SCHOLAR DIRECTORY

I am a clinical nurse, educator, and leader with experience caring for older adults with chronic disease. Prior to nursing, I was a licensed small animal veterinary technician. My experience as a nurse and a technician provides a unique perspective, and expertise, to research the relationship between older adults and pets and their influence on decision-making. Furthermore, my specialized interest in older adults with pets is aligned with the Gerontological Society of America’s research priorities in human-animal interaction. My PhD core coursework is complete and I successfully defended the dissertation proposal. During the course work I worked closely as a research assistant with a nurse focused on gerontological transitional care. I recruited participants, collected and analyzed data. This mentored position provided real-world experience about the research process. Additionally, I am actively involved as a student leader who reinvigorated the Graduate Nursing Senate. I organized quarterly meetings and encouraged all graduate nursing students to attend; participation has been exceptional. Furthermore, I also work as a nurse educator. As a nurse educator I participate in shared governance and lead many education projects for the whole organization. Recently, I shared education about nurse peer feedback and won an award for an informational poster about peer feedback. Overall, I am a nurse who is dedicated to the lives of older adults, elevating the nursing profession and leading the way in human-animal interaction research of older adults.

I am a Research Assistant for Dr. Jean McSweeney, Associate Dean for Research, at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Nursing. In this role, I am involved with research, writing manuscripts, grant writing, and dissemination of research results. In a previous role I worked as a telemedicine intensive care nurse taking care of intensive care patients throughout the state of Arkansas and in Missouri. In this role I gained an interest in improving patient outcomes through telemedicine practice in the intensive care unit setting. Specific interests are how to improve bedside healthcare provider utilization of telemedicine and exploring the patient experience of telemedicine in the intensive care unit. This area of telemedicine research is in its infancy with great opportunity to improve quality of care and patient outcomes. I have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Nursing. I am currently in my third year in the BSN to PhD program. I am pursuing a PhD in order to gain the necessary skills to conduct research. My immediate research goal is to explore bedside healthcare provider utilization of telemedicine services in the intensive care unit. I hope to identify facilitators and barriers of telemedicine utilization in order to increase usage and improve patient outcomes.

Nicole is a 3rd year nursing PhD student at Vanderbilt University and earned her master’s degree in nursing from Duke University. Nicole works as a pediatric nurse practitioner in blood and marrow transplant at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Nicole is passionate about improving quality of life among parents and children after transplant. She earned a research scholar grant from the Minnesota chapter of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and was the principle investigator of a retrospective study to describe quality of life for boys with adrenoleukodystrophy after bone marrow transplant. She has presented nationally and internationally on the topic. Nicole’s dissertation will focus on understanding post-traumatic growth among parents following a child’s bone marrow transplant.

Natalie Belkairous is a first-year AGNP DNP graduate student at DePaul University. Her previous degrees include Biology (BS), Psychology (BS) from DePaul University, and Nursing (BSN) from Indiana University Northwest. Natalie has taken part in research involving Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis as an undergraduate student at DePaul, and sought to improve patient outcomes as a member of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation’s Nursing Evidence-Based Practice Council. Natalie worked as a registered nurse at the Cleveland Clinic’s Heart Failure ICU prior to enrolling in DePaul’s DNP program. Natalie is passionate about education and bettering the health outcomes of underserved and critically ill populations from an integrated biopsychosocial and nursing approach. Natalie is currently the student representative of DePaul’s School of Nursing DNP Studies Committee and is eager to further her involvement in research and education at the academic level. During the summers, Natalie is involved in the Ukrainian Scouting Organization Plast as a counselor, administrator, and camp nurse at different camps throughout the country; she is a lifelong member.

Ms. Belson received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biology from the University of California, Riverside followed by a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Nursing from the University of California, Los Angeles. She was a pediatric nurse for 5 years before returning to obtain her master of science degree in nurse anesthesia from the University of Southern California. She has been a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) for 17 years, specializing in pediatric anesthesia. She is currently the Lead CRNA at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. In addition to her clinical and administrative duties, Ms. Belson also teaches student nurse anesthetists in the didactic and clinical setting. Ms. Belson is currently a doctoral student in the PhD program at the UCLA School of Nursing. Her research interest is health-related quality of life in adolescent survivors of retinoblastoma. She hopes to pursue a career in nursing research and academia after completion of her doctoral program.

I am a Certified Nurse Midwife in Bozeman, Montana. I work with one other CNM in a hospital-based, full scope practice. I will be attending the Frontier University DNP program. My future goals will be to teach in a university system in a nursing and advanced practice nursing program. Additionally I would like to focus on increasing access to women’s healthcare in the remote areas of Montana. I currently work with many women that travel up to three hours for prenatal and wellness care to see me. Often they can not get to appointments due to finances or weather. I am working with my company to bring outreach clinics into these areas with the possibility of using Centering. Most of my nursing career has been women’s and children’s health based. I have infertility, childbirth education, lactation counseling, NICU, labor and delivery, and management experience. I am a previous recipient of the Rita Hillman Scholarship for undergraduate education and am on the American Midwifery Certification Exam Board. And now am an honored recipient of the Jonas Scholarship. Thank You.

Shelly Benfield is currently is serving on active duty as a Commander in the United States Navy. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire and also earned Master of Public Health with an emphasis in Epidemiology from San Diego State University. She has over twenty years of nursing experience to include labor and delivery, inpatient pediatrics and adult med/surg. She also has extensive experience in the outpatient medical home setting and has held numerous leadership positions to include nurse manager, inpatient hospital nursing supervisor and outpatient clinical director. With twenty years of active duty military service, she has served in three countries and deployed in support of two humanitarian medical missions in six developing countries. Her awards and recognitions include four Navy Commendation Medals and one Navy Achievement medal. Shelly currently serves as the Nurse Resident Program Director at Naval Medical Center, San Diego. For her specific clinical practice focus, she would like to utilize her MPH and DNP to highlight advance directives and palliative care as a public health priority. Advanced care planning and palliative care services have been shown to improve quality of life and decrease health care spending. Healthcare providers can take a proactive approach to advance care planning by discussing palliative care to maximize quality of life when treating patients facing life-limiting illnesses. Nurse practitioners are poised to play a pivotal role in advanced care planning and the implementation of palliative care.