Rita Snyder, Ph.D., associate professor, UNMC College of Nursing, has been appointed to a three-year term with the lead federal agency charged with improving the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care in the United States.
Dr. Snyder, UNMC College of Nursing associate professor, was appointed to the Healthcare Quality and Effectiveness Research Study Section of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). She will meet with colleagues at least three times a year to review grant applications. Following evaluation and scoring of grants, the section makes recommendations to a program panel that determines which grants are funded.
“I’m very honored to be appointed,” Dr. Snyder said. “I look forward to using my research knowledge and experience to further other researchers’ goals of improving health in the United States.”
She and her colleagues will review grant applications concerned with the impact and effectiveness of health care innovations on organizational, clinician and patient outcomes.
AHRQ, which is one of 12 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agencies, supports health services research to improve quality of health care, including quality improvement and patient safety; outcomes and effectiveness of care; clinical practice and technology assessment; and health care organization and delivery systems.
Dr. Snyder’s work focuses on improving the safety of health care organizations. She currently is principal investigator for a $1.2 million grant from the AHRQ studying the impact of a computerized system on medication errors.
As a well-funded researcher who has reviewed numerous grants, Dr. Snyder says that there are no big secrets when it comes to getting research funded.
“Funding sponsors look at where the science is going when considering what projects to fund. Investigators need to stay abreast of advances in their area of science and guide development of their research programs accordingly. The pots of money are smaller, so it’s a tougher job to select projects. Applications need to be cutting edge and reflect strong research teams as well as strong science,” she said.
Getting appointed to serve on an AHRQ study section with interdisciplinary colleagues from medicine, nursing, pharmacy, health policy, biostatistics, is like applying for a faculty position. “It’s a rigorous process,” said Virginia Tilden, D.N.Sc., dean of the UNMC College of Nursing.
She said Dr. Snyder’s appointment is a testament of the depth, expertise and accomplishments she has in research. “Her work at the national level contributes to the goal of improving the health of Americans. The appointment reflects well on the quality of her own research and it advances UNMC’s reputation at the national level. I am delighted that she will serve.”