This week, College of Nursing students and faculty led campus-wide immunization clinics, earned professional certification, were featured in university media, presented at national and international conferences, and contributed to published research.
Campus Engagement
Dr. Katie Davis and Morgan West led the 2025 Flu and COVID Immunization Team, comprised of DNP students Tessa Searle, Rebecca Pesaresi, Mykell Rivera, Rickie Watson, and Paula Borrioso.
Student volunteers include:
- Anne Ahlering
- Maddie Allen
- Elly Anderson
- Sierra Anderton
- Zaneb Anwar
- Corinna Auerbach
- Micah Baker
- Natalie Bernhard
- Sunrise Black
- Rosie Bogle
- Sarah Bresee
- Jessica Chan
- Yongmin Chen
- Savannah Clark
- Makenna Craige
- Keira Crossen
- Danielle Crushing
- Shelby Greene
- James Gustat
- Paige Hatch
- Danielle Henley
- Miguel Hernandez
- Olivia Higgins
- Isaiah Hinzman
- Hanar Jaff
- Alexia Jeffers
- Java Kalati
- Ema Kamler
- Sefakor Kassah
- Sophie Katz
- Asma Khan
- Hien Le
- Jennie Leo
- Sarah Lieber
- Makena Luby
- Justin Ly
- Megan Mai
- Claire Marshall
- Kylee McManus
- Jennie Morrison
- Hamda Muktar
- Marta Myshrall
- Aaron Navarro
- Emily Nevarez
- Pierce Nguyen
- Siena Noffsinger
- Zara Nurmukhamedova
- Jane Parry
- Serena Pasion
- Creek Peterson
- Tiernan Phillips
- Olivia Pomerleau
- Rachel Robinson
- Ashley Rojas
- Melody Sanjinez
- Heidi Smith
- Ashlee Stednitz
- Charlie Steen
- Allie Steward-Duke
- Charlotte Stoker
- Avery Takahashi
- Tiauna Tayborn
- Jacy Thomas
- Haylie Tidwell
- Victoria Tompkins
- Natalie Vickers
- Nozomi Wilkinson
- Jillian Williams
- Tracy Winterholler
- Andrea Xiques
- Dayanara Zarate
Staff and faculty volunteers include:
- Dr. Natasha Ansari
- Dr. Cheryl Armstrong
- Claire Benvegnu
- Dr. Amanda Dailey Hanson
- Brooke Erickson
- Christie Garcia
- Dr. Teresa Garrett
- Matthew Horn
- Sandy Johnson
- Shelley Kern
- Mari Kimoto
- Grace LaFluer
- Dr. Gwen Latendresse
- Dr. Brenda Luther
- Kati Medel
- Dr. Joshua Twitchell
- Dr. Emily Winn
- Lyndsay Wixom
- Dave Young
The immunization team organized and held 14 clinics across campus, including Employee Appreciation Day, and administered 1,913 flu and 911 COVID vaccines through a collaboration between the College of Nursing and the College of Pharmacy.
In the Media
Bennsey Johnson showcased the College of Nursing RN to BS track in an article titled Advancing Nursing Practice Through Online Education: RN to BS Program Overview for the University of Utah Health Care Nursing Community of Practice newsletter. Dr. Amanda Keddington was quoted saying, “Our RN to BS track is built with the working nurse in mind. We’ve designed it to be flexible, affordable, and directly applicable to real-world practice so students can advance their education without putting their careers on hold.” Logan Hall, Sarah Christensen, and Kristen Mahoney contributed to the article.
Professional Certification
Dr. Amy Pasmann met criteria for and earned Nurse Executive, Advanced Certification (NEA-BC®). Offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), certification validates Dr. Pasmann’s knowledge in leadership, quality and safety, human capital management, and health care delivery. To be eligible for certification, candidates must hold a current and active registered nurse license, hold a graduate degree and either a baccalaureate or graduate degree in nursing, achieve at least 2,000 hours of leadership, management, or administrative experience, complete 30 hours of continuing education in leadership, management, or administration within the last 3 years, and pass a 125-question exam.
Presentations
Dr. Sharon Bigger gave a podium presentation titled Talk the Talk, Heal the Heart: Improving Refugee Care through Better Communication at the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA) 2025 Annual Conference in Lake Buena Vista. Dr. Bigger also served as the expert panelist on language interpreting in palliative care.
The International Society of Paediatric Oncology held its SIOP 2025 Congress in Amsterdam on October 20-23, 2025.
- Dr. Lauri Linder, Dr. Kristin Stegenga, Dr. Christine Platt, and Dr. Jia-Wen Guo presented a podium presentation titled Psychometric Evaluation of Instruments to Measure Self-efficacy for Symptom Self-management among School-age Children with Cancer and their Parents.
- Dr. Kristin Stegenga. Dr. Suzanne Ameringer, Dr. Lauri Linder, Dr. Catherine Fiona Macpherson, and Dr. R.K. Elswick presented a podium presentation titled Predictors of Symptom Self-management Behaviors and Self-efficacy for Symptom Self-management among Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer.
- Dr. Courtney Sullivan, Dr. Wendy Landier, Dr. Julie Buser, Dr. Lauri Linder, Dr. Jack Needleman, Dr. Paola Friedrich, and Dr. Patricia Patrician presented a podium presentation titled: Engaging Multidisciplinary Experts to Finalize a Core Set of Pediatric Cancer Nursing Quality Indicators for Use in Resource-diverse Countries and Settings.
Publications
Christensen S. An international perspective on the prevalence and emotional impact of workplace violence: A commentary. J Res Nurs. In press. https://doi.org/10.1177/17449871251384751
Garcia K, Armstrong C, Johnson J, Taylor-Swanson L, Iacob E, Madsen KA, Nelson AT. Evaluation of Educational Activity about Preeclampsia with Low-Literacy Traditional Midwives in the Remote Peten Department of Guatemala. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2025. In press.