thought she
might as well take advantage of the
optional extra semester offered on
how to teach nursing in an academic
setting.
She didn't realize she would be
putting that teaching ability to use so
soon.
One of the first four students to
complete the new postmaster's
degree teaching option in December,
Ms. Alexander is now an instructor
in the nursing school.
"My primary interest was in
clinical nursing but I knew that even
with a bachelor's degree, I was
getting requests to do teaching," Ms.
Alexander remembers. She received
a Bachelor of Science in Nursing
from Florida State University in 1973
and worked here at the hospital from
January 1974 until she entered the
graduate nursing program in
September 1975.
Principles of Teaching
"The program was offered right
then and there, and I thought the
basic principles of teaching would be
applicable in clinical situations as
well," she said.
After completing the
three-semester program for a Master
of Science in Nursing, Ms.
Alexander, Martha Greene, Ellen
{Continued on page 4)
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Intercom
Duke University Medical Center
VOLUME 24, NUMBER 5
FEBRUARY 4,1977
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA
Hemodialysis Center Opens
A new $280,000 hemodialysis
center opened here Monday.
The center, located on Morreene
Road about 200 yards west of the
Erwin Road intersection, will bring
together for the first time in many
years all of the outpatient kidney
dialysis services offered by the
hospital, according to Dr. Roscoe R.
Robinson, chief executive officer of
the hospital and head of the Division
of Nephrology.
Dialysis patients must have their
blood cleansed of impurities by a
machine two or three times a week
because their kidneys have stopped
functioning, the physician said.
The one-story, 3,787-square-foot
steel and wood structure includes
eight dialysis stations, dressing and
waiting rooms, a reception area and
offices, Robinson said. L. A. Downey
and Son of Durham was awarded the
construction contract last June.
Increased Patient Convenience
"Our major objectives are to
consolidate on-going dialysis
activities, to increase economy and
patient convenience and to improve
the operating efficiency of our
existing ambulatory outpatient
services," he said.
"We wanted to provide service for
stable ambulatory patients in
pleasant surroundings separated
from areas which serve patients who
are more acutely ill," he added.
Robinson said that in recent years
dialysis patients who did not require
hospitalization had to go to one of
three widely separated treatment
centers located on Rankin ward, in a
leased area of the Hilton Inn or at a
home dialysis training center located
at and shared with the Durham
Veterans Administration Hospital.
The Rankin ward and Hilton Inn
units will close when the new center
becomes fully operational, the
physician said, but the VA training
center will remain open.
Emphasis on Home Training
"We are continuing to place
considerable emphasis on home
training, especially for residents of
this area," he explained.
Most of the patients who come to
Duke for evaluation of kidney
disorders reside in North and South
Carolina, eastern Tennessee and
southern Virginia, Robinson said.
Some patients travel greater
distances and one came from as far
away as Istanbul, Turkey.
After evaluation and training,
patients return home for
self-dialysis, if possible, or treatment
at local centers.
The physician said the Division of
Nephrology will continue to
maintain inpatient dialysis units in
the main hospital at Duke and at the
VA.
Last year, Duke medical
technicians gave 4,689 outpatient
dialyses and 1,056 inpatient dialyses,
Robinson said. Approximately 40
patients are currently awaiting
kidney transplants from organ
donors, he added.
READY FOR PATIENTS—The new $280,OOOhemodialysis center
on Morreene Road will bring together for the first time in many
years all of the outpatient kidney dialysis services offered by
the hospital. (Photo by Ina Fried)
i
CLINICAL TEACHING —Nancy
Alexander, left, helps senior nursing
student Susan Beck present a discussion
on Code 5 emergency procedures. Now
an instructor in the School of Nursing,
Ms. Alexander was one of the first four
students to complete the post-master'
degree teaching option in the school
December. (Photo by Ina Fried)
Siblings Can Be
High Risk Group,
Professor Says
By William Erwin
A researcher at the
Comprehensive Cancer Center
reported yesterday that brothers and
sisters of certain patients with
Hodgkin's disease, a form of cancer,
have a high risk of developing the
disease themselves.
Dr. Seymour Crufferman, director
of epidemiology at the center, said
the finding points to possible causes
of the disease.
Hodgkin's disease begins in a
lymph node, often in the neck. An
early symptom is a swollen but
painless lump in the neck, armpit or
groin. Severe itching also can be a
symptom.
Hampers Infection-Fighting Ability
The disease hampers the body's
ability to fight infection and, if not
stopped, can spread to vital organs
such as the liver. It accounts for nine
per cent of all cancer among those
15-34 years old.
"Hodgkin's disease was once
regarded as fatal," Grufferman said,
"but now the prognosis is quite
good."
Writing in the current issue of The
New England Journal of Medicine,
Grufferman and his colleagues say
the risk of developing Hodgkin's
disease goes up nine-fold for
brothers of male patients with the
disease and for sisters of female
patients.
Risk Factors
Siblings of the opposite sex —
sisters of male patients, for instance
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