Every VUSN graduate has exciting things happening in her or his life, both professionally and personally. Class Notes – printed twice a year in the Vanderbilt Nurse Magazine and available online on this page – is an opportunity for you to not only learn what other alumni are doing but also share news about your life. We would love to hear what you've been up to! Please contact us with any updates, or call 615-322-4836. And, when posting on social media please tag us! #VUSN

Look below for news from your classmates as of December 31, 2022. Items received since July 1, 2022 are shown in red font.

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Terri Allison, PMC'00, was interviewed in February 2022 for "The DNP Executive Leadership Career Path: Is it Right for You?" by Minority Nurse , and presented at the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties conference in April. She was promoted to professor at VUSN in June 2021, and was named Distinguished Alumna of Auburn University School of Nursing in Alabama in August 2020. She is assistant dean for academics and director of the doctor of nursing practice program at VUSN.

Angel Anthamatten, MSN'00, is author of "Prescribing Contraindications and Cautions for HIV," published in the January 2022 issue of The Journal for Nurse Practitioners , and co-author of "Utilizing Patient Reported Outcomes and Quality of Life Measures in the Management of Obesity," published in February in the  Journal of Doctoral Nursing Practice . She co-presented a preconference workshop called "Pharmacologic Management of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Common Chronic Conditions," at the National Nurse Practitioner Symposium in July, and received the Sara K. Archer Award from the students in the VUSN family nurse practitioner specialty in August. Angel received the VUSN FNP Sara K. Archer Award in August 2021, and published "Prescribing Contraindications and Cautions for HIV," published in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners that November. She co-authored "Pharmacologic Management of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Common Chronic Conditions," published in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners in March 2020, and received the Sara K. Archer Award that August. Angel co-wrote "Development of an Interprofessional Home Healthcare Management Service within an Urban Housing Development," published in the September/October 2019 issue of Home Healthcare Now , and "Assessment and Treatment of Dizziness and Vertigo," published in The Nurse Practitioner in October. She received the 2016 VUSN Dean's Award for Faculty Achievement in Informatics Endeavors. 

Alison Boehm Barlow, BS'95, MSN'00, was named VUSN Women's Health Nurse Practitioner Preceptor of the Year in August 2022, and received the Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in November. She received an Excellence in Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in October 2021.

Russ Branch, MSN'00, was promoted to assistant professor in the nurse anesthesia program at Emory University's Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing in Atlanta in September 2022. He is lead author of "Environmental Surface Hygiene in the OR: Strategies for Reducing the Transmission of Health Care-associated Infections," published in the October 2020 issue of the AORN Journal , and earned his doctor of nursing practice from the University of Alabama in Huntsville in December. Russ is a nurse anesthetist at Gastroenterology Anesthesia Associates in Atlanta.

Heather Carter-Templeton, MSN'00, was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Nursing in October 2020. She is an associate professor at the University of Alabama Capstone College of Nursing in Tuscaloosa where her research links informatics with evidence-based practice.

Duke Chenault, MSN'00, DNP'16, received the Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in November 2022, and wrote about thyroid awareness in the December 2020 issue of Health & Wellness , the Vanderbilt faculty and staff newsletter. He was interviewed for "Don't Get Tricked by Halloween Treats," in the October-November 2017 issue of Vanderbilt's Connection newsletter, and about skin exposure safety in its June-July 2016 issue. 

Michael Cull, MSN'00, posted "Resilience Reconsidered," on the TCOM Conversations blog in March 2020. He is associate director for safe systems at the University of Kentucky's Center for Innovation in Population Health and associate professor in the UK Department of Health Management and Policy, both in Lexington.

Holly Gillon, MSN'00, retired in August 2017 from her career with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Nashville.

Erin Hardiman, MSN'00, co-authored "The Disruptive BEhavior ManageMEnt ANd Prevention in Hospitalized Patients Using a BehaviORal Intervention Team (DEMEANOR) Study Protocol: A Pragmatic, Cluster, Crossover Trial," published in Trials in May 2020. She is a child and adolescent psychiatric nurse practitioner at Wellness Solutions in Nashville.

Angela Hatchett, MSN'00, received the Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in November 2022, and an Excellence in Patient Experience Award from VUMC in October 2021.

Amy Helms, MSN'00, is a women's health nurse practitioner at Health First from OBGYN Specialists of Brevard in Melbourne, Florida (2021).

Nancy Hollingsworth, MSN'00, MBA'00, is president and chief executive officer at Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, California (2017).

Tara King Holmes, BE'96, MSN'00, is a nurse practitioner at Valley Health's Urology Clinic of Winchester in Virginia (2020).

Jason Jean, MSN'00, DNP'16, is an instructor in the Nursing and Health Care Leadership and doctor of nursing practice programs at VUSN (2021).

Christine Machicao, MSN'00, is a nurse practitioner at the Children's Clinic in Saint Louis (2018).

Amanda Bailey McNeely, BE'98, MSN'00, wrote "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday!" published in the October/December 2020 issue of Plastic Surgical Nursing . She has served as president of the International Society of Plastic and Aesthetic Nurses.

India Medley, MSN'00, was profiled on the website of the North American Division of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in September 2020. She is vice president and chief nursing officer at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Donna Noland, MSN'00, was featured in et online in February 2020 in a story about her marriage to the East Tennessee State University president and life as ETSU's "first lady".

Robert Palmer, BE'98, MSN'00, PhD'05, co-presented a fundamentals of critical care course at the American Association of Nursing Practitioners conference in June 2019. He is on faculty at the D.E.L.T.A. STEAM Academy in Atlanta and director of informatics for the Georgia Department of Public Health.

Patrick Palmieri, MSN'00, was named a fellow ad eundem of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in October 2021. He was promoted in 2020 to vice chancellor for research at the Universidad Norbert Wiener in Lima, Peru, overseeing a team of researchers, methodologists, statisticians, analysts and assistants. Patrick co-presented a poster, "Resilience Levels and Family Function of Vulnerable Adolescents Residing in a Shelter in Peru," at the Sigma Theta Tau Congress in July 2019, and was named the Margaret Jean Watson Distinguished Professor at the Escuela de Enfermería at UNW. In 2018, Patrick was elected to chair the board of directors of the Sigma Foundation for Nursing. He was awarded the degree doctor honoris causa by the Universidad María Auxiliadora in Peru in October 2016, and co-authored the book, Global Advances in Human Caring Literacy , published that November. Patrick founded the Instituto Nacional de la Enfermería del Peru and is director of the EBHC South America: A Joanna Briggs Institute Affiliated Group. He leads a team of researchers in Peru that has been studying the human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, with grant assistance from Spain and the European Union.

Lateesa Posey, MSN'00, is a nurse practitioner at DeVito & Alvarado Pediatrics in Brooklyn and Staten Island, New York (2020).

Sheila Ridner, MSN'00, PhD'03, is lead author of "A Comparison of Bioimpedance Spectroscopy or Tape Measure Triggered Compression Intervention in Chronic Breast Cancer Lymphedema Prevention," published in January 2022 in Lymphatic Research and Biology . Her research in lymphedema was featured in February in Yahoo!Finance and Finance News Network , and in March, she spoke with Oncology Nursing News about her research. Sheila's work was covered in April by MedicalXpress , Mirage.news , Oncology Nursing News , Oncology Nursing News again and Vanderbilt University Research News . She co-authored "Validity Testing of the Head and Neck Lymphedema and Fibrosis Symptom Inventory," published that month in Lymphatic Research and Biology . Sheila is co-author of "Risk Factors for Breast Cancer–related Lymphedema in Patients Undergoing 3 Years of Prospective Surveillance with Intervention," published in Cancer in July, and of "Prospective Surveillance with Compression for Subclinical Lymphedema: Symptoms, Skin and Quality-of-life Outcomes," in Lymphatic Research and Biology in September. Her piece, "Bioimpedance Spectroscopy May Play a Large Role in Proactively Preventing Chronic Lymphedema," was named among Oncology Nursing News top stories for 2022. Sheila co-authored "Standardization of Lower Extremity Quantitative Lymphedema Measurements and Associated Patient-reported Outcomes in Gynecologic Cancers," published in Gynecologic Oncology , and "Perceived Effects of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms on Functional Status in Early-stage Huntington Disease," in the Western Journal of Nursing Research , both in February 2021. She is co-author of "Perceived Benefits of a Brief Acupuncture for Sleep Disturbances in Post-deployment Military Service Members," in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine in March, and was named professor emerita at Vanderbilt in May. Sheila is co-author of "Subjective Cognition Reported by Caregivers is Correlated with Objective Cognition in Liver Transplant Recipients," published in Liver Transplantation , and "Implementation Strategies in the Context of Medication Reconciliation: A Qualitative Study," in Implementation Science Communications , both in June. She co-authored "Acupuncture for Sleep Disturbances in Post-deployment Military Service Members: A Randomized Controlled Trial," published in July in Clinical Nursing Research . She is the subject of a September Yahoo! Finance story about her work with Tactile Systems Technology to treat head and neck lymphedema, and an October Vanderbilt University Research News piece on faculty innovators. Sheila is lead author of "L-Dex, Arm Volume and Symptom Trajectories 24 Months after Breast Cancer Surgery," published in Cancer Medicine in January 2020. She co-authored "A Qualitative Examination of Patient Priorities and Preferences during Treatment Decision-making for Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer," in Supportive Care in Cancer , both in May, and "Implementing a Prospective Surveillance and Early Intervention Model of Care for Breast Cancer-related Lymphedema into Clinical Practice: Application of the RE-AIM Framework," published in June in Supportive Care in Cancer . In October, "Measuring Functional Status in Huntington's Disease," which she co-authored, was published in Movement Disorders . Sheila is lead author of "Lymphedema Symptom Intensity and Distress Surveys—Truncal and Head and Neck, Version 2.0," published in Lymphatic Research and Biology , and was featured, along with her research, in Vanderbilt's MyVU in November. She retired from her role as Martha Rivers Ingram Professor of Nursing and director of the VUSN PhD in Nursing Science program in December. Sheila was named American Cancer Society ResearcHERS ambassador in May 2019. Her research on measuring the risks for developing lymphedema appeared in spring 2019 in BusinessWire , HealthDay , Medscape , U.S. News , Yahoo Finance and other media outlets , and, later, in Oncology Times , Journal of Women's Health , Lymphatic Research and Biology and The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience . Sheila was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame in July 2017 and the University of Kentucky College of Nursing Hall of Fame in November of that year. She received the 2016 VUSN Dean's Award for Faculty Achievement in Research Endeavors, and co-authored "A Prospective Study of the Lymphedema and Fibrosis Continuum in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer," published in the December issue of Lymphatic Research and Biology , and cited as one of the journal's most widely read, circulated and cited articles. Sheila is the principal investigator on a bioimpedance spectroscopy technology project for ImpediMed and is featured in an educational webinar about a proposed standard of care that may help people with lymphedema.

Denise Rowe, MSN'00, is featured in a podcast, "Addressing Transgender Patients' Barriers to Access Care," hosted by The Nurse Practitioner (2022) .

Cindy Scott, MSN'00, was interviewed by WKRN in Nashville in October 2020 regarding early voting in national elections.

Christy Carpenter Sparkman, MSN'00, received the Patient Experience Award from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in November 2022, and an Excellence in Patient Experience Award from VUMC in October 2021.

Dawn Vanderhoef, MSN'00, PMC'13, is co-author of "The Impact of an Educational Intervention on Nursing Staff Attitudes toward Patients Experiencing Homelessness and Mental Illness," published in the Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association in May 2021. She co-authored "Implementation of a Collaborative Smoking Cessation Referral Process in a Psychiatric Setting," published in the Journal for Interprofessional Education & Practice in March 2020, and received the VUSN Sara K. Archer Excellence in Teaching Award from the students in the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner specialty in August. Dawn presented "Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders: A Treatment Team Approach," at the Tennessee Nurse Practitioner Association conference in March 2019. She was selected to participate in the American Association of Colleges of Nursing's 2018 Leadership for Academic Nursing Program, and was interviewed about the role of neuropsychology nurses in mental health treatment that April on SiriusXM's Doctor Radio. She presented "Wait, What Mood Disorders are on a Spectrum? Identification of Mood Disorders in Primary Care," at the TNPA conference that year. Dawn received the Sara K. Archer Award in August 2017, was selected as a fellow of the American Association for Nurse Practitioners in 2016, and received the 2015 Award for Excellence in Education from the American Psychiatric Nurses Association.  

Amy Williams, MSN'00 , of Nashville, passed away June 17, 2017.

Julie Womack, PMC'00, was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in October 2021. She is an associate professor of nursing at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

Sarah Streibig Wray, BA'98, MSN'00, co-authored "Transforming a Face-to-face Legacy Intervention to a Web-based Legacy Intervention for Children with Advanced Cancer," published in the Journal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing in February 2020, and "Randomized Clinical Trial of a Legacy Intervention for Quality of Life in Children with Advanced Cancer," published in the Journal of Palliative Care Medicine in September.