This week, the College of Nursing celebrated outstanding clinical innovation, national recognition, and far-reaching impact in research, service, and scholarship. The RedMed Employee Clinic marked a year of remarkable growth and expanded care for university employees, thanks to the dedication of Morgan West and the RedMed team. Dr. Sara Hart was appointed Director of Arts and Humanities Integration in Health Professions Education at the University’s Center for Health Ethics, Arts, and Humanities, advancing interdisciplinary education.
Clinical Practice
Morgan West, Patient Services Coordinator, compiled the RedMed Employee Clinic Year in Review for CY24. The report highlights remarkable growth in patient visits and expansion of services provided to University of Utah employees. Dr. Jen Clifton commends the entire RedMed team – Dr. Katie Davis, Dr. Sean Erickson, Kati Medel, Dr. Joshua Twitchell, Rachel Sharp, Morgan West, and Lyndsay Wixom – for their outstanding work, writing, “Your dedication and commitment to patient care continue to make a meaningful impact.”
Professional Service
Dr. Sara Hart was selected to serve as the Director of Arts and Humanities Integration in Health Professions Education on the Council of Directors for the University of Utah Center for Health Ethics, Arts, and Humanities. Members of the Council of Directors contribute significantly to the vision of the Center, currently teach at the University, have focused their career on education, and have demonstrated academic excellence in bioethics and health humanities. The Center “produces new teaching, scholarship, and outreach work, bringing insights from the humanities, arts, law, and social sciences into healthcare education and practice.” The team seeks to “prepare tomorrow’s healers to act with compassion and justice,” and “educate health professionals in bioethics, research ethics, and health humanities, and nurture empathy and humanitarian values.” Collaboration with the Center provides opportunities for students to develop connections between healthcare and the arts and humanities.
Presentations
The Utah Women’s Forum invited Micaela Besser, student in the women’s health nurse practitioner track of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, to deliver a presentation titled Minding the Menopause Gap. Micaela and Dr. Lisa Taylor-Swanson then facilitated a question and answer session with attendees.
Dr. Cynthia Beynon and Dr. Natasha Ansari presented Nursing Scholarship: Engagement and Application at the Intermountain Chapter of the Oncology Nursing Society’s Winter Seminar. Rather than delivering a traditional lecture, they led an engaging session on nursing scholarship and research, immersing attendees in the research process and guiding them through a mini quantitative study where they built a research poster on the spot. Dr. Beynon and Dr. Ansari’s innovative approach highlighted how all nurses can contribute to scholarship, making research accessible and actionable in everyday practice.
Dr. Elizabeth Sloss delivered an invited presentation titled Leveraging AI to Improve Care Quality Across the Cancer Care Continuum: From Enhancing Prognosis Communication to Implementing a Hospital at Home Care Delivery Model at the 2025 Clay Dunagan, MD, MS Annual Patient Safety & Quality Symposium in St. Louis. Barnes-Jewish Hospital, WashU Medicine, and St. Louis Children’s Hospital jointly hosted the symposium. The theme of the symposium was Unlocking Artificial Intelligence to Improve Patient Care.
The American Red Cross invited Kari Weiss, student in the pediatric primary care nurse practitioner track of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, to participate as a Shot@Life Champion during Hill Day in Washington DC. As a Champion, Kari met with six members of Congress who represent Utah and advocated for strong US government investment in national and global immunization programs.
In the Media
Dr. Susan Madsen, Founding Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project, facilitated an engaging podcast titled Understanding Sexual Assault in Utah with Dr. Julie Valentine and Liliana Olvera-Arbon. Sexual assault is one of four main areas of focus in a report titled Women’s Safety & Security: Utahns’ Awareness, Understanding, and Attitudes.
HealthFeed – the official blog of University of Utah Health – offers information on the latest in medicine, research, nutrition, exercise, and more. A blog titled Take Care of Yourself While Caring for a Loved Onesummarizes Dr. Echo Warner’s research, and includes quotes from Dr. Warner concerning experiencing social isolation, connecting through technology, receiving emotional support through social media, and communicating needs.
Publications
Alekhina N, Wong B, Sward K, Mooney KH. Patterns of self-reported diarrhea in patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy. Support Care Cancer. 2025;33(3):154. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-025-09206-1
Darawad MW, Reinke LF, Khalil A. Melhem GB, Alnajar M. Palliative care for patients with end-stage renal disease: An examination of unmet needs and experiencing problems. J Hosp Palliat Nurs. Epub ahead of print. DOI: 10.1097/NJH.0000000000001104
Garcia K, Flynn E, Alvarez G, Iacob E. Evaluation of educational activity with Guatemalan birth attendants about helping babies breathe. Hisp Health Care Int. Epub ahead of print. https://doi.org/10.1177/15404153241295553
Glissmeyer EW, Stipelman CH, He ZS, Olivas AR, Fox JM, Rigby JM, Cannon SS, Winn E, Alvey J, Kadish H. Improving same-day access in pediatric primary care – a patient-centered and timeliness quality improvement initiative. J Pediatr Health Care. Epub ahead of print. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedhc.2025.01.001
Towsley GL, Edelman LS, Geurin R. Successful care conferences: Nursing home staff, persons with dementia, and caregiver perspectives. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2025;14:105504. Epub ahead of print. DOI: 10.1016/j.jamda.2025.105504