LOYOLA NURSING
THE SPIRITUALITY OF NURSING
EDUCATING NURSES TO CARE FOR THE HUMAN BODY AND SPIRIT
ALSO INSIDE:
A DISTINCT APPROACH TO SIMULATION
LEADERS IN RESEARCH
OUR COMMITMENT TO HEALTH EQUITY
FROM THE DEAN
Lorna Finnegan, PhD, RN, FNP, FAAN
Seeking the greater good
AT THE MARCELLA NIEHOFF SCHOOL OF NURSING, we aspire to transform health care—a bold, ambitious goal prompted by our Jesuit social justice mission and one we have adopted as our guiding vision. Ignatian tradition calls us to care for the whole person, and our work extends far beyond our patients to impact families, communities, and entire systems.
In this issue of Loyola Nursing, we highlight the role spirituality and Jesuit values play in our school and nursing practice. These stories describe how undergraduates learn to emotionally connect with others by assisting pilgrims in Lourdes, France; how our simulation curriculum encourages students to incorporate the Jesuit practice of reflection in their clinical practice; and more.
The Loyola Nursing community is made up of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and supporters from many faiths and belief systems, and we acknowledge that spirituality means different things to different people. For me, spirituality encompasses our connection to others and to something bigger than ourselves. Seeing our students grow in their abilities and understanding of how deeply they can impact the world—their patients, families, and entire communities—gives me great joy.
I hope the following pages encourage you to reflect on our calling to magis, or striving for the greater good, and inspire pride in our many accomplishments as a school. Many thanks to all who continue to build the School of Nursing’s special community, and I invite everyone to celebrate with us throughout 2025 as we mark our 90th anniversary.
Warm regards,
Lorna Finnegan
Dean and Professor Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing
Ignatian tradition calls us to care for the whole person, and our work extends far beyond our patients.”
Celebrate the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing’s 90-year legacy of excellence with special events throughout 2025. Learn more at LUC.edu/LoyolaNursing90
NURSING
LOYOLA NURSING MAGAZINE is published annually for alumni and friends of the Loyola University Chicago Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Ashley Rowland
EDITOR
Tim Bannon
DESIGNER
Kate O’Neil
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Natalie Battaglia
Randy Belice
Lukas Keapproth
Erik Unger
Jan Terry
Joel Wintermantle
12
EXPERIENCING LOURDES
NURSING STUDENTS ASSIST AT ONE OF THE HOLIEST SITES IN CATHOLICISM, LEARNING HOW TO GO BEYOND PHYSICAL NEEDS AND PROVIDE SPIRITUAL CARE FOR THEIR FUTURE PATIENTS.
STIMULATING SIMULATION
LOYOLA NURSING FACULTY MEMBERS CREATE AN IMMERSIVE LAB EXPERIENCE THAT ADHERES TO THE TRADITIONAL JESUIT FOCUS ON REFLECTION AND DISCERNMENT.
DIFFERENCE MAKERS
LOYOLA'S DOCTOR OF NURSING PRACTICE DEGREE DEVELOPS GRADUATES WHO ARE PREPARED TO IMPROVE HEALTH CARE.
LIGHTING THE WAY
A RESEARCH HEALTH SCIENTIST AND NURSING PROFESSOR IS BUILDING A TOOL TO HELP VETERANS WITH SPINAL CORD INJURIES.
AN UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY
LOYOLA NURSING STUDENTS WITNESS TRAUMA AND HEALING IN EL SALVADOR.
CRITICAL THINKING
LAUREN R. SORCE, 2024 PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY OF CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE, DISCUSSES HER LOYOLA MEMORIES AND HER DEVOTION TO NURSING SCIENCE.
FORGING AHEAD
LAUNCHED IN 2021, THE CARE PATHWAY HAS MORE THAN TRIPLED IN SIZE WHILE DRAWING INCREASED DONOR SUPPORT. 6 16
COPY EDITOR
Evan Eckerstrom
CONTRIBUTORS
Emily Ayshford
Diane Dungey
Ted Gregory
ON THE COVER Pilgrims gather for the Rosary Procession in front of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France in May 2024. Loyola Nursing students traveled to Lourdes as part of the school's annual service immersion program.
Cover Photo: Lukas Keapproth
CONTACT US QUESTIONS, ADDRESS CHANGES, OR COMMENTS MAY BE EMAILED TO:
LOYOLA NURSING MAGAZINE schoolofnursing@LUC.edu
©2024 Loyola University Chicago
MAGIS
DOING MORE. DOING BETTER.
McNaughton named Student Nurse of the Year
MARTY MCNAUGHTON, BSN ’25, who founded a group that promotes health literacy, is the American Nurses Association–Illinois’s 2024 Student Nurse of the Year.
The award recognizes “an outstanding student nurse who exemplifies compassion, exceptional promise in clinical expertise, and academic achievement—the underpinnings of nursing excellence,” according to the ANA–Illinois.
The organization cited his leadership in launching Students for Health Literacy, dedicated to increasing health knowledge among Loyola University Chicago students, and his membership in Loyola Nursing’s Acute Care Nurse Scholars program, which educates nursing students to provide care in underserved areas.
McNaughton took part in the school’s 2024 service immersion trip to Lourdes, France, and will be the student leader for the 2025 trip.
Faculty members who nominated McNaughton described him as an exceptional nurse and a team player.
DNP student named Tillman Scholar
THE PAT TILLMAN FOUNDATION (PTF) named Currie Tighe, a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) student in the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, as a 2024 Tillman Scholar.
The PTF honors the service of former NFL player and U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman by investing in future leaders. Tighe was one of 60 active duty military, veterans, and spouses chosen from among 1,600 applicants for this year’s class.
Tighe served nearly a decade in the U.S. Army as an emergency room nurse and eventually helped train, grow, and develop the next generation of U.S. Army Nurse Corps officers as brigade nurse counselor for the 3rd Brigade Re-
serve Officers Training Corps. A retired captain, Tighe is pursuing his DNP through Loyola Nursing’s Family Nurse Practitioner track with Emergency specialty.
“I am deeply honored to be named a 2024 Tillman Scholar,” Tighe said. “It is a privilege to be part of this distinguished group of scholars and leaders who exemplify service and commitment to their communities. This scholarship supports my academic journey and my goal of making a meaningful impact in nursing and health care. I am inspired by Pat Tillman’s legacy and am committed to carrying forward his spirit of leadership and selfless service to others.”
Currie Tighe, DNP ‘25, shown here during a 2019 deployment to Syria, starts an IV on a child brought in by the Syrian Democratic Forces for treatment.
Loyola Nursing alumni awardees
Graduates honored for their distinguished careers
Conway-Phillips wins Spirit of Ignatius
Award
REGINA CONWAY-PHILLIPS received the 2024 Spirit of Ignatius Award, which honors an alum who best exemplifies cura personalis, or care for the whole person. She is a two-time graduate of the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing (MSN ’94, PhD ’11) and associate professor and chair of the health systems and adult health nursing department.
“I do not have the words to adequately express my enduring gratitude and appreciation for those who have contributed to my being here today to accept this award,” she said. “You have changed my life immeasurably. I love Loyola, its mission, vision, and values. Loyola has been good to me as a student and faculty. I thank God for my mentors, family, and Loyola.”
Conway-Phillips has dedicated her career to research aimed at reducing health disparities among Black women and has been recognized nationally for her work in diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice.
Collins wins Distinguished Alumni Award
EILEEN COLLINS, dean of the University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing, received the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award. Collins is a three-time graduate of the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing (BSN ’81, MSN ’86, and PhD ’94) and a committed teacher and mentor who personifies Loyola’s mission of care for the whole person.
“The values of compassion, integrity, service, and caring about social justice were instilled in me during my time at Loyola and they continue to guide my career,” Collins said.
She has been recognized internationally for her research into cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation interventions to improve quality of life for people with chronic illnesses, receiving more than $41 million in grants during her career.
“In accepting this award,” she added, “I am keenly aware of the responsibility that comes with it… to paying it forward by empowering others to reach their full potential.”
CARE Pathway student mentees and alumni mentors shared their experiences in a panel discussion at the event.
LoyolaLinked
CARE Pathway Mentorship honored
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO honored Alumni Relations and the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing for their partnership in expanding mentorships to the CARE (Collaboration, Access, Resources, and Equity) Pathway to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
They received the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion's 2024 Co-Conspirator Award, which recognizes collaboration on diversity, equity, and inclusion among teams from different Loyola units. The award highlighted their work on the LoyolaLinked CARE Pathway Mentorship program, which pairs CARE Pathway participants with alumni mentors.
The CARE Pathway provides academic, financial, and socio-emotional support to underrepresented nursing undergraduates.
Ofure Ogedegbe, BSN ’24, has a professional headshot taken at the LoyolaLinked Mentorship Summit at the Water Tower Campus in spring 2024.
PHOTO: NATALIE BATTAGLIA
The Lourdes
experience
For one week in May, nursing students assist at one of the holiest sites in Catholicism, learning how to provide spiritual care for their future patients— a mission tied to Loyola’s Jesuit focus on care for the whole person.
STORY BY ASHLEY ROWLAND
LUKAS KEAPPROTH
CCOLLEEN GROGAN, BSN ’24 , had just finished praying with visitors inside the gray stone baths of Lourdes, a small French town in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains, when a young Chinese couple came to her station.
At first they were calm, and it seemed like it would be a quick visit. Then the wife burst into tears. In halting English, the couple explained why they had come—to seek a miracle for their 2-year-old daughter, who was dying of cancer and was so sick she couldn’t make the trip.
Lourdes is one of the holiest sites in Catholicism. Each year, millions of people from around the world visit in search of physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. And for one week in May, students from the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing assist in their pilgrimage.
Grogan, then a senior, performed the sacred ritual the Chinese couple desperately hoped would cure their child. She poured
PHOTOS BY
spring water from a pitcher into their hands three times as she instructed them to wash their hands and face, and then to drink from their cupped palms.
The sobbing mother then pulled out her daughter’s clothes. In the little girl’s absence, she asked Grogan to pour water on them.
Silently, Grogan washed a tiny pink T-shirt and white pants and then prayed with the parents, crying with them. Despite their pain, she was struck by the visceral sense of release that enveloped the couple as they knelt in prayer before a small image of the Virgin Mary and performed the generations-old bathing ritual.
Grogan would never see the couple again or know what happened to their daughter. But she said that brief encounter—and hundreds of others like it at Lourdes—transformed her approach to nursing.
“I had a lot of doubt about wheth-
er nursing was the right career path, and Lourdes reminded me about the value of human connection and why I chose nursing to begin with,” said Grogan, who first took part in the annual service immersion trip in 2023. She returned in 2024, a week after graduating, as a student leader. “I feel more confident in who I am and in my nursing abilities.”
TEACHING SPIRITUAL CARE
The Lourdes experience is designed to teach nursing students how to go beyond physical needs and provide spiritual care for their future patients—a mission in keeping with the school’s Jesuit focus on cura personalis, or care for the whole person.
“Spiritual care is very difficult to teach someone,” said Associate Professor Ann Solari-Twadell, who leads the Loyola Nursing trip. “I could be lecturing in the classroom for six months and someone wouldn’t get
it. But if you’re in those baths for several hours, you understand. You experience people who are in pain, not just physically, but spiritually and psychologically. You see them experience the ritual, the value of prayer, and the relief they go through.”
Students do not provide medical treatment to pilgrims, nor are they required to be Catholic or hold any specific religious beliefs. They don’t have to believe that miracles happen at Lourdes. But faculty organizers say the experience of working in the baths prepares nursing students to better connect with vulnerable patients and address the full range of emotions—despair, hope, joy, and fear—they'll encounter in a hospital setting.
“They realize that when you have a patient in a bed, there’s so much more going on than the physical diagnosis,” said Solari-Twadell. “By the time students leave, they feel com-
Loyola Nursing faculty organizers say the experience of working in the baths prepares nursing students to better connect with vulnerable patients and address the range of emotions they'll encounter in a hospital setting.
fortable praying out loud with other people and in recognizing the spiritual and religious needs of people who are either sick or are experiencing loss or grief.”
‘AN ACT OF FAITH’
Surrounded by green peaks and overlooked by a medieval fortress, Lourdes is a world away from the high-rises and bustle of Chicago. The city center is a tangle of narrow streets lined with cafes and souvenir shops selling rosary beads, statues of the Virgin Mary, and plastic jugs that pilgrims fill with spring water and take home. Faded red lanes mark pathways for wheelchairs and stretchers carrying the sick and disabled from their hotels to the nearby cathedral and baths.
The cathedral was built on top of a grotto where, in 1858, teenager Bernadette Soubirous reported 18 visions of Mary and unearthed a spring whose
waters are believed to bring healing to the faithful.
Since then, the Catholic Church has documented 70 inexplicable cures among those who have drunk or bathed in the water, though Church officials insist the water is not blessed and has no unusual properties.
“There’s nothing special about the water,” said Solari-Twadell. “It’s the ritual. It’s the act of faith, and the water is symbolic of the belief that there’s a greater power that can heal you.”
Today, the town of 15,000 is a major Catholic pilgrimage site, welcoming nearly five million visitors each year. They seek healing, community, or simply a way to celebrate and express their faith.
Seventeen baths inside a long, low building are at the heart of the religious experience for pilgrims, some of whom are non-Catholics. Loyola
MEASURING THE IMPACT OF LOURDES
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR ANN SOLARI-TWADELL, leader of the Lourdes service immersion trip, launched a research project this fall to assess whether serving in the baths has a lasting impact on Loyola Nursing student participants.
The project builds on her research from nearly a decade ago that showed students who volunteered at Lourdes had higher levels of spiritual well-being in the months after their service.
“This trip is intended to have a transformative effect and it’s important to know what that transformation entails,” Solari-Twadell said. “What do they remember from the service immersion and what do they use today from that experience that supports them in their well-being and their nursing practice? How can we help them extend that?”
Loyola’s Joan and Bill Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage funded both research projects.
Mary Kate Lunt (right), BSN '25, assists a visitor with the bathing ritual. In 1858, Bernadette Soubirous reported visions of the Virgin Mary and unearthed a spring whose waters are believed to bring healing to the faithful.
I had a lot of doubt about whether nursing was the right career path, and Lourdes reminded me about the value of human connection and why I chose nursing to begin with.”
—COLLEEN GROGAN, BSN ’24
Nursing students spend several hours a day there during their week in Lourdes, assisting the steady stream of visitors with the simple gestures of the bathing ritual, which prior to the coronavirus pandemic was performed through immersion in a tub.
“Being here, you can just feel the holiness,” said junior Judy Carbajal, BSN ’26, one of seven students on the trip. “There’s a profound sense of peace, and I get so much joy from being able to go into the baths and help people. I love smiling at them, knowing we have this mutual belief in something that may help them physically or spiritually in their journey.”
LOYOLA’S FIRST TRIP
The trip got its start some 15 years ago when Fr. Michael Garanzini, S.J., former president of Loyola University Chicago, traveled to Lourdes. He remembers watching pilgrims gather for a photo in the giant piazza in front of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes and being moved as volunteer nurses assisted the gravely ill.
“I was so impressed with this, and over the next few days one thing that became clear to me was that none of the nurses had any tools but themselves,” he said. “They weren’t using
technology. It was all about the connection between the health provider and the sick.”
Inspired by the nurses, Loyola launched the School of Nursing’s first Lourdes trip in 2009. Nearly 130 students have since taken part in the program, which aims to put the Jesuit ideal of educating the whole person into practice.
“Educating the whole person isn’t just about the skills you learn,” said Garanzini, now president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. “It’s really about whether you have a conversion of the heart and whether you’re going to be a person for others.”
Jorgia Connor, an associate professor who co-leads the trip, said everything students do in the baths is directly applicable to nursing.
“The students aren’t starting IVs at Lourdes, but what they’re doing is welcoming people into a space that’s unknown to them,” she said. “These pilgrims are vulnerable, and our students are trying to minister to them and make them comfortable.”
During their week in the baths, nursing students learn to quickly assess the needs of those they serve and gain their trust, despite significant
Surrounded by green peaks and overlooked by a medieval fortress, Lourdes is a world away from the high-rises and bustle of Chicago. The town of 15,000 is a major Catholic pilgrimage site, welcoming nearly five million visitors each year.
language and cultural differences.
Faculty leaders challenge them to think about how to put those skills into action in their nursing practice.
“We talk about how to open up the conversation, how to let patients know it’s okay for them to talk about their faith during their most susceptible times,” Connor said.
In 2024, several faculty volunteered at the baths for a week following the student trip, the first time a Loyola Nursing faculty group has done so.
Clinical Assistant Professor Patricia Stapleton said going to Lourdes deepened her faith. She described the trip as an eye-opening experience for student nurses, giving them a glimpse of how people cope with illness and chronic conditions in their daily lives and find joy amidst tragedy.
Students, she added, learn to respect patients’ differing religious beliefs and support them in practicing their faith whether that means praying with them or simply listening.
“A lot of our undergraduate nurses are focused on how to get their patients better, and rightfully so,” she said. “They’re very task-oriented and focused on the clinical aspects of their work. This trip helps them understand, as they mature in their skills, how they can focus on the whole person and provide spiritual care in addition to great clinical care.”
THE LESSONS OF LOURDES
Students describe the trip as spiritually meaningful and even life-changing.
“People yearn for healing and for some connection with God, and being the channel of that has been a very beautiful experience,” said Ronald Chauca, BSN ’24, who planned to start his first job in the burn unit at Loyola University Medical Center.
Grogan, who plans to start her career in a Chicago intensive care unit, said Lourdes taught her the value of being present with her patients.
“I learned that just sitting there and being silent is sometimes the best thing you can do for someone, and that has translated so much into my nursing care,” she said. “It’s the small things you do, like holding someone’s hand, that make such a difference.” L
‘I feel closer to Ignatius than I ever have’
INSIDE THE WOOD-BEAMED chapel of a medieval castle, Fr. Jason Brauninger, S.J., led a dozen Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing faculty, students, and new graduates in a solemn Mass that held special meaning for the group.
Now called the Chapel of the Conversion, this room was where Ignatius of Loyola—founder of the Jesuit order and namesake of Loyola University Chicago— recovered from a war injury more than 500 years ago and committed himself to a life of service to God.
“My hope is that being here will help the students and faculty be more connected to our Jesuit mission and gain a better understanding of the life of St. Ignatius,” said Brauninger, a clinical assistant professor and family and emergency nurse practitioner. “I hope this helps them embrace the Jesuit ideals of service, leadership, and justice in their own lives.”
The religious ceremony was the culmination of Loyola Nursing’s weeklong service immersion trip to Lourdes, France, where students assisted pilgrims at a major Catholic shrine in a ritual for those seeking healing. On their final day, the group traveled two hours to Spain to visit the stone fortress where Ignatius was born and went through many of the formative experiences that led to his religious transformation.
in his nursing practice. “I’m asking St. Ignatius to pray for me, that the power of his conversion and renewal may become concrete in my own spiritual life and practice as a nurse.”
For students and faculty, the visit humanized a distant historical figure.
“I feel closer to Ignatius than I ever have,” said Mary Heinz, clinical assistant professor. “Being here, you realize that we all have the potential to learn from our experiences and our suffering and, like Ignatius, draw closer to God. We’re inspired to become the best version of ourselves.”
Marty McNaughton, BSN ’25, noted that “religious figures almost seem untouchable, but to be where they once were makes you realize they were people, too. To be where Ignatius once was is almost a spiritual experience in and of itself, and it’s amazing to see the impact someone can have for so long.”
Nikolina Vujcic, BSN ’24, graduated with four years’ worth of memories from being part of the Rambler cheerleading squad. But at the start of her undergraduate career, she knew little about the Jesuit values underpinning the University.
The Mass was especially moving for Ronald Chauca, BSN ’24, who also holds a theology degree and once considered entering the priesthood.
“Seeing the origins of my Jesuit education—it all stemmed from this room, this time, this conversion,” he said, adding that he hopes to apply the saint’s example of renewal and commitment to learning
“When I made the cheer team, part of that training was understanding the background of Loyola, understanding St. Ignatius, and understanding what the wolf and kettle meant,” she says, referring to the Loyola family crest that today is part of the University’s emblem.
For Vujcic, seeing the same crest she saw daily in Rogers Park on the other side of the world was inspiring.
“To finish my college career in the place where it all started is really a full circle moment,” she said. L
Faculty members incorporate Ignatian values into their questioning as they present students with different scenarios about patient care, then ask: “What would Wolfie do?”
During a simulation debriefing,
a
a miniature stuffed LU Wolf reminds students in
playful way of the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing’s Jesuit-centered approach to patient care.
approach mindful Taking a
Loyola Nursing creates a distinctive simulation experience that adheres to the Jesuit tradition of cura personalis
STORY BY TED GREGORY • PHOTOS BY LUKAS KEAPPROTH
IIT’S A FAMILIAR SIGHT as Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing undergraduates prepare for a day of simulations at the Lake Shore and Health Sciences campuses.
A stuffed toy wolf—LU Wolf, the Loyola University Chicago mascot—sits on a conference room table, surrounded by students and an instructor who will lead them through training that closely resembles authentic patient care. Known as simulation, the immersive lab experience utilizes sophisticated mannequins—known as manikins within nursing—some of which talk, show emotion, and present other patient traits. The school also incorporates virtual reality and human actors called standardized patients. The simulation curriculum allows students to apply and practice concepts and skills in a safe space before taking those skills to real-world environments.
Each LU Wolf—nicknamed “Wolfie” in the simulation lab—serves a unique purpose. They remind the students in a playful but effective way of Loyola Nursing’s Jesuit-centered approach to patient care. Cura personalis, caring for the whole person, is a key element of the University’s Jesuit philosophy.
The simulation lab is one way Loyola Nursing transforms that philosophy into action.
AN IGNATIAN APPROACH
When Associate Professor Carol Kostovich, assistant dean of innovative educational strategies and simulation, started leading the program in 2014, it lacked a standardized debriefing model. She looked for one that included Jesuit values and didn’t find any.
So she and other simulation faculty created one. Their I-HEART model provides a structured framework to encourage students to think deeply about their simulation experience, in keeping with the traditional Jesuit focus on reflection and discernment:
I Introduction
H How do you feel?
E Engaging the human spirit
A Acknowledge priorities of care
R Reflection on learning outcomes
T Takeaways
Throughout the seven-hour day in the simulation lab, faculty members incorporate I-HEART into their questioning as they present students with
Courtney McHargue, BSN ’24, and Julia Jarmolinski, BSN ’24, both students in the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing track, rehearse a labor and delivery scenario at the simulation lab at the Health Sciences Campus.
different scenarios about patient care, then ask, “What would Wolfie do?”
It’s another way of posing the question: What would a Loyola nurse grounded in Jesuit values do?
To start the day, one student reads aloud the Legend of the Wolf and Kettle, the story behind St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order. According to legend, his prosperous family generously fed others outside the household, even the local wild animals.
The instructor then leads a discussion about how the story relates to patient care and Loyola’s social justice mission. Those lessons about Ignatian spirituality are woven throughout the day, including in debriefings held several times throughout a simulation session: how to strive for more while serving others, and how to recognize the impact of social injustices on patient health.
MAKING A CONNECTION
The Jesuit-centered approach aligns with Loyola Nursing’s focus on “presence,” in which a nurse makes an interpersonal connection with the patient. During simulation, particularly in debriefings, students and
professors often discuss how nurses demonstrate presence with a patient, Kostovich said.
“We talk a lot about story and what the patient’s story is,” she said. “What did the patient tell you and how does that impact the plan of care that you’ll develop for the patient?”
Those lessons in connecting with the patient remain with students long after they graduate.
“It definitely reminds me to care for the whole person,” said Eric Juds, a 2021 Loyola Nursing graduate who works as an emergency room nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. “We deal with a lot of high emotions in the emergency department—with patients, with family members. The cura personalis that they really emphasize at Loyola just reinforces in me that the patient you’re treating is not just a number on a board.”
JESUIT VALUES IN ACTION
Qualitative research that Kostovich and a colleague conducted with junior-level students shows they absorb Jesuit values in the sim lab.
“At first I was nervous because I felt I had to say something,” wrote a student about interacting with a particu-
lar patient during their clinical experience, “but then I remembered back to simulation and thought about the power of listening, and I felt special that someone would trust me with so much information.”
As part of that research, Kostovich asked students to share examples of when they were present with their patients or when they witnessed a nurse be present with a patient. It has brought out compelling moments.
One student simply stayed to watch The Price Is Right TV show with a lonely patient; one listened intently while a patient shared an emotional story that caused him great pain; another walked into a hospital room where a patient was receiving last rites and prayed with the patient and her son.
“They gave phenomenal examples that really brought me to tears,” Kostovich recalled. “They get it. They understand how to be present. I know our students are doing it.”
Absorbing Jesuit values in simulation and throughout their nursing education will serve those students well throughout their careers, added Clinical Assistant Professor Joanne Dunderdale, part of the team that developed I-HEART.
“You can pass all the tests in the world, but at the end of the day, you’re really caring for someone in their most vulnerable, fearful, private time,” she said. “They’re not just the gallbladder in Room 24. Infusing those Jesuit values will always bring you back to: You’re not just treating the disease process. You’re treating the whole person. They have so much more to inform us of who they are and that will help them to heal.”
Another member of the simulation faculty, Clinical Assistant Professor Nancy Raschke-Deischstetter, said those values matter to patients.
“Patients can sense if you’re genuine. They might not remember the nurse’s name or what the nurse did to make their physical health improve, but I think they will always remember how the nurse made them feel,” she said. “When you carry those Jesuit values with you in nursing, it goes a long way toward promoting positive health outcomes.” L
DEI toolkit leads nation in inclusive sim education
IN RECENT YEARS, as diversity, equity, and inclusion gained traction in public and private institutions, Associate Professor Carol Kostovich began giving more serious thought to building a structured, comprehensive DEI approach in simulation at the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing.
So, she applied for and received a prestigious $25,000 grant—one of only two awarded in 2022 by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Foundation for Academic Nursing’s Faculty Scholars Grant Program. A few months later, Kostovich, who oversees simulation at Loyola Nursing, began incorporating changes to the program.
The changes led to the launch of a DEI toolkit for simulation that can be used by U.S. nursing schools.
The goal is to share the DEI toolkit, which supports faculty members as they design simulated experiences for students to care for diverse populations, nationally and internationally.
For years, Loyola Nursing has educated students to embrace patient diversity and determine if all patients are receiving equitable and inclusive care, Clinical Assistant Professor Joanne Dunderdale said.
“It’s a natural thing to talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion in our nursing program,” she said. “However, as we analyzed our simulations, we found that we lacked some diversity, that we needed to include more people and more stories, all while not stereotyping. That can be a really tough line to walk but we’re using so many resources to get it right.”
Kostovich said the DEI simulation
Remi Taylor, BSN '24 and a student in the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing track, listens to a manikin's chest in the simulation lab at the Health Sciences Campus.
toolkit considers different identity factors and “every type of diversity that our patients could present to us” that would affect a patient’s care plan. Those include language, cultural background, race, sexual orientation, health literacy, relationship status, spiritual beliefs, occupation, education, and housing.
“We talk about acknowledging those faith traditions,” she said, “and supporting a patient on their health care journey within those faith traditions that they believe.”
BROADENING THE SIM
EXPERIENCE
Loyola’s simulation program already has changed as a result of the grant. New resources include manikins with a range of skin tones, along with props, clothing, and scripts to add realism to the patient’s story. Video
recordings of subject matter experts sharing their stories help students understand how identity factors impact a patient’s health and health care decisions.
Among those are interviews with a Native American patient and the parent of a child with a neurodivergent disorder about their experiences in the health care system. The school has also brought in experts in neurodivergent disorders and LGBTQ+ populations to enhance the knowledge of simulation faculty.
“All of our simulations include DEI elements and play a part in having our nursing students dig a little bit deeper into their own persona of why they chose Loyola and are becoming a Loyola nurse,” Dunderdale said. “And, to me, that’s what defines a Loyola nurse.”
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR CAROL KOSTOVICH, WHO HEADS SIMULATION EDUCATION AT THE MARCELLA NIEHOFF SCHOOL OF NURSING, WAS INDUCTED IN SEPTEMBER AS A FELLOW OF THE NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR NURSING’S ACADEMY OF NURSING EDUCATION.
Change agents
Doctor of Nursing Practice degree develops graduates prepared to improve health care
STORY BY TIM BANNON • PHOTOS BY ERIK UNGER
IIN HER 12TH YEAR as a registered nurse at Loyola University Medical Center, Erica Dixon-Johnson decided to take her career to another level.
She started the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program to become a nurse practitioner while continuing her nursing work.
The DNP program, she said, added a “dimension and depth for really looking at how the health care system is structured at the policy level.”
“We’re leveraging that knowledge to help our patients,” she said, “focusing on the quality improvements through our DNP projects to take our knowledge as nurse practitioners and to utilize the evidence to affect change.”
Dixon-Johnson graduated and got her Advanced Practice Registered Nurse license this year. She is one of six inaugural graduates from Loyola’s DNP nurse practitioner program.
Loyola began its post-masters DNP program in 2009 and in 2021 moved its nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist tracks to the DNP degree.
Its curriculum integrates advanced nursing practice, leadership, systems thinking, analytic and information management strategies, quality and safety, health policy, and health care economics and finance.
The goal is to prepare nurses to assume advanced roles in direct care and leadership at the highest level of nursing to improve health care outcomes through practice-based scholarship. This “systems-level” preparation extends from the individual patient to the health care facility to the political and economic environment.
The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) has led the vision of DNP-prepared nurse practitioners as a solution to
Loyola is invested in making you a great nurse practitioner. The intangibles of the support offered by the faculty are second to none. The mentorship and support to be a successful DNP student and future nurse practitioner are beyond measure.”
ERICA DIXON-JOHNSON, DNP GRADUATE, INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASE NURSE COORDINATOR AT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
“I want to take a leadership role to help make changes,” said Erica Dixon-Johnson. “The education I received in the DNP program gave me tools and resources to do that."
an increasingly complex health care system.
“The master's degree is no longer adequate because of the complexity of health care,” said Dean Lorna Finnegan. “The graduates need to know not only what they see in each individual patient, but they also need to know systems-level thinking, quality, and safety.”
Finnegan, the past president of NONPF, gave an example of a nurse practitioner who sees several patients with diabetes.
“Rather than only thinking of them individually, you might ask if these people live in a neighborhood that’s underresourced and without access to good food, fresh fruits, and vegeta-
bles,” Finnegan said. “You can think about how you can make an impact on that neighborhood and work with the community to affect change.”
The DNP curriculum develops advanced practice nurses who are experts in systems-level thinking and are change agents for health care system improvements.
The number of DNP programs continues to grow rapidly. In 2013, there were 247 programs nationwide, a number that jumped to 421 in 2023, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN).
Since the AACN called for moving the level of preparation necessary for advanced nursing practice roles from the master's degree to the doctorate
level, more than 73,000 students have graduated with a DNP degree, according to the organization.
LOYOLA’S PROGRAM CONTINUES TO GROW AT A HEALTHY CLIP
“Loyola’s faculty and program track directors are what makes this program stand out,” said DNP graduate Melissa Burke. “They embody a clear sense of dedication for the advancement of the nursing profession and the growth of each individual student. From the very first day through graduation and beyond, it is evident that the faculty is there to support you and is invested in your success.”
What also sets Loyola’s program apart is how it incorporates Jesuit values.
“Nursing is a sacred honor and a spiritual endeavor,” Dixon-Johnson said. “A Loyola education underscores that. This degree allows me to make a greater impact on our patients’ lives.”
“Loyola's strength is that it focuses on caring for the whole person— cura personalis,” said DNP graduate Teresa Seymour. “Learning how to treat the human spirit was very evident in my coursework, and I am grateful for that.”
With her DNP degree, Dixon-Johnson plans to work with patients with advanced lung disease with a goal of eventually working in the Veterans Administration.
“Most of us take breathing for granted,” she said. “There are over 200 lung diseases. People experience them for all different kinds of reasons. Sometimes it’s related to smoking. Sometimes it’s related to occupational work.
“For some people, it’s genetic. Sometimes we don’t know the cause. And so we can help them navigate that to the best of our ability, to give them the best possible quality of life.”
On a systems level, she noted that access to supplemental oxygen remains a serious issue—as well as how much Medicare and Medicaid reimburse patients. “I want to take a leadership role to help make changes,” she said. “The education I received in the DNP program gave me tools and resources to do that.” L
Spirituality is ‘part of nursing and it’s part of palliative care’
MICHELE V. SHAAR is a palliative care nurse practitioner at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois. She is also a DNP student at Loyola, planning to graduate in 2025. Shaar discussed the role of spirituality in her job.
How has spirituality guided your career? Spirituality has always been important to me. I always felt a deep connection to God. It gives me peace and keeps me on solid ground.
How does your faith influence your nursing? I am Muslim, and Islam is very much like Christianity with a strong emphasis on caring for the sick and supporting those in need. I’m very respectful of people of differing faiths. I try to be very inclusive and very open. I’m not there to preach my religion nor would I want to. I know how important their faith is to them.
What drew you to palliative care?
I started out working in a skilled nursing facility. Then after I became a nurse practitioner, I joined a private practice and we would see patients who were recently discharged from the hospital. These patients were still very sick, trying to do whatever they could to get better. I found myself having lots of deep conversations with patients and families, and spirituality came up many times. I’m good at this and it fulfills me. I’m helping patients at the end of their lives.
When you see spiritual distress in your patients and families, how does that play out, and how are you able to ease that? I spend a lot of time with my patients and so I see the spiritual distress. I ask if faith is something important to them. We also have tools that we can use to assess spiritual
distress or spiritual needs.
I feel most fulfilled when I can really sit down with patients and families and talk about what was going on and discuss options of care. If things truly weren’t going to get better, there were other options. We could talk about comfort care or less aggressive measures.
How can nurses better serve patients and families who are dealing with advanced illness or end-of-life situations? When I started my role in palliative care, I wasn’t comfortable discussing spirituality because I didn’t want to overstep anything. But it is part of nursing and it’s part of palliative care.
Even though we’re very busy, it’s a part of our job to spend more time with these patients and their families and to have difficult conversations. It is one of the most important things on patients’ minds. The fact that they are leaving this world and what that means for them. If we can just listen to patients, that’s important. I hope that in the future, nurses can be better prepared to help patients spiritually. L
Meet more of our graduates
Members from our inaugural DNP nurse practitioner cohort reflect on how the program prepared them for success.
“LOYOLA'S PROGRAM IS very rigorous and you must be fully committed to achieving this terminal degree if you are to enroll. It is important you have the time and attention to dedicate to this program since there are many hours needed for attaining 1,000-plus clinical hours, 150-plus project hours, and countless hours studying.”
Teresa Seymour, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
“LOYOLA'S PROGRAM HELPED further shape my critical analysis skills as a health care provider as well as when reviewing research. I feel more confident assessing the validity and reliability of data in order to provide care that is safe, effective, and evidence based. I would love to publish my manuscript from my DNP project and get involved in local and national mental health advocacy groups.”
Sara Pustai, University of Chicago Medical Center
“IT’S EASY TO feel overwhelmed by the enormity and complexity of the health care system and to feel powerless when it comes to implementing change. Loyola’s DNP program provided me with the tools to identify gaps in care, to develop possible solutions, to gain support from colleagues and administrators, and to turn evidence into action.”
Melissa Burke, in a cardiology practice
‘She lights the way’
Building a tool to help veterans with spinal cord injuries
STORY BY TIM BANNON
KKEITH AGUINA, WHO SUFFERED a spinal cord injury in 1981, serves on the veteran engagement panel at Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital and has worked with Lisa Burkhart for 10 years.
“She sees a problem and figures out a way to fix it,” said Aguina, an Army vet. “She’s given me and many others at the VA a lot more information about ways to improve our lives.
“She lights the way. And she has the heart of an angel.”
As a research health scientist in the VA’s Center of Innovation for Complex Chronic Healthcare and as a professor at the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, Burkhart’s expertise is in health systems research, mixed methods, interprofessional collaborative practice, and patient-centered care.
As part of her joint appointment
with Hines, Burkhart recently completed a study as principal investigator to develop a tool to prevent community-acquired pressure injuries in veterans living with spinal cord injury (SCI) for use in ambulatory care, called the Community-Acquired Pressure Injury Prevention-Field Implementation Tool (CAPP-FIT).
This summer, thanks to a $1.6 million grant, she began a four-year research study to assess implementation of that tool at seven VA sites across the country.
“As a nurse, I understand clinic workflow and community health challenges,”
Above: Lisa Burkhart and Keith Aguina at the Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital. “The beauty of what I try to do is build bridges between entities to maximize wins,” Burkhart said. “I love win-wins.”
PHOTO BY ERIK UNGER
she said. “It is so important to create positive, collaborative environments to integrate the CAPP-FIT into clinical practice with provider input while adapting the tool to meet veteran need. Process is as important as outcome.”
Burkhart’s early work focused on bridging gaps between spirituality and informatics to measure the effect of the spiritual dimension of care on patient outcomes, particularly using the electronic health record (EHR).
“Spirituality is not a piece of a human being but a reflection of our humanness,” she said. “It is the dimension that unites physical, psychological, and social dimensions.”
The first step was to integrate whole person terms in standardized health terminologies into the EHR.
Specifically, she authored NANDA International diagnoses related to spirituality, religiosity, and moral distress and further developed Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) and Nursing Outcomes Classification (NOC) terms related to spirituality and religiosity.
BUILDING BRIDGES
She mapped narrative parish nurse documentation into the NIC system to determine how well the NIC captured a spiritually focused, community-based nursing practice.
“The beauty of what I try to do is build bridges between entities to maximize wins,” Burkhart said. “I love win-wins.”
Burkhart also led an interprofessional team to create spiritual care documentation for chaplains, nurses, and physicians in the Epic electronic health record at Loyola University Health System.
That is now part of the Epic product and communicates patient spiritual distress among nurses, chaplains, and physicians. This helps integrate spiritual care in health care using the EHR.
Her research trajectory expanded to veteran health care, in particular preventive care in veterans living with spinal cord injury, which is a permanent condition affecting every aspect of life including health, daily
Spirituality is not a piece of a human being but a reflection of our humanness. It is the dimension that unites physical, psychological, and social dimensions.”
LISA BURKHART
activities, participation, and quality of life. SCI is among the most complex, chronic conditions, costing the VA an estimated $2 billion annually.
“It’s a horrible thing to endure,” Burkhart said. “And it’s expensive.”
People with SCI are at high risk of pressure injury, also known as pressure ulcers or bedsores, due to loss of sensation, motor denervation, and immobility. They can occur when too much pressure, friction, and shear is applied to the skin, reducing blood flow and damaging the skin and underlying tissue.
“These injuries can be devastating,” she said. “Once you have a pressure injury it becomes a hot spot, and it can recur for years.”
VALUABLE TOOL
The CAPP-FIT tool is a veteran survey available as an email link to assess a patient’s risks, issues at home, equipment needs, and other vital factors. Results of this survey appear on a provider report highlighting individualized preventive care needs, with recommended actions immediately available to the nurse and primary care provider during a clinic visit.
That information is then integrat-
ed into a systematic, primary prevention, and evidence-based strategy in SCI clinics that can prevent devastating and costly injuries.
“Things happen really fast with these patients, so it’s important that we try to catch some of these issues early,” she said.
For Burkhart, working with veterans has been a remarkable experience.
“Veterans are very cool people with strong work ethics, and very dedicated,” she said. “The population is amazing and resilient. It gives me goosebumps thinking about how resilient they are.”
The VA provides care to more than 27,000 veterans with SCIs, making it the largest health care system in the world providing lifelong spinal cord care.
“The VA has strength in its research,” said Lorna Finnegan, dean of Loyola Nursing. “And it’s an opportunity for us to partner with them and for our faculty to conduct research there.
“It’s important to us because our students get clinical experiences at the VA and many of the patients there have complicated illnesses, and it’s right there in our backyard. The VA is a great system to work in.”
Burkhart also serves on the Nursing Research Field Advisory Committee for the VA Office of Nursing Services to facilitate mentoring, education, and policy at the national level for nurse researchers.
“Throughout this journey, it is so critical to not only receive mentoring, but to also mentor those who continue to expand knowledge through research and translate that research into practice toward improving the health of our people,” she said.
In 2022, Burkhart won Loyola’s Faculty Member of the Year Award.
Burkhart said what guides her as she moves forward is her commitment to spiritual care, and the whole person mission that unites physical, psychological, and social dimensions.
“My passion is preventative care in the community, empowering people to embrace their own care,” she said. “And to live healthy lives.” L
Solving the puzzle of preterm birth among Black women
STORY BY EMILY AYSHFORD
Findingpathway a
AS A LABOR and delivery nurse at DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit, Alexandra Nowak saw her share of pregnancy complications.
But none stuck with her as much as preterm births—births that happen before the 37th week of pregnancy. When born prematurely, babies run a higher risk of suffering immediate complications, such as breathing and heart problems, as well as long-lasting effects, including cerebral palsy and developmental delays.
And while preterm births happen across populations, Nowak noticed a puzzling trend. “I saw a lot of preterm births among Black women,” said Nowak. “And I began to wonder why these rates are so high for Black women, and whether their neighborhood environment has anything to do with it.”
In fact, Black women have 1.5 times greater risk of a preterm birth than non-Hispanic white women, an inequity that can’t be fully explained by socioeconomic status or poor physical health alone.
Preterm birth remains one of the leading causes of death for infants, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To find out more, Nowak became a research nurse in the Pregnancy and Perinatology Branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Intrigued, she pursued her PhD, where she studied potential preterm birth factors, including neighborhood disadvantage and psychological stress.
But finding the biological pathways that underlie preterm birth remained the ultimate goal.
Now, as an assistant professor at the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing and armed with a prestigious $473,000 mentored career development award (K23) from the NIH National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Nowak will study how environmental factors interact with genetic processes, with the hope of finding those pathways. She received the award in spring 2024.
“Dr. Nowak’s research on stress and preterm birth in Black women
will change the lives of mothers, babies, and families,” said Dean Lorna Finnegan.
FINDING THE RIGHT PATHWAY
At the heart of Nowak’s research is the idea that preterm birth is a complex interplay between our genes and the environment. DNA methylation, which regulates gene expression, can be influenced by environmental factors such as stress, diet, and exposure to chemicals. But other genetic factors, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)—variations in our gene sequences—are not affected by the environment.
Previous studies have shown that women who experience preterm birth have certain SNPs and DNA methylation associations, but Nowak will take this research a step further by integrating that data with measures of environmental impact.
Her hypothesis: that neighborhood disadvantage and psychological stress foster DNA methylation in genes that regulate certain stress hormones. This, combined with SNPs, forms a specific biological pathway that alters the inflammatory balance in pregnant women, leading to preterm birth in Black women.
Nowak hopes to have results within the next two years, then plans to use them to apply for a NIH R01 grant to further her research. If a pathway for preterm birth is identified, it will open the door for potential interventions that could eliminate it altogether.
“I’m motivated to try to find out why this is happening and make some changes to help,” she said. L
I advocate for those families that are understudied and underserved in our clinical research and health care systems.”
MONIQUE RIDOSH
Career triumph
Nurse scientist studying quality of life for spina bifida patients named AAN fellow, one of the highest honors in nursing •
STORY BY ASHLEY ROWLAND
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR Monique Ridosh, whose research advances the science of self-management and quality of life in families living with spina bifida, was inducted this fall into the prestigious American Academy of Nursing (AAN).
Fellows are selected for membership in the AAN through a competitive peer review process, and induction is a significant career milestone.
“Becoming an AAN fellow is one of the highest honors in nursing,” said Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing Dean Lorna Finnegan. “Having Dr. Ridosh join this organization reflects the caliber of our faculty, and we are honored to have her represent Loyola Nursing.”
The AAN is a policy organization and honorific society composed of more than 3,000 fellows who hold roles in policy, research, practice, administration, and academia. According to the AAN, fellows collectively contribute their expertise to improv-
ing health and health equity through policy impact.
IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE
Ridosh seeks to understand why some children with spina bifida are better able to independently manage their condition than others, and to develop novel family-centric models of care that improve well-being for patients and their families.
Approximately one in 2,875 babies in the United States is born each year with spina bifida, requiring lifelong care to manage their condition. Ridosh’s research, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), emphasizes the importance of assessing depressive symptoms, quality of life for patients and their families, and self-management.
Ridosh, who came to Loyola Nursing in 2007 and recently completed a prestigious three-year NIH career development award, noted that people who identify as Hispanic or Latino are
disproportionately impacted by unexplained high rates of spina bifida. Her research has shown differences in self-management related to family relationships and the role of an engaged family as central to quality of life.
“My research advances the health of diverse communities of children and families living with chronic conditions and disabilities,” she said. “I advocate for families that are understudied and underserved in our clinical research and health care systems.”
Finnegan noted that Ridosh’s research, service, and advocacy have been extended to those living with diabetes and have generated new insights within nursing for the disability community nationally and globally.
“Even as her work is having an extraordinary impact on the lives of children and families living with spina bifida, she is a voice for health equity by advocating for people of all communities to be included in nursing research,” she said. L
Paradigm shifts
Showcase heralds Loyola Nursing's growing research program
AAN INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN advocate for evidence-based practice (EBP) in nursing told scientists at the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing’s annual research showcase that their work is critical to supporting the profession and improving patient outcomes.
“Paradigm shifts take a long time to happen, but where we have gaps in our practice—that’s where we need to go to the researchers and say, help us generate this evidence,” said Bernadette Melnyk, a health, wellness, and nursing leader at The Ohio State University and keynote speaker at the 2024 Ruth K. Palmer Research Symposium.
The annual event promotes nursing science and spotlights the work of Loyola Nursing’s growing research program, which has hired five tenure
track faculty in the last two years and is increasingly competitive for prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding.
At this year’s Palmer Symposium, held April 5 at Loyola University Chicago’s Center for Translational Research, Melnyk spoke on the importance of addressing mental health and transforming the nation’s health care system by preventing chronic illnesses.
Much of her speech focused on EBP, the practice of treating patients based on current scientific research instead of relying on tradition. She described EBP as a “problem-solving approach” that needs more nurse scientists capable of doing rigorous clinical trials to generate evidence.
She encouraged young researchers to think early about scalability and
the business side of disseminating their interventions: “Most people who develop evidence-based programs never see them implemented.”
Melnyk is vice president for health promotion and chief wellness officer at Ohio State, where she is the Helene Fuld Health Trust Professor of Evidence-based Practice at the College of Nursing. She previously held a dual role as the school’s dean and Ohio State’s chief wellness officer.
Loyola Nursing Dean Lorna Finnegan described Melnyk as the “guru of evidence-based practice,” adding that “her pioneering work has transformed the profession.”
Melnyk recounted how a series of personal tragedies—starting at age 15 when her mother died suddenly in front of her following a stroke—triggered post-traumatic stress disorder
STORY BY ASHLEY ROWLAND • PHOTOS BY ERIK UNGER
Bernadette Melnyk delivers the keynote speech at the 2024 Palmer Research Symposium.
but ultimately inspired her to become a nurse and earn her PhD.
Today, Melnyk’s research-backed cognitive behavior therapy program, COPE (Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment), is widely used to treat children, teens, and young adults with anxiety or depression.
Melnyk also spoke about burnout, noting that nurse scientists face significant pressure to earn NIH grants and publish in scholarly journals, while clinicians are leaving the profession due to overwork.
She urged the audience to prioritize their physical and mental health and practice gratitude, challenging them to think about their career impact: “What will you do if you know you cannot fail in the next two to five years?”
Faculty and student researchers honored
GINGER SCHROERS, an assistant professor at the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, was one of several Loyola Nursing faculty, graduates, and students honored this year by the Midwest Nursing Research Society (MNRS) for their contributions to nursing science.
Schroers received the MNRS Nursing Education RIIG (Research Interest and Implementation Group) Early Career Investigator Award at the organization’s annual conference, held in early 2024, in recognition of her growing body of research in nursing education.
Loyola Nursing faculty who received awards and competitive grants at this year’s conference included:
• Postdoctoral researcher Sueyeon Lee, seed grant for her study examining the impact of race-based stress reduction on improving sleep and melatonin onset in Black women at risk for cardiometabolic disease.
This is really a celebration of all of you, of all that you do.”
MEHARVAN SINGH
This year’s Palmer Symposium was the 37th event in the series and drew attendees from Loyola Nursing, Loyola University Medical Center, and other regional universities.
Researchers spoke on topics including genomics-informed care, social network analysis, natural language processing in nursing, technology and teamwork, gut microbiome and low back pain, and the impact of toxic leadership within the profession.
Vice Provost for Research Meharvan Singh said the event helps communicate “critically important” research to nursing professionals, the community, and elected officials.
The Palmer Symposium, he added, “speaks to the caliber of the program. This is really a celebration of all of you, of all that you do.” L
Schroers is leading a study to investigate deliberate practice of medication administration, handoff, and interruption management skills among pre-licensure nursing students.
Deliberate practice is a teaching strategy that has received little attention in nursing, and her study has received grants from the
• PhD student Paula de la Pena, MNRS/Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science Dissertation Grant for her study evaluating symptom clusters in first-time ischemic stroke survivors.
• Distinguished Abstract awards for Assistant Professor Alexandra Nowak and former Associate Dean of Inclusive Excellence Dian Squire.
• 2023 Doctor of Nursing Practice graduate Amy Pasmann, first place in the DNP student poster competition.
National League for Nursing and the Illinois Nurses Foundation. In all, Schroers has served as principal investigator on seven nursing research education studies.
The MNRS advances nursing science by connecting researchers throughout the region. Other
Loyola Nursing ranked 49th nationally and second in Illinois among nursing schools that received National Institutes of Health funding in 2023, according to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. The ranking is a jump of 41 spots from 2022. L
GINGER SCHROERS
journeyUnforgettable
Loyola Nursing students witness trauma and healing in El Salvador
STORY BY DIANE DUNGEY
TTHE PEOPLE OF EL SALVADOR tell stories of violence, loss, and resilience, and Jennie Chiavola said meeting some of them during a 2007 immersion trip as a Loyola University Chicago undergraduate changed her life.
This year, a group of Loyola Nursing students traveled to El Salvador on a similar mission led by Chiavola, senior academic advisor at the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing. The trip was a voyage of understanding and growth, according to Chiavola and students.
“You can’t come back the same
person,” Chiavola said. The trip was organized by Loyola’s Health Sciences Campus Ministry as part of the Ignatian Service Immersion program.
Most of their time was spent in Guarjila, in the north. It was settled by Salvadorans returning from refugee camps in Honduras, where they had fled during their country’s devastating 1979–1992 civil war.
For a week in March, the Loyola students—all part of the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program—shared meals and daily tasks with families in the village.
They met with survivors of the war, in which 75,000 civilians were killed. They visited the health clinic named in memory of founder Ann Manganaro, an American nun and physician. They learned about living in poverty, being displaced, or getting by only because of funds sent by children or spouses living far away, often in the United States.
The powerful experience gave focus to the Jesuit emphasis on meeting individuals’ physical, spiritual, and emotional needs, said Nick Lucero, BSN ’25.
“The trip really showed me in person, for my own eyes, this is what they're talking about. You have no idea what people have gone through, or what they have to deal with,” Lucero said.
POWER OF COMMUNITY
Reminders of the war are everywhere in El Salvador. Chiavola, five students, and Arden Baldinger, a registered dietitian at Loyola Nursing's School-Based Health Center at Proviso East High School in Maywood, Illinois, visited grim touchstones such as the San Salvador plaza where mourners were killed during the 1980 funeral for slain Catholic Archbishop Óscar Romero, who was canonized in 2018.
They spent hours around the kitchen tables of hosts Rita Otero and Morena Palma and spoke with women doing needlework at a cooperative workshop.
Their memories of the war “were incredibly sad,” Grant Alex, BSN ’25, said.
The Salvadorans recounted fleeing death squads that swept through the countryside. One woman told how her toddler’s comment put the family in grave danger when a gunman came to their house.
“The child said, ‘My dad has a gun like that.’ The dad wasn’t supposed to have a gun. She was really scared the man was going to take the family away,” said Unique Love, BSN ’24.
The stories were harsh, but Lucero says his memories of the trip are scenes of happiness.
“What I picture in my head is how bright and happy those families were. I see them smiling and laughing with us at the dinner table or when they were cooking,” Lucero recalled.
Constantly retelling difficult experiences can prolong trauma, said Love, who plans to be a psychiatric nurse practitioner. But the people she met “are in a really good spot now.”
“I enjoyed seeing them not be in survival mode anymore. I appreciated hearing the steps they take to help the community.” It’s an ex-
ample Love will use in her nursing career.
“Building community is a way to help people who’ve gone through tough situations,” Love said.
HOLISTIC APPROACH
The health clinic at the center of Guarjila has a lab and a small pharmacy, and paper files fill the records room from floor to ceiling.
The modest facility and the challenges in keeping it supplied reflect global disparities in how health care is provided, Alex said. But the clinic also demonstrates a different approach to meeting people’s needs, one that’s based on a holistic view of patients, he added.
“Everyone knew each other. Everyone was there to support each other. You could tell the workers were there because they felt called to do so. They all had such determination in their eyes,” Alex said.
The Loyola Nursing students followed varied paths to the ABSN program, which requires applicants to hold a degree in another field and means most are older and have more professional experience than the typical undergraduate. Alex left technology sales to pursue “a more purpose-driven career.” Love enrolled after traveling the world as a backpacker and model. They said they will carry their experiences in El Salvador with them as nurses.
“It helps me to be more compassionate and to be an advocate for people from all walks of life,” Alex said.
The trip reinforced the lessons —and questions—that arose from her 2007 experience, said Chiavola, who studied theology, ethics, and moral philosophy at Loyola and received a master’s in religion with a concentration in ethics from Yale University.
“What if this were me? What if I were born in El Salvador or a developing country? How different my life would be,” she said. “I think the most important thing is to realize how privileged we are and learn about how our U.S. policies impact people in countries like this.” L
It helps me to be more compassionate and to be an advocate for people from all walks of life.”
GRANT ALEX
Lauren R. Sorce Alumni profile:
The 2024 president of the Society of Critical Care Medicine discusses Loyola memories and her devotion to nursing science
INTERVIEW BY ASHLEY ROWLAND
LAUREN R. SORCE, BSN '88 AND MSN '96, knew since childhood that she wanted to become a nurse. Today, she's a distinguished nurse researcher and a leader in the field of critical care.
She’s the senior scientist in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and associate director for nursing research in its Department of Nursing. She’s also an assistant professor at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
“Critical care is not an easy place to work, and never has been,” she said. “But this is what I was drawn to do.”
Sorce, who earned her PhD at Rush University, is the 2024 president of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), a 18,000-member nonprofit with a mission to secure high-quality care to critically ill and injured patients. As president, she leads a multiprofessional board of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other critical care providers.
The lifelong Chicagoan spoke about her memories from the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, why she loves being a nurse scientist, and her tight bonds with her former classmates.
Why did you go to Loyola?
Loyola has always been known to be an outstanding program, and it was important for me to go to a program of that caliber.
Any favorite memories from Loyola?
I wouldn’t call this a favorite, but I remember how much I really hated my research class—the irony, of course, abounds. I remember sitting there thinking, “I’m never going to use this stuff. I just want to take care of patients.” I dragged myself kicking and screaming through it.
I realized not long after becoming a nurse that the best way to get things done is through research.
Why are you so passionate about nursing science?
Everything a nurse does to take care of a patient is steeped in nursing science. I think there is an overwhelming and still unfortunate view that nurses do work as directed by physicians or other providers. But nursing has its own group of core elements and
activities belonging in the nursing domain. Unless we scientifically study those things, we cannot advance our profession.
I say that as a staunch voice for multiprofessional research, knowing that if we come together as a team to ask questions, we can efficiently use limited research dollars, remove our silos, and understand that the needs of the patient span the gamut of our professions.
Who was your biggest influence when you were at Loyola?
Then-dean (Julia) Lane, who taught the first nursing class that all students took. She was a force to be reckoned with. Her expectations were high, and she understood—in a way that I still marvel at—what each of us was capable of.
It was her expectation that we make exceptional contributions to the world as nurses, and that we do it with excellence. Even though she only taught that one class, she motivated me to always be the best I could be.
What’s your biggest professional accomplishment?
My first research publication moved me to near speechlessness. As a bedside nurse, I took care of one or two patients at a time in the ICU, so that was my reach.
When I became a nurse practitioner, my reach was four to six patients at a time. Then I became a researcher and my reach within nursing is almost immeasurable. I felt very responsible for moving the needle and moving our profession forward.
That’s not to minimize my role in the SCCM. Ascending to the presidency of the SCCM was huge and I’m incredibly proud of it.
Why are nurses leaders in health care?
Nurses are the connectors bridging the whole health care team. The health care professional who knows the patient best is the nurse, and that uniquely qualifies nurses to be leaders and speak on behalf of what patients and families need. That experience of developing relationships
with patients and their families—and knowing the patient in a way that’s very different than anybody else in the room—is so important.
What’s the biggest challenge for critical care health providers?
Burnout and staffing. Across health care, we’re healers. We’re empathetic and we meet the needs of patients and their families. I think it’s only recently that we’ve begun to understand that we can’t do everything on our own.
The expectation of “Just one more thing” or “Sure, I can take that on”— people are beginning to realize that when I say “yes” to something, I’m saying “no” to something else.
What role do your Loyola Nursing friends play in your life?
Since graduation, we’ve had a monthly Nurses Night. We’ve met through seven marriages, kids, a divorce, and multiple jobs and advanced degrees.
Yet all of us still come together to love one another, support one another, and just be silly together.
Because we shared the trials and tribulations of getting through nursing school, we know each other in a way that’s very different from other friendships. These are lifelong friends, and there aren’t enough words to describe the depth of what that means.
What advice do you have for nursing students?
The student body at Loyola Nursing is diverse, and each person comes with different needs, expectations, and experiences that will make them the nurse they’re going to be.
I would tell them to honor who you are and bring those pieces to who you will be as a professional. And when you find yourself struggling, reach out because there are people who likely are feeling the same way. L
Lauren R. Sorce said friends from her years as an undergraduate at the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing remain a close support system. Shown after a breast cancer awareness walk, from left to right (all BSN ’88): Mary Murphy Scholz, Sorce, Deanna Panek Zummo, Mary Beth Moe Vaikutis, Rene Mazzoni Catalano, Peggy (Margaret) Brandt Brosnan, and Bridget Cahill Hannum.
PHOTO COURTESY OF LAUREN R. SORCE
Compassionatementors
With grit and a growth mindset, preceptors play an essential part in a nurse’s development
AAS NURSING STUDENTS progress through their studies, they reach a crucial juncture that often is the most challenging of their educational journey: clinicals, when they put what they’ve learned in the classroom into practice.
That’s when a preceptor steps up and plays an essential part in a nurse’s development.
“It’s among the most important roles that we have in preparing our students,” said Mary McNamara, associate dean for innovative partnerships and faculty practice at the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing.
Experienced working clinicians,
preceptors graciously “pay it forward” by volunteering to work with students, McNamara added. “They accept our students, mentor them, and build their clinical competence and critical thinking skills.”
That vital one-on-one interactive relationship provides students with exemplary role modeling and important growth throughout clinicals.
In April, McNamara and Karen Berg Helfgot, director of strategic health care partnerships, hosted almost three dozen preceptors for a free workshop and celebration at the Health Sciences Campus to align their training with Loyola Nursing’s
curriculum. The events underscored how important the preceptors are to fostering high-caliber nursing professionals and advancing Loyola Nursing’s mission.
McNamara and Berg Helfgot described the workshop as "an opportunity to develop preceptors as co-educators," "share our teaching
Above: From left to right, Tara Yurinich, Chad Thompson, and Tracie Shelton— executive directors in nursing at Loyola Medicine—watch as colleague Nicole Wynn, manager of nursing excellence and magnet program director at Loyola Medicine, receives an Outstanding Preceptor award.
STORY BY TED GREGORY • PHOTO BY ERIK UNGER
pedagogy," and help preceptors "be part of the Loyola community."
“First and foremost, we want them to know that they are a vital part of our team,” McNamara said, “that we couldn’t do it without them.”
The workshop offered current, new, and aspiring preceptors group discussions, breakout sessions, and hands-on activities during which participants could earn valuable Continuing Education credit.
LOYOLA NURSING ALUM AS PRECEPTOR
Preceptor and registered nurse Eric Juds, BSN ’21, works as an emergency department nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
His Loyola Nursing education instilled a deep sense of cura personalis—care for the whole person—that plays a crucial role in his nursing approach.
Preceptor finds inspiration in his students
First and foremost, we want them to know that they are a vital part of our team. We couldn’t do it without them.”
MARY MCNAMARA
The evening’s celebration recognized nine Outstanding Preceptor award winners chosen by students and faculty.
“It’s been a great refresher and an opportunity to network,” said Evelyn Perez, who has been precepting for more than 30 years.
Perez, who works at Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital, said she has been a preceptor with Loyola for 15 years and enjoys working with Loyola Nursing students. She has hired two of them.
“They’re dedicated, very warm, knowledgeable” students who regularly become top performers, Perez said.
Preceptor Megan Bravo, a women’s health nurse practitioner, said she “learned a lot” at the workshop by hearing the perspectives of other preceptors on a range of topics, including the best way to handle challenging situations and the most effective ways to guide students experiencing trouble in the clinical environment.
“A lot of our job in the emergency department is managing the emotions of people who come in here,” he said. “Cura personalis reminds you to not just treat what’s in front of you. It gives you an understanding to walk a step in the patient’s shoes, to understand that it’s another day on the job for you but could be potentially someone’s worst day. So we need to be as accommodating as we can be.”
As a preceptor, he appreciates having extra hands in the emergency department and views his role as a preceptor as passing along his positive experience being precepted.
He also said Loyola Nursing students and alumni distinguish themselves.
“They’re very composed people and have a competence that radiates from them,” Juds said. “They know what they’re doing in the fundamentals. I’m just giving them pointers here and there and helping where I can.”
‘WILLINGNESS
TO FIND GOOD’
Loyola Nursing preceptors identify with the University’s Jesuit-centered mission, Berg Helfgot said.
In fact, McNamara said, nurses choose to precept Loyola Nursing students in part because of the school’s commitment to the whole person and social justice.
“Our preceptors are drawn to mentorship, are compassionate, curious, and have a growth mindset,” she said. “They’re open to learning from their students as much as the students are open to learning from them. They just have a lot of grit and a willingness to find good in situations. We’re incredibly fortunate to have them.” L
JARROD GEORGACAKIS THOUGHT he wanted to be a social studies teacher but found that nursing was a better fit. Turns out he has become a skilled and valued teacher anyway.
A nurse practitioner in the surgical trauma intensive care unit at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois, Georgacakis also is a preceptor. In April, he was among nine chosen by Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing students and faculty as Outstanding Preceptors.
Precepting resonated with Georgacakis’s lifelong desire to teach. But he found he learns as much from his students as they do from him.
“Students have a lot to offer preceptors,” said Georgacakis, BSN ’14 and MSN ’20. “They take in a lot of information, but they also have a lot to give and that’s one of the big reasons I enjoy working with them.”
He hopes to continue serving as a preceptor for the rest of his career, as long as he feels that he can make a difference.
“By the time the students are getting ready to finish up and they’re able to walk through something that they weren’t able to walk through at the beginning of the semester, and we’re both able to figure that out together,” he said, “that’s a really fulfilling feeling.”
INTERESTED IN BECOMING A PRECEPTOR FOR LOYOLA NURSING?
Our preceptors must meet these requirements:
• Nurse Practitioner or Physician’s Assistant— Masters-prepared or higher
• MD and DO providers can also serve as preceptors
Minimum of two years clinical experience
• Active licensure in Illinois
• Possess the knowledge, attitude, and skill characteristics of a successful preceptor
For more information, contact SONGradclinical@luc.edu
Trailblazers forge ahead
Launched in 2021, the CARE Pathway has more than tripled in size while drawing increased donor support •
STORY BY ASHLEY ROWLAND
AAS A FRESHMAN during the coronavirus pandemic, Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing student Meseret Getachew was able to pay for school through loans and savings, defraying her expenses by living at home in Indianapolis. But as she entered her sophomore year, COVID relief funds dried up and the costs of attending school in person seemed out of reach.
In the summer of 2021, she applied for more than 50 scholarships, hoping she would earn one that would
allow her to stay at Loyola University Chicago. That September, she received a surprise email about a new Loyola Nursing program that offered academic support and a crucial scholarship.
“I will never forget that special moment of realizing I would have the financial support that would allow me to stay at the University,” she said. “The CARE Pathway has allowed me to continue my education, and that is a gift I will never be able to repay.”
An emotional Getachew recounted her story at a May 9 dinner honoring the first 12 graduates in the CARE (Collaboration, Access, Resources, and Equity) Pathway to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing, which provides academic, socio-emotional, and financial support to participating undergraduates.
Launched in 2021 with a $2.2 million Health Resources and Services Administration grant, the CARE Pathway has grown from 22 to 78 students
Opposite page, left: "The CARE Pathway has allowed me to continue my education, and that is a gift I will never be able to repay,” Meseret Getachew, BSN '24, said. Upper right: By helping retain students of color, the CARE Pathway aims to increase the diversity of the nursing workforce. Lower right: The first CARE Pathway graduates during a May dinner honoring their achievements. “They have enriched our school with their talents and insights about why health equity is so important," said Dean Lorna Finnegan.
while drawing increased donor support. The program is open to BSN students from underrepresented backgrounds, who often face barriers to graduating from nursing school.
The CARE Pathway was created from an idea that the nursing profession could do more for its patients and that health equity is achievable if we transform who is providing care.”
JANIE ORTIZ
Dean Lorna Finnegan said the graduation of the first cohort marked a major milestone for Loyola Nursing, which originally envisioned the CARE Pathway as a small program for graduates of Loyola’s Arrupe College who wanted to transition to the four-year nursing program.
With support from the federal grant, the CARE Pathway was opened to all nursing undergraduates from historically marginalized communities. Today, approximately one-sixth of participants are Arrupe graduates and about half are first-generation college students.
The CARE Pathway aims to increase the diversity of the nursing workforce. Research shows that patients of color who are treated by nurses of similar backgrounds
have better health outcomes, yet the nursing profession remains disproportionately white.
Finnegan said the CARE Pathway’s growing enrollment has been a sign of the need for its services— but also a sign of its success.
“The CARE Pathway has opened the door to the nursing profession for so many of our students,” she said. “In turn, they have enriched our school with their talents and insights about why health equity is so important.”
Program coordinator Janie Ortiz applauded the graduates, who were sophomores when the CARE Pathway started.
“They took a chance on an unknown program, a program that was so new it was still being built. As many of them will tell you, they didn’t know what they were getting into when they received that first email (announcing the program). Some even thought, ‘Is this a scam?’” she said. “But here we are, three years later.”
She added, “The CARE Pathway was created from an idea that the nursing profession could do more for its patients and that health equity is achievable if we transform who is providing care. I am so proud that our CARE Pathway scholars will be at the forefront of this movement.”
Several University leaders—including Fr. Thomas Neitzke, S.J., vice president and special assistant to the president and former Arrupe dean, and Keith Champagne, vice president for student development—spoke to the audience of family members, donors, CARE Pathway faculty and staff, and Loyola Nursing faculty mentors. The event was held at the Lake Shore Campus and was funded by the Chicago Community Trust. L
$1 million gift expands access to nursing degrees
AN ANONYMOUS GIFT OF $1 MILLION to the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing is increasing access to nursing degrees for students from historically marginalized communities.
The donation expanded scholarships and financial support to students in the CARE (Collaboration, Access, Resources, and Equity) Pathway to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing, which provides academic, financial, and socio-emotional assistance to eligible undergraduates.
“We are beyond grateful for this unexpected gift, which will allow us to strengthen the level of support we give to these determined students, who will go on to make a deep impact in their communities,” said Dean Lorna Finnegan.
The donor, who is remaining anonymous to keep attention focused on the CARE Pathway, said they were inspired to give because of the students’ enthusiasm and dedication to caring for others.
“We want these students to realize that people want them to succeed. They’re respected and appreciated, and we know they’re going to have a huge impact on the lives of so many other people,” the donor said. “Because of their commitment and their passion, we believe in them.”
The donor also wanted to support Loyola Nursing’s vision for the CARE Pathway because “Dr. Finnegan and her staff are creating a program that makes it possible for students to accomplish their dreams.”
A number of CARE Pathway students are from Chicago and are expected to work in the area after graduation, having an immediate impact on their communities and the Chicagoland health system.
The donor noted that many CARE Pathway students are making significant sacrifices to be in nursing school, often commuting long distances to attend classes.
According to the donor, the gift will “have a ripple effect as these young nurses graduate. This is a way to impact the lives of all the patients and families who will be served by CARE Pathway nurses.”
A ‘model’ for inclusive excellence
STORY BY ASHLEY ROWLAND • PHOTO BY LUKAS KEAPPROTH
TTHE MARCELLA NIEHOFF SCHOOL OF NURSING received a prestigious national award for its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, which have led to “lasting changes” within the school and a nearly 7 percent increase in enrollment among undergraduate nursing students of color in three years.
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), a leading academic nursing organization, awarded Loyola Nursing its 2024 Inclusive Excellence, Belonging, and Sustainability in Nursing Education Award. The annual honor recognizes nursing schools for “successfully meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse student population and for cultivating a sense of belonging in nursing,” according to the AACN.
Deborah Trautman, AACN president and chief executive officer, called Loyola Nursing a “model” for other nursing schools thanks to its “efforts to develop a diverse cadre of nurse leaders and sustain a culture of belonging.”
Loyola Nursing, the organization added, “is making a real impact on diversifying the workforce and helping nurses from all backgrounds thrive as professional nurses.”
The AACN includes more than 875 nursing schools at public and private institutions that offer undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate degrees. Loyola Nursing was the only school to receive the AACN honor in 2024.
“This award speaks volumes about the growth of our Inclusive Excellence program and our firm belief that in order to be excellent, we must be in-
clusive,” said Dean Lorna Finnegan. “Creating a diverse nursing workforce to serve our communities and advance health equity is central to our Jesuit mission as a school and a university, and we are honored to be recognized by the AACN for our commitment to this work.”
The AACN cited Loyola Nursing’s “comprehensive approach to meaningful change” through recruitment, mentoring, strategic planning, and curriculum redesign as reasons the school earned the award. It noted the CARE (Collaboration, Access, Resources, and Equity) Pathway to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing, as well as the school’s broad faculty-staff involvement in DEI initiatives and its hiring of an associate dean for inclusive excellence in 2021.
Finnegan said the AACN award reflects the school’s investment of time, resources, and energy in DEI programming that supports students of all races, ethnicities, and gender identities. L
The Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing earned its second Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award for Health Professions Schools this year in recognition of its efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. The award is given annually by Insight into Diversity, the largest diversity magazine in higher education and a leader in identifying best DEI practices in universities nationwide.
Paola Hernandez, BSN ’24, works in the simulation lab at the Lake Shore Campus. Hernandez was in the first graduating cohort in the CARE (Collaboration, Access, Resources, and Equity) Pathway to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
Educating nursing students to provide gender-affirming care
BY ALLYSON HAMZEY AND ASHLEY ROWLAND
The Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing has received a $646,000 federal grant to develop an online curriculum to educate nursing students on how to best provide health care to transgender and gender nonconforming patients.
The four-year National Institutes of Health research education grant will fund development of the school’s “Trans*forming Care” program, which will be available through a phone app and available free for five years after its completion.
The app will provide future nurses with basic knowledge and skills for treating trans patients, who are often underserved in health care settings.
By providing an interactive, game-like experience, Loyola Nursing hopes to engage more users and provide nursing schools with a tool to supplement their instruction on gender-affirming care.
Associate Professor Lindsey Garfield, a nurse scientist, is leading the project.
BY THE NUMBERS
#26
The Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing’s undergraduate program has received its highest ranking ever from U.S. News & World Report* , claiming the No. 26 spot among nursing schools nationwide. Loyola’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, ranked among 686 schools nationwide, has held No. 29 and 31 spots in previous U.S. News rankings.
#1/Top 10
Loyola Nursing’s BSN program ranks first among private universities in Illinois and is among the top 10 at private institutions nationally.
96.36%
Top 5% Loyola Nursing continues to place among the top 5 percent of BSN programs nationwide and second in Illinois, according to the magazine’s latest rankings.
National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) pass rate for first-time test takers in 2024
RESEARCH GRANT ACTIVITY
in fiscal year 2024:
30 New and ongoing grants totaling $3,148,074
#49 Nationwide in National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding for nursing schools Loyola Nursing jumped 41spots in one year in NIH research funding**
* U.S. News annual undergraduate rankings are based on peer surveys of deans and senior faculty of nursing schools across the country.
** Source: Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, 2023
Assistant Professor Alexandra Nowak works in the research lab at the Health Sciences Campus.
2024 FALL ENROLLMENT
Students attend Loyola Nursing from 38 states, the District of Columbia, and several countries.
$1,948,321
DONOR GIFTS in fiscal year 2024. Thank you to our generous donors!
Left: Loyola Nursing students attended Student Nurse Political Action Day in Springfield, Illinois, in April. Right: Class of 2024 graduates celebrate
MY STORY
FR. JASON E. BRAUNINGER, S.J . PRIEST • NURSE PRACTITIONER • FACULTY
WE GOT THE CALL from the ambulance company that an 18-year-old had gone into cardiac arrest after a drug overdose and that he’d be there any minute.
I was working in an Atlanta hospital, studying to be an emergency nurse practitioner. I was also an ordained priest, but nobody in the emergency room knew that.
As soon as the ambulance brought him in, we—the physicians and the other nurses—started working on this young man, doing CPR and all the life-saving measures we could.
We worked for about an hour. Finally we decided there was nothing else we could do and so we called it. He had passed away.
We cleaned up the patient and got him ready for his parents, who were delayed in getting there.
I remember when his mother and father came into the room. She was prayerful and spiritual and just said, “Lord, if this is your will…” She was very accepting of it. The father was very quiet.
In the middle of this room there were five of us standing there. We were waiting to see if they had any questions or if there was anything they might need from us.
And then the mother, out of the blue, asked if we would pray with her and asked if anyone knew the Hail Mary.
I wasn’t expecting anybody else to step up. And nobody did. So I said, yes, I know the Hail Mary and we prayed together. It’s hard to know exactly
As nurses, we're carrying on the healing mission of a higher power."
what they were thinking, but I felt an overwhelming sense of calm, a sense of awe.
After that moment of prayer and after spending more time with them, we left the room so she and her husband could be with their son.
Those moments of God really stick with you.
For me, it was an opportunity to say I am here for you, in a spiritual way. I hoped it also provided an opportunity for the others to see that this provider was willing to pray, to not be afraid of talking about spiritual things with our patients.
It reminds me that, as nurses in the Jesuit tradition, we’re carrying on the healing mission of a higher power: Christ. And even though I wasn’t able to heal this young man, this was part of the healing ministry, to be with his parents, to help them spiritually.
Research has shown that if we answer the question of spirituality for patients, whatever their religion, they heal better, they feel better, they die better. There’s more peace.
It was also a solidification that these two things—being a priest and being a nurse—do work together, and these opportunities to work with the patients, and also with my colleagues, are invaluable. L
Fr. Jason E. Brauninger is a priest of the Society of Jesus. He also is a certified family and emergency nurse practitioner and a clinical assistant professor at the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing.
“TO ME, EVERY PERSON CONTAINS THE WHOLE UNIVERSE, AND EVERY PERSON IS SACRED. I VIEW MY WORK WITH CURIOSITY AND GRATITUDE.” LISE HAUSER, FACULTY • “I BELIEVE THAT AS ADVANCED PRACTICE NURSES AND EDUCATORS, IT IS IN OUR DOMAIN TO PRACTICE SPIRITUAL/HOLISTIC CARE THAT ACCOUNTS FOR THE MIND, BODY, AND SPIRIT OF OUR PATIENTS, AS WELL AS OUR STUDENTS.” VICKI BACIDORE, FACULTY • “SPIRITUALITY HAS MOLDED ME INTO THE MAN I AM TODAY. THERE IS A GREATER PURPOSE IN ALL THINGS, AND REALIZING THAT HELPS ME PUT MY BEST INTO EVERYTHING I DO, AS I BELIEVE YOU GET WHATEVER YOU PUT IN. IF YOU DO YOUR BEST, GOD WILL DO THE REST.” MARVIN GALVAN, BSN ’27 • “MY SPIRITUALITY IS ROOTED IN CONNECTING WITH PEOPLE AND HAVING THE PRIVILEGE TO CARE FOR THEM. ST. IGNATIUS’S VISION OF FINDING GOD IN ALL THINGS IS CENTER TO APPRECIATING THAT POETRY AND CARRYING IT WITH ME WHEREVER I GO.” JO-ANNE TIERNEY, FACULTY • “HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF A PRIVATE PRAYER THAT I OFTEN SAY BEFORE I TEACH: ‘FATHER, LORD GOD, PLEASE SUPPLY ME TODAY WITH YOUR WISDOM AND THE ABILITY TO EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE TO MY STUDENTS TO HELP THEM GAIN THE KNOWLEDGE, WISDOM, INSIGHT, AND UNDERSTANDING OF THESE COMPLEX IDEAS AND CONCEPTS SO THAT THEY CAN BE SUCCESSFUL IN MY CLASS, PASS NURSING SCHOOL, PASS THEIR NCLEX, AND BECOME NURSES TO CARE FOR ALL OF YOUR CHILDREN IN THIS WORLD. THANK YOU FOR USING ME TODAY AS A VESSEL FOR YOUR WILL AND PURPOSE IN THEIR LIVES.’ ” ERIC ZACK, FACULTY
Closing thoughts on spirituality from our Loyola Nursing community
The view from Madonna della Strada Chapel looking out at Lake Michigan.
