Student Spotlight

UMass Chan Nurses for Sexual and Reproductive Health (UMass Chan NSRH) is a student organization co-founded by Rachel Stroh, RN, DNP1 and Liz Vequist, APRN, DNP3 in response to the Roe v. Wade decision by the Supreme Court. UMass Chan NSRH is focused on nursing curriculum changes, educational workshops and advocating for healthcare policies that support sexual and reproductive health. There are currently approximately 25 members participating, with monthly speakers and skills workshops addressing areas of sexual and reproductive health requested by our members.

We'd love new members to join us! Do you care about sexual and reproductive health? Do you want to be part of changing the academic curriculum to include more sexual and reproductive health? Would you like to plan and participate in sexual and reproductive health workshops? We'd love your ideas, participation and input. Become a member by filling out this google form: https://forms.gle/ fdiHwhpRgZc6TF3PA

February 14, 2023 PhD student Ian Lane, RN was a speaker for the Nurses Special Interest Group Speaker Series for UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science. The title of his talk was "Recommendations for Measuring Gender Identity in Clinical Nursing Research."

Mr. Lane’s research interests focus on pain experiences and pain disparities in sexual and gender minority emerging adults (SGM-EA). As a predoctoral investigator, he will use mixed methods to understand the experiences and self-management strategies of SGM-EA with migraine. SGM-EA are at 58% greater odds of migraine compared to cis-gender, heterosexual individuals. Connecting his previous work as a statistical analyst in Psychiatry with his current dissertation work, Mr Lane worked as a project coordinator and data analyst on a UMass-led longitudinal survey from 2017-2022 designed to assess the social engagement of 279 emerging adults (ages 16-25) struggling with mental health conditions, called the Sequences of Employment and Education (SEED) Study. This project included questions related to participants' gender identity. In addition, it asked these questions about gender at every follow-up timepoint for a total of 20 months. These results will be presented in this discussion, to guide best practices for nurse researchers considering how to formulate their gender identity demographics survey questions.

Dr. Susan Feeney, Director of Adult Gerontology and Family Nurse Practitioner Programs accompanied Maria Danna, Casey Gallagher, Emily Everett, Sophia Mirageas, Matthew Tsianco, Liz Vequist, Katy Walker all DNP Year 3 students to Washington DC in January for the AANP Health Policy Conference. The students spend 3 days in Health Policy sessions and had the opportunity to lobby on Capital Hill where they had the opportunity to with senators and representatives.

Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing was the only school that brought students to the conference. Generously sponsored by Dean Joan Vitello and Dr. Ken Peterson this was a unique opportunity to expand their health policy knowledge and network with their peers.

“Participating in the AANP conference with the opportunity of attending meetings with legislative staffers of our home states was an incredible experience. It was a great introduction into our roles that will expand as policy experts in our fields. “ Sophie

Mirageas

“The leaders at the conference emphasized the importance of removal of legislation that maintains barriers to nurse practitioners providing care to the full extent of their education and training. NPs being politically active both locally and nationally is essential to expand patient access to healthcare and increase patient choice in selecting a healthcare provider.” Casey

Gallagher

“The trip was so empowering. It was inspirational to be in the room with so many incredible nurse leaders and truly made me feel like I could make a difference. The experience also gave me hope for the future, knowing that there are people that are willing to sit at the table and make changes for the better so that we can provide safe, quality care to our patients while also taking care of each other as professionals. We as nurses are in the perfect position to sit at that table because we know how to communicate respectfully and effectively.” Kathryn

Walker

“We met with Representative McGovern, Senator Markey, and Senator Warren's health policy advisors to discuss practice issues that would improve access to timely and effective care. I have always had an interest in becoming involved in health policy, but this conference truly motivated me to do more. It was staggering to be surrounded by so many nurse practitioners (NPs) who were politically active or held elected positions in government. Having the ability to see how nurses use their skills educating, advocating, and networking to change policies to improve healthcare made me proud to be a part of the nursing profession.” Emily

Everett