School of Nursing Names Pamela Herendeen Associate Dean for Education and Student Affairs
School of Nursing Dean Kathy H. Rideout, Ed.D., P.N.P.-B.C.-F.N.A.P., announced this week the appointment of Pamela A. Herendeen, D.N.P., P.N.P.-B.C., as the School’s new associate dean for education and student affairs. The position had been vacant since late August, when Rideout, who had previously served as associate dean for academic affairs, was named dean.
Herendeen is a senior pediatric nurse practitioner in Pediatric Practice, part of Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong, where she has provided both well-child and chronic care to high-risk children and teens for more than two decades. She was an integral member of the team that established the Bivona Child Advocacy Center in Rochester, which provides comprehensive care and services to children who have been physically or sexually abused. Herendeen currently works for Bivona’s medical component, REACH, which is based at Golisano Children’s Hospital, and provides evaluations, treatment and support to children and families.
She will continue to practice at Golisano in a 20% role while serving as associate dean.
An associate professor of clinical nursing at the School of Nursing, Herendeen was the first graduate of the School’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program in May 2009, a program she currently directs. The DNP enables nursing students to achieve the highest level of clinically-expert practice and to design evidence-based strategies to improve health-care outcomes.
“Pam’s role as a senior nurse practitioner within Strong and the Sovie Institute, as well as her national clinical presence, will continue to strengthen the School’s relationships with our clinical partners,” said Rideout. “Her recent work with the development of patient-and family-centered medical homes will also inform and propel our strategic plan initiatives in the areas of innovative education, research and clinical programs. Pam is constantly looking for ways to improve care to patients and families by translating evidence into practice, and by providing the vital knowledge to help nurses become better clinicians. Her visionary leadership will help us grow in exciting new directions.”
Herendeen, who earned her associate’s degree from Monroe Community College and her bachelor’s degree from Alfred University before completing the master’s and DNP programs at the University of Rochester, joined the School of Nursing faculty in 2005, and directed the pediatric nurse practitioner (PNP) program for several years. Becoming a nurse was a childhood dream and she began as a staff nurse at Rochester General Hospital before joining Strong Memorial Hospital in 1992.
Her clinical work with vulnerable children and families continually informs her research; she is widely published and lectures nationally on child abuse topics.
“Nursing is at the heart of what I do and who I am,” said Herendeen. “Although I’ll be practicing to a lesser degree now, I’m grateful to be able to continue my work with children and families, and to build on my strong clinical focus to elevate the education and experience we provide to nursing students. As our health care system evolves, it’s vitally important that we continue to transform the way we prepare nurses to meet the complex needs of patients and families now and in the future.”