Student Spotlights

Changes UMass Chan Medical School students made to the South 5 unit of UMass Memorial Medical Center have meant a better night of sleep for hospital patients. The project, led by Ezequiel De Leon, Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing DNP candidate on the adult gerontology primary care track, Nick Hebda, SOM ’21, and Katherine Sadaniantz, SOM ’21, focused on South 5, a 33-bed medical and surgical inpatient unit with single and double rooms. Read about the measures now in place: https://bit.ly/2KgzlzJ

Jacqueline Mbugua, Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing DNP Student is serving as a 2020-2021 GNSA Advocacy Leader for the University of Massachusetts, representing the state of Massachusetts. The Graduate Nursing Student Academy (GNSA) Advocacy Leaders maximize AACN's advocacy efforts on behalf of graduate nursing students. Consisting of 2 representatives from each state including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, these nursing leaders participate in quarterly conference calls to develop their advocacy skills and become informed on the latest health policy discussions. The GNSA Advocacy Leaders create a greater impact in amplifying AACN's policy and advocacy messaging and provide feedback to AACN staff on policy issues that are of importance to graduate nursing students.

On Saturday November 14, 2020 UMass Memorial held a Community Outreach Foot Clinic event at St John's Xavier Center here in Worcester. This was under the leadership of Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing alumni Mallory (Johnson) Gibbons, who is a NP in the Vascular Surgery Department at UMass Memorial.  Several students, faculty and alumni of the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing took part in this event. GEP students-Nancy Figuereo & Reggie Sarpong; DNP 1 student-Frances Sabas; PhD student-Heather Briere; Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing Faculty-Dr Rosemary Taylor & Beth Keating; Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing Alumni- Mallory Gibbons & Adam Bliss

Becky LaMay, DNP, AGACNP-BC, a neurosurgery nurse practitioner at Massachusetts General Hospital, graduated from the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing last spring and assisted #COVID19 patients. Read what got her through a trying time in this Worcester Business Journal Story. http://ow.ly/Td8P50CDm3E

Kelly Cutting, RN, FNP-C, and Olivia Slezik, RN, AGPCNP-BC, DNP students, both graduating in 2021, are aiding COVID-19 tracing efforts for Student Health Services at Worcester State University. Read about the critical roles they are filling at Worcester State University and why they were specifically requested: http://bit.ly/2MAmJ7J #COVID19

‘My heart is in community health’ Helen Tsiagras, RN, first-year Doctor of Nursing Practice student in the Graduate School of Nursing’s Graduate Entry Pathway Program Family Nurse Practitioner track, began her nursing career during the COVID-19 pandemic. In      November, she started work as a community health nurse at Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center in Framingham, coordinating care for patients and supporting their needs. Read more here: https://bit.ly/3bndodR

Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing’s DNP student’s Hannah Mills, Amy Chau and Courtney Gannon volunteered along with SOM students as part of Companionship Wellness Program (CWP). Please see the WCVB-TV video clip - https://www.wcvb.com/.../program-unites-medical.../35105287 UMassMedNews: https://bit.ly/361Kywi

“What excites me about health policy is that anyone can get involved in it.” Heather Lovelace discusses representing the Graduate School of Nursing in D.C. & working in aesthetics. Read about her work with sugarcane workers: http://bit.ly/3quJSYg

Congratulations Heidi Boland and Grace Winship, DNP Students on receiving funding for the Implementation of Outer Cape Health Services’ Sano Health Smartphone Pilot Project, through the Huppert Community Scholar Award.

“This is a great way for me to gain more experience teaching in a field that I love.” DNP student Jacqueline Mbugua describes the benefits of the Graduate School of Nursing's new teaching associate program: http://bit.ly/3ctwHD3

Congratulations Samantha Creamer, Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing DNP Student and Annie Thornton, SOM Student on receiving funding through the Huppert Community Scholar Award. For their project “Bridging the Gap between the Veteran Community and Future Health Care Providers at the VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic”.  Their proposal exemplifies Mick Huppert’s vision for community-engaged projects. We look forward to hearing from you and your faculty mentors, Janet Hale and Linda Cragin, as your project unfolds.

Heidi Boland and Grace Winship, first-year DNP students receive the Mick Huppert Community Health Scholar Awards. “Implementation of Outer Cape Health Services’ Sano Health smartphone pilot project” Boland and Winship are working with Outer Cape Health Services, a nonprofit community health center serving the 10 outermost regions of the island. OCHS is partnering with Sano Health, which provides telehealth-specific devices to health care providers and patients insured under Medicare to facilitate improved access to health care appointments and medical records. Their goal for this project is to use surveys and interviews to ascertain the feasibility of telemedicine during COVID-19 within the Medicare patient population. They also plan to evaluate if access to care is increased by measuring increased video visit attendance rather than audio-only attendance.

Congratulations Jennifer Berube on the successful defense of her dissertation, “New Graduate Nurses’ Perception of the Impact of Dedicated Education Units on Transition to Practice: A Descriptive Study” on March 22, 2021. The focus of her study on the transition to practice of newly graduated registered nurses will make a significant contribution to the literature - we look forward to seeing it in print! Addressing the education-practice gap that new nurses encounter is important; results of this study may propel the creation of future DEUs. I would like to acknowledge the Dissertation Committee Members Dr. Sybil Crawford, Dr. Maureen Wassef, and Susan Sullivan-Bolyai for their efforts and help in guiding Jenn through the dissertation process.

Three PhD students presented posters at the 33rd Annual ENRS Scientific Sessions March 24-25, 2021

Jenn Berube shared the results of her dissertation study, “New graduates nurses’ perception of the impact of dedicated education units on transition to practice: A descriptive study. 
Julia Patrick shared results of an integrative review, “Sleep disturbances experienced by adults hospitalized on medical and surgical units: An integrative review.”  
Zareen Barry shared a concept analysis, “Bridging in Education: A Concept Analysis”