Mathew Allen
Congratulations to Matthew Allen. He was selected to present his MPA capstone proposal, “The Rainbow Connection: Gauging LGBT-friendly healthcare access in Western Kentucky,” completed under the supervision of Dr. Miranda Terry, at the Kentucky Public Health Association (KPHA) 2020 conference. Allen, an MPA public and community health graduate, was also selected to serve as a KPHA Student Ambassador to represent Murray State University.
Dr. Summer Cross
Dr. Summer Cross had her abstract, “Advocating for American Indian/Alaskan Native Clients to Improve Health Outcomes and Enhance Quality of Life: Translating Clinical Experiences into Nursing Education” accepted for a virtual online poster presentation at the 46th Annual Transcultural Nursing Society Conference. Information about the conference can be found at, tcns.org/. Congratulations Dr. Cross!
Tess Henderson
Congratulations to Tess Henderson, who was selected to present her research topic, “Health Consequences of e-Cigs,” completed under the supervision of Dr. Miranda Terry, at the Kentucky Public Health Association (KPHA) 2020 conference. Henderson is a public and community health student and presidential scholar at Murray State University.
HRSA Nurse Anesthetist Traineeship Award
Congratulations to Dr. Katy Garth, DNP program director, and the nurse anesthesia program on receiving an HRSA Nurse Anesthetist Traineeship Award. Funds from this award support select nurse anesthesia students with tuition costs. Murray State University was awarded $23,173.
Dr. Azaher Molla
Congratulations to Dr. Molla for the publication of his article, “Health care cost of overweight-related diseases in Bangladesh” in Public Health Nutrition. The abstract can be read here.
Dr. Molla also had his article, “How Much Household Healthcare Expenditure Contributes to Poverty? Evidence from the Bangladesh Household Income and Expenditure Survey, 2010” in the Journal of Poverty. The article can be read here.
Dr. Jessica Naber
Congratulations to Dr. Naber for all of her hard work. Dr. Naber was accepted to lead a session during the 2020 Fall Faculty Summit titled “Education Abroad: From Educational Program to Faculty and Student Scholarship.” This coming February, she will give an oral presentation at Sigma’s Creating Healthy Work Environments conference for her abstract, “Developing and Implementing Nursing Study Abroad Blue Zone Experiences in Sardinia, Italy and Ikaria, Greece.” Dr. Naber also received the Education Abroad Curriculum Award for her work with Blue Zone programs.
Dr. Kristin Reid
Join us in congratulating Dr. Reid for the acceptance of her poster presentation at the APNA 34th Annual Conference. Her presentation is titled, “Human Trafficking Awareness Pilot Project in Nursing Faculty and Senior Nursing Students in Rural Kentucky.” Dr. Reid also lead a session at the 2020 Fall Faculty Summit on the topic of, “Mental Health and Outreach Recommendations Among Rural College Students.”
April Riley
Join with us as we congratulate April Riley, a public and community health student, for being selected to present her honors thesis, completed under the supervision of Dr. Kala Chakradhar, at the Kentucky Public Health Association (KPHA) 2020 conference. Riley was also selected to serve as a KPHA Student Ambassador to represent Murray State University.
Dr. Jennifer Rogers
Congratulations to Dr. Jennifer Rogers on the acceptance of her poster abstract submission, “Virtual Pediatric Clinical Assignment,” at the 2020 virtual Nuts & Bolts Conference for nurse educators.
Dr. Janice Thurmond
Dr. Thurmond was accepted to present on “Supplement Use in the Aging Adult” at the Kentucky Nurses Association (KNA) 2020 virtual conference, scheduled for Nov. 4-6. Congratulations, Dr. Thurmond.
Carolyn Tinsley
Congratulations to Carolyn Tinsley on the acceptance of her poster presentation, “Think On Your Feet Care Planning, Using Peer Assisted Learning” at the NurseTim® Inc. Virtual Nuts and Bolts conference this past August. In addition to her poster presentation, Tinsley was asked to do a live breakout presentation during the virtual event, which included approximately 88 of the event’s over 500 nurse participants.
Tinsley was also selected to be a NCSBN exam development volunteer. These volunteers help with the development of the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN licensing exams.
2020 dietetic internship pass rate
Congratulations to the 2020 dietetic internship class and Lori Crouch, director of dietetic internship. The 2020 Murray State University dietetic internship class has successfully passed their Registered Dietitian (RD) credentialing exam. This is the fifth year in a row the program has had a pass rate of 100 percent. The Murray State University Dietetic Internship program has been in existence for 21 years and has an overall pass rate of 97 percent.
Bailey Lankster, a recent graduate of the Murray State internship program, completed her supervised practice training rotation at Norton Healthcare in Louisville, Kentucky, and received the 2019-20 Outstanding Dietetic Student award at the Kentucky Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics state meeting in August. Bailey was chosen for this award out of the nominees from the four other internship programs in the state.
“This is such an exciting way to wrap up my dietetic internship experience,” Lankster said. “I’m grateful for all of the support I received along the way from the internship faculty and my preceptors at Norton Hospital.”
Pictured right is Bailey Lankster. Pictured below is the 2020 graduating class.
Joanne Farley
This month we are spotlighting Joanne Farley, a Murray State University graduate, employee and now retiree. Before coming to Murray State, Farley worked as an accounts and office manager, including over 20 years working for CPA firms and corporations. She earned her associate’s degree in business administration in 2000 and her bachelor’s degree in organizational communication in 2010, both at Murray State University.
“I am honored to share my Murray State University career with my friends at the School of Nursing and Health Professions,” said Farley.
Farley’s career at Murray State University started in 2004 as a Study Abroad Program Specialist for the Kentucky Institute for International Studies (KIIS) where she processed program applications, helped develop the online application system (myKIIS) with Dr. Raj, served as the site’s webmaster, produced printed marketing materials, and recruited at study abroad fairs across the state. In between application cycles, she was able to travel with the study abroad students to different sites, sometimes staying with host families.
“This was a great adventure for myself and my family members who were able to travel with me,” said Farley. “I took my daughter, Lauren to Europe in the summer of 2005 where we visited Paris, France and took the train to Salzburg, Austria and Munich, Germany. I have always loved to travel and never shy away from adventure or trying something new. The next year we ventured to Madrid and Segovia, Spain, and to Athens, Greece. While in Greece we traveled along with the excited students and knowledgeable faculty to several of the Cyclades Islands in the Aegean Sea. There we learned about Greece’s archaeological ruins including Delos Island, said to be the mythological birthplace of Apollo. My youngest daughter Kristen and husband Dickie were able to accompany me on third trip out of the country to Costa Rica. We were able to see unbelievable scenery including an active volcano at night; the rainforest, complete with monkeys and iguanas; and the Pacific Ocean. The final KIIS visit I made alone to Italy. It was a very different experience, but very rewarding. I bonded with the students more and really got the complete experience of study abroad in Rome and Florence, which are both amazing in their own ways.”
In the fall of 2009 KIIS moved to Western Kentucky University while Farley was working on her bachelor’s degree in organizational communication. She returned to work at Murray State in 2010 as a department administrative assistant for Chair Farruk Umar in Government, Law and International Affairs. After almost two years with Dr. Umar, she transferred to the Institute of International Studies (IIS) as an international admissions assistant in charge of graduate applications.
“This was a difficult job mainly because of the huge uptick in students applying at that time, but it was also very rewarding,” said Farley. “Bringing people to Murray State was a very big responsibility as you were literally changing people’s lives. It was during my time with IIS that I was given the opportunity to travel abroad again, this time to China. It was a very memorable experience, and an extreme culture shock, but Kristen and I enjoyed it immensely.”
After three and a half years with IIS, Farley was hired by Dean Marcie Hobbs in 2016 as an administrative assistant II for the School of Nursing and Health Professions.
“I will always be grateful for the opportunity Dr. Hobbs afforded me, to embrace the wonderful School of Nursing and Health Professions, and to help take care of Mason Hall and all the caring faculty that call Mason Hall home,” said Farley. “I have truly loved all of it! The recognition ceremonies always gave me joy as we watched our students happily heading off to their new careers. It is always a good feeling, to know that you belong. I have always felt that way in the School of Nursing and Health Professions. The faculty are all bright, talented professors that never lose sight of the human element of teaching. Now it’s time for me to turn my attention elsewhere, toward my grandchildren, art, gardening and travel, but the School of Nursing and Health Professions will always be a part of who I am.”
Farley retired from Murray State on August 1 of this year. From all of us at the School of Nursing and Health professions, thank you for all you have done to make Mason Hall, the School of Nursing and Health Profession, and Murray State University that much better.
KANS meeting
Missy Dawson shared her experiences and offered advice to up and coming nurses during the September 21 Kentucky Association of Nursing Students (KANS) meeting. Dawson has 20 years of nursing experience and describes critical care as one of her lifelong passions.
Dawson started by sharing her experience as a travelling critical care nurse during the pandemic. The day after applying for the position the recruiters called. After a very short turn around time, Dawson departed for Boston, Massachusetts. Dawson had gone from labor and delivery, to six hours of orientation, to six hours of learning charting and basic information referencing at the Good Samaritan Medical Center in Boston.
“It was challenging, going to a hospital during a pandemic with no family or friends for support,” said Dawson.
During her first night at the hospital there were 16 patients. By morning, four people had passed away. However, in the ER, there were six patients waiting to take those four vacant beds. Patients varied from a large man shackled to the bed with two state troopers guarding him at all times, to a very fragile man in the next bed clutching a bible, with both men deserving the same level of care.
During her five weeks in Boston 30 patients were lost. Most of the patients had poor hygiene, no healthcare insurance and approximately 25 percent of them were homeless. One man was discharged from the hospital with no shoes. Dawson dealt with a variety of issues that were resolved after contacting her recruiter, but she understood that many people were exhausted and may not have been as well compensated for their time that she was.
“Part of nursing is learning to stand up for yourself,” said Dawson. “Working during a pandemic, and being a travel nurse is not an easy job. Nursing in a pandemic is different than what you may be learning in school. And dying alone, is more heartbreaking than the virus itself.”
When Dawson returned from Boston, she was experiencing PTSD symptoms. She had spent a long time caring for others, but now her mental health needed to be addressed.
“I needed medication and sleep,” said Dawson. “It's honorable to take care of your own mental health.”
Professor Erica Brown reminded the group that Murray State University has counseling services available for students, and that sometimes everyone needs a little assistance.
Dawson concluded with a question and answer session. She suggested that nurses take a year to get experience prior to being a travel nurse. Travel nurses are expected to hit the floor running, with minimal questions. Often times nurses will need a critical care certification or be NRP certified. When nurses post their resumes to sites like indeed.com, they often have recruiters calling immediately since there is a nursing shortage.
For more information on future KANS meetings contact Erica Brown, erowe1@murraystate.edu or 270-809-6661.
Pictured right is guest speaker Missy Dawson.
Soup for the Soul donations
On September 9 the nutrition and dietetics program at Murray State University donated dishes to Soup for the Soul, a local non-profit located in Murray, Kentucky. Donations included plates, bowls, saucers, coffee mugs and other small wares. Soup for the Soul is a local organization that feeds the community year-round. To learn more about Soup for the Soul’s mission, donations and updates, you can go here.
You can now follow the nutrition and dietetics program on Facebook and Instagram.
Pictured is student worker Christian Barnhill unloading some of the donations.
School of Nursing & Health Professions
Our school offers many different health careers that offer you the opportunity to influence the well-being of individuals, families, and communities.
Website: http://www.murraystate.edu/sonhp
Location: 120 Mason Hall, Murray, KY 42071
Phone: 270-809-2193
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MSU-School-of-Nursing-Health-Professions-100228168258965
Twitter: @MsuSonhp