The Latest News from the School of Nursing

Understanding sleep disturbance and improving sleep quality in older adults living in long-term care (LTC) settings has been the focus of study for Junxin Li, PhD ’14 since she arrived at UB to pursue her PhD. Dr. Li states, “Sleep is important for health and well-being and this is no different for LTC residents. However, disturbed sleep is a common complaint in this group who frequently report experiences of excessive daytime sleepiness, difficulty falling asleep, increased duration and frequency of awakenings at night, and disrupted sleepwake rhythms.

Grace Dean awarded NIH grant to study CBT delivered by bedside nurses.

When Megan Klyczek, BS ’14 signed on as a rower for UB Women’s Division 1 rowing team in 2009, she became a part of more than just a team, she was introduced to a volunteer opportunity that has continued past graduation. She became the assistant coach for the WeCanRow Buffalo team to teach rowing to female cancer survivors allowing them to re-build strength and mental focus, as well as connect with other survivors. This past year, Megan became the head coach of the team working alongside Maggie Lawn, a UB senior studying aerospace and mechanical engineering, and Liz Murphy, a 2nd year UB law student. Together they coach the group promoting healthy lifestyles and striving to develop camaraderie among members of the team. Megan states, “This experience has been rewarding in countless ways, teaching me about the life of a survivor and about supporting those around you.”

This past year the University at Buffalo School of Nursing mourned the loss of one of our beloved alumna, Patricia H. Garman, MS ’79. This was a great loss for our school as well as the Western New York community that she loved so dearly. Mrs. Garman was an unwavering supporter of the School of Nursing through her generosity of time and her philanthropy in the establishment of the Patricia H. Garman Behavioral Nursing Endowment Fund. Since its establishment in 2003, the Garman Endowment has funded 22 pilot studies. Faculty have leveraged this funding into external grant funded projects totaling over $1 Million. Because of Pat’s commitment and generosity many people have benefited from the research that is done in her name. With the recent addition of a generous bequest, more faculty will be able to advance and promote their research. Mr. and Mrs. Garman also established the Patricia H. and Richard E. Garman Professorship in the School of Nursing. This will enable the School to continue its tradition of academic excellence and advance our strategic growth by attracting key faculty members who will lead the way in educating future nurse clinicians, educators and researchers. Dean Lewis stated, “Mrs. Garman has left behind a powerful legacy and she will truly be missed.”

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is an on-going telephone health survey system run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tracking health risk behaviors, preventive health practices, and health care access related to chronic disease and injury. The data received from these surveys establishes priorities for state and federal health department initiatives that serve to improve public health. This data is also used by National Institutes of Health to set priorities for research. Drs. Jungquist and Dickerson along with their research team were funded by the CDC to validate the survey questions about sleep behaviors and disorders. Their study discovered 2 of the 5 questions currently used in the CDC telephone surveys were not reliably capturing sleep problems likely causing automobile accidents and poor or dangerous performance at work. The team is developing more specific questions in collaboration with the CDC. Study results have been disseminated at the UB Celebration of Student Academic Excellence and at the 2014 International Sleep Conference.

Nursing students travel to Peru and Belize to provide care to families in need.

The UBSON had a productive, exciting year in 2013-2014. The faculty and staff began to implement the 5-year strategic plan. This issue will highlight our accomplishments and evidence of our achievements to date. We have increased our DNP and RN/BS enrollments, with 182 students graduating from our BS, MS, DNP, and PhD programs in 2014. We welcomed 3 new faculty members with research agendas that include healthy weight promotion in children and families, problems with health care access for marginalized populations, and perinatal/ neonatal care transitions and technology in nursing education. We are celebrating
our Distinguished Professor, the promotion to full professor for one of our faculty members and promotion to associate professor with tenure for 4 others. Two researchers have received NIH and AHRQ funding for their studies on CBT as an intervention in insomnia and lung cancer, and coordinating transitions with health information technology to improve chronic disease outcomes. These grants build our research enterprise to move towards achieving our goal of attaining global recognition in research and scholarship. One strategy to accomplish our goal of delivering nationally recognized nursing education programs is to increase
global health opportunities for our students. This winter session two groups of students participated in service learning activities in
Peru and Belize. Their stories and pictures are priceless, hope you enjoy them. We received a generous endowment to help more
students to take advantage of these opportunities. We have fostered partnerships within the SON, throughout UB, and with our
community partners. The Joining Forces-UB initiative with the School of Social Work is a great example of partnership between
programs. We have wonderful faculty, students, staff and alums, and in this issue we celebrate the achievements of Dr. Connie
Vari and honor and remember our dear alum and benefactor, Patricia Garman. I hope you find the initiatives we have developed as
exciting as we do.

Upon receiving a scholarship established by UB nursing alumnus Connie Vari, DNP, RN, FNP, MBA and her husband, Andras J. Vari, MD, nursing student Kelly McLean (pictured) made an important vow to the couple.

At UB School of Nursing researchers believe that mentorship is key to the development of a successful research program. Through the Mecca S. Cranley Mentorship Award we are able to connect faculty with expert researchers from around the country to collaborate on high quality publications and grant applications. This year, Drs. Grace Dean, Suzanne Dickerson, Carla Jungquist, and Davina Porock received the group mentorship award to focus on sleep research which is emerging as a critical mass of scholarship in our school. This group of faculty are primed for successful research programs in the area of sleep. Additionally, UBSON has faculty with research programs that would like to integrate sleep and circadian rhythms measures in their work. Through the Mentorship Award they received expert consultation and mentorship from Dr. Michael Perlis, PhD, University of Pennsylvania. Three major grants have been submitted this year from this group’s work with Dr. Perlis.