Get to Know Your SNRS Organization and Board of Directors

I am gratified by the trust placed in me by the member of the Southern Nursing Research Society to be their President for 2022-2024. I have been a member of SNRS since my days as an assistant professor and have participated in SNRS committees and then in leadership across the decades since then. I have made friends through SNRS and found like-minded research collaborators to build the science, in my case, the growth and nutrition of low-income, minority women and children. 

The Board members of SNRS thank you for your enthusiasm that was shown at our first in-person conference in February 2022 in New Orleans. The Officers are: President Elizabeth Reifsnider (Elizabeth.Reifsnider@asu.edu), President-Elect Charleen McNeill (Charleen-McNeill@ouhsc.edu), Vice-President Tara O’Brien (obrien.782@osu.edu), Secretary-Treasurer Carolyn Miller Reilly (creilly@berry.edu). The President is responsible for leading the organization and conducting all business meetings. The President-Elect is responsible for leading the Leadership Academy and guiding the Strategic Plan. The Vice-President is responsible for leading the Conference Planning Committee, and the Secretary-Treasurer is responsible for overseeing our financial health and keeping minutes of all meetings. The executive committee is comprised of these four officers.

Our committees and the Board Members responsible for leading them are: 

Annual Conference Planning: Tara O’Brien, our VP (Obrien.782@osu.edu). The Program Committee is responsible for the overall direction of our Annual Conference. It chooses our theme, the invited speakers, the abstracts, symposia, and pre-conference programs to be offered at our annual conference. The Program Committee is a very important committee in our Society.

Communications: Ashley Rivera (happydayrn@gmail.com). The Communications Committee has several sub-committees that oversee our President’s Pen and Board member editorials that are published in our Society journal, Research in Nursing and Health (RINAH), Southern Connections, our Facebook page and postings, and tweets about our research. Our Communications Committee is our main vehicle for sharing with our membership what our Society is accomplishing for improving the health of our Southern region.

Development: JoAnn Long (joann.long@lcu.edu). The Development Committee is responsible for generating non-dues revenues to support the expansion of SNRS’ small grants and other strategic initiatives. The Development Committee welcomes all creative ideas on how to increase our income for grant support. SNRS has generous small grants for members, and we partner with other nursing organizations to co-sponsor grants. We need to generate income to prevent having to dip into our operating funds to support the grants program. 

Awards/Mentorship: Susan Fowler (njfowlers761@msn.com). The Awards Committee is responsible for soliciting nominations for our SNRS awards and then deciding on the winners based on the criteria for each grant and the supporting information provided by the nominators. SNRS provides the following awards: Clinical Researcher Award, D. Jean Wood Scholarship Award, Distinguished Researcher Award, Early Science Investigator Award, Leadership in Researcher Award, Mid Career Researcher Award, Research in Minority Health Award, Research in Nursing and Health Authorship Award. More information about the criteria for these grants is found on our website here. 

Grants: Vicki Loerzel (victoria.loerzel@ucf.edu). The Grants Committee is responsible for choosing the best proposal from those submitted for our grants. SNRS awards the following grants: SNRS Research Grant (for members), SRNS Dissertation Research Grant (for PhD students with a dissertation proposal), and we partner with organizations to provide research funding with each organization providing half the funding. Our partnered grants are SNRS/STTI Research Grant, CANS/SNRS Research Grant, AORN/SNRS Research Grant, and ANF/SNRS Research Grant. For more information about the criteria for each grant (some are more specifically targeted than others), visit our website here. 

Membership: Mercy Mumba (mnmumba@ua.edu). The Membership Committee is responsible for maintaining and increasing our membership and is the primary committee that reaches out to our members. The Membership Committee, which is made up of the State Liaisons, assists in recruitment and orientation of new members; communication activities between the Board and members through data gathering and sharing with the membership on issues and items of concern; and collecting news items for inclusion in the Newsletter. 

Research Interest and Implementation Groups (RIIGs): Miriam O. Ezenwa (moezenwa@ufl.edu). The Research Interest and Implementation Groups are focused on members’ research and clinical interests and allow for exchange between members who share similar interests. Our RIIGs are Aging/Gerontology, Biobehavioral, Community/Public Health and Health Promotion, Education, Health Systems/Health Policy, Minority Health Research, Parent/Child, Psychiatric/Mental Health, Research in Clinical Settings, and Qualitative. All the RIIGs are eligible to submit symposia for the annual conference with their members featuring research topics pertinent to their RIIG but open to all members. The RIIGs hold periodic meetings online and at the annual conference. Click here for more information.

The Student Liaison Network is unfortunately without a leader currently. Our students (at all degree levels) are very important to our Society, and we are working to fill this position. If you are interested in becoming the leader of the Student Network for SNRS, please reach out to info@snrs.org.

Our Succession Planning and Nominations Committee is our only one that is not open to all members, but is instead composed of elected members, who construct the annual ballot for our Officers and Board Members. 

Please consider which committee you want to join. Our committees are the heart and soul of our Society, and we need all members to participate. 

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Reifsnider, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, PHCNS-BC, FAANP, FAAN

President, Southern Nursing Research Society

Registration is now open for the 37th Annual Southern Nursing Research Society (SNRS) Conference, "Building Partnerships in Population Health: Through Research, Education and Practice," taking place March 1-3, 2023 at the Rosen Centre in Orlando, FL.

The SNRS Annual Conference is the focal point for those engaged in nursing research in the southern region and provides an opportunity for SNRS members to report ongoing and completed research as well as theoretical, conceptual, and methodological projects to colleagues.

Event Overview:

March 1: Opening Keynote, Dr. Tim Cunningham, followed by concurrent research sessions and pre-conference workshops, NINR Roundtable discussions, Poster Sessions, and Exhibit Hall. The day concludes with the Host School Opening Reception Gala. 

March 2: Concurrent research sessions, NINR Roundtable discussions, Poster Sessions, Networking, Awards Luncheon, and Exhibit Hall.

March 3: Keynote Speaker, Dr. Shawn Kneipp, concurrent research sessions, lunch, Exhibit Hall, and the conference closing session.

We are excited to invite you to partner with the SNRS by sponsoring and/or exhibiting at our 37th Annual Conference. The event will be held March 1-3, 2023 at the Rosen Centre in Orlando, FL.

The SNRS Annual Conference is the focal point for those engaged in nursing research in the southern region. With support from industry partners and organizations like yours, we have been able to provide a unique forum for discussion and access to a variety of resources for every attendee. There are many opportunities for partnership including: sponsorship packages, exhibit booth, and advertising opportunities.

THANK YOU TO OUR EVENT SPONSORS

The 37th Annual SNRS Conference will be held March 1-3, 2023 at the Rosen Centre in Orlando, FL.

In an effort to build community and raise funds to support nursing research grants for all of our members, SNRS will host a silent auction as part of the conference. We invite you to donate an item for the Silent Auction, such as jewelry, gift cards, electronics, etc. Items should be easily transported. 

The auction will be managed online; bidding will open on February 1st and will remain open through March 2nd. Please join your nursing colleagues from over 300 institutions and consider donating an item.

The purpose of the SNRS Leadership Academy is to identify, engage, and nurture future generations of SNRS leaders. The Board will select up to three SNRS members to join this experiential leadership development opportunity designed for promising researchers in the southern region to help them learn more about the society, refine and strengthen leadership skills, create a personal leadership plan, and receive board leadership mentoring. The program is aimed at individuals who are eligible to run for a Board position. Being selected for this program does not guarantee you a position on the slate or on the Board. Individuals will still need to be selected for the slate and officially elected per the bylaws.

For consideration, please complete the online application by January 13, 2023. Contact us for more information.

SNRS' mission is to advance nursing research and its dissemination and utilization. To that end, SNRS has a number of grants available solely through SNRS and with partner organizations. As a member of SNRS, we hope that you will review these opportunities and consider applying. Click here to learn more about the various grant opportunities. 

Interested in supporting nursing research? Donate now.

Things are moving and shaking over at the Communications Committee! Our move to the new management company has led to a great partnership working with Amy to complete a makeover for our Southern Connections Newsletter with Editor Todd and Associate Editor Darchelle hard at work. Please take time to enjoy the new content and layout, especially our new features like the new member list and career center. With Amy, we’ve been able to start some fabulous updates on the Society website and recapture our LinkedIn presence. Our social media chair Shameka and her team are hard at work coming up with new and innovative ways to share all our activities, conference updates, membership drives, and good news from all of our members. If you have good news you’d like to share with everyone in SNRS, please submit your content here. We love to celebrate with our members and spread their accomplishments! Don’t forget to like and subscribe to Southern Nursing Research Society on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to keep up with the latest SNRS news!

P.S. Darchelle will be stepping into the Editor role in the new year, be on the lookout for a call to fill the Associate Editor position which will close on January 1st. 

Ashley Rivera, RN, PhD, Jonas Scholar

SNRS Director of Communications

Assistant Professor

Florida Atlantic University

Boca Raton, FL

Deborah M. Shirey, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC

Associate Dean for the Online Graduate Program and Clinical Associate Professor

Baylor University

On September 14, 2022, the Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing (LHSON) held a health fair, Living Your Best Life, at the Austin Street Center (ASC), one of the largest emergency homeless shelters in Dallas, TX. The ASC task force, organized by SNRS member Deborah Shirey, consisted of four other members, one Ph.D., two DNP faculty and the Director of the LHSON Clinical Simulation Building, received the Dean's Grant at LHSON to plan and implement the health fair. The ASC Task Force met with leaders of the ASC to determine residents’ needs. The purpose was to explore an ongoing partnership between the LHSON and ASC that would provide an opportunity for student clinical placement, offer a volunteer initiative, and provide a unique opportunity for professional collaboration between Ph.D. and DNP faculty, as well as graduate and undergraduate students for scholarship. 

The event prepared students including nurses, nurse practitioners, and athletic training students, to collaboratively meet the needs of a local high-risk population. A team of five LHSON post-Masters (post-MSN) prepared Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students planned the event. The post-MSN students were volunteers, all certified Family Nurse Practitioners (FNPs) with combined backgrounds in community health, infectious diseases, primary care, urgent care, and women’s health. The student population consisted of the LHSON Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree program, and the graduate program BSN to DNP and post-MSN to DNP tracks. Also included were students from the Baylor University Robbins College Master Athletic Training (MAT) program in Waco. The post-MSN team mobilized 50 LHSON students from both graduate and undergraduate levels, 10 MAT students, and faculty and staff from both schools. It was determined that health, hygiene, and wellness stations would be set up in the ASC to provide education from LHSON students on topics such as diabetes and foot care, skin cancer, oral health, hypertension, nutrition, men’s and women’s health, and stress management using musculoskeletal stretching exercises. In addition, a station was set up for participants requesting spiritual needs, and this was provided by the LHSON chaplain along with nursing and MAT students.

Nearly 150 homeless attendees participated, and those who visited all of the stations were eligible for gift card drawings at the end. Blood pressure, blood glucose, and diabetic foot screening stations proved to be beneficial. Several skin wounds were identified, and due to high volume, an additional foot station was established so that participants could have their toenails trimmed and filed. These acts of humility by the students were greatly appreciated by those receiving service. Of the nearly 150 participants, only six referrals were initiated for greater health services. The health fair provided students the opportunity to experience both inter- and intraprofessional education, and Ph.D. and DNP faculty were able to collaborate and gather data for research and scholarship endeavors associated with the grant. Additionally, ASC leaders have indicated interest in continuing a partnership with LHSON and offering future health fairs for their nearly 400 residents. To strengthen the sustainable impact of the partnership, LHSON faculty and staff will provide workshops for the ASC staff to meet identified needs for education and training. These events are planned for Spring of 2023.

SNRS wants to hear about your accomplishments, grants awarded, articles published, research projects, and more. If it's important to you, it's important to us! 

Here are a few recent highlights...

Sandra Cesario, PhD, MS, RNC-OB, FAAN, Texas Woman's University - Houston, co-authored an article titled, "Reproductive decision-making of Black women living with HIV: A systematic review." The article was selected by SAGE Publishing as a featured article for World AIDS Day. Published in Women's Health, this systematic review uncovered the clear disparity in research focused on the reproductive decision-making of Black women living with HIV. Click here to read the full article. Follow Sandra on Facebook.

SNRS Member, Lauren Munoz, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, accepted a postdoctoral associate position at the Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity at The George Washington University. Her post-doctoral work involves being part of an interdisciplinary HRSA Technical Assistance Center team, which currently supports 44 HRSA grantees as they work to improve mental health, reduce burnout, and address moral injury among health and public safety workers.

Todd Tartavoulle, DNS, ASPRN, CNS-BC, LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing wrote an article titled "Educating Nursing Students about Delivering Culturally Sensitive Care to LGBTQI+ Patients: The Impact of an Advocacy Program on Knowledge and Attitudes" that has been recognized as the best article among all primary research articles published in 2021 in the Nursing Education Perspectives Journal. Follow Todd on Facebook.

Share your good news by completing this form so we can celebrate with you in a future newsletter, on our website, and via social media. #SNRSGoodNews

It's our favorite time of the year! A time when we express our gratitude to our members for your support of SNRS. Without you, we couldn't accomplish our mission to improve the health of our population through careful investigation and excellent application of nursing research. We would love to have your continued support by renewing your membership for 2023. SNRS offers many benefits to the research nursing community. To view all our benefits and renew your membership, please click here. We look forward to seeing you in 2023!

Amanda Aguirri

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Olga Turner

Candy Wilson

Chao Hsing Yeh

Looking for a Job? Looking for a great candidate to fill a vacancy? Visit the SNRS Career Center to access jobs and candidates within the highly skilled nursing research profession. 

Southern Nursing Research Society www.snrs.org