Faculty and staff achievements

The School of Nursing is proud to highlight the achievements of faculty and staff since the last Vital Signs issue. 

Zhang honored with Pillars Award

Congratulations to Dr. Lei Zhang, professor and associate dean for research and scholarship, for being honored with the 2024 Pillars Lifetime Achievement Award during the seventh annual presentation of the Pillars Awards at UMMC. The awards are in recognition of service and inclusive excellence, with the lifetime achievement award given to someone who has significantly contributed to improving health outcomes in diverse communities in Mississippi and beyond. Thank you for all your contributions to the community and our school's research and scholarship efforts!

Gambill honored with DAISY Faculty Award

Congratulations to Rachel Gambill, instructor, for being selected out of three nominees to be the School of Nursing's DAISY Faculty Award recipient for 2023-2024. The DAISY Faculty Award is given to a faculty member who impacts students entering nurses and shows enthusiasm for teaching, learning, and the profession. The nominees' exemplification of the school's core values (respect, excellence, accountability, diversity and integrity) are also rated.

Gambill received a total of 12 nominations from her students. One of her nominations read, "Mrs. Gambill has taught me so much in such a short amount of time in my clinical setting. She motivates me to go [the] extra mile for my patients. Her knowledge and [how] she pushes us to our best, not only in the classroom but in the clinical setting, has taught me so much in a limited amount of time. She values everyone's opinion in the health care setting in a respectful manner and encourages every ounce of learning opportunities that we encounter. She goes out of her way to help not only her students but also the other health care professionals she comes into contact with. She has always instilled integrity and accountability in us always to do what is in the best interest of our patients, no matter the outcome. If I can have half the compassion and nursing skills she obtains, I will be a successful and efficient nurse providing care for my patients."

Other faculty nominations for the DAISY Faculty Award included Dr. Jeanne Calcote, assistant professor and director of the MSN nursing and health care administrator track, and Dr. Kathleen Rhodes, associate professor. Kudos to all of the other nominees! We thank you all for your commitment and service to our students!

Associate Deans named to fill interim roles

Dr. Sharon McElwain and Dr. Michelle Palokas were named associate deans after serving in interim positions during our national dean search. McElwain will be the associate dean for academic affairs, serving as the assistant dean for undergraduate programs beforehand. Likewise, Dr. Michelle Palokas will take over from Dr. Tina Martin, as the associate dean for administration that Martin held before becoming our next dean. Palokas served as the assistant dean for accreditation and evaluation before her interim role. Congratulations to both of you and thank you for your service during the interim phase.

Faculty publications post a strong start to 2024

Congratulations to Dr. Deidra Morgan, assistant professor, and Dr.

Keyshawnna Lee, assistant professor and director of the Jackson Traditional BSN program, who co-authored an article published in the Nurse Educator journal. The article titled "Using Video Feedback to Help Nursing Students Learn NextGen Testing," explored ways for nurse educators to transition to help students learn to think independently using the clinical judgment model. DOI: 10.1097/nne.00000000000001528

A faculty group led by Dr. Melissa Klamm, assistant professor, published an article in Teaching and Learning in Nursing. Other authors included Dr. Chelsey Andries, associate professor and Jackson Accelerated BSN program director, and Dr. Lishia Lee, associate professor. The article aimed to increase knowledge and confidence in performing age-related focus assessments across patients' lifespans. It is titled "Bridging didactic and clinical in nursing education: An innovative health assessment activity. DOI: 10.1016/j.teln.2023.12.010

Another article led by Klamm was titled "Increasing Autonomous Motivation for Physical Activity among Adolescents" and was published in the Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing. The rest of the faculty group included Dr. Angela Duck, associate professor and director of the PhD in Nursing program, PhD student Tamara Brocks and Dr. Lei Zhang. DOI: 10.1111/jspn.12423

Associate Professor Dr. Jennifer Hargett published an brief in the Journal of Addictions Nursing titled "Letter to the Editor: An Update on Tianeptine Regulations." She co-authored the letter with Presly Lowry, instructor, and Dr. Keyshawnna Lee. The letter to the editor was an update on a prior article they published in the spring/summer issue of the Journal of Addictions Nursing. DOI: 10.1097/JAN.0000000000000560

In the Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease, Dr. Carolann Risley, associate professor, was part of a large group that published an article titled "Recommendations for Use of p16/Ki67 Dual Stain for Management of Individuals Testing Positive for Human Papilomavirus." First and second authored by Dr. Megan Clarke and Dr. Nicolas Wentzensen from the National Cancer Institute, the article featured research data from the STudying Risk to Improve DisparitiES Study (STRIDES) in Mississippi, part of Risley's doctoral work. DOI: 10.1097/LGT.0000000000000802

Thank you all for your scholarship and efforts to grow our school's research mission!

MNF Leadership Institute 2024 cohort

Three faculty members, a PhD in Nursing student and two alumni were selected for the 2024 cohort of the Mississippi Nurses Foundation (MNF) Nurses Leadership Institute (NLI). Dr. Jorri Davis, assistant professor, Instructor Lacy Hester and Dr. Melissa Klamm, assistant professor, were the three SON faculty members selected.

The institute serves as a way for nurse educators, nurse managers and staff nurses to expand their leadership skills through five development sessions, including using data for effective care, addressing burnout and using their voice to lead policy change. The institute started last month and will conclude this July.

Klamm said of the first session, "We were placed in [small] groups to create a presentation based on our assigned book—Think Like a Horse: Lessons in Life, Leadership, and Empathy from an Unconventional Cowboy by Grant Golliher. The presentation demonstrated how we can apply the leadership principles from the book to our professional roles."

All the institute group presentations will then be made to MNF at their July session, with the winning group presenting their work at the Mississippi Nurses Association Convention later in the fall.

For Davis, she sees it as an extremely important opportunity to not only network with other nurses throughout the state but a chance to grow professionally. She continues, "As I continue to grow in my role here in the SON, it is imperative that I understand my leadership style and values as I work to grow as a leader among the staff and students. For me, it is important that not only am I growing in leadership but that those around me are also moving in their leadership development and [that] I can be of assistance and guidance to others in their professional growth. This opportunity is an additional building block for me in accomplishing this."

Accelerated BSN faculty at the Oxford Instructional Site, Hester adds, “As a new nurse educator, I am honored to be selected for the 2024 MNF Leadership Institute. I am so excited for this opportunity to meet, network and learn from fellow colleagues who have many years of educational and leadership experience.”

Continuing in gratitude for this honor, PhD in Nursing student and PICU Nurse Manager Gordon Gartrell said, "As leaders of the nursing profession, we have an obligation to better the nursing discipline and improve the care that nurses are able to provide in our state. This opportunity is not only a mechanism to improve my professional knowledge but also the impact that all nurses can have on health care in Mississippi. I am elated to bring the knowledge gleaned from the Nurses Leadership Institute back to my team and my organization!"

Among the 2024 NLI cohort are also two UMMC nurse alumni. Two-time SON graduate Amanda Moore graduated from the RN-BSN program in 2016 and received her MSN degree in the Nursing and Health Care Administrator track in 2019. PhD in Nursing 2019 graduate Dr. Katherine Ridgon was also included in the 2024 cohort. Congratulations to all of you and thank you for your commitment to nursing leadership excellence!

Telehealth nurse educators continue to make an impact

Our three SON telehealth nurse educators who have helped implement telehealth in public schools across our state are still going strong. Supporting UMMC’s mission, to improve the health and well-being of patients and community through excellent training for health care professionals, engagement in innovative research, and the delivery of state-of-the-art health care, our telehealth nurse educators continue to increase access to care by teaching school nurses in our state on the use of telehealth equipment and the peripherals necessary for a high-quality, comprehensive visit.

The nurse educators, Jolie D’Antonio and Lanie Herbison and Shanda Walenta, have traveled the state for the past year and a half to provide education and resources for school nurses to conduct acute/episodic and behavioral health telehealth visits successfully. They have trained 335 nurses in 73 school districts and a total of 424 schools across the state. This partnership is a collaboration between the Mississippi Department of Education and UMMC’s Telehealth Center of Excellence. It allows over 191,000 students access to care in their schools and continues to grow. Below is a chart indicating the number of visits per month since the inception of this project. Kudos to everyone who has played a role in this opportunity that gives all children, even in the most rural areas of our state, access to quality health care!

Lofton to be inducted into the UM School of Education Hall of Fame

Kudos to Dr. Susan Lofton, recently retired professor of nursing, for being inducted into the University of Mississippi School of Education Hall of Fame! She will be honored at the 2024 School of Education Alumni Award celebration in Oxford later in May.

Faculty earn certified Green Belt designation

Congratulations to Dr. Michelle Palokas and Dr. Linda Upchurch, associate professor and director of the DNP program for successfully attaining certified Green Belt designation! They recently completed the Green Belt Certification Training Program offered by The Joint Commission (TJC) in collaboration with the UMMC Office of Well-Being. They both participated in quality improvement projects at UMMC using the systematic Robust Process Improvement (RPI) approach, a blend of Lean, Six Sigma and change management, specifically tailored to the needs of health care settings. Thank you for equipping yourselves with these valuable skills and knowledge that can be applied to drive continuous improvement and achieve organizational goals throughout the school and UMMC!