All 30 USF College of Nursing students in the first Accelerated Second Degree cohort at the Sarasota-Manatee campus are set to graduate on track in May, despite facing many COVID-19 challenges and obstacles.
Welcome back, Bull Nurses! The start of the spring semester kicked off with hands-on learning and virtual meet-ups.

It was great to see new faces at the virtual coffee shop, game day and the student panels for the Accelerated Second Degree and Upper Division pathways.
USF College of Nursing faculty hosted a COVID-19 Bootcamp for undergraduate nursing students to ensure they are prepared to administer coronavirus testing and vaccine immunization shots.

These Bull Nurses are ready to serve the community!
The College of Nursing's Communications and Marketing team received a Silver Award in the 2021 CASE District III Institutional Awards. The team won in the Communications Pivot category for its "Pivoting in a Pandemic: How Communications Can Re-envision New Traditions" entry. The award represents the very best in advancement, communications and marketing across the Southeast. Read more>>
Children who attend the Tampa R.I.C.H. Houses showed their Bull pride as they worked on laptops provided through the Peds to Succeed program.

In its third and final year, the program is a partnership between the College of Nursing and the City of Tampa Police Department. It pairs pediatric nursing students with at-risk youth in neighborhood community centers and offers wellness education programs to underserved neighborhoods.
Happy CRNA Week! As we continue to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic, let's reflect on the heroic work of USF Bull Nurse CRNAs and SRNAs.

We're especially proud of the December 2020 graduates. This 42-member class achieved a 100 percent first-time pass rate on the National Certification Exam. The nurse anesthesia program achieved this milestone for the second consecutive year. Congrats to all!
L. Alan Todd became the USF Health College of Nursing's Assistant Dean for the Center for Experiential Learning and Simulation in April 2020, just weeks after the coronavirus pandemic hit. Dr. Todd shared his thoughts about COVID-19's impact on simulation in academic nursing.
USF Health College of Nursing Assistant Professor Catherine Nadeau passed the CNE certification exam and became a Certified Nurse Educator.

The national certification offered by the National League for Nursing demonstrates expertise in nursing education. Congratulations!
Congratulations to Associate Professor Ken Wofford for becoming a Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (FAWM). The achievement recognizes members of the Wilderness Medical Society who have fulfilled a demanding set of training and experience in the specialty niche of Wilderness Medicine.
Black Heritage Month at USF provides an educational atmosphere for students, staff, faculty, and alumni to celebrate and commemorate the contributions that the Black community has made to society.

The 2021 calendar of events includes a poetry slam, a diversity and inclusion conference, a workshop on how to provide culturally sensitive care in the health care field, and more. View events>>
The next installment of Coffee and Conversation is set for 9 a.m. Feb. 10 when Will Bachman will facilitate a professional development discussion based on the TEDx Talk "World Peace and Other 4th-Grade Achievements" featuring John Hunter.

Come ready to converse and share ideas on how the TEDx Talk relates to our professional and career growth.
Do you need Continuing Education credit? 

USF College of Nursing has several opportunities for licensed faculty to receive continuing education at no cost. Join your colleagues at Journal Club, Grand Rounds, or participate in our online Enduring Materials activities for high-quality learning opportunities. Contact Ann Joyce ajoyce@usf.edu or Emily Kent ekent2@usf.edu for more information.
Alumni Spotlight: Susan Scherer

Susan Scherer, BS 13, is a nurse entrepreneur with more than 28 years of nursing experience. In 2017, she was named one of the top nurse leaders by the National Nurses in Business Association. Scherer shared how her degree from USF helped shape her entrepreneurial path.
Student Spotlight: Alexandra Hawley

Alexandra Hawley is one of 30 students in the first Accelerated Second Degree cohort on the Sarasota-Manatee campus. The group of new nurses graduates in May. Hawley shared her thoughts on the program and the obstacles of training to enter the nursing profession in the middle of a pandemic.
Alumni Spotlight: Marcia Gainer

While Marcia Gainer, MS 07, was studying to become a nurse practitioner, she had a difficult time paying for school. Gainer saw the importance of helping African American students and created the BLN/Gainer Family Excellence Scholarship specifically for Black Leadership Network students.
Loretta Ford, who co-founded the nation's first NP program and received an honorary Doctor of Nursing from USF in 2016, was awarded the U.S. Surgeon General's Medallion award.

The award recognizes Dr. Ford's exceptional achievement to the cause of public health and medicine. Dr. Ford, who turned 100 in December, is credited with starting a profession integral to our nation's health care.
USF College of Nursing Assistant Professor Rayna Letourneau spoke to WTHR Channel 13 in Indianapolis, Indiana about the challenges facing new nurses on the frontlines.

As new grads are entering the workforce in the middle of the pandemic, USF is offering a continuing education webinar series called "Frontline Nursing" to get novice and seasoned nurses prepared.
Nominations are open for the 2021 DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty. The award recognizes and celebrates the impact nursing faculty have made on the nursing profession and patient outcomes.
The recognition program will expand to include The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Students. More information about the student-specific award is coming soon.
Nursing Students Assist County in COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout to Seniors
In a joint outreach effort with the county health department, USF College of Nursing nurse practitioner students helped administer hundreds of free COVID-19 vaccinations at senior apartments and independent living facilities. Providing service to the community is an integral part of students' clinical learning experience.

JANUARY


Emily Kent

Academic Services Administrator
February
Celebrating Blackness Poetry Slam

5:30-6:30 p.m. via Microsoft Teams.
Black Heritage Month events.
USF Health Research Day

9 a.m. via Microsoft Teams. Keynote speaker William C. Sessa presents "The vascular endothelium: Interfacing lipids with cardiovascular risk." Details.
Nursing Faculty Grand Rounds

11-11:50 a.m. via Microsoft Teams. Dr. Ivonne Hernandez presents "Lactation Science." Details.
Publications

Munro, C. L., Liang, Z., Elías, M., Ji, M., Chen, X., & Calero, K. Sleep and Activity Patterns Are Altered During Early Critical Illness in Mechanically Ventilated Adults, Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing: 1/2 2021 - Volume 40 - Issue 1 - p 29-35 doi: 10.1097/DCC.0000000000000455.
 
Munro, C., Liang, Z., Ji, M., Elías, M., Chen, X., Calero, K., & Ely, E. (2021). Family automated voice reorientation (FAVoR) intervention for mechanically ventilated patients in the intensive care unit: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Contemporary Clinical Trials. 106277. 10.1016/j.cct.2021.106277.

Williams, L.F., Cousin, L. “A Charge to Keep I Have”: Black Pastors’ Perceptions of Their Influence on Health Behaviors and Outcomes in Their Churches and Communities. Journal of Religion and Health (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01190-0.

Sarkar, A., Yoo, J. Y., Dutra, S. V. O., Morgan, K. H., Groer, M. (2021) The Association between Early-Life Gut Microbiota and Long-Term Health and Diseases. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 10(3), 459.

Tyson, D. M., Chavez, M. N., Lubrano, B., Lake, P., Gutierrez, A., Marshall, V. K., Rigg, K. K., Henderson, H., Pabbathi, S., Sherry, P., & Rajasekhara, S. Understanding Cancer Survivors’ Educational Needs About Prescription Opioid Medications: Implications for Cancer Education and Health Literacy. Journal of Cancer Education, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-021-01957-9 

Lim, S. J., Aguilar-Lopez, M., Wetzel, C., Dutra, S. V. O., Bray, V., Groer, M., Donovan, S. M. (2021). The effects of genetic relatedness on the preterm infant gut microbiota. Microbiology, accepted for publication.

Ho, T., Sarkar, A., Szalacha, L., Groer, M. W. Intestinal Microbiome in Preterm Infants Influenced by Enteral Iron Dosing. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition. 2020 Dec 23; Publish Ahead of Print. doi: 10.1097/MPG.0000000000003033. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33394885.

Presentations

Marshall, V. K.Chavez, M.Mason, T., Martinez-Tyson, D. (February 2021). Technology-Based Interventions to Address the Psychological Impact of COVID-19 in Patients Undergoing Cancer Treatment. Poster Presentation ONS/NCI/NINR Symptom Science Colloquium. (Accepted).

Marshall, V. K., Given, B., Lehto, R., Given, C., Sikorskii, A. (February, 2021). The Different Impact of Symptoms and Adverse Events on Medication Beliefs in Patients Newly Prescribed Oral Anticancer Agents. Poster Presentation. ONS/NCI/NINR Symptom Science Colloquium. (Accepted). 

Bachman, W., Lockett, L., & Katz, K. S. (2021, March 23-24). Developing and Evaluating Customized Computer-Based Simulations that Facilitate an Organizational and Systems Leadership Education for Nursing Students During the Pandemic [Conference presentation]. Florida Online Innovation Summit, Orlando, FL, United States.
For questions and requests regarding the monthly newsletter, contact Liz Brown at elbrown@usf.edu.