Ellen Olshansky’s history of teaching, research, and service in the nursing profession focuses on the health of women and family, community health, and social determinants of health.
Emeritus nursing professor Ellen Olshansky, PhD, RN, FAAN, has been awarded the Edward A. Dickson Emeriti Professorship.
The professorship is awarded to retired faculty who “continue to make significant contributions in the areas of university service, teaching and research.”
Olshansky was recruited to the university in 2007 as the founding director of the Program in Nursing Science, where she created the foundation for the eventual Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing.
Dedicated to nursing
Her long history of teaching, research, and service in the nursing profession focuses on the health of women and family, community health, and social determinants of health.
Olshansky also has more than 35 years of expertise in qualitative research methods and continues to mentor students in their research projects.
As a member of the Dean’s Cabinet, the senior advisory group to the dean of the school and the Office of Development, she assists in strategic planning and fundraising efforts.
She is also the creator of the Ellen Olshansky Founding Director Endowment supporting PhD students. Recent graduate Danisha Jenkins was last year’s recipient.
“Ellen is deeply committed to the nursing profession. It is evident in the way she educates our students, the research she leads and her years of dedication to our school,” Founding Dean and Distinguished Professor Adey Nyamathi says.
“I am so proud that she is being recognized.”
Studying pandemic’s impact on ICU nurses
With her endowment, Olshansky proposes a national study of the experiences of nurses who worked in the intensive care unit (ICU) caring for patients with COVID-19.
Her goals are to understand:
- How nurses are coping with the aftermath of the past year
- How those experiences have influenced their current and future career plans
“Current research suggests nurses have experienced burnout, compassion fatigue and moral distress during the pandemic,” Olshansky says. “Some predict that these experiences could lead a number of nurses to leave the profession.”
Edward A. Dickson was a UC regent from 1913 to 1946, the longest tenure of any regent.
Congratulations Emeritus nursing professor Ellen Olshansky. This is a well deserved award.