College Kudos: Award, Certification, Professional Service, and Presentations

The Transcultural Nursing Society (TCNS) held its 50th Annual Conference in Salt Lake City on October 23-26, 2024. The conference theme was Envision the Future, Honor the Past: A Half-Century of Advancement in Transcultural Practice, Education, Research, and Administration. Dr. Madeline Leininger, Dean of the University of Utah College of Nursing from 1974-1979, founded TCNS, a society that seeks to advance cultural competence for nurses worldwide, advance the scholarship of transcultural nursing, and develop strategies for advocating social change for culturally competent care. Attendees at the conference celebrated growth in transcultural nursing, and focused on how they can enhance the quality of culturally congruent, competent, and equitable care that results in improved health and well-being for people worldwide. 

Dr. Jenneth Doria and Dr. Julie Gee were members of the Salt Lake City Planning Committee. 

Several faculty presented or participated at the conference.

• Dr. Ana Sanchez-Birkhead delivered the keynote address titled Enhancing Community Engagement in Transcultural Nursing to Address Emerging Health Issues.
• Leslie Crandall, Claudia Charles, Jacqueline Kent-Marvick, Dr. Sara Simonsen, Sarai Negrete Macias, Lorna Oforiwah Khemchand, Madison Elizabeth Maughan, Dr. Jessica Ellis, Sharon Deezbaa Austin, Ryan Ward, Camille Moreno, and Dr. Lisa Taylor-Swanson presented a podium presentation titled Developing a Nurse-Delivered Menopausal Transition Health Promotion Intervention with Indigenous, Integrative, and Biomedical Health Education: A Community-Based Approach with Urban American Indian/Alaska Native Women.
• Dr. Erica Cristina Nelson and Dr. Teresa Garrett presented a poster titled Linguistically Appropriate Care for Spanish-speaking Patients at a Women’s Health Clinic.
• Dr. Amanda Keddington and Dr. Julie Gee presented a podium presentation titled Community Health Workers Employed in an Accountable Care Model: A Needs Assessment.
• Dr. Cheryl Armstrong, Jill Johnson, Kimberly Garcia, and Abby Pascua presented a podium presentation titled The Lived Experience of Guatemalan Lay Midwives' Beliefs and Practices about Helping Babies Breathe.
• Dr. Cynthia Garbett, Dr. Amanda Keddington, and Dr. Rebekah Perkins presented a poster titled Creating a Psychologically Safe Classroom for Nursing Students to Address Microaggressions Through Role Play.
• Dr. Lauri Linder, Haley Utendorfer, Brianna Oliveros, Sydney Gilliland, Dr. Victoria Tiase, and Roger Altizer presented a poster titled Using Cognitive Walkthrough Evaluations to Refine a Symptom Assessment App for School-Age Children with Cancer.
• Dean Marla De Jong delivered welcome comments and paid tribute to Dr. Madeleine Leininger at the Welcome Reception, which the College of Nursing sponsored.
• The Offbeats Traditional Jazz Band, including Dr. John Nerges, provided musical entertainment at the Welcome Reception.

Dr. Tom Rowley presented Motivational Interviewing for Lifestyle Change and Patient Compliance at the National Conference on Correctional Health Care in Las Vegas on October 19-23, 2024. 

The International Society of Paediatric Oncology held its SIOP 2024 Congress in Honolulu, Hawaii on October 17-20, 2024. 

• One of eight nursing keynote presenters, Dr. Lauri Linder delivered a keynote address titled Elevating the Voices of Young Children in Research and Practice.
• Dr. Lauri Linder, Christine Platt, and Kristin Stegenga presented a podium presentation titled Comparison of Child and Parent Ratings of Symptoms and Quality of Life Among School-Age Children with Cancer.
• Courtney Sullivan, Julie Buser, Dr. Lauri Linder, Mengxue He, Linda Abramovitz, Mohammad Alqudimat, Rebecca Billings, Sibongile Chituku, K Elizabeth Skipper, Maureen Majamanda, Tadala Mulemba, and Patricia Patrician presented a poster titled A Need for Novel Quality Indicators to Measure Improvements in Pediatric Cancer Nursing Services in Resource-Diverse Countries.

The Office for Health Sciences Workforce Excellence sponsored Veterans Health Week on October 21-25, 2024. The theme was Stronger Together: Empowering Veterans, Service Members, and Families.

• Mario Reeve moderated a panel discussion titled The Military Learner: Managing the Adjustment from Uniform to Cap & Gown. Panelists included Christopher Smith, Frank Greaves, Dr. John Nerges, and Dr. Dennis Ahern.
• José Rodriguez moderated a Town Hall. Panelists included Dr. Michael Good, Dean Marla De Jong, and Dr. Julie Nguyen.

Taryn Hiatt, a new social worker with Caring Connections: A Hope an Comfort in Grief Program, presented Grief Literacy: Building Compassionate Communities at the Interfaith Suicide Prevention Summit for Faith Leaders. Live On and the National Alliance on Mental Illness sponsored the summit.