FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Nurses and student nurses in northwest Arkansas will report on research projects and discuss implications for nursing practice at the 14th Annual Nursing Research Conference, sponsored by the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing and Pi Theta, the local chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International nursing honor society.

To be held on Monday, April 11, at the Jones Center for Families in Springdale, the day-long conference will feature Daniel J. Pesut, professor and department chairman at Indiana University School of Nursing. Pesut, who is current president of Sigma Theta Tau International, will speak on knowledge management in nursing. A fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, Pesut is internationally known for his work in nursing education and research and is principal author of “Clinical Reasoning: The Art and Science of Critical and Creative Thinking in Nursing.”

“The faculty of the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing have played an important role in offering continuing education for nurses in northwest Arkansas while involving our students in research during their undergraduate years,” said Reed Greenwood, dean of the College of Education and Health Professions.

Kathleen Barta, associate professor in the Mann School, said that interest in the conference continues to grow. So many presentations were accepted this year that for the first time conference organizers will be offering concurrent sessions.

Among the student presenters are three nursing students who have been involved with research conducted by Nan Smith-Blair, an assistant professor in the Mann School. For these students, going to the lab each week offered a unique opportunity to apply their classroom learning and discover the excitement of research while contributing to knowledge that could refine the care of emphysema patients.

Abigail Smith, Ryan McSpadden and Kristin Swanson all developed a new perspective about the relationship of research to effective nursing, and as a result all now plan to go on to graduate studies. Smith said her “eyes were opened to the fact that research is vital in the nursing field.”

Smith-Blair’s research focuses on the effects of exercise on diaphragm fatigue with a goal of helping emphysema patients delay the onset of respiratory failure and the need to use a ventilator. Funded by the Arkansas Biological Institute, which administers the tobacco settlement funds, the research holds the potential to reduce patient suffering along with cost and length of stay in the hospital.

Another undergraduate presentation by Julie Spears, an honor student in the Mann School, will compare health lifestyle behaviors between nursing and non-nursing students and will examine the issue of nurses as role models. Spears will also receive the student award from Pi Theta chapter.

Other conference presentations will include a presentation of research by Mann School instructor Bill Buron on preserving personhood among long-term care residents with dementia, an examination of work satisfaction of school nurses by Barta and Mann School professor Marianne Neighbors, and a study of teenaged views of dating violence by Sue Ellen Schultz, an advanced practice nurse with the University of Arkansas Health Center.

Cathy Irwin, a nurse with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Rural Hospital Program, will present her research on the impact of mental health telemedicine on patient cost savings, and nurses from the Veterans Administration Medical Center, Maureen Farrell and Alice Carpenter, will discuss a pressure ulcer improvement project. Julie Thibodaux, who is an alumna of the Mann School and a nurse with Northwest Arkansas Pediatric Clinic, will present her nursing experiences in the Amazon.

Participants are eligible to earn 5.1 continuing education hours provided by the University of Arkansas, an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the Arkansas Nurses Association.

Eleanor Mann School of Nursing is the platinum sponsor of the conference. Gold sponsors include Area Health Education Center, Northwest Arkansas; state representative Shirley Borhauer, and Washington Regional Medical Center. Silver sponsors are Medical Associates of Northwest Arkansas, Mercy Health System-Northwest Arkansas, Northwest Health System, St. Vincent Health Systems, and Siloam Springs Memorial Hospital.

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Note to reporters: The conference is by registration and is not open to the public. Reporters are welcome at all sessions, and the keynote speaker will be available for interviews at 10 a.m.

Directions to the Jones Center for Families, 922 E. Emma Ave., Springdale: from highway 265, turn west on Emma Avenue. (also called 265 Spur). The center is about a quarter mile on the right and is well marked.

Agenda for Nursing Research Conference:

8:15 - 8:25  Opening Remarks, Chapel
                   Kathleen Barta, Pi Theta president

8:25 - 8:30  Dean’s Welcome
                   Reed Greenwood, dean, College of Education and Health Professions

8:30 - 9:30  Keynote Address
                   Knowledge Management in Nursing: Making the Invisible - Visible
                   Dan Pesut, president, Sigma Theta Tau International

9:30 - 10:00  Questions for the keynote speaker

10:00 - 10:30  Break/Exhibits, Room 228

10:30 - 11:00  CONCURRENT SESSIONS:

                         (A)  A Comparison of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Between Nursing and Non-Nursing Students, Julie Spears,  UA Honor  Student Chapel
                         (B)  The Impact of Mental Health Telemedicine on Patients' Cost Savings, Cathy Irwin, UAMS Rural Hospital Program Room 227

11:15 - 11:45  CONCURRENT SESSIONS:

                         (A) A Nurse's Journey to the Amazon, Julie Thibodaux, Northwest Arkansas Pediatric Clinic Chapel
                         (B) Work Satisfaction of School Nurses, Kathleen Barta and     Marianne Neighbors, University of Arkansas Room 227

12:00 - 1:00  Lunch with Round Table Discussions 
                       Room 226-227

1:00 - 1:30  Poster Presentations
                     Room 228

1:30 - 2:00  CONCURRENT SESSIONS:

                    (A) Teenage Views of Dating Violence, Sue Ellen Schultz, University of Arkansas Health Center Chapel
                    (B) Preserving Personhood Among Long-Term Care Residents Living with Dementia, Bill Buron, University of Arkansas Room 227

2:15 - 2:45  CONCURRENT SESSIONS:

                     (A) Diaphragm Contractility and Oxidant Stress in Emphysematous Hamster Diaphragm, Nan Smith-Blair and UA students Ryan McSpadden, Kristin Swanson and Abigail Smith Chapel
                     (B) The Pressure Ulcer Improvement Project, Maureen Farrell and Alice Carpenter, VA Medical Center - Fayetteville Room 227