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Williamson named associate dean for practice by Cindy Abole Public Relations Deborah C. Williamson’s eyes are always focused on the big picture. Williamson, DHA, R.N., was recently named associate dean for practice in the College of Nursing. In her eyes, she sees her new role as an opportunity to enhance existing faculty practice and to develop new, innovative models of care in collaboration with other departments on campus.  Deborah Williamson “The best health care is delivered by a team of professionals,” said Williamson. The practice mission of the College of Nursing includes providing interdisciplinary opportunities for faculty practice, student learning, and practice-based  research.  In her position as associate dean, she will oversee the college’s multiple practice initiatives. These initiatives range from small specialty practices, such as the foot care practice coordinated by nursing faculty Teresa Kelechi, Ph.D., R.N, and Sally Stroud, Ed.D., R.N., to larger practices such as Employee Health Services, which logged 14,000 visits last year. Clinical services at Employee Health are provided by faculty nurse practitioners Joy Veitch, Barbara Edlund, Ph.D., R.N., Peggy Spain and Richelle Koopman, M.D., a family physician in the Department of Family Medicine. Academic nursing faculty practice not only involves the delivery of health services, but also provides learning experiences for students and creates research opportunities for students and faculty. Williamson believes that in order “to prepare our students to meet the health needs of our state, learning opportunities are required on-and-off campus.” The college provides its students with community-based experiences in urban and rural faculty practice sites.  The Enterprise Health Center, located in urban Charleston, and the maternity clinic at the Wellness House on Johns' Island are examples of two faculty practice sites that serve populations with diverse health needs. Both of these sites are examples of collaborative relationships with multiple organizations to provide health services to underserved populations. “With decreasing health care dollars, the provision of health services to underserved populations will depend on creative models of care that expand existing resources through collaboration,” Williamson said.   Another collaborative model is a network of urban and rural school-based clinics supported by the College of Nursing. It features community-based health care that combines clinical care with educational and research opportunities for students and faculty. Williamson plans to enhance research opportunities in all academic faculty practice sites with the implementation of a practicewide clinical database. The  College of Nursing will start a new practice initiative,  a consultancy service, this winter. This practice will showcase the expertise of the faculty through clinical, administrative, and legal consultation to other universities, communities, health and health related organizations.  “Many of our faculty are already serving as consultants in national and international settings” said Williamson. The consultancy will be promoted online, providing more visibility for the College of Nursing. Williamson has more than 25 years of nurse-midwifery practice experience in both rural and urban settings. She was former director of the nationally-recognized nurse midwifery educational program in the College of Nursing and has been awarded more than $1 million in grant funding to improve access to care for underserved women and children in Charleston County. Her research interests include racial and ethnic disparities in health care, the impact of social support on health outcomes, and removing barriers to accessing health services.  “The college has a very strong commitment to practice, since nursing is a practice discipline,” said Gail W. Stuart, Ph.D., R.N., dean of the College of Nursing. “Our faculty members are expert clinicians, and we have model collaborations and partnerships with patients and providers in the community. Given all that we intend to accomplish in the college, it is critical that we have the leadership to consolidate, refine and give new direction to our many practice initiatives.”  Like her colleagues, Williamson plans to remain an active example in academic practice, working with two other faculty nurse-midwives in a private practice setting. She serves on the following committees: College of Nursing Faculty Practice Associates, MUSC Credentials Committee, and the DHHS Medicaid Advisory Committee.  She is a member of the Charleston County League of Women Voters, Sigma Theta Tau, and the American College of Nurse-Midwives. She is involved as faculty in the Presidential Scholars program. In August, Williamson completed her doctorate in health administration from the College of Health Profession’s Department of Health Administration and Policy.  “Dr. Williamson is the ideal person to lead us in that mission, given her own expert practice skills, the respect she enjoys from other clinicians, and her insights and understandings of the complexity of the current practice environment,” Stuart said. “In the future, the college will be expanding and integrating our education and research missions into our faculty practice sites and this will allow us yet another level of growth and accomplishment with Dr. Williamson as our associate dean for practice.” Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. 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