Faculty Updates

Faculty news

In this edition of The Nursing News, we introduce you to three members of our adjunct faculty, then share our faculty's latest round of publications, presentations, grants, and awards.

Meet our adjunct faculty: IUSON BL's unsung heroes

IU School of Nursing Bloomington’s (IUSON BL) adjunct faculty play an essential role in helping our students acquire the clinical skills they need to become highly effective nurses. Some of our adjunct faculty teach in the Nursing Learning Resource Center (NLRC) in lab courses, while others teach in the hospital or community settings.

Each adjunct provides direct supervision, instruction, and mentoring to our students and is responsible for grading assignments in their assigned courses, offering both formative and summative feedback. IUSON BL’s adjuncts are chosen based on their education (a master’s degree is the required minimum) and clinical/practice expertise.

In this edition of The Nursing News, we would like to introduce you to three of our adjunct faculty: Barbara Haley, Mona Visnius, and Nichole Webb.

 

Barbara Haley, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, OCN

A Bloomington native, Barbara Haley began her career in nursing at IU Health Bloomington Hospital, in the field of oncology nursing. While working in oncology, she was a charge nurse and later the oncology educator, as well as the resource pool educator. After earning her MSN Adult Clinical Nurse Specialist degree, she began working in her current position as a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) in Behavioral Health and Geriatrics. She also began working as an IUSON clinical instructor in the medical/surgical care environment. Barbara is married and has one adult son. Barbara and her husband live on a small farm, where they have raised a variety of animals over the years. She enjoys spending time with family, camping, and horseback riding.

 

Mona and family

Mona Visnius, MSN, RN, AGNP-C, ACNS-BC

Mona has been a nurse for 27 years. She graduated with her BSN from Western Carolina University. She has worked in various ICUs, then in cardiac rehab, a heart failure clinic, and in wound care. She completed a Clinical Nurse Specialist MSN at IUPUI, then went on to manage the NLRC skills lab for IU School of Nursing Bloomington for four years. Most recently, Mona finished a post-master’s degree as an Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner. She currently spends her days helping prepare patients for surgery in a pre-op testing clinic at IU Health. Mona looks forward to her time teaching. “Nursing students have a fresh perspective,” she says, “and they often remind me to think differently about problems encountered during clinical time.” She and her husband are the proud parents of two children, one in high school and the other in college. Mona’s family also includes two dogs, a cat, two birds, and a snake. In her spare time, she loves hiking, biking, and boating with her people. Sometimes, she even finds time to knit, read, and garden!

 

Nicole Webb, MSN, RN, CEN

Daisy Award winner Nichole Webb began her nursing career at the age of 18 as an active-duty Army Expert Combat Medic. She attended the Academy of Health and Sciences in San Antonio, Texas. Nichole was stationed at Nellingen Army Base in Stuttgart, Germany, and in 1990-1991, was deployed to Desert Shield/Desert Storm with the 31st CSH Field Hospital.

Nichole began her RN career at Mary Sherman Hospital in Sullivan, Indiana, in the field of Critical Care and the Emergency Room. She later relocated to Bedford and, in 2013, began a career at IU Health Bloomington Hospital as the Emergency Room Educator. After earning her MSN in Nursing Administration in 2014, she joined IUSON BL as an adjunct clinical faculty member. Nichole is currently working as the ER Manager at IU Health Bedford Hospital.

“I am married to my best friend Reagan who is an ER Nurse Practitioner,” she says. “We have four children and three grandchildren whom we absolutely adore, and son-in-law David is an ER Nurse Practitioner and IU adjunct faculty, as well. I have a passion for travel, outdoor adventures, and spending time with my family.”

 

Faculty research

Publications

Newsom, K. D., Riddle, M. J., Carter, G. A., & Hille, J. J. (2021). They “Don't Know How to Deal with People Like Me”: Assessing Health Care Experiences of Gender Minorities in Indiana. Transgender Health.

Newsom, K. D., Carter, G. A., & Hille, J. J. (2022).  Assessing Whether Medical Students Consistently Ask Patients About Sexual Orientation and Gender Identify as a Function of Year in Training. LGBT Health.

Liu, C.J., Chang, P., Griffith, C., Lu, Y. (2021). The nexus of sensory loss, cognitive impairment, and functional decline in older adults: A scoping review. Gerontologist, 1-11. Online First https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnab082.

Davis-Ajami, M.L., Chang, P., Wu, J. (2021). Hospital readmission and mortality associations to frailty in hospitalized patients with coronary heart disease. Aging and Health Research. Online First https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahr.2021.100042.

Little, S., Swider, S. M., Andresen, K. M., Arcille, D., Chaudrey, R. V., Cooper, J. L., Decker, K. A., Edwards, L., Graham, J. C., Haushalter, A. R., Hensley, J. L., Koyama, K., Morton, J. L., Ouzts, K. N., Robinson, A. Z., Saltzberg, C. W., Smith, C. M., & Weierbach, F. M. (2021). Public health nursing: Scope and standards of practice, third edition. American Nurses Association. Accepted Dec. 7, 2021.

Decker, K. A., Garletts, D. M., Warwick, C. A., Ball, S. L., Watts, P. A., Titzer, J. K., & Hendricks, S. M. (2021). Sharing our journey – Implementing a multi-county substance use prevention program in area schools. NASN School Nurse. Accepted Nov. 30, 2021.

Chung, S. Y., Bakas, T., Rawl, S. M., Welch, S., Jones, J., Ellis, R., & Hacker, E. D. (in press). The Kidney Transplant Self-Management Scale: Instrument development and psychometric testing. Western Journal of Nursing Research.

Melnyk, B. M., Hsieh, P. A. Tan, A., Gawlik, K. S., Hacker, E. D., Ferrell, D., Simpson, V., Burda, C., Hagerty, B., Scott, L. D., Holt, J. M., Gampetro, P., Farag, A., Glogocheski, S. & Badzek, L. (2021). The state of mental health and healthy lifestyle behaviors in nursing, medicine and health sciences faculty and students at Big 10 universities with implications for action. Journal of Professional Nursing, 37(5), 1167-1174.

Hacker, E. D., Richards, R. L., Abu Zaid, M., Chung, S. Y., Perkins, S., Farag, S. S. (2021). STEPS to enhance physical activity after hematopoietic cell transplantation for multiple myeloma. Cancer Nursing. Epub ahead of print, September 23, 2021. PMID: 34560708.

Al Maqbali, M., Hughes, C., Rankin, J, Dunwoody, L., Hacker, E., & Gracey, J. (2021). Fatigue and sleep disturbance in Arabic cancer patients following completion of therapy: Prevalence, correlates, and association with quality of life. Cancer Nursing, 44(5), 378-387. PMID: 32427634.

Opsahl, A. G., Embree, J. L., Howard, M. S., Davis-Ajami, M. L., Herrington, C., Wellman, D. S., & Hodges, K. T. (2021). Adapting Civility Education in an Academic-Practice Partnership. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing52(12), 575-580.

McCrea, K. A., Leathers, B. N., Heitman, L. C., Hawkins, E. K., Abbott, T. M., & Opsahl, A. (2021). Transitioning Professional Development Classes to Virtual Instruction. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing52(9), 404-406.

Grants

Yvonne Lu (PI), Chang, P-S. (Co-I). Daily Engagement in Meaningful Activity Professional (DEMA Pro) for home care patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and their family caregivers. Submitted to the National Institute of Aging, FOA: [PA20-183]-Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Requested).

Roush, Kelli, Opsahl, A., Hughes-Gay, M., & Hines, M. (December 2021). MICI-Area Health Education Center Grant 2021-2022. Implementing Scripted Case Studies Post-Clinical to Support Clinical Reasoning and Judgment through an Academic-Practice Partnership.

Presentations

Newsom, K., Carter, G., Hille, J. (2021, November). They "Don't Understand People Like Me": Assessing Healthcare Experiences of Transgender Individuals in Indiana. Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality Conference. San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Newsom, K. Carter, G., Hille, J. (2021, November). My Attendings Don't Routinely Discuss It": Assessing Medical Student Willingness to Inquire about Patients' Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity. Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality Conference. San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Carter, G., Staten, C. (2021, November). Active Duty MSM Individual and Partner HIV status Influences Degree of Sexual Identification Transparency with Healthcare Provider. Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality Conference. San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Staten, C., Carter, G. (2021, November). Active Duty MSM service members of color are more likely to be prescribed PrEP. Association of Nurses in AIDS Care Conference. Washington D.C.

Mahnke, B., Brown, L., Carter G. (2021, September). Sexual Orientation Disclosure to Healthcare Providers may Improve PrEP Uptake for Active-Duty Men who have Sex with other Men. Gay and Lesbian Medical Association Conference. Tampa Florida. 

Chang, P-S. (2021, April).The application of Qigong exercise in frailty improvement: Meta analysis. Indiana University Bicentennial Conference. Indianapolis, IN (virtual conference).

Chang, P-S. (2021, October). Introduction to Cardiac Assessment Simulation. National Taiwan University School of Nursing. Taipei, Taiwan (virtual talk).

Enamorado, I., Lu, Y., Chang, P-S. (2021, November). Perceptions of community-dwelling middle-age and older African Americans on engaging in Qigong exercise: Content Analysis. Sigma Convention. Indianapolis, IN.

Decker, K. A., Mullis, K. H., Zhang K. A., Sherwood-Laughlin, C. M., Garletts, D. M., Greathouse, L., Ball, S. L., & Krothe, J. S. (2021, October). Strategizing Population Health Promotion through Implementing & Evaluating an Evidence-Based Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum in a Rural School Setting. American Public Health Association Annual Meeting. Denver, CO.

Lankin, K., LaFond, C., Hacker, E., Savage, T., Vincent, C., & Hershberger, P. E. (2021, June). Parental Stressors, Coping, and Adaptation Related to the Pediatric Stem Cell Transplant Experience: Perspectives from Parents and Nurses. Paper Presented at the International Family Nursing Conference, Virtual Conference.

Hacker, E. D., Collins, E., Peters, T., Park, C., Patel, P., & Rondelli, D. (2021, June). Effect of Frailty and Exercise on Fatigue, Physical Activity, Functional Ability and Muscle Strength in Adult Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Recipients. Poster presented at the 2021 Annual American College of Sports Medicine Meeting, World Congress on Exercise is Medicine, and World Congress on the Basic Science of Exercise in Regenerative Medicine. Virtual Conference.

Hacker, E. D., Collins, E., Peters, T., Park, C., Patel, P., & Rondelli, D. (2021, February). Frailty Status, Frailty Transitions, and Quality of Life after Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. Poster presentation with brief oral presentation at Symptom Science Advances in Oncology Nursing, sponsored by the Oncology Nursing Society, National Institute of Nursing Research, and National Cancer Institute, Virtual Conference.

Opsahl, A., McCrea, K. A., Leathers, B. N., Heitman, L. C., Hawkins, E. K., Abbott, T. M. (November, 2021). Undergraduate Nursing Honors Research to Support Virtual Community Professional Development.  Sigma Theta Tau International Biennial Convention. Poster Presentation. Indianapolis, IN.

Burnette, E., Waldrip, A. & Reising, D. L. (2021, December). Evolving Nursing Practices: Should I Stay or Go? 2021 Indiana University Health Nursing Research Virtual Conference. Poster presentation.

Bartley, C. & Reising, D. L. (2021, November). Student Skills in Care Settings:  What Skills Are Facilities Allowing Nursing Students to Do in Clinical Settings? Indiana Center for Nursing, Indianapolis, IN (virtual). Poster presentation.