Student-Led Clinic Simulation Center Event
Dr. Sheila Deyette, Dr. Zoe Robbins, and Dr. Liz Greene, along with Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students Alicia Fawson, Nick Fredricks, Meaghan Kennedy, Nova Rawley, Erik Sjogren, and Tenzin Thupten, participated in the Psychiatric-Mental Health (PMH) track’s first simulation event, which replicated a Student-Led Clinic setting. A team of six students and one clinical faculty lead the Student-Led Clinic, a novel clinical learning experience. While a first for the PMH specialty track, the Family, Pediatrics, Women's Health, and Nurse-Midwifery tracks, in collaboration with Dr. Ann Butt and the Simulation Center team, previously held six of these simulation events. Simulated Student-Led Clinic training facilitates a smooth transition for both students and faculty preceptors into the real-life student-led teams currently operating at the Rose Park, Maliheh, and Midvale Community Building clinics. Through the Health Resources and Services Administration-funded Advanced Nursing Education Workforce(ANEW) program, Dr. Gwen Latendresse and the ANEW traineeship team – Dr. Diane Chapman, Dr. Van Gip-Duran, and Dr. Jennifer Clifton – developed and introduced this innovative learning environment, which features a 1:6 preceptor-to-student ratio. The goal is to increase the number of students adequately prepared to deliver healthcare to underserved communities, as well as increase clinical placement capacity. Faculty and students overwhelmingly expressed a high level of satisfaction for this learning approach.
Professional Achievement
Yuanhang Zhao, Clinical Research Coordinator, passed the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) Certified Clinical Research Coordinator (CCRC®) exam and is now a CCRC. This credential formally recognizes clinical research professionals with experience coordinating and facilitating clinical trial activities in adherence to good clinical practice, under the direction of a principal investigator. The exam consists of 125 multiple choice questions that must be answered within 180 minutes.
Presentations
Dr. Jenneth Doria gave a poster presentation titled Supporting Social Determinants of Health in 'Last Mile Schools' at Xavier University of Louisiana's (XULA) 19th Conference on Improving Health Outcomes in New Orleans.
Faculty, a postdoctoral fellow, and staff presented at the 2026 Utah Public Health Conference.
- Angela Dunn, Dorothy Adams, Heather Borski, Sarah Woolsey, Sharon Talboys, and Dr. Teresa Garrett led a panel discussion titled The Past, Present, and Future of Public Health.
- Ida Tovar, Dr. Sara Jackson, Nicole Fleming, Jordana Cashman, Jacqueline Telonidis, Nancy Aruscavage, Dr. Rebecca Utz, Dr. Eli Iacob, Dr. Sharon Bigger, and Dr. Kara Dassel gave a poster presentation titled The Past, Present, and Future of Online Surveys: Developing Feasible and Effective Strategies for Ensuring Trustworthy and Actionable Data.
Dr. Lee Ellington and Dr. Cindy Berg hosted a virtual workshop titled Navigating Caregiving Across the Life Course: Women as Givers and Receivers for the University of Utah Women’s Leadership Seminar Series. Designed for academic women balancing leadership, work demands, and personal commitments, the interactive workshop explored how caregiving and care-receiving roles evolve across the life course, and how care is a dynamic and essential part of life. Participants engaged in guided reflection, identified and mapped care support, and discussed resource-sharing, gaining strategies to build resilience and support to enhance the integration of care into their personal and professional lives.
Dr. Sara Jackson gave a virtual presentation titled Personalizing Advance Care Planning: Meeting Patients Where They Are during the Cambia Palliative Care Grand Rounds, hosted by the University of Washington School of Medicine, Division of Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine.
Clare Peckenpaugh, PhD student, Dr. Echo Warner, Tressie Rollins, Sarah Wallgren, Suzy Richins, Dr. Kathy Sward, Aimee Hersh, and Rebecca Overbury gave a poster presentation titled Patient Perspectives, Barriers, and Next Steps in a Health Care Transition Clinic for Pediatric to Adult Rheumatology at the American College of Rheumatology 2006 Pediatric Rheumatology Symposium in Minneapolis.
Faculty, postdoctoral fellows, students, and staff gave poster presentations at the CaringKind 1st Annual Dementia Education Conference in New York.
- Sasha Perez, Nicole Fleming, Dr. Moroni Fernandez-Cajavilca, Dr. Sharon Bigger, Dr. Kara Dassel, Dr. Eli Iacob, Dr. Sara Bybee. Navigating Trust, Language, and Logistics: Lessons from Dyad Recruitment and Community Advisory Engagement with Spanish-Speakers.
- Sasha Perez, Nicole Fleming, Dr. Moroni Fernandez-Cajavilca, Dr. Sharon Bigger, Dr. Kara Dassel, Dr. Eli Iacob, Dr. Sara Bybee. “They’ve Been Through So Much Already”: Lessons from Engaging Latino Families in Research on Dementia Care Planning.
- Nancy Aruscavage, Jordana Clayton, Dr. Sharon Bigger, Dr. Eli Iacob, Dr. Rebecca Utz, Dr. Kara Dassel. Designing Web-based Content - Recommendations to Improve Usability and Accessibility for Older Adults with Dementia.
Dr. Lisa Taylor-Swanson was invited to deliver a presentation titled The Importance and Development of Core Outcome Sets at the M.S. in Integrative Medicine & Health Sciences program at the Georgetown University School of Medicine.
Sexual Assault Awareness Month
As Director of the Start by Believing Campaign in Utah, Dr. Julie Valentine received a Joint Resolution from the Salt Lake City Council and Mayor of Salt Lake City officially designating April 1, 2026, along with the first Wednesday of April each year, as Start by Believing Day. Developed by End Violence Against Women International, Start by Believing seeks to end the cycle of silence that surrounds sexual violence.
Dr. Susan Madsen, host of the Utah Women & Leader Podcast, featured Matt Hartvigsen, Executive Director of Saprea, and Dr. Julie Valentine in an episode titled Women’s Safety & Security: Child Sexual Abuse & Sexual Assault, highlighting a recently released paper titled Women’s Safety & Security 2025: Utahns’ Awareness, Understanding, and Attitudes.
Dr. Julie Valentine and Sherry Huang, PhD student, organized and presented at the Start by Believing Day event held at the Utah State Capitol. The event highlighted the passage of House Bill 89, a new law that limits the use of a polygraph for victims of a sexual offense. Media outlets covered the event and interviewed Dr. Valentine.
- ‘Start by Believing’: Sexual assault awareness month begins
- Start by believing program launches state wide pledge
- Advocates celebrate Utah's ban on polygraph tests for sexual assault survivors
House Bill 459 addresses evidence and reporting procedures that occur after a sexual offense is committed, and did not pass. Media outlets spoke with Dr. Valentine and Sherry Huang about the bill.
- Advocates, nurses say a Utah law takes away power from survivors of sexual assault, also published in the Standard-Examiner
Dr. Julie Valentine gave a 90-minute lecture titled The Justice Gap in Sexual Assault Cases: Data, Decision Points, and Missed Opportunities at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.
Dr. Julie Valentine gave a virtual presentation titled The Rise in Strangulation in Consensual Sexual Encounters and Sexual Assault to forensic nurses, law enforcements, and prosecutors in Maryland.
In the Media
The Winter 2026 edition of University of Utah Magazine includes an article titled Cancer Care Closer to Home, which features Dr. Kathi Mooney’s leadership of an innovative, federally funded initiative to expand access to high‑quality cancer care for rural and frontier patients across the Mountain West.
University of Utah Health’s GOOD NOTES multi-part blog series released a new article featuring College of Nursing researchers who are advancing understanding of women’s health. The article titled Bridging Gaps in Women’s Health: Navigating the “Bermuda Triangle” of Menopause, by Dr. Lisa Taylor-Swanson, discusses evidence-based treatment, integrative approaches, and community support that are helping women move from isolation to thriving during menopause.
Community Outreach
Dr. Jake Steenblik and Bachelor of Science nursing students Elizabeth Shvora, Anastasia Valera, Renee Villafana, and Lucy Wheat traveled with a team from the John A. Moran Eye Center to the Monument Valley Clinic and provided eye care to more than 100 patients. Students gained firsthand experience collecting and reviewing patient histories, performing pupil examinations, and assessing visual acuity. The experience helped lay the groundwork for the students who will return in June to perform surgery at that site. This will be the first time the team will conduct surgery outside of Blanding and the first time on the Navajo Nation Reservation.
Global Collaboration
Dr. Jenneth Doria was invited to be a judge at the Ed & Shauna Smith Empower Your Dreams Competition, which the Willes Center for International Entrepreneurship held in Laie. The event focused on students making a difference in their own communities and countries.
Dr. Jake Steenblik and Molly Guenther, Bachelor of Science nursing student, spent two weeks on a Moran clinical outreach trip to Tanzania. During the visit, the team evaluated 577 patients and scheduled 161 individuals for cataract surgery in a rural clinic, followed by a dedicated surgical week, resulting in vision restoration for many. Molly gained hands-on experience in patient assessment, clinic flow, and global health care delivery. The team encountered a wide range of advanced ophthalmologic conditions reflecting limited access to care, including an 11‑year‑old with severe, but treatable, vision impairment, and a patient over 100 years old with longstanding vision loss. The trip also emphasized training local optometrists, nurses, and anesthesia staff to support sustainable eye care services.
Professional Development
The College of Nursing hosted postdoctoral fellows for Spring In-Person Week on March 30 - April 3. The theme was Clinical Trials. Numerous College and University of Utah Health faculty and staff delivered presentations and helped host interactive learning experiences: Dr. Andrea Wallace, Dr. Lee Ellington, Emilee Elkin, Dr. Corrine Voils, Dr. Julie Fritz, Dr. Adam Bress, Dr. Jorie Butler, Dr. Eli Iacob, Dr. Michelle Litchman, Dr. Valerie Vaughn, Rachel Gillmor Hamilton, Megan Whittaker, Gabriel Mayberry, Dani Hartin, and Dean Marla De Jong.
Student Scholarship
The Oncology Nursing Foundation selected Kimbery Munoz, PhD student, to receive a $7,500 Research Doctoral (PhD) Academic Scholarship for academic year 2026-2027. This scholarship is made possible by the Oncology Nursing Foundation Endowment.
Publications
Aderibigbe T, Kent-Marvick J, Austin S, Macias SN, Simonsen SE, Crandall L, Ellis JA, Maughan ME, Madrigal C, Ward R, Taylor-Swanson L. Waning moon: Revising a culturally informed intervention with perimenopausal American Indian and Alaska native women. Explore. 2026;22(3):103347. Epub ahead of print. DOI: 10.1016/j.explore.2026.103347
Letter to the editor Aamir M. Waning moon and the imperative of cultural tailoring: Commentary on a landmark menopausal intervention for American Indian and Alaska Native Women: A Letter to the Editor. Explore. 2026;22(3):103381. Epub ahead of print. DOI: 10.1016/j.explore.2026.103381
Cummins MR, Perri Moore S, Sward KA. Infection point: Artificial intelligence, digital health, and the evolution of pre-licensure nursing informatics competencies. Comput Inform Nurs. Epub ahead of print. DOI: 10.1097/CIN.0000000000001506
Dassel K, Bybee S. Advance Care Planning. In Doka J, Tucci AS, eds. Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia: A Guide for Hospice Clinicians. 2026.
Shah-Mohammadi F, Im S, Facelli JC, Cummins MR, Gouripeddi R. Scaling sensor metadata extraction for exposure health using LLMs. Exposome. 2026;6(1):osag008. doi:10.1093/exposome/osag008
Valentine J. Advancing forensic nursing through inclusive and global standards: Development of the Forensic Nursing Scope and Standards, 3rd Edition. J Forensic Nurs. Epub ahead of print. doi:10.1097/JFN.0000000000000606