Research in the UNMC College of Nursing will get a boost with the newly renovated Niedfelt Nursing Research Center. Located in the UNMC College of Nursing, the center provides space and support for faculty and student research.
The college will host a ribbon-cutting/open house Friday at 2 p.m. in the 5th floor lobby in the College of Nursing. The expanded center covers about one-third of the fifth floor, which contains remodeled work and office space.
“In the newly remodeled space, we have created eight new offices – three for faculty and four for project staff of funded projects, and one for graduate assistants in the research center — this is in addition to the six existing rooms that were already available,” said Bernice Yates, Ph.D., UNMC College of Nursing associate dean for research. She said all 14 rooms have been remodeled with new work areas built into the offices so they are more functional.
The center houses offices, conference rooms, a statistical and data analysis room, and a grants resource area. It also includes a collection of books on measurement, research methods, and statistics, and maintains a sizeable collection of instruments for collection of biobehavioral data.
Under the direction of Dr. Yates, the center assists in planning and developing grants and grant budgets. Support includes mock review of grant applications, administrative support and study design support from college statisticians and UNMC’s Department of Preventive and Societal Medicine.
The Niedfelt Nursing Research Center was established decades ago by the late Florence Niedfelt of Grand Island, who bequeathed funds through the University of Nebraska Foundation to further the education of nursing students through the professorship and scholarships.
“Before the remodeling, our fatigue in breast cancer research team of three was cramped into two small offices,” said Ann Berger, PhD., associate professor of nursing and advanced practice nurse. “Two research nurses shared an office and had to coordinate getting into and out of their chairs positioned very close to each other. Now we have a private office for the project director, as well as a very large office for the two research nurses with adequate room for desks, files and supplies.”
She said the new space enhanced the ability of the team to work effectively and efficiently. “The offices are also close to each other to facilitate communication,” Dr. Berger said.
Nancy Waltman, Ph.D., associate professor of nursing, UNMC College of Nursing Lincoln Division, echoed Dr. Berger’s comments. “Before the renovation, we didn’t have a large enough room for the research nurses, subject records and exercise trainer to work together on our research study “Prevention of Osteoporosis in Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Survivors.” There was no room for research nurses to interview subjects. Now, we have a spacious, well-equipped and attractive room in the research center, and this better meets our needs for conducting research.”