While the benefits of physical activity are no secret in the Loma Linda University School of Nursing community, former staff member Jan Michaelis, DrPH, MPH-Nutrition, made a point to create new opportunity for learning and fitness in 2009 when he launched the Moving for Minutes program. The program would encourage faculty and staff members to participate by forming teams, recording their walking time each week and competing for prizes based on their teams’ collective results.
Over the past 15 years the program has grown and become a positive point of lifestyle impact within the school, contributing to the “culture of wellness” on campus. Michaelis retired in 2024 but the program lives on at the school and this past fall he partnered with graduate faculty member, Dr. Lisa Roberts, DrPH, MSN, FNP-BC, CHES, FAANP, FAAN and former graduate professor, Dr. Ellen D’Errico, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, to produce an article studying the exact impact the program has had over the years. One finding of note that came from the article was that team structure of the program offered some positive peer pressure to participants, motivating them to push themselves more than if they were just exercising alone. This is just one more reflection of the commitment to wholeness that exists within the School of Nursing, as an institution and a community. You can read the full article here.