News
Anxiety Sensitivity: ‘What If’ Fears Impact Care for ICU Patients, During and After Hospitalization
November 7, 2023
Clinicians need to have a better understanding of the potential impact of patients’ anxiety sensitivity, or “fear of fear,” according to an article published in American Journal of Critical Care. When a patient has anxiety sensitivity, they misinterpret nonthreatening symptoms as threatening, assessing the potential meaning across physical, social or cognitive domains. These “what if” thoughts may trigger a spiral effect, stimulating the nervous system and resulting in stronger sensations and further catastrophic misinterpretations.
Conway-Welch Family Foundation gift to honor longtime dean, support Master of Nursing students
October 26, 2023
The number of dedicated nurses entering the profession will increase, thanks to a $1.25 million pledge from the Conway-Welch Family Foundation to establish the Conway-Welch Second Degree in Nursing Scholarship at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. This milestone gift, which will be awarded to a student enrolling in Vanderbilt’s new Master of Nursing program, was made in honor of Colleen Conway-Welch, the former dean of the school who died five years ago from pancreatic cancer.
VUSN receives $1.52 million NFLP grant to educate future faculty
October 23, 2023
Vanderbilt doctor of nursing practice students who hope to become nursing faculty may take advantage of a $1.52 million grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Health Workforce (E01HP28788), Nurse Faculty Loan Program. Vanderbilt University School of Nursing received the award to support DNP students through the 2023-2024 academic year. The…
Vanderbilt partners with AANP and National Museum of African-American Music on therapeutic music program
October 18, 2023
A new partnership with AARP Tennessee and the National Museum of African-American Music is allowing the Theraputic Music in the ICU program led by Vanderbilt School of Nursing Professor Ruth Kleinpell, PhD, FAAN, MCCM, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center Professor Joseph Schlesinger, MD, FCCM, to expand with outreach to veterans and older adults at long-term care facilities in Middle Tennessee.
Researchers Root U.S. Maternal Health Disparities in the Social Environment
October 17, 2023
Mulubrhan Mogos, assistant professor of nursing, studies ways to reduce cardiovascular disease risk among women. He was recently quoted in a story with collaborator Monica Keith, assistant professor of Anthropology, who published insights into the complex factors contributing to maternal hypertension and health disparities in a paper titled, “Social Determinant Pathways to Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy Among Nulliparous U.S. Women” in the journal Women’s Health Issues.
Vanderbilt nursing professor wins NIH funding to study sleep’s role in cognitive impairment
October 17, 2023
Makayla Cordoza, assistant professor of nursing, has won a multi-year grant of over $730,000 from the National Institute of Nursing Research. She will research how poor and disturbed sleep contributes to ICU delirium. More than one third of patients in the intensive care unit develop ICU delirium, an acute form of cognitive dysfunction that disproportionately increases the risk for worse outcomes and long-term cognitive impairment. Insufficient and disrupted sleep is also a known contributor to short and long-term neurocognitive deficits. Despite this, the sleep-delirium relationship has not been rigorously investigated, Cordoza wrote in the project abstract.
School of Nursing earns 2023 INSIGHT Into Diversity award
October 11, 2023
For the fourth year in a row, the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing has won a Higher Education in Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. The award honors VUSN’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion shown through mentorship, education, research and staffing…
School of Nursing improves health equity, offers specialized training with new HRSA grant
October 9, 2023
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing has received a four-year, $2.8 million Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Health Workforce grant for a primary care nurse practitioner residency program that will recruit, train and retain primary care providers with a passion for helping rural and underserved communities. Associate Professor Pam Jones, BSN’81, MSN’92, DNP’13, FAAN, is the grant’s project director, with Associate Professor Christian Ketel, DNP’14, FNAP, serving as primary author and evaluator.
VUSN staff take home awards at 2023 Fall Staff Assembly
September 29, 2023
The Vanderbilt University 2023 Fall Staff Assembly celebrated staff contributions to the university’s mission. The School of Nursing’s D3 team (Senior Instructional Designer Diana Vasquez, Instructional Technologist Taylor Boll, Senior Instructional Designer Carrie Sennett, Media Services Manager Clay Sturgeon, Instructional Designer Candace McClure, Instructional Technologist Kara Blake, Director, Course Development and Instructional Technology Rhett McDaniel…
Boehm receives $3.6 million to study telemedicine and post-intensive care syndrome recovery
September 25, 2023
Assistant Professor of Nursing Leanne Boehm, PhD’16, FCCM, has received a grant of more than $3.6 million over five years to examine, the efficacy of telemedicine services among people recovering from post-intensive care syndrome. This effort, funded by the National Institute on Aging, is the first PICS longitudinal cognitive impairment intervention study of its ki
