Research / Centers / Grants

Joint Appointments

Research

photoThe Department of Nursing has joint appointments for research with area healthcare organizations. Each joint research appointment brings together a doctoral prepared faculty researcher and a community healthcare organization for the purpose of utilizing research to improve patient care and enhance nursing practice. Current joint research appointments include: Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, St. Luke's Regional Medical Center, Mercy Medical Center and West Valley Medical Center. Current appointments address issues such as: evidence-based practice and nurse retention. These research appointments provide opportunities for undergraduate nursing students to learn the importance of research in clinical practice.

Practice

The Department of Nursing has a joint practice appointment with the State of Idaho Health and Welfare Region III. This joint appointment allows faculty to directly impact clinical practice, provide student learning opportunities, and assist Health and Welfare address a wide variety of public health nursing issues.

Centers

The Idaho Nursing Workforce Center (INWC) is governed by the Idaho Alliance for Leaders in Nursing and is located and managed by the Department of Nursing. The Workforce Center will provide policy makers, nursing leaders and health care providers in Idaho with data to support recommendations for nursing work force planning. See http://www.inwc.org/

Grants

Grants provide the Department of Nursing with funding to enhance nursing practice in the State. Here is an overview of grants in which the Department either has been or is currently involved.

College of Health Sciences Receives Technology Grant

The Departments of Nursing, Respiratory Therapy and Radiologic Sciences were awarded a $213,580 Idaho Technology Incentive Grant from the Idaho State Board of Education. The objective of this grant is to integrate the use of technology throughout each department’s curriculum.

Through this grant the departments will:

-convert traditional classroom skills into video simulations for increased practice of ever more complex medical scenarios,
-create a computer based learning simulation skills lab to increase student satisfaction and confidence,
-provide training for faculty in the use of computer simulations for learning,
-provide each faculty with PDA’s and clinical decision support software as advanced educational tools.

For more information about this grant contact faculty members, Rosemary Macy, Lutana Haan, or Leslie Rosenkotter.

Idaho Partnership for Hispanic Health

 Funding for the “Idaho Partnership for Hispanic Health” project has been awarded to Mountain States Group through a $1.17 million three-year grant by the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, a group within the National Institutes of Health. 

This NIH grant is focused on decreasing Hispanic health disparities in Southern Idaho. The grant proposal was developed in cooperation with the Boise State University Department of Nursing. The Idaho Partnership for Hispanic Health (IPHH) project is the first NIH grant to be awarded the Mountain States Group and the Department of Nursing. The first year of IPPH will focus on assessment and developing community coalitions. Future project goals will include the development of interventions to decrease Hispanic health disparities. There is potential for 11 years of NIH funding to support the IPHH project.

Department of Nursing faculty, Dr. Leonie Sutherland, Dawn Weiler, Winnie Spence, and Molly Prengaman are working on the grant. (IPHH 2005-2008)


Greater Awareness for Idaho Nurses (GAIN)

photoThe department was awarded a $730,800 U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services grant to fund the GAIN program which provides cultural competence continuing education for nurses and nursing students statewide. (8/2004 to 6/2007) For more information see http://nursing.boisestate.edu/GAIN

Healthcare Without Harm

The Campaign for Environmentally Responsible Health Care - Nancy Otterness, RN, MS and Patt Elison-Bower, PhD are recipients of a $5000 grant from Healthcare Without Harm (HCWH). Responding to multiple environmental pollution problems, several health care organizations formed the Health Care Without Harm campaign. Funding is provided to: promote pollution prevention practices; support the use of environmentally safe materials, technology and products; and educate health care providers, workers, and consumers about the environmental and public health impacts and solutions.

The primary objective of the grant we received is to increase the knowledge and skills of nurses and health care workers regarding environmental pollution by assessing environmental exposures and the impact of environmental exposures on select populations of southwest Idaho. Southwest Idaho consists of a ten county area composed of urban, rural and frontier counties. It is the largest metropolitan area between Portland, Oregon and Salt Lake City, Utah. (1/2005-1/2006). The Healthcare Without Harm Workshop for nurses and other healthcare workers is scheduled for Monday, November 14, 2005 on the Boise State University Campus - Student Union Building.

It will address the following:


Safe Patient Handling and Movement Pilot Project: NIOSH/ANA Grant

photoBoise State University, Department of Nursing has been selected as one of 26 schools from around the country to introduce the Safe Patient Handling and Movement Module into their nursing curriculum. This project is jointly sponsored by the American Nurses Association and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The most up to date safety equipment, including ceiling mounted lifts, standing lifts, and lateral movement assist devices will be placed in the nursing clinical labs this fall. Students, faculty and our community partners will be educated on the latest innovations in safe patient handling technology that will decrease staff and patient injuries. Boise State University Department of Nursing is proud to be one of the forerunners in leading the movement towards a no manual lift policy in this country. Dawn Weiler, MS, RN, ANP, Assistant Professor in the Department of Nursing, will be coordinating and supervising this project and welcomes all inquiries regarding this project and arranging educational opportunities for community partners dweiler@boisestate.edu.


La Buena Salud

In collaboration with Mountain States Group, the department was the recipient of a $600,000 federally funded Health Resources and Services Administration (HERSA), three year grant "La Buena Salud" the Idaho Wellness Initiative. This grant focused on strengthening interdisciplinary education while providing health screening services to seasonal farm workers (2003 to 2005).
 

Women with Type 2 Diabetesphoto

 

The Boise State University Faculty Research Grant Program has awarded nursing faculty, Leonie Sutherland $3964 to help fund research on Women with Diabetes. Sutherland will be developing a grounded theory of the experiences of single women diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. The award will assist in funding qualitative data analysis software, recruitment of participants and interview transcription.

Scholarly Activity

Scholarly activity is an important part of faculty work. Faculty members are current with the latest advances in the profession through discovery and the utilization of research. Some of the topics include:

Presentations

 

Mikal Black, Assistant Professor in the Department of Nursing presented at the Idaho Nurses Association Conference in March on "Cultural Considerations of Pain Management" and is scheduled to present a poster along with Terri Reyburn, Grant Coordinator and Janel Allison on "Introducing Cultural Competence into Nursing Practice: The GAIN Project at The Western Institute for Nursing" in Portland, April 12-14 2007.

Dr. Marty Downey, Associate Professor in the Department of Nursing presented at the Idaho Nurses Association Conference in March, 2007 on "Complimentary Therapies for Pain Management."

Lori Werth, Marketer/Advisor in the Department of Nursing and Carrie Matheny, 5th semester nursing student, have been selected to present at the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) regional conference in April, 2007. Lori and Carrie will be presenting on "The Role of Current Students and Technology in Academic Advising."


Sandra L. Engebretsen, PhD., PMHNP-BC will present the following "A Collaborative Project to Apply Complementary Therapies with Geriatric/Psychiatric Clients," this summer at the Sigma Theta Tau, International Honor Society of Nursing 17th International Nursing Research Congress in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Dr. Cindy Clark presented "Stress, Strain, and Insolence: Student Experiences with Faculty Incivility in Nursing Education" to two audiences (faculty and students) at the 2006 National NSNA Convention in Baltimore MD. April 5 and 6, 2006.

Dr. Cindy Clark made a presentation at the 2006 Mosby Faculty Development Institute in Miami, Florida in January 2006. The topic of her presentation was "Protecting the Public and Promoting Student Success: Designing Effective Policies for Impaired Nursing Students."

On January 4, 2006, Marty Downey, Associate Professor made a presentation on Holistic Nursing Practice, Massage, Imagery, Therapeutic Touch at the McCall Medical Center in McCall, ID. The next evening she made a presentation on Self-care for Creating Calm to the Soroptomists International.

Faculty are available as resources for the community on a wide variety of health care subjects.