School of Nursing Newsletter
Volume 9, Issue 3
Early Spring Issue
Editor: Sandra O’Donnell (odonnells@uncw.edu)
Upcoming Dates
March 24-25: Easter Break.
March 28: Prelicensure Council. McNeill Hall 1051 B. 3-5
p.m.
April 8: CHHS Research Day
Burney Center, 8-1:30 p.m.
April 11: “Meet and Greet” for
Dec. ’18 Pre-licensure Cohort,
McNeill Hall 1051. 11-1 p.m.
April 18: Faculty Council Mtg.
McNeill Hall 1051, 4-5 p.m.
April 25: Prelicensure Council
Meeting, McNeill Hall 1028. 3-5
p.m.
April 26: Reflection Day.
McNeill Hall 1051. 9-4 p.m.
April 27: Last day of classes
April 29-May 5: Final exams.
May 2-4: Hurst Review.
McNeill Hall 1051. 9-4 p.m.
May 5: Faculty Workshop with
Marilyn Oermann on Evaluation Techniques. Details later.
May 6: SON Awards Ceremony,
Kenan Auditorium, 2:30 p.m.
May 6: University Commencement for CHHS and Watson
School of Education, Trask
Coliseum, 5:30 p.m.
May 9: Nurses’ Day Celebration, Burney Center Ballroom,
5:30-8:30 p.m.
Please submit items of interest, calendar
events, notable achievements, community events and questions you may have
for our faculty and staff to our editorial/
production staff: Sandy O’Donnell or
Debra Simpson.
March 2016
Production: Debra Simpson (simpsond@uncw.edu)
Greetings from the Director
As we move into spring, our school of nursing is growing and
blossoming much like the season around us. We are in the process
of preparing to fully launch our D.N.P. program. At this time we
are accepting admissions through mid-April for our inaugural
class, and we are excited as we await their arrival. Similarly,
other programs are blooming. Our newest prelicensure students
are entering their first clinical experiences, our RN-B.S. online
program continues to be a versatile online option for nurses, and
we are currently working through the admission process for our
next FNP/M.S.N. cohort.
Consistent with our programs known for excellence, our scholarship and clinical practice activities are also gaining notoriety. In January, five members of
our faculty attended the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Doctoral Conference
to learn about doctoral education, big data applications and D.N.P. program updates. More
recently, 10 of our faculty attended the SNRS conference with multiple poster presentations
and one podium presentation. Please visit our website at uncw.edu/son and find us on Facebook! Our new Facebook is gaining friends and we welcome you to “like us” and “follow us”.
Last and certainly not least, I would like to share a significant achievement of senior faulty
member Jane Fox, who is well known to our graduate students. Fox has been selected for
induction as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP). AANP fellows are nurse practitioner leaders recognized for their outstanding contributions to clinical
practice, research, teaching and health policy and for developing NP leaders of tomorrow.
This distinguished honor demonstrates Fox’s long-time commitment as a nurse practitioner
and a dedicated faculty member. Her induction will take place in June in San Antonio during the AANP conference.
Congratulations to the SON Cohort (Class of Dec. ’18)
We congratulate and welcome the new cohort to join the student ranks of the School of
Nursing. The top 45 applicants (five spaces are reserved for later admittance) presented the
following academic achievements: an average Math/Science GPA of 3.72, an average nonMath/Science GPA of 3.78 and a TEAS score of 82.59%. Well done!
Update on the DNP Program
The application process for the D.N.P. (Doctor of Nursing Practice) program is in progress.
Thus far, there are very qualified and interested candidates. In order to meet the projected
target enrollment, the application process has been extended to April 30th. Please share this
information with friends and colleagues.
Volume 9, Page 2
School of Nursing Newsletter
Notable Recognition
The Fellows of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP) recently announced the selection of Jane Fox as a 2016 Fellow. Fox joins a group of leaders whose contributions in scholarship
and innovative thinking have led to meaningful improvements to healthcare and the nurse practitioner role. The purpose of the AANP Fellows is to impact national and global health by engaging recognized nurse practitioners to lead new initiatives and support the AANP mission. The FAANP program
provides a forum to extend and enhance Fellows’ efforts to mentor and to facilitate leadership development of NP’s. Fox is also a member of the Council for International Exchange of Students’ (CIES) Discipline Peer Review Committee of the Fulbright Scholar Program. CIES is responsible for coordinating and conducting screening of Fulbright applications through the peer review process, a hallmark of the Fulbright Specialist Program that assures that
applicants will be evaluated on academic, scholarly and professional criteria.
Barbara Lutz was selected to serve on a Technical Expert Panel to advise the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
on the development of a Patient Experience of Care survey that will be used to measure the experiences of patients who receive
care at inpatient rehabilitation facilities.
Corbett Trust Awards to Clinical Research Faculty:
 A $5000 grant for the project “Exploration of Current and Alternative Treatment Approaches for the Management of
COPD.” Principal investigator is Jared Kerr (CLR) and co-investigators are Robert Boyce (SHAHS), Harold Campbell
(SHAHS), Justine Reel (CHHS) and Susan Sinclair (CLR).
 To principle investigator Susan Sinclair for the project “Exploring Barriers to Participation in Pregnancy Registries among
Healthcare Providers.”
 To Jared Kerr and Barbara Pennington an Incubator Grant funding from the University of North Carolina General Administration in the form of an Incubator Grant. The award to UNCW will help the Clinical Research Program (which is primarily an online program) acquire “educational technologies to provide innovative and effective interventions intended to
improve student learning and success.”
Congratulations to CLR faculty Jared Kerr who has received Cahill Innovation Grant Awards for spring 2016 for his work CRA
360 Product Evaluation and Commercialization Support.
Tammy Arms has been selected as a Nurse Faculty Leadership Academy scholar, a program through Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI). Arms will be the junior faculty scholar who will be mentored by an Academy Leadership Mentor and Faculty
Advisor. The threesome work together for 18 months to build leadership skills. During this period Arms will complete a leadership project in which she will mentor new faculty with D.N.P.s into the role of nurse educators. The mentorship provided by
Arms is designed specifically for new tenure-track D.N.P. faculty as opposed to that of Ph.D. faculty. Throughout the program, Arms will travel to Indianapolis, IN this month and a year from now to present a poster at the next STTI biennial conference.
The Great 100, Inc. Nursing Scholarship has been awarded to graduate nursing student Lyndsey Bennett (Dec. ’16). Graduate
faculty selected Bennett based on the criteria of academic excellence and commitment to advanced nursing practice in N.C.
Congratulations to Carolyn Jones and Elise Thompson for their recent promotions to Assistant Professor.
SON faculty Paula Reid mentored 11-year-old Danisha Alford (pictured left) who presented information
on black historian Mary Eliza Mahoney at the Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist Church on Feb. 27 as part
of the Black History Month recognition. Mahoney was the first African American to study and work as a
professionally trained nurse in the U.S. having graduated in 1879. Mahoney was not only one of the first
African Americans to graduate from a nursing program, but she prospered in a predominantly white society and challenged discrimination against African Americans in nursing.
Volume 9, Page 3
School of Nursing Newsletter
Notable Achievements
Faculty Presentations
Four SON faculty presented at the N.C. League for Nursing
conference “Thinking Outside the Box: Innovation in Nursing
Education” in Concord, N.C. on Mar. 4. The CEO of the National League for Nursing (NLN), Beverley Malone, was the
keynote speaker. Several of the faculty who attended are pictured left (left to right): NCLN board member Beth Gazza,
Nancy Ahern, Susan Crawford and Elise Thompson. Beth Gazza made a podium presentation on “Using Interdisciplinary
Collaboration to Promote Experiential Learning in an Online
Nursing Course.” Crawford, Thompson and Ahern participated in a moderated poster session on “Enhancing Student Interaction Using Social Media in an Online RN-B.S.N. Program.” RuthAnne Kuiper, who serves as a board member for
the NCLN, was also at the workshop.
Several SON faculty attended the Southern Nursing Research Symposium conference Feb 24-27 in Williamsburg, VA. Two of the four faculty members who made
poster presentations are pictured on right (Diane Pastor on left and Barb Lutz on
right). Presenters and their presentation titles are listed below:
 Barbara Lutz on “Results from an ED to Home Transitional Care Intervention Pilot Study”;
 Tammy Arms on “The Role of the Nurse Practitioner in the Assessment and
Care of Older Adult Drivers”;
 Elise Thompson on “Simulation and State Anxiety in Nursing Students”;
 Carolyn Jones on “Parental Stress and Coping during the Hospitalization of a
Child”.
Diane Pastor made a podium presentation on “Using Interactive Theatre to Promote Awareness of Advanced Directives and Decision Making.”
Also in attendance at the conference were Laurie Badzek, Aprel Ventura, Stephanie Turrise and Anne-Marie Goff. Faculty set up
and manned an informational booth to distribute information about open faculty positions within the SON and information
about the various nursing programs, including the DNP program.
Beth Gazza (pictured left) presented in February her work “When ‘One Size
Fits All’ Might not ‘Fit All’: The Experience of Teaching Online”. The presentation was made at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education
Transforming the Teaching & Learning Environment: The 2016 Virtual Conference.
Kelly Laham and Stephanie Turrise presented a poster on “A Comparison of
Nursing Students’ Satisfaction and Self Confidence in Learning Medication
Administration Using Simulation” at the Drexel EDU Sim conference in
Clearwater Florida Mar. 14-15.
Stephanie Smith and Nancy Winterbauer (ECU Assistant Professor) presented their findings from a focus group study on barriers to diabetes self-management education to the N.C. Diabetes Advisory Council on Feb. 5. The council is an advocacy group
working to reduce the burden of diabetes through coordination among stakeholders in diabetes prevention and management in
N.C. Their presentation made to approximately 40 in attendance was entitled Barriers to Diabetes Self-Management Education.
Volume 9, Page 4
School of Nursing Newsletter
Notable Achievements cont’d.
Eric Esposto (May ’16) is a member of the #1-ranked UNCW men’s ultimate frisbee team. Yes, team is ranked #1 in the country! On Feb. 9, UNCW defeated the #1-seeded team UMass (12-11) in a double game point thriller.
Pictured at right are Bri Phipps (May ’17) and Alex Taylor (May ’17), who
presented their mental health teaching project to the New Hanover Metro
Treatment Center. Because of their excellent work, the staff plans to use
this project with future clients.
Three teams from UNCW participated in the state-side Social Entrepreneurship competition in Greensboro in Feb. designed to promote innovative
businesses with a positive social impact. Recognition goes to Ashley Cribb
(Dec. ’17) and her team for creating an application to assist diabetics with
the task of properly choosing foods that promote health and comply with
their specific needs. Cribb was mentored by SON faculty Heidi Winslow.
The graduate level team from UNCW (“Soul Pedals”) was first runner-up!
Publications
Congratulations to Jane Fox for her recently published work. The citations are below:
Jarosinski, J. & Fox, J.A. (2015). A review of research and nursing management of mental health problems in pregnancy and
motherhood. Nursing Research and Reviews, 5, 1-8.
Fox, J.A. (in press). Six-year visit (School Readiness), Pediatric Primary Care Practice Guidelines for Nurses (3rd ed.) Richardson, B. (Ed). M.A., Jones & Barlett Learning.
Fox, J.A. (in press). Ear disorders. Pediatric Primary Care Practice Guidelines for Nurses (3rd ed.) Richardson, B. (Ed.). M.A.,
Jones & Barlett Learning.
Congratulations goes to former MSN-FNP graduate Stephen Blackmon and SON faculty Kelly Laham and Jeanne Kemppainen
for their recent publication. The citation is below:
Blackmon, S., Laham, K., Taylor, J., & Kemppainen, J. Dimensions of medication adherence in African Americans with
Type 2 diabetes in rural North Carolina. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, (in press).
Congratulations to Jared Kerr and Susan Sinclair for their recent publication. The citation is as follows:
Reel J. J., Campbell H., Kerr G.J. & Sinclair , M.S. (2016). Complementary therapies for chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease. Journal of Community Medical Health 6: e125. doi:10.4172/2161-0711.1000e125.
RN-BSN student Melissa Stephenson will have her letter to the editor assignment published in the online journal of American
Nurse Today. This assignment was part of her Community Nursing course.
News from Randall Library
John Osinski, Health and Human Services Librarian, is pleased to announce that the library recently received some “much
overdue” enrollment growth funding. Some of that funding will be used to purchase access to CINAHL Plus with Full
Text. Below is a description of this database:
CINAHL Plus with Full Text is a robust collection of full text for nursing & allied health journals, providing full text for more
than 770 journals indexed in CINAHL. This authoritative file contains full text for many of the most used journals in the
CINAHL index, with no embargo. A core research tool for all areas of nursing and allied health literature. Full text coverage
dates back to 1937. CINAHL Plus with Full Text covers nursing, biomedicine, health sciences librarianship, alternative/
complementary medicine, consumer health and 17 allied health disciplines. In addition, this database offers access to health
care books, nursing dissertations, selected conference proceedings, standards of practice, educational software, audiovisuals and
book chapters. Searchable cited references for more than 1,420 journals are also included.
Volume 9, Page 5
School of Nursing Newsletter
Nursing Faculty Travel to India for Presentations
SON faculty Brandy Mechling, Nasrin Fasalfi and Diane Pastor (pictured below left to right) along with SSW faculty Art
Frankel, Stacey Kolomer, Noell Rowan, Heather Lang and Jessica
Strong and Gerontology faculty Anne Glass attended an international conference in India this past December. The conference,
“International Conference on Community Mental Health:
Trends and Challenges” was held at St. Joseph’s College in Bangalore, India. It was attended by approximately 600 persons
primarily from the UK and Southeast Asia.
Each of the SON faculty made a podium presentation. The titles
of these presentations were as follows:
 Diane Pastor: “Mental Health Interventions for Caregivers
of Community-Dwelling Persons with Dementia in the U.S.”
 Nasrin Falsafi: “A Randomized Controlled Trial of Mindfulness versus Yoga: Effects on Depression and/or Anxiety in
College Students.”
 Brandy Mechling: “Youth caregivers of depressed parents
and their young adult outcomes.”
Both Mechling and Pastor taught an undergraduate social work class at the college as well. Pastor also co-taught with SSW faculty Kolomer about the social worker’s roles and education in the U.S. and interprofessional work with nurses.
To further the relationship between the CHHS and St. Joseph’s College, School of SW Art Frankel and Anne Glass and SON
faculty Brandy Mechling received an internal cultural activities grant, “Sharing Culture and Practice Differences in Mental
Health Systems in India and in the U.S.” Aided by this funding, the director of the School of Social Work at St. Joseph’s
(Dhivya Kiran Jeevan) and a few of his students will be travelling to the U.S. to participate in the CHHS Health and Human
Services Research Week activities. Jeevan will also be part of a four person professional panel to discuss mental health in India.
Undergraduate Returns to Make a Presentation
Paige Thacker (May ’15) recently served as a guest lecturer for the undergraduate course Research in Nursing. Thacker had
worked as a research assistant on two faculty projects while an undergraduate senior: (1) with Nancy Ahern on a study examining parents’ knowledge of adolescent risky behaviors and (2) with Brandy Mechling and Tammy Arms to study interventions for
healthy eating and exercise programs for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness. Both studies were funded by a J.
Richard Corbett Grant.
Thacker is currently employed as a nurse at NHRMC and was involved in a new graduate orientation program which included
a nurse research component. Her integrative review of literature on a topic relative to evidence-based practice in the ICU was
entitled “Lung Recruitment and Atelectasis Prevention.” The study has evolved into a full research project supported by
NHRMC where Thacker and other nurses are examining evidence-based practice for a protocol for alveolar recruitment and
atelectasis prevention, cost effectiveness and improved patient outcomes for continuous lateral rotation therapy compared
to kinetic therapy. Thacker shared her experience with the Research in Nursing students regarding her undergraduate research
activities and how she utilizes research in her current nursing position.
Spring 2016 Meet and Greet
The Spring ’16 “Meet and Greet” has been scheduled for the new student cohort entering in the fall (Class of Dec ’18). The event
will be held Apr. 20, from 11 to 1 p.m. in McNeill Hall 1051. There will be a table set up for the current first semester cohort to
discuss that level of the program and to welcome the new students. Class officers of other cohorts are encouraged to set up separate tables to assist students in this newest cohort with questions and guidance. In addition, there will be a table for each student organization; namely, the Association of Nursing Students and the American Assembly of Men in Nursing, to showcase
their activities and to encourage membership.
Volume 9, Page 6
School of Nursing Newsletter
ANS News
The Association of Nursing Students (ANS) has been
very active with recent events that include the
Wrightsville Beach (WB) Valentine 10K and the
Cape Fear Volunteer Center’s “Heart of the Matter”
Fashion Show. Proceeds from the WB Valentine 10K
benefit the WB Parks and Recreation events and
activities. Proceeds from “Heart of the Matter”
Fashion Show are being used to support the Big Buddy Program, a program that pairs students and
adults with at-risk children teaching them the value
of successful relationships. Pictured at right are
members (left to right) who assisted with the fashion show: Nicole Rioux, Kelli Ward, Sarah Tousignant and Elizabeth Fiato (all
are members of the class of May ’17.)
ANS members Tricia Czar (May ’16) and Allison Bowman (May ’16) attended the NC ANS Annual Convention in Raleigh Feb.
26-28. Bowman is the NC ANS secretary.
ANS has also begun collaboration with a number of community organizations: Cape Fear Volunteer Center, Liberty Home Care
and Hospice, Special Olympics, Easter Seals UCP, and Make-A-Change to provide community opportunities for members.
American Assembly for Men in Nursing (AAMN) Activities
The American Assembly for Men in Nursing (AAMN) has hosted this semester several programs consisting of speakers from
various healthcare disciplines within Wilmington:
Lindsay Browning, a nurse recruiter from NHRMC spoke on the hospital’s hiring process for new graduate nurses and the
recent addition of personal statement videos to the online application.
Mary Canel, a nurse practitioner from the Student Health Center, shared her experiences of getting started in healthcare,
making decisions in her career and continuing her education.
Wes McLean, a CRNA from NHRMC, provided tips for pursuing a career as a CRNA, the experience and background that
is helpful in pursuing this specialty and anticipated changes within healthcare.
In the near future a prostate cancer survivor will address the group. The AAMN welcomes all students, both male and female,
to become members and invites suggestions for future speaking topics and guest speakers.
2nd Annual CHHS Research Day: April 8, 2016
The College of Health and Human Services is pleased to announce the third annual CHHS Research Day. Keynote speaker will
be Karen Mustian, associate professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine. Mustian will address “Supportive Care
in Oncology: Changing the Standard of Care in Communities Across the United States.” Barbara Lutz, McNeill distinguished
professor within the SON, will also make a podium presentation. Various CHHS faculty poster presentations on recent scholarship projects will be showcased as well. The event will be held in the Burney Center.
Reflection Day 2016
The Spring ’16 Reflection Day in which students in the undergraduate pediatric course will present their “reflective” projects
on April 26 from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. in McNeill 1051. Students not only are assigned to write papers presenting patients’ pathophysiology and relevant nursing diagnoses, but to create individual projects that incorporate the arts and humanities, are reflective
of what was seen with the various patient scenarios and how the caring experiences frame future models in nursing practice.
Students, staff and faculty are invited to drop in during the presentations to view the projects.
Volume 9, Page 7
School of Nursing Newsletter
Clinical Research Activities
Research assistants Hannah Liddle and Alex Patton
(pictured left and right in photo), seniors in public health
studies, participated in ETEAL Exploration Day with
an ETEAL project. Their project, entitled “Scientific Writing: Developing a Clinical Study Protocol using a Realworld Approach,” was a project led by faculty members
Susan Sinclair (Clinical Research), Jared Kerr (Clinical Research), Hal Campbell (Public Health Studies) and Justine
Reel (CHHS). This project involved the invention of an
innovative device designed to assist COPD patients with
breathing. Using this as the underlying framework, the
project provides for the instruction of scientific writing applying a real study instead of the typical mock examples
used in the past. It uses an existing study about COPD to write a study protocol within the Advanced Scientific Writing
course. Protocol writing is a complex process that requires team effort, cross-functional expertise, team interaction, negotiation
and consensus building; all of which lead to a protocol that is clear, detailed transparent and approvable by IRBs and regulatory authorities. This ETEAL Project incorporated a course-embedded project that meets a specific real-world need. It will result
in example protocols for the COPD Device Study, which can be used in other CLR courses and will follow real-world processes
of protocol writing used in the clinical research industry.
A three-part series of seminars entitled “A Day in the Life of …” were presented by the NC Coast Clinical Research Initiative
and the Student Association for Clinical Research (SACR). SACR is a student organization dedicated to educating students
and the public about the importance of the clinical research industry. The series are intended to discuss project management,
biostatistics and clinical trial study start-up. Two parts of the series have been held:
 On Feb. 3, Kim Nelson, a pharmaceutical and strategic consultant, with 29 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and
clinical research industry presented on project management in clinical research. A lively discussion followed with students,
community professionals and faculty on the role of project management, necessary skills, occupation opportunities and best
practices.
 On Mar. 3 a full audience met at UNCW’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation to learn about the role of a biostatistician. The speaker was Kenney Mountford, director of epidemiology for the Values & Outcomes group at Quintiles, a
leading contract research organization. Students from the clinical research program and Department of Mathematics and
Statistics joined community professionals and faculty for networking and an engaging presentation and discussion.
 A third seminar will be held on April 6 as part of the CHHS Research Week in which Dana Durst, Principal Activate Team
Leader US, Chiltern International, will speak. A panel discussion hosted by the Clinical Research Program on “Access
Patients/Patient Access,” how clinical trial investigators can improve access to patients and how patients can have better
access to clinical research. One issue facing investigators and patients today is meeting the needs of vested groups while
helping to ensure that the new investigational products are safe and effective. The panel of leaders from various areas in
clinical research will discuss the roots of the problem, current status and potential solutions in what promises to be a challenging and exciting session.
Quintiles, the world’s largest Contract Research Organization (CRO), conducted a presentation and reception for CLR students
on Mar. 16. Quintiles representatives from their clinical as well as laboratory (Q2) groups presented an overview of the company
and opportunities for employment. WebEx was available for the presentation portion.
Volume 9, Page 8
School of Nursing Newsletter
Simulation Learning Center Activities
Prelicensure Leadership & Management Simulation
Senior nursing students in the Leadership and Management course experienced a simulation in the classroom which involved former senior students via video who had a conflict management scenario in a hospital setting with one of our volunteer
standardized patients. The scene was a disgruntled patient who said she had fallen and believed that she had not been cared for
during the previous night. Class members were presented with post-simulation debriefing reflection questions and discussed the
situation as a group.
Interprofessional Practice Simulations
Feb. 19: An interprofessional simulation with Social Work (SW) and the SON took place on Feb. 19 in the apartment lab.
Dept. of Social Service Child Protective Service social workers acted as family members in a scenario where SW students made a
home visit to investigate the situation including care of a two month old child. Three senior nursing students participated in an
afternoon simulation involving a suspected child abuse scenario in the mock hospital setting. A child actress played the role of a
nine-year-old patient reporting her broken arm resulting from a fall down the stairs. Her “real” mother portrayed the fictitious
mother. Each nursing student assessed the patient and involved SW into the scenario as a “protocol visit.” The simulation was
hosted by the NC Social Work Consortium directors from Chapel Hill; in which they noted this type of scenario had not been
carried out by other schools. Student feedback was extremely positive from nursing and SW students. Sixteen schools comprise the Consortium and 13 that have accredited Social Work Programs in N.C. The pediatric nursing faculty plan to incorporate the scenario into the curriculum.
Feb. 26: Three disciplines in CHHS came together to create an Interprofessional Education/Practice simulation on Feb. 26,
which was an approved grant through the CHHS Interprofessional Education Simulation Summer Fellowship and through an
approved grant through ETEAL. The collaboration was between the SSW, SHAHS (Exercise Science) and the SON and was
led by faculty Jacqueline Lee (SW), Lisa Sprod (Exercise Science) and Patty White (SON).
During the simulation four undergraduate students from each discipline were randomly assigned to four care teams, each represented by Social Work, Nursing and Exercise Science. The care teams were able to plan interventions for the scenario of a
16-year-old adolescent female recently diagnosed with osteosarcoma of the left lower leg. The patient was an active athlete and
“A” student” who faced a 10-week course of chemotherapy and possible limb amputation. The maternal grandparents who had
custody of the patient in place of her deceased parents were also part of the simulation; all roles were played by standardized
patients. Each of the care teams was able to simulate interaction with the family as they presented their individualized plans of
care for this patient and her family. The simulations, approximately 15 minutes in length, were videotaped.
Debriefing occurred after the simulations in which learning skills, communication techniques and emotions were discussed. Students expressed that they felt this had been a very valuable learning experience and would like to see the simulation’s continuance in future semesters. Students expressed their appreciation for learning the viewpoints of the various disciplines and the
communication techniques used.
The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS survey) was presented to all 165 students within the 3 classes.
Then all students will complete post-reflections and the RIPLS survey again after having viewed videos of the simulation. An
abstract for this research activity has been submitted for the CHHS Research Day.
Faculty Development Webinar
A faculty development webinar was held Feb. 22 with Kim Hawkins of Creighton University, who discussed the Creighton Simulation Evaluation Tool used in the NCSBN-sponsored National Simulation Study. (This study found that simulation experiences were as effective as clinical experiences used up to 50% of clinical time.) Undergraduate nursing faculty are considering
adapting the evaluation tool across the curriculum for consistency in faculty feedback and evaluation of simulations.
Adult Health I Course and Weekly Simulation Experiences
The Adult Health I course has begun a new clinical experience for the students in the simulation lab. A clinical group of 10 students rotate through the simulation lab each week to allow students additional practice of various nursing skills and assessment
within a small group environment. Students are divided into two groups engaging in 2 simulations: a post-op hysterectomy
patient and a new diabetic experiencing diabetic ketoacidosis. The goals of this new venture are to decrease student to faculty
ratios in the clinical settings and allow students to develop their skills in a safe, protected environment.
Volume 9, Page 9
School of Nursing Newsletter
Mock Disaster Simulation: “A First”
A simulation of a mock disaster was implemented for all second-semester seniors on Mar. 4. The event, the first of its kind, utilized all simulation labs on the second floor of McNeill Hall and several individuals from the community, which consisted of
experienced paramedics and standardized patients. The planning of this simulation began last October and continued over the
past several months leading up to the event.
The simulation began with a pre-briefing session for all students in the Multipurpose Room regarding a “Code Aster” (an event
resulting in major trauma victims). Students were assigned to a specific “bed” in one of the simulation labs and prepared to receive at the bedside a “hands-off” report from representatives from local EMS workers regarding specific patient information.
Students in turn had to assess, plan and prioritize interventions, implement orders and reassess. The patient situations changed
throughout the one hour and 15-minute simulation period requiring students to act according to protocols and medical/nursing
knowledge.
Following the simulation period, debriefing was conducted with all students present. Each student team assigned to a specific
bed presented the patient to the class as to how the team addressed the patient’s problems and prioritized care. Videos of the
situations were played in the background during the presentations. Student responses to the simulation were positive about the
learning experience and the realism of the scenarios, especially with the standardized patients who were trained to portray psychological issues resulting from trauma.
Special appreciation and recognition goes to the members of the community who contributed their time and talents to this simulation: J. T. DiMauro, lieutenant and paramedic with Carolina Beach Fire Department; Macon Wessell, firefighter and EMT
with Carolina Beach Fire Department; Lieutenant Kate Javes and Paramedic Ryan Goodrich of the NRHMC EMS; and standardized patients Mary Ann Nunnally and David Corley. Special recognition also goes to faculty and staff who planned and
implemented this simulation: Nancy Murdock, clinical coordinator for the Adult Health II course; Robin Cunningham, SLC
Coordinator; Barb Snyder, SLC assistant; and Jeff Stanfield, IT coordinator. Appreciation also goes to clinical faculty who assisted, including those who lead clinical rotations in other courses.
Of special note was the high praise given the nursing students by the emergency trauma personnel. They complimented the
students on their knowledge and execution of skillful activities in this mock trauma event.
Pictured in photos on left are students during simulation. Pictured in upper right photo is Barb Snyder, SLC assistant, who was
responsible for the moulage of manikins used in the mock disaster simulation. Pictured in lower right photo are standardized
patients Mary Ann Nunnally and David Corley.
Volume 9, Page 10
School of Nursing Newsletter
Welcome to Our Newest Faculty
Pediatric nurse practitioner April Bice earned her B.S.N. from the University of Central Florida in
’04. Her undergraduate thesis focused on the recognition and treatment of pain in pediatric patients diagnosed with cancer. She completed her M.S.N. in ’11 and in ’15 her Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee College of Nursing efforts focused on the phenomenon of inadequate management
of pediatric procedural pain and comfort. She has served as a nursing instructor at King University
and has acted as a reviewer for the peer-reviewed journal Issues in Mental Health Nursing and has
authored a literature review focused on “Increasing Nursing Treatment for Procedural Pain.”
Bice considers herself an advocate for women and child victims of interpersonal violence and authored an OpEd on fighting domestic violence in Tennessee published in ’13 in the Knoxville News
Sentinel. Most recently Bice has submitted a systematic review on holistic procedural comfort interventions for children, and she will be disseminating the findings of her doctoral research and
phenomenon with further manuscripts in the near future.
A native of Winston-Salem, pediatric nurse practitioner Kellie Griggs completed her A.D.N.
from Forsyth Technical Community College in Winston-Salem before completing her
B.S.N., M.S.N. with a focus on education and the DNP from Gardner-Webb University.
Currently Griggs serves as the legislative chair for the N.S. Association of Women’s Health
Obstetrics and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN). Her primary area of practice has been highrisk obstetrics. She, her husband of 17 years and their four children reside in Southport.
She enjoys paddle boarding, surfing, reading and painting.
Kathleen E. Molden earned her B.S.N. with a major in
psychology from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh,
P.A. and later her M.S.N. (summa cum laude) in nursing education from Drexel University. She was later
named in the Who’s Who among Leaders in North
America. Having worked in various nursing specialties,
Molden has taught for over 30 years in L.P.N., Diploma, A.D.N. and B.S.N. programs.
Molden joins the faculty after a recent move from Langhorne, P.A. to Leland. In addition
to her education responsibilities, Molden has served as faculty advisor for the National Students Association and was recognized in New Jersey for teaching excellence. She is a member of the National Red Cross and participates in hospital, church and home ministry as a
Eucharistic minister among other various community activities.
Happy Spring!
Please submit calendar events, notable achievements, community events, research/scholarship
activities and questions for faculty/staff to our editorial and production staff: Sandy O’Donnell
(odonnells@uncw.edu)
or
Debra
Simpson
(simpsond@uncw.edu).