Wyman’s legacy of transforming geriatric nursing education

Jean Wyman, PhD, RN, GNP, FGSA, FAAN, who joined the faculty as a tenured professor in 1997 as the Cora Meidl Siehl Chair in Nursing Research and was the first director of the legacy Center for Gerontological Nursing in the School of Nursing, is retiring. Her work has transformed geriatric nursing education, research and service.

Wyman led the school’s efforts to be designated as a National Hartford Centers for Gerontological Nursing Excellence (NHGCNE). The Minnesota Hartford Center for Gerontological Nursing (MNHCGNE) distinguished itself by creating a successful national faculty development initiative, Faculty Learning About Geriatrics. These efforts and her leadership in the Upper Midwest Geriatric Nursing Education Alliance transformed geriatric nursing education in schools of nursing across the country. Wyman then guided the transition of the MNHCGNE to our Center for Aging Science and Care Innovation.

Wyman’s areas of expertise include interprofessional and gerontologic nursing education, urinary continence care and fall prevention. Wyman is a gerontological nurse practitioner and practiced in the Wilder Senior Health Clinic, UMP, Minnesota Continence Associates and U of M Medical School. She was also the principal investigator (PI) or site PI of 10 research grants or contracts, including the Center for Health Trajectory Research, funded by a P20 grant from NIH. She was a PI of the University of Minnesota Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health K12 grant funded by NIH and co-investigator of the Minnesota Geriatric Workforce Geriatric Enhancement Program. She has authored/co-authored more than 100 journal publications and book chapters and co-edited two books.

Wyman’s professional service included being chair of the Council of Nursing Science, president of MNRS, associate editor of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, reviewer for more than 10 journals, and an ad hoc grant reviewer for NIH. She is a member of the U of M Academy of Excellence in Health Research and a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and Gerontological Society of America.

Wyman’s extraordinary contributions to the advancement of gerontologic nursing science and education are profound. Her 24 years of service have made an enduring impact on the center, school and profession.