TB Notes NewsletterReturn to Main Menu - TB Notes 1, 2008
No. 1, 2008
TB Education and Training Network Updates
Member Highlights
In this issue we highlight Ashley Ewing and Sheanne
Davis, who have been the Conference Planning Committee co-chairs for
the TB ETN annual conference for the past 3 years.
Ashley Ewing is a Health Educator for the North
Carolina Division of Public Health, Department of Health and Human
Services. She received her bachelor of science degree in Health
Education from East Carolina University.
Ashley’s job responsibilities include planning,
organizing, and implementing TB health education programs for public
health personnel, private providers, and other health care providers
as requested; assessing health education plans and modifying as
required to meet program goals and objectives; advising local health
department TB staff concerning material development; conducting
program planning and evaluation; and developing a working
relationship with DTBE.
Ashley first learned of TB ETN when she began her
position as a health educator. One of the nurse consultants in her
department was a member, and she “passed” the role on to Ashley.
Ashley joined TB ETN because she thought it would be a great way to
learn about TB from the perspective of a health educator versus that
of a health care provider. She also joined to learn about methods
for developing effective educational tools for both providers and
patients.
Ashley is also a co-chair of the TB ETN conference
planning committee. She joined this group to meet and learn from
other people who do the same type of work that she does. She felt
that the TB ETN annual conference would be a great opportunity to
get input on information being provided to other TB educators.
In the next couple of years, Ashley would like to
see TB ETN recruit new members, to get fresh ideas for their
educational goals and objectives and to find new and innovative ways
to convey information. “One area the planning committee really has a
difficult time with is coming up with new ideas and not being
redundant year after year at the annual conference,” Ashley
explained. She would also like to see an increase in the number of
active members.
The most recent training or education product that
Ashley has developed is skin testing rulers. “As rulers are very
hard to come by, we have developed one, modeling it after a ruler
from one of our local counties. One thing I have learned in TB ETN
is not to reinvent the wheel! The ruler is in the process of being
printed and will be beneficial to our entire state. North Carolina
also collaborated with the Southeastern National TB Center (SNTC) to
provide a 1-day training course on skin testing for non-health
department staff, as that’s one of our major needs. I’m also in the
process of planning for our upcoming conferences: our 8th annual TB
symposium planned for March 14, 2008, and our 58th annual
Tuberculosis / Respiratory Disease (TBRD) Institute planned for
October 29–31, 2008, at Carolina Beach,” Ashley stated.
Ashley is currently working with a literature review
committee, which consists of one nurse consultant, three local
nurses, and two health educators at a local health department, one
of whom is Spanish speaking. The committee will assess their current
educational materials to make a determination of the need for
revising or developing new material. This committee is also doing an
assessment (survey) with the TB nurses at each health department
about issues such as their current printing capabilities, products
they like or don’t like, and materials they think would be useful.
Based on the results of the survey, the committee will work together
with Ashley’s division to accommodate the requests for educational
materials and make them available on their web page. The goal of
this committee is to have all educational material web-based by
2009.
In Ashley’s leisure time, she mostly enjoys physical
fitness and outdoor activities such as working in her yard, but she
also enjoys reading and spending time with her daughter. In addition
to her responsibilities for the North Carolina Division of Public
Health, you can find Ashley coaching her daughter’s cheerleading
squad and baking specialty cakes for birthday parties and for baby
and bridal showers.
Sheanne Davis, BS, CHES, is a TB Education Promotion
Consultant for the Washington State TB Program. Her job
responsibilities are planning, organizing, and coordinating the
surveillance activities of the Washington State TB Program. In this
position, she assists in compiling, analyzing, and reviewing cohort,
genotyping, and ARPE (Aggregate Reports for TB Program Evaluation)
surveillance data. She provides liaison with TB program and
statewide partners; provides TB program consultation to local health
jurisdictions (LHJs), health agencies, and related organizations
regarding surveillance activities; plans, develops, and monitors
consolidated contracts with LHJs; prepares and monitors federal
grant applications; and plans, organizes, and coordinates statewide
TB training and education initiatives.
Sheanne first learned of TB ETN from a flyer at the
National TB Controllers Association (NTCA) conference 4 years ago.
She joined TB ETN to enhance her TB training and education
knowledge, and to build a network base for future TB projects and
initiatives. She also thought it was an excellent way to learn about
what other TB programs are developing.
Sheanne has been co-chair on the conference planning
subcommittee with Ashley for the past 3 years. She wanted to become
more involved with TB ETN, and the conference planning subcommittee
seemed to match the skills she had to offer. She hopes that in the
next few years TB ETN will continue to build its active membership
and produce successful annual conferences.
One of Sheanne’s major project areas is the
Washington State initiative to reduce TB among American Indians. She
has developed presentations and educational materials for this
population. She and her coworkers are now partnering on a grant with
a reservation in Washington to start QFT-Gold and develop additional
training and education materials for this specific population.
In Sheanne’s free time, she enjoys multiple outdoor
activities such as hiking, rollerblading, swimming, and much more.
“Most of my free time is spent with my fiancĂ© and our two dogs
(kids). I try to travel as much as possible, get in a few good
books, and spend time with friends and family,” she explained. In
the near future, Sheanne is planning to go back to graduate school
to get her masters degree in public health.
If you’d like to join Ashley and Sheanne as a TB ETN
member and take advantage of all TB ETN has to offer, please send an
e-mail requesting a registration form to
tbetn@cdc.gov. You can also send
a request by fax to 404-639-8960 or by mail to TB ETN, CEBSB,
Division of Tuberculosis Elimination, CDC, 1600 Clifton Rd., N.E.,
MS E10, Atlanta, Georgia 30333. Or, if you would like additional
information about the
TB Education and Training Network.
—Submitted by Regina Bess
Div of TB Elimination
Last Updated:
07/01/2008
Last Reviewed: 05/18/2008 Content Source: Division of Tuberculosis Elimination
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
Last Reviewed: 05/18/2008 Content Source: Division of Tuberculosis Elimination
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
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