UAB School of Nursing Magazine - Fall 2018

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FORGING te FUTURE OF NURSING


4 16 18 21

The Assessment

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Gifts that Will Change Everything

26 27

By The Numbers

News Roundup Five Questions With... Innovative Alumni Leading Nationally

In Their Own Words

S T O R Y C O V E R

D E PA R T M E N T S

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FORGING THE FUTURE: The School has spent more than a decade

growing its student base, research and clinical partnerships, creating a launching pad for new opportunities afforded by its building expansion. RESEARCH

expanding collaboration

in Jamaica page 15

New Partnership ‘a win for both schools’ page 20

School names two more RWJF Scholars.............5 Grant improving access to palliative care........ 11 Investigating racial disparities and epigenetics..... 17 Remembering Dr. Karen Meneses.................... 22 PARTNERSHIPS

Selleck honored for community impact............ 10 $2.8M grant for primary care education........... 12 Improving child, adolescent mental health...... 14 Expanding partnerships in Jamaica....................... 15 ACADEMICS

School breaks top 10 in U.S. News rankings...... 4 Live broadcasts providing professional ed......... 5 Partnership expanding AMNP pipeline............. 20

I’m trying to ascertain what people understand about palliative care and, if there is adequate understanding, why aren’t people using it?” -Dr. Yasemin Turkman

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UAB NURSING MAGAZINE STAFF: Follow us on

DONORS

Taking up the mantle of Nightingale................ 24 Food Link providing proper nutrition for patients page 16

EDITOR Jennifer Lollar CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jessica Huffstutler

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ALUMNI

Alumna is NAHN President.............................. 18 Alumna Leading Veterans' Care....................... 21

WRITERS Britt Bralley, Laura Hornsby Lesley, Jennifer Lollar, Erica Techo

PHOTOGRAPHERS Frank Couch, Rob Culpepper, Catie Etka, Steve Wood


W

hat a historic year we’ve had at UAB School of Nursing — forging the future of nursing and celebrating the grand opening of our new School of Nursing Building.

This momentous occasion marked the expansion of our 50-year-old 50,000 square foot building to our newly designed 122,000 square foot building. None of this would have happened without our donors’ incredible generosity and commitment to nursing education here at UAB. Together, we have raised $8 million to help build and furnish this new space and the fundraising continues. Our faculty and staff have resiliently led and adapted through the seasons of disrupted routines, our various building committees have expertly navigated the decision-making processes behind a project of this capacity, and our students have graciously exercised patience while their classes were held elsewhere. Yet, we sustained our momentum, continuing to impressively reach new heights: •

U.S. News & World Report 2019 Graduate Rankings rose to 8th for the Masters and Doctoral Programs and the NIH Funding ranked to 14th — the highest ever in education and research;

Among our 2019 USNWR Graduate Specialty rankings, Nursing Administration ranked 2nd; Clinical Nurse Leader ranked 7th; Pediatric Primary Care NP ranked 12th; and Adult/Gerontology Acute Care NP ranked 15th;

Our NCLEX first-time pass rates exceeded 96.7 percent for the third successive year and our 2017 Nurse Anesthesia Class achieved 100 percent board pass rate;

Clinical partnerships expanded to four clinics for the underserved, four NP-affiliated residencies, the Nurse Family Partnership in Jefferson County and the new Primary Care BSN initiative with Tuskegee University School of Nursing and Allied Health.

inside it, researchers to develop the latest health care advances and clinicians to deliver health care of the highest quality. Take a tour of our building at www.uab.edu/nursing/home/buildingtour and you will see first-hand, the ingenuity in the new SON Building. This innovative teaching, research and collaborative space is designed to prepare the next generation of compassionate and highly competent nurses to deliver expert and innovative care, conduct research that will lead to new standards of care and generate better health care solutions for us all. All while faculty, students and alumni lead a new era in nursing. As we forge the future of Nursing at UAB through uncharted waters, unexpected change and new beginnings, I can’t wait to see what the next 50 years will bring us. Most importantly, we will prepare the best nurses possible for the 21st century, partnering with UAB Medicine to improve health outcomes for the people of Alabama and beyond.

Letter from the Dean

Dean Doreen C. Harper, PhD, RN, FAAN Fay B. Ireland Endowed Chair in Nursing

Take a virtual tour of the new UAB School of Nursing building at www.uab.edu/nursing/ home/buildingtour

A building does not make a school, but it does help faculty to educate and guide the students

FALL 2018 / UAB NURSING

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the assessment

2019 RANKING

U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT

Sigma’s Nu Chapter celebrating 60 years GRADUATE PROGRAMS

DOCTOR OF NURSING PRACTICE

RANKINGS ON THE RISE

14

TH

U.S. News & World Report has ranked both the UAB School of Nursing Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice Programs 8th in the nation in its Best Graduate Nursing Schools for 2019. This is a rise in the rankings, which listed the MSN 13th and DNP 23rd in 2018. Graduate specialties also climbed. Nursing Administration is No. 2, Clinical Nurse Leader is No. 7, Pediatric Primary Care is No. 12, and Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner is No. 15. The School’s online graduate programs are ranked 16th. “Our ascent in these rankings is a tribute to our exceptional faculty, staff, students and alumni, and their commitments to excellence in all of our programs,” said Dean and Fay B. Ireland Endowed Chair in Nursing Doreen C. Harper, PhD, RN, FAAN. Harper added the rise in rankings is an important component of the School’s excellence but not the only measurement.

#2

NURSING ADMINISTRATION

#7

CLINICAL NURSE LEADER

# 12 PEDIATRIC PRIMARY CARE NP

“Excellence in nursing is also gauged by the quality care we deliver to patients with increasing rates of chronic diseases, especially those in rural and underserved areas; leading the discovery and translation of # 15 novel and cost-effective care models; ADULT/GERONTOLOGY, and generating nurse leaders who ACUTE CARE NP are helping forge creative change to advance health locally and globally, ensuring improved quality of life for all patients and families.”

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The Nu Chapter's first officers, (L-R) Mamie Lunsford, Carolyn Breedlow, Jean Kelley, Joyce Reynolds and Lyndon McCarroll. The Nu Chapter will celebrate 60 years in conjunction with Alumni Night.

The School’s Nu Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International is holding its 60th Anniversary Celebration in conjunction with its 17th Annual Alumni Night November 15, 2018. The Nu Chapter, established in 1958, is the 12th chartered chapter of Sigma. The celebration will begin with student and faculty research poster presentations at noon. Keynote speaker and 1994 PhD alumna Wipada Kunaviktikul, PhD, RN, FAAN, will present her work on the significance of global nursing leadership at Chiang Mai University, the World Health Organization and Sigma. A panel of distinguished alumni will discuss global leadership, and former Sigma CEO Patricia Thompson, EdD, RN, FAAN, a 1971 MSN alumna, will close the session by presenting her career journey within Sigma in expanding global leadership. “We're looking forward to celebrating this milestone, welcoming the great speakers and leaders we will have in attendance, as well as having members participating in continuing education,” said Nu Chapter President and Assistant Professor Laura Steadman, EdD, CRNP, FNP-BC and Nursing Alumni Chapter President D'Ann Somerall, DNP, CRNP. A seated dinner and awards ceremony marking Alumni Night will close out the evening, where the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award and the Inaugural Pat Thompson Award for Leadership and Service in Sigma will be presented. For more information or to RSVP, go to www.uab.edu/sonalumninight


For the fourth consecutive year, UAB School of Nursing doctoral students have received Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing Scholars program funding to help develop a new generation of PhD-prepared nurse leaders to transform America’s health care system. This year marks final year of the RWJF program nationally. The incoming scholars are Corey Lofton, BSN, RN, and Bailey Hendricks, BSN, RN, who both recently earned their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees from the UAB School of Nursing and graduated from the School’s Honors Program. Funding from the program will support their studies by providing Hendricks and Lofton a $75,000 scholarship to pursue their doctoral studies and the leadership, research and other skills needed to take their nursing careers to the highest levels.

Research, working with Dean and Fay B. Ireland Endowed Chair in Nursing Doreen C. Harper, PhD, RN, FAAN, was instrumental in bringing the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing Scholars funding to the UAB School of Nursing four years ago, leveraging monies available for scholarships within the School and matching them with the RWJF funds. “As a result of their efforts, the PhD Program has funded a total of nine RWJF Fellows, who work with funded faculty mentors. They will generate nursing science and serve as the next generation of nurse leaders,” said Associate Professor and Director of the PhD Program Karen Heaton, PhD, CRNP, FNNP-BC, FAAOHN, FAAN. “These nine fellows are a part of the wonderful legacy Dr. Meneses left and her spirit will live on in each of them as it does all who were fortunate to call her mentor, colleague and friend.“

Bailey Hendricks

the assessment

2018 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing Scholars Program Funding

The late Karen Meneses, PhD, RN, FAAN, Professor and Associate Dean for Corey Lofton

UAB NURSING NETWORK LIVE ON YOUTUBE

The School has launched the UAB Nursing Network, an online live broadcast and professional educational effort targeting nurses, health care professionals, students and faculty — particularly those in rural areas and other schools of nursing — who want to learn more about specific topics. The 30-minute “Clinical Pearls” series, the network's first offering, is hosted by Assistant Professor Tracie White, DNP, CRNP, ACNP-BC, CNOR, CRNFA. It streams live on YouTube TV one Friday per month at noon, and allows participants from Alabama and around the world to participate in discussions on topics such as the opioid epidemic, diabetes management, dementia care and more. Nurses and nurse educators can earn 0.5 CEUs for $5 per episode.

“Clinical Pearls” broadcasts also are archived online, enabling faculty anywhere to use them in classrooms, and bedside nurses working in rural hospitals and clinics in low resource areas to access content anytime. “Our School is the most concentrated source of expert nursing knowledge across Alabama,” said Associate Dean for Technology and Innovation and Professor Jacqueline Moss, PhD, RN, FAAN. “Sharing the national and international experts in the UAB School of Nursing offers accessible, timely professional development to nurses anywhere. Not only can we be a resource for nurses in Alabama, we can now do so for nurses anywhere in the world.”

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FORGING te FUTURE OF NURSING

On September 6,

the UAB School of Nursing ushered in a new era of innovation in nursing

education, research and clinical practice, celebrating the grand opening of its expansion and renovation.

T

he completion of the 72,000-squarefoot, $32 million project capped a number of strategic accomplishments of the past year that have been more than a decade in development, including U.S. News & World Report’s top 10 rankings for the Master’s and Doctor of Nursing Practice Programs (see p. 4) and raising the NIH research funding ranking to 14th. These achievements, said Dean and Fay B. Ireland Endowed Chair in Nursing Doreen C. Harper, PhD, RN, FAAN, serve as a launch pad to pursue new opportunities afforded by new technology, resources and room to grow. “This is only the beginning,” Harper said. “The next step is continuing to improve where we are excelling and moving forward with new endeavors to stay on the leading edge.”

BUILDING ON A VISION Long before plans were made for a larger building or a roadmap was created for achieving top rankings, the School, since its founding in 1950, has been focused on “building on a vision to sustain nursing leadership worldwide.” When Harper came on as dean in 2005 it was with the goal of expanding that vision while increasing resources and revenues to propel the School forward in its impact on the world stage. This trajectory of excellence started with a faculty-driven, five-year strategic plan focused on growing resources, the School’s role in the community, and building on identified strengths. What developed, as the School marked its 60th Anniversary, was Vision 2010, which laid the foundation for the building campaign, and set the stage for a meteoric rise in national rankings, student numbers, research funding and practice impact. It also created flexibility for the plan to evolve over time so the School could respond to changes in the profession, health care and higher education. (Top) Classes started for students in the building expansion on August 28. (Far left) Two common areas on the fourth and fifth floors offer collaboration and gathering space for faculty and staff. (Immediate left) Dean Doreen C. Harper kicked off formal Grand Opening festivities on September 6.

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S T U D E N T & FA C U LT Y

“Our growth since 2005 also has brought in many top students and recruiting them for the next level of education has become a real strength of our School,” said Professor and Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Linda Moneyham, PhD, RN, FAAN. “For example, we developed honors and dean’s scholars initiatives for high performing undergraduates that provide a pipeline for the next generation of nurse scientists for the BSN to PhD Pathway.” New pathways have also been established, enabling the School to continue to grow the number of highly qualified nurses it produces, including partnerships with liberal arts schools that provide a pipeline into the Accelerated Masters in Nursing Pathway and with community colleges to provide a seamless transition from an associate’s degree to the BSN. To expand to more seamless pathways in the future, technology is critical, Moneyham said. “High-quality classroom and clinical experiences are vital to recruitment," Moneyham said. "What we have achieved with the building transformation ensures we will continue to develop world class nurse leaders, nursing faculty and nurse scientists of the future.” Professor and Associate Dean of Technology and Innovation Jacqueline Moss, PhD, RN, FAAN, leads simulation and other educational technology efforts. “When I joined the faculty in 2002, we had very limited simulation space. We have created a world-class program from the ground up and added more technology, space, staff and faculty to where we are today,” said Moss. New faculty that have been added include Assistant Professor and Director of Clinical Simulation Penni Watts, PhD, RN, CHSE-A, and Assistant Professor and Nursing Simulation

Increasing expectations from technologically savvy students and faculty has also made classroom technology a priority, Moneyham said.

One classroom, the Innovation Collaboratory, is equipped with interactive workstations and devicesharing technology allowing students to share what they see on their screens with the class, or teams of clinicians and researchers can work together to translate the latest discoveries to the bedside. It also has streaming capabilities for sharing real-time video on campus and around the world. “We are able to make what we are teaching a collaborative learning experience instead of the ‘sage on the stage’ where the faculty member is the only one who has knowledge,” Moss said. “Professional teams can also work together in the room or, in reality, anywhere there is the ability to connect, to collaborate on innovative health care solutions.”

2005 to 2017

217 PART-TIME FACULTY

44

140 2005 to 2017

FULL-TIME FACULTY

64

Better online and classroom technology has enabled the School to develop innovative distance-accessible programs and pathways, including the RN to BSN and MSN Mobility Pathway, as well as expanding the reach and scope of the MSN, DNP and PhD Programs. This has resulted in exponential growth in student and faculty populations. From 2005 to 2017 student enrollment increased from 557 to 2,300, full-time faculty increased from 64 in 2005 to 140, and part-time faculty increased from 44 to 217.

STUDENT ENROLLMENT

One key area identified for growth that has become a cornerstone of the School’s high-quality didactic and clinical education is technology.

Coordinator Tracie White, DNP, CRNP, ACNPBC, CNOR, CRNFA, among others, who oversee day-to-day operations of new and existing lab space. And completion of the building expansion has added five new state-of-the-art labs for nursing simulations, including a working operating room, as well as a nurse’s station and home health lab. Each comes with instructor-controlled manikins that simulate reallife scenarios. There also is a new eight-bed skills lab. The School now has more than 20,000 square feet of simulation and skills space. For more details on the new Nursing Competency Suites, visit www.uab.edu/ nursing/home/simlabtour.

557

INNOVATING EDUCATION

2,300

GROWTH RATES

2005 to 2017

(Top) The Nursing Competency Suite offers five new state-of-the-art labs and control rooms for nursing simulations. (Bottom) The Innovation Collaboratory boasts device sharing and realtime video capabilities to collaborate on campus or around the world.

FALL 2018 / UAB NURSING

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Harper said the building expansion further moves the School to the leading edge of education and fulfills what was first laid out in Vision 2010. “We are transforming the way students learn and faculty share knowledge,” she said. “We have created learning and collaboration spaces that promote the highest standards of teaching, motivating students and stimulating thinking, and are setting a new standard for preparing highly qualified nurse leaders at the undergraduate and graduate levels.” PARTNERING FOR ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE Expanding collaborations to impact nursing and health care through partnerships and other clinical endeavors also was a goal of Vision 2010. Recruiting the right leader, Associate Dean for Clinical and Global Partnerships Cynthia Selleck, PhD, RN, FAAN, was key to the success of this endeavor. “When I came to the School in 2010, Dean Harper had established the Office of Clinical Partnerships, and I saw an opportunity to provide better health care access to the MORE THAN medically underserved in the area,” Selleck said. “We have since established numerous clinical partnerships TO DELIVER CARE to not only improve access to care but also develop the nursing workforce.” EXTRAMURAL GRANTS – $4.2 million

$30 MILLION

FOUNDATION GRANTS – $1.86 million HRSA GRANTS – $22.25 million INTRAMURAL GRANTS – $2.1 million

Harper said Selleck and School leaders first looked across campus and then toward the community to expand its impact on high-quality health care for all Alabamians.

“If you have medicine, you always have nursing, so it made a lot of sense to align with our medical colleagues around the University,” she said. Alignment with on-campus partners for clinical and educational endeavors included working with UAB Hospital Chief Nursing Officer Terri Poe, DNP, RN, NE-BC, and UAB Medicine CEO Will Ferniany, PhD, to establish the UAB Nursing Partnership (read more at www.uab.edu/nursing/ home/nursingpartnership); Chief Nursing Officer Deb Wesley, MSN, and Children's of Alabama to establish a clinical scholars initiative for nurses (read more at www.uab.edu/ nursing/home/childrensscholars) and a nurse practitioner residency program to improve child and adolescent mental health care (see p. 14); and the Birmingham VA Medical Center and its leaders, including Associate Director of Patient Care Services Cynthia Cleveland, DNP, RN, NE-BC, for the five-pronged VA Nursing Academic 8

UAB NURSING / FALL 2018

Partnership (for more go to www.uab.edu/nursing/home/ vapartnership). “The School also has clinical and research partnerships with the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, Palliative Care Center and other University-Wide Interdisciplinary Research Centers that provide clinical, education and research opportunities for our faculty and students,” Harper added. The School also brought into the state more than $30 million in federal, foundation and other grants to deliver innovative nurse-managed health care to vulnerable populations in the community and to educate well-prepared nurse leaders sensitive to the needs of the underserved. And the School continues to expand other nurse-managed interprofessional clinics and initiatives across Alabama to care for vulnerable populations and enhance learning opportunities for students, Selleck said.

“We are focused on transforming health outcomes in Alabama, especially in rural and underserved areas, and providing highly-qualified, advanced-practice prepared nurses to practice there,” Selleck said. “The building expansion and the technology it provides to reach even the most rural parts of Alabama is key to this mission."

The School also has built a foundation for international collaboration through its Pan American Health Organization/ World Health Organization Collaborating Center for International Nursing and has established partnerships with a number of international universities and centers (for more go to www.uab.edu/nursing/home/paho-whocc). “We continue to review the School’s PAHO/WHO work since its original designation in 1994 to build on our strengths,” said Associate Professor and PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center Deputy Director Ada Markaki, PhD, RN, PHCNS-BC. “And, we are looking at the latest global health trends to get a sense of where we stand and what we need to move forward. With the new technology available to us we have the opportunity to expand and really transform health globally, through innovations in education, clinical practice and research.” GROWING THE RESEARCH ENTERPRISE Vision 2010 and what has evolved set forth a multi-faceted plan to grow research and scholFaculty collaborate on education, research and clinical practice initiatives in the Americas and around the world.


arship funding. That included recruiting key funded faculty, broadening funding sources and creating a foundation to support talented students and nurse scientists. Key faculty recruitments, Harper said, included the late Karen Meneses, PhD, RN, FAAN, who came in 2007 to lead the School’s Office of Research and Scholarship as Associate Dean and Professor, laying the groundwork for the exponential increase in research funding over the next decade. She was joined over the next several years by other key funded faculty, who brought in NIH portfolio funds, and other federal and foundation research and training funds. “We’ve been able to recruit scientists who have generated research, funding and collaborations across nursing, medicine and other health professions with well-developed programs of research in cancer, heart failure, palliative care, HIV, aging, dementia and health services research in patient safety and quality,” Harper said. “We are fortunate to be aligned with UAB Medicine and the academic health science center and that also has helped to grow our research, especially around population health.” These on-campus collaborations have been key in growing the School’s research portfolio beyond NIH dollars. In 2017, the School’s grant funding from sources including the NIH across all of its missions — teaching, research, and service, exceeded $11 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration. Training funds and grants totaling more than $1.4 million from other organizations, including the Jonas Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Susan G. Komen and National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health provided support for graduate, doctoral and post-doctoral students (for more go to www.uab.edu/ nursing/home/2017research-scholarship). “Our faculty have done a tremendous job leveraging competitive federal, foundation and intramural grants and those have helped build and support the infrastructure and scholarship of our faculty and students,” Harper said. Mentoring also is a significant part of the School’s growth in research and scholarship. Access to the School's acclaimed faculty researchers in oncology, gerontology, palliative care, HIV/AIDS, nursing administration, Veterans’ care, among others, has been pivotal for students and early career faculty. “With Dr. Meneses’ leadership and considerable effort among our faculty and staff, we have built an incredibly supportive team in our Office of Research and Scholarship to help mentor and develop our faculty through the application and submission process,” Harper said. “That, along with the incredible mentor-

ship that our senior faculty, both in nursing and across the UAB campus, offer our younger scientists — as well as our students from the baccalaureate through the doctoral to the post-doctoral level — have helped fulfill the goals of Vision 2010 and beyond.” Technology, Harper said, has become a common modality the School’s research teams are using to reach vulnerable populations, and the technology and resources available in the building expansion will help continue the growth the School has seen in research and scholarship.

Mentoring of early career faculty and students at all levels is a cornerstone of success for the Office of Research and Scholarship.

“At this advanced level, research takes resources, and our expansion and renovation provide the resources we need to FACULTY continue to play a leaderWITH SUSTAINED ship role in moving nursing research funding and interdisciplinary research forward,” Harper said. “The • Pioneering nurse scientist in breast cancer technology also will enable us survivorship and cancer survivorship disparities to translate and disseminate Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship new knowledge back to the and Professor KAREN MENESES, PhD, RN, community quickly so that FAAN; the quality of lives can be • Leading expert on the impact of HIV in the improved.” FORGING THE FUTURE For Harper, future plans remain consistent with the School’s history of leadership and excellence. “There’s no question about what we’re going to do moving forward — how are we going to improve health care for everyone in the state? How do we use these tremendous resources to move ahead?" Harper said. “We will continue to expand educational opportunities and increase access to care and research contributions to positively impact the health of our community and the world — and we will think outside the box, filling the gaps and niches in the health system. “This building gives us a center for innovation and collaboration to do things that have never been done before,” Harper added. “We will continue innovation through technology and use faculty expertise to reach beyond our boundaries to provide the workforce that meets the needs of Alabama and beyond.”

lives of women Professor MIRJAM-COLLETTE KEMPF, PhD, MPH;

• Renowned expert in patient safety, quality care and nursing practice environments, especially within our nation’s military hospitals Rachel Z. Booth Endowed Chair in Nursing and Professor PATRICIA PATRICIAN, PhD, RN, FAAN; • Leading HIV researcher and now Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor LINDA MONEYHAM, PhD, RN, FAAN, who parlayed her research leadership experience into academics; • HIV and cognition expert Professor DAVID VANCE, PhD, MGS, MS, currently Interim Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship; • Leading researcher in psychiatric/mental health issues and expert in Veterans’ health care, Professor and Chair of the Department of Family, Community and Health Systems TEENA MCGUINNESS, PhD, CRNP, PMHNP-BC, FAAN; • Internationally renowned palliative care researcher, Marie L. O’Koren Endowed Chair and Professor MARIE BAKITAS, DNSc, APRN, NP-C, AOCN, ACHPN, FAAN; • Renowned gerontologist RITA JABLONSKI, PhD, RN, CRNP, internationally known for her work in dementia.

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research

HONORED FOR COMMUNITY CARE Cynthia Selleck named School’s first Odessa Woolfolk Community Service Award recipient UAB School of Nursing Professor and Associate Dean for Clinical and Global

Partnerships, Cynthia Selleck, PhD, RN, FAAN, a leader in expanding access to health

care for some of Birmingham’s and Alabama’s most vulnerable populations, is the 2018 recipient of the Odessa Woolfolk Community Service Award.

T

he award is presented annually to a UAB faculty member, recognizing significant contributions to the Birmingham community.

WRITTEN BY ERICA TECHO // PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRANK COUCH

“I see [Selleck] as one among a few on the leading edge of developing models of integrated and

multidisciplinary care for our community.” -Dr. Mark E. Wilson, Chief Health Officer, Jefferson County Department of Health

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Selleck has dedicated her career to expanding the number of primary care providers in rural and underserved areas and creating innovative nurse-managed interprofessional clinics to care for medically needy populations. She is the first recipient from the School of Nursing. “It’s not just about me, but about the work that teams of us have done and continue to do,” Selleck said. Among her accomplishments, Selleck helped establish the School’s first nurse-managed clinic in the Birmingham area, the Providing Access to Healthcare (PATH) Clinic, which has served more than 10,000 uninsured patients with diabetes since opening in 2011. She also developed the School’s primary care clinic with the Foundry that has now evolved into the federally-qualified Bessemer Neighborhood Health Center, and brought Jefferson County its first NurseFamily Partnership, helping low-income, first-time mothers and their babies both survive and thrive. Dean and Fay B. Ireland Endowed Chair in Nursing Doreen C. Harper, PhD, RN, FAAN, said Selleck possesses the unique ability to identify the most pressing community needs and then build the coalitions necessary to achieve health equity and deliver new models of care. “Cindy Selleck is a nurse who transcends her own discipline,” Harper said. “She has established herself across the entire campus as one whose insights and recommendations generate a call to action around community needs. She has worked to establish

resources where none exist, has created much-needed services for promoting a culture of health and her independent and collaborative grants have garnered more than $30 million for Jefferson County and Alabama over the past eight years to deliver innovative health care to our most vulnerable populations.” Several community members and collaborative partners recommended Selleck for the award, including the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, Jefferson County Department of Health and Aletheia House. “Her passion for helping the less fortunate in our community is evident to those who collaborate with her,” said Mark E. Wilson, MD, Chief Health Officer for the Jefferson County Department of Health. “I see her as one among a few on the leading edge of developing models of integrated and multidisciplinary care for our community.” Selleck’s passion to care for underserved populations has fueled the creation of many of the School’s clinical partnerships and programs, and she is happy to see that passion influence others. “You have to have a heart for doing this kind of work, and health professionals who see the need to help vulnerable populations, you can’t just pick them off a tree,” Selleck said. “We have a number of faculty who are as excited about caring for these populations as I am and are instilling that same desire in our students. We want to develop innovative leaders who transform health and with the partnership work the school is doing, we have the opportunity to continue to transform health and improve Alabama’s health status indicators well into the future.” As Selleck looks toward the future, she also looks forward to seeing the School’s partnerships and programs grow and expand. “The faculty and staff teams at UAB School of Nursing have the capacity and strength to forge the future of high-quality patient care."


research

palliative care

Advancing

access

Two-year grant to fund culturally adapted palliative care study WRITTEN BY ERICA TECHO // PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRANK COUCH

S

tudies show palliative care benefits those who access it, but it is not being utilized by underserved populations in the Deep South. UAB School of Nursing Assistant Professor Yasemin Turkman, PhD, MPH, APRN, PMHNP-BC, is working to change that. With a two-year grant from the National Palliative Care Research Center, Turkman is studying how patients and caregivers use the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center Patient Navigator Program in order to develop a culturally adapted version that could increase the use of palliative care services by older African-Americans with advanced cancer. Turkman is studying who has accessed lay navigators and how often, what resources were provided, and the impact of care. She also is looking at who did not use the services to better understand what influences the decision to not engage with navigators by individuals with advanced or life-limiting illness. “I’m trying to ascertain what people understand about palliative care and, if there is adequate understanding, why aren’t people using it?,” Turkman said. “That will give me information on what it is about the navigation program that worked or did not so that I can then identify potential targets for the new intervention that I’m designing.”

The UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center Patient Navigator Program uses trained, non-nursing professionals to provide cancer patients and their caregivers with resources, assess their levels of distress and the causes, and provide suggested solutions. It is funded through a $15 million Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Care Innovation Award. Once the first investigational phase of the study is complete, Turkman will conduct patient, caregiver and stakeholder interviews to present the potential new design for the culturally adapted intervention. After making modifications from any feedback she receives, Turkman plans to pilot the intervention by training one lay navigator, then testing the culturally adapted intervention with 10 patients and their caregivers. Once she completes the project, Turkman plans to seek additional funding for a larger pilot. “My hope is that at the end of this study we better understand what is needed to improve access to palliative care for this vulnerable

Dr. Yasemin Turkman

“I’m trying to ascertain

what people understand about palliative care and, if there is adequate understanding, why aren’t people using it?” -Dr. Yasemin Turkman

populations, and to ultimately expand the reach of care so that more people who want services can benefit,” Turkman said. Turkman’s research team includes mentor Marie Bakitas, DNSc, CRNP, NP-C, AOCN, ACHPN, FAAN, and co-mentors, Ed Partridge, MD; Gabrielle Rocque, MD; and Raegan Durant, MD, MPH, colleagues in the School of Nursing, School of Medicine, UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center and UAB Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center, among others.

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partnerships

PRIMARY [Care] RESOURCES WRITTEN BY JENNIFER LOLLAR // PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRANK COUCH

$2.8

MILLION

FOUR YEARS

60

GRADUATES

SIX

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

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he UAB School of Nursing has received a four-year, $2.8 million grant to help improve health outcomes in medically underserved areas in Alabama and to educate undergraduate nursing students and practicing RNs in team-focused primary care. The project, “Building a Resilient Primary Care Registered Nurse Workforce for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control in Alabama,” is funded by a Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention (NEPQR) grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and will focus on training and sustaining baccalaureate-prepared RNs in medically underserved areas. The project’s principal investigator, Professor and Chair of the Department of Acute, Chronic and Continuing Care Maria Shirey, PhD, MBA, MS, RN, NEA-BC, ANEF, FNAP, FACHE, FAAN, said the role of the BSN-prepared RN is integral to care coordination and management of patient transitions from hospital to home. However, over the past several decades RNs have disappeared from most community-based primary care settings, usually replaced by less trained medical assistants. When RNs are found in primary care settings,

$2.8 million grant to fund primary care RN education

they often are limited to triaging phone calls and walk-ins, not practicing to the full scope of their education and training. “Alabama and the U.S. have primary care service deficits, especially in medically underserved areas, and BSN-prepared RNs are capable of assuming greater responsibility for care management for patients with chronic conditions, as well as follow-up and complex specialty care coordination,” she said. “They also can provide safe, high-quality care to at-risk populations such as patients with multiple chronic conditions, while also managing the costs of such care.” The project also builds on the UAB School of Nursing’s expertise in interprofessional collaborative practice and education for community-based chronic disease management of individuals with complex medical conditions. It will create a nurse-led primary care hub with six community partners throughout Alabama, expanding existing and creating new academic-practice partnerships in medically underserved areas in Jefferson, Etowah and Macon counties through the UAB School of Nursing nurse-managed PATH Clinic for diabetes, HRTSA Clinic


partnerships for heart failure and Bessemer Neighborhood Health Clinic, as well as the Jefferson County Department of Health, Macon County Department of Health and East Central Alabama Area Health Education Center. The sites will serve as clinical training locations for BSN students focusing on primary care nursing with an emphasis on chronic disease prevention and control in diabetes, high blood pressure, mental health and substance abuse. In Macon County, the School is joining forces with the Tuskegee University School of Nursing and Allied Health as an affiliate partner. “We wanted Tuskegee as an affiliate partner due to our longstanding informal relationship and synergy across our respective visions and missions,” Shirey said. “This affiliate partnership also provides a unique opportunity to address health disparities in the Black Belt area of the state by educating nurses who plan to stay in their communities. In educating undergraduate nursing students and practicing RNs in team-focused primary care, together UAB and Tuskegee will contribute toward the national call for RNs to work as partners in transforming primary care.” Tuskegee faculty will participate, and 12 Tuskegee BSN students will be among the 60 students expected to graduate as RN Primary Care Scholars across the four-year project. Tuskegee University School of Nursing and Allied Health Dean Constance Smith Hendricks, PhD, RN, FAAN, said Tuskegee has a rich history of nursing education as the state’s first baccalaureate nursing program, and its graduates are dedicated to the health of Alabamians through their significant contributions to nursing and health care. The affiliate partnership with the UAB School of Nursing strengthens both Schools’ collective ability to contribute toward the national call for RNs to work as partners in transforming primary care. Hendricks is a former faculty member and Distinguished Alumna of the UAB School of Nursing, earning a bachelor’s

degree from the school in 1974 and a master’s degree in 1981.

community health nursing competencies will be integrated, enabling students to participate in the full spectrum of community-based prevention interventions at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. We will begin taking

“Tuskegee University Nursing is honored to have the opportunity to be a partner in this very needed initiative,” Hendricks said. “Our graduates will be the “The School of Nursing is joining forces with beneficiaries of this unique opportunity Tuskegee School of Nursing and Allied Health to become RNPC as an affiliate partner to address disparities in Scholars and gain the Black Belt by educating nurses who plan additional skills and knowledge to to stay in their communities.” better serve those -Dr. Maria Shirey in our Black Belt communities with chronic health care needs alongside the UABSON student RNPC scholars.” Part of the project also will focus on building a resilient workforce by providing the primary care RN workforce with skills to cope with the challenges of caregiving and the unique needs of vulnerable populations. Our goal is to keep RNs healthy and engaged over the course of a career and to do this requires special preparation for the long term. “To better prepare nurses for the future, we will provide coaching in resilience and training for RNPC Scholars, RN clinical mentors and RNPC faculty,” Shirey said. “We also are developing an annual primary care conference that will begin in 2019 for continuing professional development and to create a supportive network of primary care RNs across the state of Alabama. We are tapping into our technology expertise and partnering within our School with the UAB Nursing Network to launch the first-ofits-kind live, online primary care broadcasts to promote and educate nurses about the RNPC role.” The program is open to senior undergraduate BSN or RN-to-BSN students with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or greater and a faculty recommendation. Known as RNPC Scholars, the students will complete a newly developed course of both classroom and clinical experiential learning in primary care nursing, providing them with at least 150 hours of training. Both primary care and

students for the RNPC Scholars program in 2019. Alabama and the U.S. are in the midst of a primary care service shortage, which is growing exponentially, Shirey said. The UAB School of Nursing has educated nurse practitioners for decades to positively impact the number of primary care health care providers; now is the time to contribute toward a national paradigm shift to educate primary care RNs who also can improve access to care. “Cultivating BSN-prepared nurses in our RNPC Scholars program complements our efforts in building nurse practitioner capacity for primary care; it adds training and development for current undergraduate students to practice to the full scope of their license in community-based primary care teams,” she said. “This RN Primary Care project is a logical next step to expand our School’s impact on primary and secondary prevention efforts in medically underserved areas throughout Alabama.” FALL 2018 / UAB NURSING

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partnerships

PARTNERS IN MENTAL HEALTH CARE Children’s and School of Nursing come together for mental health residency WRITTEN BY ERICA TECHO // PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRANK COUCH

The UAB School of Nursing and Children’s of Alabama are partnering on a new one-year residency for recent Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner graduates to meet the growing need for mental health care providers for children and adolescents in the state.

nities for the School’s MSN students. “This enables Children’s to increase the quality of care provided and number of kids they care for, and that provides more training at multiple levels of care for students in our MSN program so that we can continue the pipeline of providers into the future,” Durand said. A cultural focus on improving mental health has led to this greater demand for psychiatric care for young patients, but the number of providers with a mental health focus has been limited.

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hildren’s needs more practitioners to cover the volume of patients we have in psychiatry. The demand for services far exceeds our capacity, and how to meet this need has been an ongoing discussion,” said Children’s of Alabama Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Deb Wesley, MSN, RN, a 1986 alumna of the School’s Master of Science in Nursing program. “This residency is an example of the power of the partnership between Children’s and the UAB School of Nursing, and the impact, working together, we can patients cared for through have on children and famiChildren's outpatient psychiatric services lies in Alabama.” and over The residency has two 747 CHILDREN main goals — improving and adolescents the quality and quantity admitted for of clinical experience for inpatient care. both new Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner graduates and current students, as well as increasing access to care, said the School’s

2512

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PMHNP Specialty Track Coordinator and Residency Program Co-Director Simone Durand, MSN, MS, CRNP, PMHNP-BC. Improving experiences for new NP graduates means they are more likely to transition to the demands of practice with increased competency. Residents spend a year mentored by Durand and Children’s of Alabama Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Residency Program Co-Director Shelley Lauterbach, MSN, CRNP, PMHNP-BC, a 2017 alumna of the School’s PMHNP MSN specialty track, while seeing patients. They receive enhanced interprofessional practice experience, working with psychiatrists, psychologists, neurologists, pharmacists and case managers, even better preparing to address child and adolescent mental health needs once the residency is complete. Because appointment availability at Children’s is expanded by the residents, that means additional learning opportu-

“With this residency and the new Psychiatric Intake Response Center program, which directs families toward mental health care resources at Children’s, we’re connecting the dots between the need and the resource, and the final part, which is creating the provider pipeline that we need,” Lauterbach said. This residency stands out on the national stage, with few academic-practice partnerships in nursing providing this type of collaboration and even fewer focusing on adolescent and child mental health. “UAB is on the leading edge of successful academic-practice partnerships and in addressing the need for mental health care treatment for children and their families,” said Professor and Associate Dean for Clinical and Global Partnerships Cynthia Selleck, PhD, RN, FAAN. “This residency speaks to our School’s dedication to continuous improvement of education and practice quality to positively impact the patients and families we serve.”


partnerships

EXPANDING COLLABORATION

in Jamaica

kingston

Research, education part of expanding partnership at sister WHO Collaborating Center Dr. Penni Watts and Dr. Tracie White spent a week working with faculty at the University of West Indies - Mona Campus sharing knowledge on teaching with simulation and training others to do the same.

WRITTEN BY ERICA TECHO // PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED BY PENNI WATTS

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he UAB School of Nursing Office of Clinical and Global Partnerships builds relationships, promotes collaboration and enhances educational opportunities beyond one building or campus, and has again expanded the School’s global footprint through a memorandum of understanding and two recently completed activities with the World Health Organization Collaborating Center at the University of West Indies — Mona Campus in Kingston, Jamaica. “We are committed to a close partnership with UWI, and we looked at where efforts could complement each other when deciding to enter this formal agreement,” said Associate Professor and WHOCC Deputy Director Ada Markaki, PhD, RN, PHCNS-BC. “Identifying resources and strengths the Schools can share opens opportunities for both Schools’ students and faculty.” Assistant Professors Penni Watts, PhD, RN, CHSE-A, and Tracie White, DNP, CRNP, ACNP-BC, CNOR, CRNFA, brought School resources to Jamaica mid-year in the form of a one-week training for UWI faculty, demonstrating how to teach with simulations and train other faculty to do the same. “The educators saw how simple but impactful a simulation can be,” Watts said. “I think we made a significant, positive impact on their perspective of teaching modalities.” White said they were also enriched by the enthu-

siasm of the educators. “Going to UWI, where there were fresh faces and you could see the changes in their teachings in a matter of days, was invigorating,” White said. “The faculty were hungry to learn and receptive to what we brought to the table. It excited me to see their enthusiasm for learning.” Assistant Professor Rebecca Edwards, DNP, RN, AOCNP, ACNP-BC, also explored options for her PhD research while there, attending a conference and internship, building a network of contacts and identifying the country’s comprehensive palliative care needs. “There’s a tremendous need for palliative care in Jamaica, and people I met were eager to have someone ready to tackle this important issue,” Edwards said. “My lifetime goal is to embed myself in global health, and this opportunity helps me reach that.” The partnership will continue through online resources, including the UAB Nursing Network’s “Clinical Pearls” professional development videos and virtual debriefings. “This will build support to sustain changes and optimize impact for UWI SON faculty and students. Sustainability is the key word for this partnership, which follows the School’s definition of global health and focus on the WHO's sustainable development goals,” Markaki said.

“We are committed to a close partnership with UWI, and we looked at where efforts could complement each other when deciding to enter this formal agreement.” -Dr. Ada Markaki

FALL 2018 / UAB NURSING

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NEWS ROUNDUP Partnering to provide proper nutrition Clients in the School’s Nurse Family Partnership of Central Alabama and patients in the School’s nurse-managed PATH Clinic and HRTSA Heart Failure Clinic are the beneficiaries of a partnership between the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama and the School to ensure first-time mothers have the nutritional foundation that will enable their infants to thrive and patients can better meet clinical recommendations for treating diet-related diseases. The Food Link program, supported by a $25,000 award from UAB employees through the UAB Benevolent Fund, is designed to improve health outcomes and reduce hospital encounters by providing a food insecurity-screening tool proven valid in medical settings to the staff of the Partnership and Clinics. Patients who screen positive for food insecurity will receive fresh produce, healthy dry goods and referrals to benefit programs and food pantries in their own community. “Proper nutrition is key to helping improve the quality of life for the patients and families we serve,” said Associate Dean for Clinical and Global Partnerships and Professor Cynthia Selleck, PhD, RN, FAAN. “The generosity of the UAB community means our patients and clients receive fruits and vegetables and other fresh foods to which they might not otherwise have access.” The Community Food Bank of Central Alabama nonprofit organization provides millions of meals per year to central Alabamians

Food Link helps provide fruits, vegetables and other nutritious foods, as well as other food assistance, to clients in the School's Nurse Family Partnership and patients in the PATH and HRTSA Heart Failure Clinics.

struggling with hunger or food insecurity. “We are thrilled to partner with the UAB School of Nursing to identify and serve patients at risk for hunger on-site within the clinics,” said Kathryn Strickland, executive director of the Community Food Bank. “We are so appreciative of the UAB community’s generosity and their commitment to innovative patient care, and we hope, through this partnership, we will be able to fulfill both our missions.” The Community Impact Grant is a UAB Benevolent Fund initiative designed to make a real and measurable difference for a challenging community issue. It is awarded to one nonprofit or a coalition of nonprofits submitting a proposal that will result in direct impact on education, health and/or economic security and have a lasting impact in the Birmingham community. UAB employees cast their votes to select the winner after viewing video presentations from three finalists.

Fogger receives addiction society's highest honor Professor Susanne Fogger, DNP, CRNP, CARN-AP, PMHNP-BC, FAANP, has received the President’s Award for Service from the International Nurses Society on Addictions (IntNSA) to recognize years of contributions to the organization, the highest honor bestowed by the society. She has been a member of IntNSA for more than 13 years and has served as Chair of the Abstract Review and Research Award Committee, secretary of the Board of Directors and was recently elected treasurer. Fogger, a 12-year veteran of the United States Air Force Nurse Corps as a psychiatric nurse, teaches in the School’s Master of Science in Nursing Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner specialty track. She is a content expert for addiction and substance abuse and clinical faculty at the 1917 Clinic, UAB’s comprehensive AIDS treatment and research center, treating individuals with psychiatric and substance disorders.

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Dr. Susanne Fogger


McMullan elected to NBCRNA board Associate Professor and Nurse Anesthesia DNP Pathway Director Susan McMullan, PhD, CRNA, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA). Her three-year term began in August 2018. The NBCRNA Board of Directors comprises nurse anesthetists who are recognized as leaders in nurse anesthesia, as well as physicians who have a current working relationship with nurse anesthetists. “I am honored to have been selected for this important role,” said McMullan. “I hope my efforts will benefit the nurse anesthesia profession now and in the future.”

Dr. Susan McMullan

Notably, the UAB School of Nursing’s 2017 MSN in Nurse Anesthesia Specialty Track graduating class achieved a 100 percent first-time pass rate on the National Certification Exam (NCE) administered by the NBCRNA.

Investigating epigenetics in chronic low back pain Assistant Professor Edwin Aroke, PhD, MSN, CRNA, has been awarded a $35,000 research grant from the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) Foundation to fund his interdisciplinary project to investigate the role of epigenetic differences in racial disparities in chronic pain and response to medications. “My long-term goal is to become a leading voice in genetic and epigenetic research relating to pain and anesthesia, while mentoring future Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) researchers,” Aroke said. “This award allows me to develop and refine the necessary tools to become an independent researcher in the field of genetics/epigenetics, health disparities, chronic pain syndromes and patient-centered outcomes.” The grant is exclusively awarded to CRNAs who hold doctoral degrees and are actively involved in the development of a research program. They must evidence a strong commitment to nurse anesthesia and be actively seeking to develop a program of research.

Dr. Edwin Aroke is faculty in the DNP Nurse Anesthesia Pathway. In 2014 he was named an Emerging Scholar by the International Society of Nurses in Genetics.

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BIO Norma G. Cuellar, PhD, RN, FAAN, is president of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses. She earned her PhD from the UAB School of Nursing in 1997 and is a professor at the University of Alabama Capstone College of Nursing. Currently the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Transcultural Nursing, Cuellar has published in peer review journals as well as several book chapters related to her research area: Restless Leg Syndrome, Sleep, Complementary and Alternative Health Care. She has practiced in a variety of health care settings and has taught in nursing programs for nearly 30 years.

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH

{ Norma Cuellar } PhD graduate is currently serving a two-year term as President of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses Q: Discuss the importance of diversity in nursing and what it means to you. A: By the year 2050, more than 50 percent of the U.S. popula-

tion will be from underrepresented or minority populations. The students we are teaching now will be responsible for caring for a variety of patients who represent a diverse background including race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual identity and religion — among other newly identified cultural groups. As our future nurse leaders, students must be prepared to represent these cultural groups in a fair, just manner. Diversity is one of the most important concepts we can encourage in nursing programs at all levels. When students, faculty and staff are diverse, we all learn different perspectives from each other. Diverse faculty is important, as students should see educated, competent health care providers representing a variety of cultural groups for role modeling and mentoring. For me, diversity means respecting all people for what they believe and stand for. I may not agree with what they think or what their decisions are, but helping them reach their own health care goals is my obligation as a registered nurse and health care provider. We must all be champions for diversity, and I hope that is instilled through our nursing education.

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INTERVIEW BY LAURA LESLEY // PHOTO PROVIDED BY NORMA CUELLAR

Q: How can nurses, no matter where they are in their career, improve culturally competent care? 2

A: Improving culturally competent care doesn’t just hap-

pen. You have to be consciously aware of your actions and understand what your unconscious biases are. Many people think they have none but everyone has an unconscious bias. Being aware of your unconscious bias is a very important first step. And just because you are a minority or underrepresented does not mean you provide culturally competent care. For some, it is more of a bias and just as detrimental to health care. And culturally competent care is not a one-time learning event. Just like our communities change, so does the cultural competency skill set. Being a cultural life-long learner is essential to becoming culturally competent.

Q: What is your vision for the future of nurses of Hispanic descent? A: I want Latino nurses to be empowered by the skills that they have. Be leaders and let people know that we


must have healthy Latinos to have healthy communities. I want to see a Latino nurse on every health care panel or board helping make decisions about our communities. I want to see Latinos get advanced degrees to become nurse practitioners, CRNAs, midwives, administrators, educators and researchers. I want to see more Latino nurses support the National Association of Hispanic Nurses to help us advance health care outcomes of Latino communities.

Q: What career advice would you provide a young Hispanic person considering nursing as a career? A: Nursing is an amazing profession. It is up to you as a Latino nurse to understand how important you are to improve the health care of Latinos in your community. You must always be a life-long learner. Do not stop in your education until you earn a terminal degree. We need Latino leaders seated at the table making decisions about our communities. Currently, only 5 percent of registered nurses are Latinos, yet the Latino population is 17 percent. Latino nurses with doctoral degrees make up less than 1 percent of those who receive doctorates. We must continue in our education. We are obligated to be better and to be the best we can be for our Latino communities to improve the health care of our families and children.

There is a saying that “birds of a feather flock together.” If you want to be a leader, then surround yourself with leaders who understand what it means to be a Latino nurse leader. Join the National Association of Hispanic Nurses and receive mentorship through “la familia.”

Don’t forget your roots and the need for qualified health care providers, health care access, affordable insurance and culturally congruent health care providers in our Latino communities. As our Latino population grows, you will be faced with these health care issues. Nursing is not just about providing bedside clinical practice — it extends to our communities and policy making to improve health care.

Q: How did your experiences in the UABSON PhD program shape the leadership skills you use today as President of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses? A: Going through the UABSON PhD program taught me more

than the development of nursing science. It taught me to think critically and accept that many people have different theoretical perspectives that make us diverse contributors to society. During a doctoral program, your ego must be checked at the door. You are there to learn and you have to be open to learning from all people. I also believe that being engaged in the school is very important. This includes being available to experience all a university offers, such as having mentors available, participating in governance and attending scholastic events that offer an experiential learning. A doctoral program helps you to develop into a leader who can listen to both sides of the story and make decisions based on the need of all, rather than the need of the few. The UABSON PhD program instilled perseverance and commitment in me that I use every day as President of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses.

ALABAMA HISPANIC NURSES ASSOCIATION As a group supporting efforts to increase the number of Hispanics entering health care and nursing, the Alabama chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN) is actively seeking new members. Led by Chapter President Grace Grau, DNP, CRNP, ACNP-BC, AACC, who holds a dual appointment as instructor in the UAB School of Nursing and as a nurse practitioner with UAB Medicine, the chapter’s mission is to advance health in Hispanic communities and to lead, promote and advocate for educational, professional and leadership opportunities for Hispanic nurses. “There are many benefits to chapter membership,” said Grau. “We provide educational opportunities to members, as well as the

community. We also provide information on employment, scholarships and upcoming events that would be of interest to our members.” “We work to recruit additional Latinos into the nursing profession because, while Latinos represent 18 percent of the U.S. population, less than 7 percent of the nursing workforce is of Latino descent.” According to NAHN, members advocate, educate, volunteer, seek partnerships and conduct programming in Hispanic communities to improve outcomes, elevate literacy, heighten education and influence policy. With a network of more than 44 chapters nationally, the organization is rapidly growing. “Since the Alabama chapter’s inception two years ago, members have participat-

ed in two grants supported by the National Institutes of Health aiming to improve health outcomes of Hispanic diabetic patients and understand differences amongst ethnicities leading to diseases or specific responses to therapies,” said Grau. In addition to scholarship, the chapter has participated in multiple community health fairs providing health screenings, education on symptom identification of cardiovascular diseases and nursing as a career. “Joining your local NAHN chapter is easy, and student memberships are available, too,” said Grau. “Members do not have to be Hispanic, only an interest in advancing the causes of Hispanic/Latino communities.” For more information on joining the Alabama chapter, visit www. alnahn.nursingnetwork.com.

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academics

New Partnership ‘a win for both schools’ UAB School of Nursing, BSC come together to expand nursing pipeline WRITTEN BY ERICA TECHO // PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRANK COUCH

The UAB School of Nursing and Birmingham-Southern College are

providing a new pathway for BSC students to enter graduate nursing studies through UAB’s Accelerated Master’s in Nursing Pathway.

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e are excited to offer this opportunity to BSC students whose diverse backgrounds and experiences in the liberal arts and sciences will continue to develop and grow the talent pool in nursing,” said UAB School of Nursing Dean and Fay B. Ireland Endowed Chair in Nursing Doreen C. Harper, PhD, RN, FAAN. “Former Birmingham-Southern President Linda Flaherty-Goldsmith approached us looking for more opportunities for their students to continue into graduate studies and knew UAB had a nationally-ranked nursing program,” said Assistant Dean for Student Success Peter Tofani, EdD, LTC(R). “She called a meeting with Dean Doreen Harper and asked, ‘What can we do?’” Under BSC’s previous agreement with another four-year university, students were required to select an area of health care in which to focus early on in their studies, said BSC Health Professions Adviser Sue Buckingham, PhD. “That is really difficult to decide if you are an undergraduate student and have not worked in a hospital or health care,” Buckingham

Birmingham Southern partnership

said. “Collaborating with UAB is more effective because students can shadow at the hospital to get a better idea of what RNs and NPs do before making a decision.” Under the agreement, BSC students complete their bachelor’s degree in three and a half years and have dual-enrollment with the UAB School of Nursing for one semester. Students work toward their master’s degrees as part of the AMNP for that semester, and credits will be transferred to apply to their bachelor’s degrees. “The students still graduate with their classmates at BSC even though for that last semester they are on UAB’s campus in the nursing program,” Tofani said. This partnership is a positive recruiting tool for BSC, Buckingham said, and students have already expressed an interest. “Our pre-nursing interest has really spiked with incoming students,” she said. “Every student I talk to wants to go to UAB if they’re pre-health.”

Birmingham-Southern students complete 3.5 years at BSC. Students apply to UAB SON AMNP program in spring semester of junior year. Students begin AMNP program in spring of senior year. BSC students graduate in spring with their class. Students graduate AMNP program after four semesters. The agreement is a win for both schools, Tofani said, also bringing strong students into the School of Nursing. “We’ve had Birmingham-Southern students in both our traditional undergraduate BSN program and AMNP, and they historically have had over a 95 percent pass rate,” Tofani said. “It’s a population that has been well-prepared, and students are very successful at making the transition into our program.” Since the partnership launched in early 2018, Buckingham said she already has seen tremendous interest among BSC’s sophomore and junior students. “We are taking talented students from the area and from around the state and encouraging them to stay in Birmingham and use their talents here,” Buckingham said. “We have some great students, and I’m very happy that they’re going into nursing.” Tofani said he expects the pipeline of students to be fully up and running in a few years. At that point, there should be around five AMNP students coming from this partnership each year.

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INNOVATIVE ALUMNI LEADING NATIONALLY

Cynthia D. Cleveland, DNP, RN, NE-BC (DNP 2010) Cynthia D. Cleveland, DNP, RN, NE-BC, is Associate Director of Patient Care Services at the Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, a role in which she is responsible for the oversight of nursing and clinical practice of more than 800 staff. With more than 20 years of experience in the Department of Veterans Affairs, Cleveland has held prior positions as Chief Nurse of Acute and Tertiary Care, Nurse Manager of Cardiac and Surgery Intensive Care Units, Acting and Interim Associate Medical Center Director and Assistant Medical Center Director. Notably, through her service as the Nursing Clinical Lead for Veteran Integrated Service Network 7, she collaborated with other nurse executives throughout the country to develop tools to enhance the role of the Clinical Nurse Leader within the VA system. Cleveland is also a trained negotiator and has served as Chief Negotiator for union contracts. “I am a strong proponent of education, and I advise everyone I mentor to return to school soon after earning their BSN,” she said. “I am fortunate I was able to work a full-time job and be a full-time student. My doctoral degree from the UAB School of Nursing has empowered me to speak up and to use the knowledge I gained to move my sphere of influence forward.” Cleveland’s advice to young nurses is to keep their patients as top priorities — “We all became nurses to help others. Treat patients and their families as your own, and communicate clearly, honestly and professionally.” “Mentorship is also important,” she said. “Identify a trusted colleague early in your career who can guide you. Even today as a hospital administrator, I greatly value my mentors, and in return, I mentor others as my way of giving back.”

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Dr. Karen Meneses TRIBUTE TO

Karen Meneses, PhD, RN, FAAN, renowned nurse scientist and beloved Professor and Associate Dean for Research died suddenly of natural causes August 1, 2018.

M

WRITTEN BY JENNIFER LOLLAR // PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRANK COUCH

eneses joined the UAB School of Nursing in 2007 as Professor and Associate Dean. She also was a professor in the Department of Nutrition Sciences in the UAB School of Health Professions and a Senior Scientist in the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, where she was the Co-Leader of the Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program. She also was a Senior Scientist in the UAB Center for Healthy Aging, UAB Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center, UAB Center for Outcomes & Effectiveness Research, UAB Comprehensive Cardiovascular Center, UAB Center for Palliative and Supportive Care and UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences, where she chaired the mentorship panel. “Karen’s energy, compassion and commitment to scientific excellence and its translation leaves an indelible global legacy for countless students, patients, families, colleagues and others who knew her, and for future nurse scientists and clinicians,” said UAB School of Nursing Dean and Fay B. Ireland Endowed Chair in Nursing Doreen C. Harper, PhD, RN, FAAN. “Her spirit of scholarly inquiry and discovery will live on at the UAB School of Nursing.” Meneses was an internationally recognized pioneering expert in breast cancer survivorship and cancer survivorship disparities. She had continuous peer-reviewed funding for more than 25 years from a variety of entities, including the National Institute of Nursing Research, National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society and the Oncology Nursing Society. Meneses served on and/or chaired numerous national and local committees, academic boards and advisory groups, served in an advisory role to the White House for two U.S. Presidents, including President George W. Bush, who appointed her to the National

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Cancer Advisory Board, and was appointed to the Centers for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer in Young Women. Most recently, she was appointed to the National Institute of Nursing Research National Advisory Council for Nursing Research. At UAB, Meneses was bestowed the highest Academic Health Center honor, being named the Distinguished Faculty Lecturer in 2016,

recognizing the tremendous impact she had on the University and community. Groundbreaking Nurse Scientist Meneses’ research created new knowledge about cancer survivorship disparities and quality of life that positively impacted the lives of countless patients.


Her randomized clinical trial of patient-centered quality of life interventions, known as the Breast Cancer Education Intervention, has been recognized as a national model of cancer survivorship education. It was adopted for widespread professional and public distribution by the Research Tested Interventions Program at the National Cancer Institute and has been cited in a Cochrane Database Systematic Review of psychosocial interventions to improve quality of life as the single study with nurse-led interventions that resulted in improved quality of life. It also led to telephone-based interventions that improved quality of life and cancer surveillance among rural, underserved breast cancer survivors in the Rural Breast Cancer Survivor Intervention. Meneses also directed SurviveAL, Alabama’s Young Breast Cancer Survivor Network, helping improve the quality of life for young breast cancer survivors and their loved ones by providing resources and support. She started the Young Breast Cancer Survivorship Network as an initiative of the School in 2012 with funding from the Women’s Breast Health Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham. It was the first of its kind in the state and helped dozens of women navigate the challenges that young breast cancer survivors experience. In 2014, the Young Breast Cancer Survivorship Network became SurviveAL after it joined the Gulf States Young Breast Cancer Survivors Network, a partnership with Louisiana State University and the University of Mississippi and supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Karen Meneses integrated quality of life and wellness in every program or research project she managed,” said Director of the Women’s Breast Health Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham Madeline Harris. “She was the voice of survivors since the 1980’s, faithful to her profession, humble and lived in selfless pursuit of helping others and making life after cancer bearable. Karen embraced the Birmingham community, its history and diversity, reminding us that while there can be much bad, an individual could exemplify all that is good.” Meneses received numerous honors and awards for her scientific work, including the 2013 Ada Sue Hinshaw Award from Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research, one of the highest honors given to a researcher in the field of nursing.

In addition to her own research, Meneses advocated for growing the next generation of scientists. She influenced and mentored generations of successful faculty, clinicians, nurses, and doctoral and postdoctoral students, many of whom have gone on to successful careers in academia and have made substantial contributions to the fields of nursing and health care. Meneses also was instrumental in bringing the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing Scholars funding to the UAB School of Nursing. Leveraging money available for scholarships within the School has, for four consecutive years, been a part of this premier initiative focused on increasing the number of PhD-prepared nurses and providing doctoral students funding for their studies in an effort to develop a new generation of nurse leaders to transform America’s health care system.

“I am so fortunate to have known and worked with Karen for more than 30 years and have observed her major impact on the profession of oncology nursing, patients and nurses worldwide,” said Connie Yarbro, MS, RN, co-founder of the Oncology Nursing Society and founding editor of Seminars in Oncology. “The specialty of oncology was her love and is evidenced by all her contributions over the years. She is truly a legend from all her accomplishments and the impact she has had on the lives of so many individuals. Because of her notable contributions, mentoring and making a difference, we won’t ever be without her.”

Meneses served on federal grant review panels for more than 20 years, has been a reviewer for dozens of peer-reviewed journals, and has served as the editor, associate editor and/or editorial board member of numerous journals, including ONS Nursing Scan in Oncology, “Dr. Meneses was a mentor to me academiONS News, Seminars in Oncology Nursing cally and personally, and I am positive I would and Nursing Research, not be here today and has authored more without her belief in than 100 publications me and her support,” on topics related to “karen’s said Jacqueline Vo, breast cancer, quality PhD, RN, current of life, survivorship, of scholarly inquiry NCI Fellow and an fertility issues and August 2018 UAB and health disparities School of Nursing research. She is the PhD graduate. “Dr. editor of two oncology Meneses believed textbooks, “Nursing will live on in her students, Care in Radiaas evidenced by at the tion Oncology” and the number of her uab school of nursing.” “Contemporary Issues mentees who have in Breast Cancer.” gone on to successful -Dr. Doreen C. Harper, Dean research careers. I can She earned her bacheonly hope to be half lor’s degree in nursing the person and nurse scientist she was, but I from Georgetown University and her master’s also know she would never tell me to be like and doctoral degrees in nursing from Boston her. She always said, ‘Be the best you can be, College. She devoted herself to the nursing and do all things to be proud of yourself.’” profession for more than 40 years, from her first staff nurse position at George Washington University Medical Center, to her academic and Distinguished Nurse Leader clinical appointments at Boston College and the University of Central Florida, to her most recent Meneses was a member of various profespositions at the UAB School of Nursing and sional organizations including the Oncology across the University. Nursing Society, the American Nurses Association, the Alabama Nurses Association and In honor of Meneses’ passion for and contriSigma Theta Tau International, and was a butions to nursing science, memorial gifts may fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. be directed to the UAB School of Nursing She also was one of 12 inaugural Friends of c/o The Office of Development and Alumni the National Institute of Nursing Research Relations, 1720 2nd Avenue South, NB 385, Ambassadors. Birmingham, AL 35294-1210, or made online at www.uab.edu/nursing.

spirit

discovery

FALL 2018 / UAB NURSING

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BROCK, MACKAY FAMILIES TAKE UP THE MANTLE OF

Florence Nightingale Jane Brock extends family’s commitment to focus on improving health for vulnerable populations through endowed professorship, award fund WRITTEN BY BRETT BRALLEY AND JENNIFER LOLLAR // PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROB CULPEPPER, FRANK COUCH AND STEVE WOOD

F

lorence Nightingale is the founder of modern-day nursing and left countless gifts to nursing and health care.

Some of those gifts include 48 letters donated to UAB to establish the Reynolds Historical Library in 1958. These letters were written between 1853 and 1893 when Nightingale was between the ages of 33 and 73 — a time when not much is known about her life. They cover topics including

24

and Fay B. Ireland Endowed Chair in Nursing Doreen Harper, PhD, RN, FAAN, to publicly showcase the important work of Florence Nightingale and provide an effective teaching tool and catalyst for continued nursing and health care research.

hospitals, health care, nursing matters, sanitary conditions and charitable contributions, and include correspondence with renowned physician J. Gillham Hewlett, MD, a health officer and later a sanitary commissioner in India, and with Madame Julie Salis-Schwabe, with whom she discusses war-relief efforts and charitable contributions for the Franco-Prussian and Austro-Hungarian wars.

With gifts from Board of Visitors member Arlene Henley and the Delia and John Robert Charitable Trust, the School digitized, transcribed and published the letters online but did not have a permanent public forum until alumna Barrett Brock MacKay (MSN 1979), her husband, Rick, and her parents’ foundation — the Harry B. and Jane H. Brock Foundation — donated the lead gift to name the Barrett Brock MacKay Florence Nightingale Exhibit. This interactive exhibit on the first floor of the UAB School of Nursing showcases the letters and highlights Nightingale’s contributions to modern health care and evidence-based research.

These letters are at the heart of the Florence Nightingale Letters Initiative, a vision of UAB School of Nursing Dean

“These letters are a wonderful tool for inspiring students,” MacKay said. “They can teach students about critical thinking

UAB NURSING / FALL 2018


Gifts and show them how nursing is so fundamental to the quality of life and health in a country. Nursing was a true, true calling for Nightingale, and what she did a hundred years ago is still relevant today. She was brilliant.” In 2015, Rick and Barrett MacKay again partnered with her parents’ foundation to make another gift to name a dynamic new multi-purpose “gallery” on the light-filled main floor of the School’s expansion. The venue will serve as a hub for the School’s scholarly activity to document nursing history, showcase current global initiatives, and provide much-needed space for educational seminars, collaborations, lectures, dissertations and community gatherings. The MacKays hope the Rick M. and Barrett Brock MacKay Nightingale Scholars Gallery will inspire students and faculty to use nursing to make life better for people around the world. “We have seen how the Nightingale Letters have motivated students and faculty, and we wanted to do something even more impactful that could expand the reach of Florence Nightingale and her message, as well as that of one of the top nursing schools in the country,” MacKay said. Inspired by her daughter’s passion for nursing, the UAB School of Nursing and Florence Nightingale, Barrett MacKay’s mother, Jane Brock, has now made a personal gift to establish the Jane H. Brock-Florence Nightingale Endowed Professorship in Nursing and the Florence Nightingale Endowed Award for Scholarly Work. These endowments will help fulfill and sustain the vision of bringing Nightingale’s influence into all aspects of nursing education at UAB.

that will change everything

“Establishing the Jane H. Brock-Florence Nightingale Endowed Professorship in Nursing will assure that the Nightingale spirit lives on through the recruitment or retention of a faculty member who is a nationally-known expert and leader and who exhibits Nightingale-like qualities of scholarly work, partnership development and the tireless pursuit of improving the health care of “Establishing the vulnerable populations,” MacKay said. Harper said the support of the MacKay and Brock families has been central to the continued success and evolution of the Florence Nightingale Letters Initiative. “Not only does it help us continue to build on the legacy of Florence Nightingale’s contributions to nursing science and population and patient care, the endowed professorship and program support funds will continue to inspire and innovate the work our school continues to do to improve the health of the vulnerable population groups in Alabama and beyond — today and for generations to come.”

Jane H. BrockFlorence Nightingale Endowed Professorship in Nursing will assure that the Nightingale spirit lives on...” -Barrett Brock MacKay

“We will all, at some point in our lives, be recipients of nursing care,” Brock said. “Supporting this prestigious School of Nursing helps assure that the nursing care we receive will be of the highest quality.” The professorship will support faculty members whose leadership and work focuses on building clinical and educational partnerships to improve access to quality health care and ultimately, the health and quality of life for underserved, poor and vulnerable populations. The award fund will be used to provide pilot funding or other financial assistance to one or more faculty members and nursing students each year to advance their scholarly work, community outreach, clinical partnerships or participation in innovative learning opportunities. MacKay says that she and her mother have been inspired to give not only by Florence Nightingale’s contributions to nursing and public health, but also by Harper’s vision.

(Above) Barrett Brock MacKay (pictured with husband Rick) and her passion for nursing and the UAB School of Nursing inspired her mother Jane Brock to help bring Florence Nightingale and her lessons to life in the School. (Left) Faculty use the Nightingale Exhibit to teach students the timeless lessons learned from the founder of modern nursing.

FALL 2018 / UAB NURSING

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SCHOOL OF NURSING UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM

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+

LEADERS

TRANSFORMING HEALTH

YEARS

IN A NEW ERA 1 in 5 1 in 7 1 in 3 1 in 8

ACROSS ALL PROGRAMS BACHELOR’S

65

MASTER’S DOCTORAL

Source: American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)

+

FAANs

30

ALUMNI GLOBAL LEADERSHIP

as a PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center

+

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Providing students international educational, research and service opportunities

+

NURSING DIRECTORS

FAANPs

1 of 6

minority undergraduate nurses from UAB

44% graduate

prepared minority nurses in Alabama from UAB

(past & present)

ENDOWED CHAIRS

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PRESIDENTS/ CEOS

+

PRACTICE IMPACT

CHIEF NURSING OFFICERS & CHIEF NURSE EXECUTIVES

ALUMNI IN

50 states

COUNTRIES

W

ID

15

E

ALUMNI IN

D

W

9

16

+

+

L OR

COUNTIES WITH CLINICAL PRACTICE SITES


IN THEIR OWN WORDS AS TOLD BY SIRENA RABB, BSN UAB SCHOOL OF NURSING ALUMNA, 2018

This year, March 11-21 was a dream come true because that was when I became the first UAB School of Nursing student to serve with MedHope Africa.

I

have always had an interest in mission trips, specifically in Africa, and in late 2017 I learned about an opportunity to serve through one. My clinical instructor at the time, Deborah Bowers, DNP, DMin, MDiv, CRNP, FNP-C, and I were having a conversation about medical mission trips and serving globally. She told me about MedHope Africa, an organization she co-founded, and how she had an upcoming trip during Spring Break 2018 and wanted me to come. I was overwhelmed with joy, but when I realized I had to come up with thousands of dollars in a short amount of time I felt my dream slipping away. I casually brought up the trip to my mother, and she was electrified, stating, “You are going, no matter what it takes!” I started to make payments toward the trip on my own, but then I shared my story and information about this opportunity on social media. After that, friends and family members donated toward my trip and helped reach my goal. With that support, I felt a sense of exhilaration knowing that my dream of going to Africa would come true at the age of 22. The experience I gained in Uganda, Africa was refreshing. The culture, the people and the food were unique in a way that I can’t put it into words. The trip was a total of 10 days, with six of those dedicated to serving others. Over the course of those six days, we saw and treated more than 630 patients, which was astonishing to me. We traveled two hours each day by bus to the refugee camps, and on our first day, we were greeted by school children singing a welcome song in their language. That moment was something I could not prepare for, and it had me in tears. I got off the bus and was greeted by gentle hugs and cute smiles — that was the easy part of my day. The work was rewarding, but also mentally and physically exhausting.

This trip opened up new doors

for opportunity and revealed

my purpose in life.

Raab applied skills she learned at the UAB School of Nursing to help people in Uganda.

Our team included two nurse practitioners who diagnosed patients, and there was a station run by nurses for tests and procedures and a full pharmacy for filling prescriptions. I rotated between the pharmacy and the nurse’s station. In the pharmacy I perfected my medication dosage calculations, studied how to reconstitute medications and learned about new drugs I had not yet learned about in school. My favorite part, however, was the nurse station, where I sharpened my skills and learned new ones, such as malaria and HIV testing, giving injections, cleaning wounds, starting IVs and so much more. We worked sun up to sun down every day, which gave me a feeling of accomplishment knowing that we touched, served and helped many people. It was a rewarding and humbling experience, especially being a nursing student. The camps expanded my knowledge from Western medicine and a familiar clinic setting to real life and allowed me to learn how to be creative with how I did things. For example, when we administered an IV, there wasn’t an IV pump or pole to hang the bag of fluids, so we had to get crafty and bungee it from a tree. This “out of the box” thinking opened a new set of skills for me to bring back to America, and with the exceptional, hands-on education I have received at the UAB School of Nursing, I now feel like I am prepared for any type of situation. The UAB School of Nursing has equipped me with a strong skill set and background knowledge of diseases, community health challenges and how nurses can help decrease reoccurrence of hospital readmissions by educating patients on various subjects pertaining to their health. Through clinical experiences, the School of Nursing also afforded me paramount critical-thinking skills that allowed me to be able to move and perform effectively during the trip, and will serve me throughout my career. As a Summer 2018 graduate from the School of Nursing, I am starting my career as an Emergency Room Nurse. Prior to the trip I had no idea of what my future would hold or where God would take me in my journey of nursing. This trip opened up new doors for opportunity and revealed my purpose in life. I plan to get a Masters’ in Global Health and a Doctor of Nursing Practice as a family nurse practitioner with a subspeciality in Emergency Nursing, while filling my heart through medical mission trips and helping the underserved in our local communities. FALL 2018 / UAB NURSING

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NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

P A I D

NB 1017 1720 2ND AVENUE SOUTH BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA 35294-1210

PERMIT NO. 1256 BIRMINGHAM, AL

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

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INNOVATION & IMPACT Leadership across research, education and practice

2019 RANKING

U.S NEWS & WORLD REPORT

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2

NURSING ADMINISTRATION

GRADUATE PROGRAMS

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DOCTOR OF NURSING PRACTICE

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GRADUATE SPECIALTY PROGRAMS

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12

PEDIATRIC PRIMARY CARE NP

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CLINICAL NURSE LEADER

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15

ADULT/GERONTOLOGY, ACUTE CARE NP


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