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Memoir
Dorothy Donabedian
Regents' Proceedings 321
Regents' Proceedings 321
Dorothy Donabedian, professor of nursing, will retire from active faculty status on May 31, 1993, following 27 years of service to the University of Michigan.
A native of Beirut, Lebanon, Professor Donabedian earned her B.S.N. degree from the American University of Beirut in 1943, her M.S.N. degree from Boston University in 1955, and her M.P.H. degree from the University of Michigan in 1966. She joined the University of Michigan School of Nursing faculty as an instructor in 1966, and was promoted to assistant professor in 1969, associate professor in 1972, and professor in 1977.
Early in her tenure, Professor Donabedian identified three areas of need in the school's instructional programs: utilization of computer-assisted learning technologies; development of a freestanding nursing practice to provide community-based educational experiences for undergraduate students; and incorporation of material on the health and welfare systems into the curricula Over the next two decades, she focused on achieving each of these visionary goals.
Well before computers became common in the classroom, Professor Donabedian developed two computer exercises for undergraduate nursing students. Regarded as a significant advance in nursing education, her work was published in a now-classic article in Nursing Outlook, and over 50 copies of the computer exercises have been sold.
In 1973, Professor Donabedian initiated an unconventional setting for the practice of community health nursing. Having provided clinical learning experiences for over 300 senior nursing students, this program is recognized nationally as an excellent teahing-learning model for nursing students. This work was published and continues to be cited as an exemplar for nontraditional approaches to undergraduate nursing education. Professor Donabedian also developed a module on the health and welfare systems that continues to be used in the instruction of students at the University of Michigan and Wayne State University. Each of these innovations has provided the faculty with a vision of what is possible.
The Regents now salute this faculty member by naming Dorothy Donabedian Professor Emerita of Nursing.