Two UB SON PhD students recognized by national organizations

Samantha Auerbach, , MSN, WHNP-BC, ANP-C, a UB SON PhD student and reproductive health nurse practitioner, was selected as 2020 Emerging Scholars in Family Planning grantee by the Society of Family Planning Research Fund. Auerbach was awarded $7,500 for the project “Attitudinal determinants of contraceptive non-use in Appalachia.” The goal of this project is to “optimize contraceptive use and support reproductive autonomy by generating an actionable understanding of contraceptive nonuse.” 

“It’s a tremendous honor to receive this award for understanding how individual attitudes interact with sociostructural factors to drive nonuse of contraception, “says Auerbach. “This is a novel approach for understanding this complex health behavior that centers the individual and their values within the larger social and structural context in which reproductive decisions are made. This work will generate foundational knowledge to support the development of tailored, person-centered contraceptive counseling interventions with aims of empowering reproductive autonomy.”

Auerbach has been working with UB School of Nursing assistant professor Kafuli Agbemenu, PhD, MPH, RN, CTN-A, and Gretchen Ely, PhD, professor and PhD program director at the University of Tennessee School of Social Work, on another Society of Family Planning funded project assessing unmet family planning needs in Appalachia in the context of the opioid epidemic.

Auerbach is also a UB Presidential Scholar; she received a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Skidmore College and her Bachelor and Master of Science in Nursing degrees from Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Profession’s direct-entry nurse practitioner program.

Jodie Brown, , MSN, MBA, RN, UB SON PhD student and instructor at Pomeroy College of Nursing at Crouse Health, was awarded a 2020 Anthony J. Jannetti, Nursing Economic$ Foundation Scholarship in the amount of $5,000. This award will help to offset educational costs, including tuition, fees and other expenses. Recipients were selected based on standardized test scores, bachelor’s program GPA, professional history, leadership and a statement of goals and career plans.

Brown’s area of interest is the nursing workforce and the value of nursing care in positive patient outcomes. She says her passion for the nursing profession and recognition of the importance of nursing in the future of health care motivates her to continue learning.

“The support provided to me by Nursing Economics will allow me to continue to develop the research and data analysis skills nursing leaders now need to successfully advocate for the resources required to provide quality patient care. The funds will help me to complete my dissertation which will focus on understanding the relationship between emergency room utilization and social determinants of health,” says Brown. “Understanding drivers of high cost/low value utilization in our region will enable a number of long-term goals including developing interventions that will decrease ER overcrowding and improve health outcomes in the community. 

"My hope after graduation is to be able to work as a nursing researcher and educator applying my skill set to perform data analysis on the large body of data now available through the electronic health record and other sources. Not only will this provide the quantitative evidence needed to advocate for nursing resources, but it will lead to further nursing focused health systems research that will enhance the nursing profession by demonstrating nursing’s value to positive patient outcomes." 

Brown received her Bachelor of Science in nursing degree from Syracuse University and her Master of Science in Nursing Administration and Master of Business Administration from the University of Tampa.

Since its establishment in 1994, the Nursing Economic$ Foundation has promoted the advanced education and research activities of nurse executives who are pursuing graduate-level degrees.