Ebere Ume, RN, MSN
Arizona State University, College of Nursing & Health Innovation
As a young girl in Nigeria, Ms. Ume began her commitment to serving others and has sustained this commitment throughout her career. With the help of her family, she relocated to the United States in 1989 to receive her basic nursing education. Following graduation, her passion for gerontology led to her first nursing job where she worked with older residents in a California nursing home. Seeking the opportunity to support elders holistically across all aspects of their lives, she next practiced in home health nursing. Her Master’s in nursing, with a focus on nursing education and emphasis on gerontological nursing, provided a foundation for her exceptional abilities to build and maintain therapeutic clinical relationships with older patients.
Ms. Ume’s career has exemplified her passion for gerontological nursing by consistently relating every aspect of nursing to care and advocacy for the elderly. In her career as a nurse educator, she instituted the gerontological mental health clinical experience at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona and served as a powerful role model for student nurses in regard to the psychological, emotional and physical care of the aged. She currently directs Grace Institute Inc., one of the best independent nursing assistant training programs in Phoenix, Arizona, where she utilizes every opportunity to teach students about quality, respectful, and holistic care of the elderly. In addition, Ms. Ume designed, organized, and implemented a multi-site, multi-purpose capacity building educational program for Nigerian nurses. Presented in April 2010, the program was led by Ms. Ume and included a team of U.S. nurse educators who targeted the overall standards of nursing care and practice in Nigeria, with a major emphasis on elder care.
Ms. Ume continues to pursue a PhD in Nursing from Arizona State University and will focus her research on the challenges of the transitional period experienced by family caregivers of African-American elders after loss of their caregiving role due to death or admission to long-term care.
