Nursing research colloquium inspires future practitioners

UNMC graduate student Lisa Abbott, far left, talks about her research project with UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., second from right. Also in the photo are Connie Visovsky, Ph.D., second from left, director of the graduate program, and Ann Berger, Ph.D., Dorothy Hodges Olson Endowed Chair in Nursing and director of the doctoral program.

Graduate students, Robert Flynn, middle, and Janelle Schroeder, far right, talk with Peggy Wilson, Ph.D., project evaluator and associate professor. Flynn and Schroeder were awarded the Alumni Association Rena E. Boyle Award for Excellence in Clinical Nursing Research.

Linda Jensen, associate professor and research project faculty adviser, left, to graduate student Gloria Akainda, right.

The Fall Research Colloquium for the UNMC College of Nursing held Tuesday was reflective of the value scientific research holds in improving patient care and quality.

Fifty-one UNMC graduate students, a doctoral student and a faculty member presented their research findings with 30 posters and one oral presentation on topics ranging from nursing staffing levels in Nebraska critical access hospitals to measurement of cognitive function in chronic heart failure. The projects are part of requirements for graduate students.

“It’s a wonderful payoff for students,” said Connie Visovsky, Ph.D., associate professor and director of the college’s master of science in nursing (MSN) program. “It’s great for us to engage students who, for the most part, will be practitioners. It’s important for them to understand the value of data and patient outcomes.”

Gloria Akainda, a graduate student who lives in O’Neill, Neb., is enrolled in a distance education master’s program. She said she’s learned a lot through her project, during which she evaluated the importance of Medicaid to the health of people with mental illnesses.

“I found the people need coverage (Medicaid) to be successful in their recovery process — in order to keep their jobs and function in society,” Akainda said. “Many do not have private insurance and need a way to pay for medications or community-based programs. A significant finding is that most people don’t know the services available to them.”

Assistant professor Connie Miller, Ph.D., served as one of the poster and presentation evaluators.

“They are the best I’ve seen,” Dr. Miller said. “You can tell they’ve put a lot of thought into them.”

“It’s great for us to engage students who, for the most part, will be practitioners. It’s important for them to understand the value of data and patient outcomes.” Connie Visovsky, Ph.D.

The event was co-sponsored by the UNMC College of Nursing Graduate Program and Gamma Pi Chapter-At-Large, Sigma Theta Tau International. Suzanne Nuss, Ph.D., was the keynote speaker for the colloquium. Her presentation was titled, “Working as a Clinical Nurse Researcher in a Pediatric Oncology World.”

Awards were presented for some of the best research projects.

Heidi Richardson received the Dean’s Award for Excellence in a Master’s Student Poster Presentation award for her presentation titled, “Preparedness for Caregiving Among Family Caregivers of Patients with Head and Neck Cancer.” Karen Schumacher, Ph.D., was her faculty adviser.

Brandi Babcock and Karin Ashley received the Muriel Munchrath Gamma Pi Chapter-at-Large, Sigma Theta Tau Award for Excellence in a Nursing Research Presentation for their presentation, “Strength Training Exercise and Patterns of Fatigue in Women Undergoing Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer.” Dr. Visovsky was their faculty adviser.

The Alumni Association Rena E. Boyle Award for Excellence in Clinical Nursing Research was awarded to Janelle Schroeder and Robert Flynn for their poster, “The Effects of Knowledge-based Charting on Nursing Practice.” Their faculty adviser was Karen Grigsby, Ph.D.