Fall 2004

Message from the Dean | Ethicon Endo-Surgery Supports New Mexico Nurses | Endowment Assists RN-to-BSN Students | Mercer to Receive Distinguished Alumni Award | Real Estate - A Great Asset in Charitable Planning | Events and Notes

by Michelle G. McRuiz

Retired administrator and registered nurse, Donea Shane, Ph.D., has spent a long, productive career in the health sciences. Shane’s satisfaction with nursing has prompted her to establish a scholarship endowment for RNs returning to school to earn a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree.

Shane, who began working at the College of Nursing in the mid-1970s, launched the RN-to-BSN program at UNM, designed for nurses who had earned their RN degrees from associate’s degree programs or three-year diploma schools. “At that time there were only two baccalaureate schools in the state for nursing,” she says. “There needed to be a way for people to graduate from two- and three-year programs and get into baccalaureate schools without having to start over again.”

Shane herself earned an RN degree from a three-year program at Iowa Methodist School of Nursing in Des Moines. She worked in “the earliest versions” of coronary and intensive care, then moved to Albuquerque and worked as a pediatrics nurse at Presbyterian Hospital. Shane earned a bachelor of science degree and a master of science degree in health education from UNM, a BSN from California State University, and in 1986 received a Ph.D. in educational administration with a minor in nursing from UNM.

After running the RN-to-BSN program for 10 years, Shane served the College of Nursing as associate dean for the baccalaureate program for approximately 12 years. During the final year before her 1998 retirement, she was dean. Shane continues to be active as a member of the Ambassadors Council, a community advisory group that helps to raise funds for the college.

“She’s just fabulous,” College of Nursing Director of Development Rosemary Reichert Gregory says of Shane’s involvement with the Ambassadors Council. “She brings her academic background and a great concern for nursing.”

The endowment for “Donea and Bill Shane’s Returning to School Nursing Scholarship” is currently being established. According to Gregory, the funds will be available in summer 2005.

“The Shane’s scholarship endowment will support RN-to-BSN students who are in good academic standing,” Gregory says. “Since they are part-time students, this scholarship support will really help them stay enrolled in the program. It is an important next step for a registered nurse to be at that BSN level. It opens the door for master’s programs, increased job opportunities, job satisfaction and the ability to teach other nursing students.”

Shane also hopes the scholarship recipients will go on to earn master’s degrees. Her credentials show her belief in the power of education; her generosity reveals the compassion that pervades the nursing profession.

“I’ve always loved nursing,” she says. “I think it’s one of the most satisfying professions you can go into. I love the fact that we help people out when they need it most. In nursing, there are so many opportunities to have a job that gives you the feeling of making a difference. That’s hard to get in this world.”