School of Occupational Therapy Develops, Hosts Transitions Summer Academy

Students participating in the Summer Transitions Academy

For many young adults with intellectual disabilities, the transition from high school can bring significant obstacles. Because programs at colleges and universities have been created to focus on life skill development, career exploration and participation in campus life, interdisciplinary efforts among all students, including those with intellectual disabilities, have grown.

Belmont University’s School of Occupational Therapy developed and hosted the Transitions Summer Academy May 14-18, focused on providing introductory life skills training and college exposure to young adults with intellectual disabilities that are transitioning out of high school and applying to collegiate programs. Continue reading

Nashville Mayor David Briley Visits Belmont’s Opportunity Now Interns

Mayor David Briley spent Tuesday morning touring Belmont’s McWhorter & Inman Health Science Centers as he visited the Opportunity Now (ON) students who are participating in internships on Belmont’s campus. The 15 students, who represent only a portion of the ON interns across campus, have been assigned to work with Psychology & Health Sciences at Belmont. Continue reading

Sullenberger Published on Lifeway’s “Facts & Trends”

Chair and Associate Professor of Social Work Dr. Sabrina Sullenberger was recently published on Lifeway’s Facts & Trends, a blog focused on providing Christian leaders with information and resources. Her piece, “I Can’t Keep My Children Safe,” details her desire to ensure her three daughters are protected from all that life will bring, but ultimately realizing her own limitations in providing that divine oversight.

“They are not mine in the eternal sense—they are God’s,” Sullenberger says. “I am a steward. I am entrusted to care for them and love them and do my best to keep them safe, but I ultimately am not in control of the world or the actions of others.”

To read the piece in its entirety, click here.

Belmont Hosts Health Academy Summer Camp

Belmont College of Health Sciences and Nursing and College of Pharmacy recently hosted a Health Academy Summer camp, a week-long experience for middle schoolers that provided exposure to a wide variety of health professions and hands-on experience with a variety of health skills. The campers learned about EMT, Respiratory therapy, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, pharmacy, speech–language pathology and many other health professions.

Students pose for a photo with Layla, the therapy dog! They learned to take vital signs, complete CPR, work with “patients” in the nursing simulation labs, formulate troche and extract DNA from strawberries in the Pharmacy labs and work on their mobility skills in the physical and occupational therapy labs. The highlight of the week was the visit from Layla, the rehab Labrador Retriever who helped students learn about pet therapy, service animals and emotional support animals.

Exposure to this wide variety of health professions helps to generate enthusiasm in middle schoolers for the sciences and possible to pursue careers in health professions.

Mission to Cambodia: Leadership Training Day

by Mackenzie Hodgson, Nursing Team

We started off the day with a devotional given by Megan which helped remind us of our original goals of coming to Cambodia. We then split off into two groups, the NP’s, a few undergrads and a few pharmacy students went to a village to set up a clinic. The others of us went to Hope Hospital to do leadership and management training with the nurses there.
After doing CPR training with the nurses over the past two days, they were much more comfortable and eager to learn from us today.

Most Cambodians are non-confrontational which can sometimes lead to errors in medical practice. Our goal of today was to teach the nurses how to Continue reading

Mission to Cambodia: Hospital Day

By Haley Sullivan, Nursing Team

Today was similar to yesterday in structure as half of our group worked through well child visits and the other half worked alongside Cambodian health care professionals, educating them on the topic of CPR. My group traveled to the Center of Hope SIhanouk Hospital, where we helped educate physicians and nurses through the American Heart Association stanndards. Continue reading

Mission to Cambodia: Home Away from Home

Abby Vanwestrienen, Nursing Team

This morning we headed to church at Phnom Penh Church of Christ. A 9:00 am Tuk Tuk ride (our favorite mode of transportation), was just what I needed to start the day off content. Walking into Church, I was overjoyed to see so many faces, and felt connected to each one since we all shared the same purpose of being there to learn and gloryifying God.

As we sat down, we were handed headphones that would allow us to listen to a translator during the service. Something I noticed during worship was Continue reading

Mission to Cambodia: Angkor Wat Temples

A day spent at the Angkor away Temples of Siem Reap is a day not easily forgotten. At least not for me, the resident social worker tag-a-long on the Cambodia maymester trip. The day started with an early morning ‘tuk-tuk’ ride to the temples, the cool breeze of dawn waking us up as we steadily see the shift in our surroundings from urban to rural. As the area became more lush, so our excitement grew. Fighting the quiet crowds, we crossed a floating bridge to one of the most awe-inspiring structures many of us had ever seen: the ancient Angkor temples. Continue reading

Mission to Cambodia: first day in Siem Reap

  By Laura Seale, Nursing Team

We have now completed 6 successful clinic days. We’ve sweated a lot and consumed more bottles of water than I ever thought was possible. But none of this compares to the help that we have given Cambodians. It’s been hard work, but extremely rewarding. Today is our first full day in Siem Reap and it has been filled with Continue reading

Mission to Cambodia: Kbal Koh Clinic


By, Haley Sullivan, Nursing Team

A verse from our Cambodian medical mission 26 day devotional states: “But Lord, Gideon asked, “How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” The Lord answered, “I will be with you and we will strike down all the Midianites together.”

Today, we took on our third clinical day in a row in the village of Kbal Koh. For some, it seemed as through the long, busy days in the Cambodian heat Continue reading

Mission to Cambodia: Day 10

by Grace Chrisco, Nursing Team

Hello!  I can’t believe we have finished our 5th day of clinic and our 10th day in Cambodia. By now we are all very comfortable with one another and it truly feels like we are not just a team but a family, too. Whenever we sit down for a meal our chit chat and laughter fills the room. At times, it doesn’t quite feel like we are halfway around the world. 

This morning a few of us got up to workout by the pool while others slept in and rested to prepare for another day of clinic. By 0730 we all met in the hotel cafe for breakfast. As per usual, breakfast consisted of rice, a staple to all Cambodian meals. The hotel did their best to accommodate our American palates by providing scrambled eggs, french fries, donuts and delicious fresh fruit. After refueling, we got into vans and set off for Continue reading

Mission to Cambodia: Tomnopdach Village

Emma Price, Pharmacy Student

Good Morning or Evening depending on which side of the world you are reading this post from. This post is about 5/21/18.

Some of the team started their morning with a pool side work out. The other half of the team took that extra time to sleep. We ate breakfast at our beautiful hotel before leaving for clinic. You can tell the hotel is trying to accommodate for us Americans because there are french fries at breakfast and scrambled eggs instead of their regular fried eggs. But don’t worry there is still the traditional rice and fish for breakfast.

Everyone knew today’s clinic was going to be a little different because Continue reading

Mission Cambodia: Sunday in Poipet

 By: Cayley Norton, Nursing Team

Wow, I can’t believe we’ve been in Cambodia for a week! So much has happened these last seven days from visiting markets, learning of Cambodian history, traveling and most importantly our clinics. Today is Sunday and a day of rest. We are very thankful for this day.

It was a blessing to be able to sleep in today. We got to experience church the Cambodian way! It is really neat to see how other cultures serve our awesome God. He created this magnificent world and it’s just so inspiring to celebrate it with all of his children. Continue reading

Mission to Cambodia: First day of clinic & travel to Poipet

A glimpse into the treatment rooms

By Allison Courtney, Nurse Practitioner student

Thursday May 17, 2018

First official day of clinics! After three full days of taking in the new sights, sounds, and unique culture of the Cambodian people we set out this morning for our first clinic hosted at Freedom’s Promise Sewing Center. During breakfast there was a sense of anticipation and curiosity unsure of what we would be doing today but excited to see the day unfold. We circled up with students, faculty, and translators prayed for the day and moved out in faith. 

As a team we saw the provision of God in so many ways both big and small. From covered waiting and treatment areas to powerful cross cultural prayer experiences God had clearly prepared a way for us and showed up in the details.  Continue reading

Mission to Cambodia: Clinic Day #3

by Jacqueline Murphy, Nursing Team

Chomreabsuor! (Hello!)

We had a bright and early morning today that started off with each off us packing up our luggage to head out to a new hotel, brand new, at that. The hotel we will be traveling to is only 10 days old. As you can imagine, the entire team was very excited about this new adventure. Before we would go there, we set off to our third clinic here in Poipet. This is our third in a row and we were tired but so very excited to spend another day serving as the hands and feet of God. 

When we arrived at the Bridge of Hope, we experienced another powerful Continue reading

Mission to Cambodia: Bridge of Hope Center

Megan Heath, pharmacy team.

Today we started off our day with breakfast at the Destiny Cafe. It was very welcoming and homey with pancakes and syrup along with omelets and fruit. After breakfast we traveled to the Bridge of Hope Center and were greeted by lots of little kids in the middle of a school lesson. Then we went into the clinic site and met with Perlito. He gave us an amazing devotional that was helpful and inspirational to start our day off and centered around breaking through any downfalls or doubts. We also had a great time worshiping through songs lead by his two daughters. After devotional, we began to set up and organize our clinic for the day. We had a lot more space and tables to work with than at the last clinic site so everyone was thankful for that!

Things at the clinic already started off better and smoother than the day before I think, everyone was getting more used to their individual roles, but were still integrating as a team to get work completed. Throughout the day kids would Continue reading

Mission to Cambodia: Day Three

by Kendall Schoenekase, Graduate Nursing Student

The morning began bright and early today as we set off for the 6 hour drive to Battambang
at 6:30am. In addition to our Cambodia team, our Freedom’s Promise translators, who will be with us during out clinics in Poipet, joined us on the buses. This was a wonderful experience, as the translators began teaching us about the Cambodian culture, the villages, their home towns, etc. from their perspectives. We listened to Cambodian music, tried Continue reading

Mission to Cambodia: Second Day in Phnom Penh

By Hannah Stirnaman, Nurse Practitioner Student

Today was our second full day in Phnom Penh and the last day for us to soak in the atmosphere before traveling to Battambang.

Our first stop of the day was to The Choeung Ek Genocidal Center to tour the killing fields. After reading books and watching films dedicated to this topic, it was overwhelming to see the fields in person. Although this was a somber topic, understanding more of the Cambodian history shed light on the resilience of these amazing people.

After touring the fields, the group spent time getting shoes made from a local shop here in Phnom Penh. Each shoe is made Continue reading

Mission to Cambodia: First full day in Phnom Penh

By Shannon Stuart, Pharmacy Team

We have survived our first full day in Cambodia which was accompanied by 89 degrees and 77% humidity weather. It was scorching hot, but fortunately, everyone was able to do every event and the worse outcome today was some sunburn. We started out with some wonderful breakfast which included much of the same foods we eat in America and then a beautiful devotional to begin our day. Our first adventure was familiarization of the city. We walked for about 2 hours and were able to see many monuments.  We also designated a special meet up place if someone strayed away from the crowd on accident. I have attached some of the photos of the monuments for you to see them. There was an independence monument which signified independence from the French (a.k.a. meet up place). It has the lotus’s flower which carries a very strong meaning. To the Cambodian’s it means renewal which we saw throughout the whole walk. 

Another monument which is the one pictured with 2 Vietnamese soldiers and a Cambodia woman in front carrying an infant, demonstrates celebration from liberation from the Khmer Rouge. Khmer Rouge was the group of Cambodian’s who were communists and helped carry out the devastating Cambodian genocide. The monument would have been a great gift, but it signifies that the Vietnamese were happy for them, but they wanted the Cambodians to know Continue reading

Mission to Cambodia: The Journey to the other side of the world

By Kelsey Bivacca, Nurse Practitioner student

Today we arrived at the Nashville airport on May 12th at 5:30am, and took off to Detroit, then Detroit to Seoul, then Seoul to Phnom Penh. Currently I am sitting on the plane about to depart to on the longest leg of the trip to Seoul, and am feeling upbeat and excited for the new environment we’re about to be entering.

Mid flight one of the passengers needed medical attention and Continue reading

Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame Announces 2018 Inductees

The Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame announced the seven health care professionals selected as this year’s inductee class at a luncheon on Belmont University’s campus today. With a mission to honor men and women who have made significant and lasting contributions to the health and health care industries, the Hall of Fame was created in 2015 by Belmont University, the McWhorter Society and the Nashville Health Care Council, a founding partner. The seven honorees will be inducted at a ceremony in October. Continue reading

College of Health Sciences conducts Poverty Simulation for faculty and staff

Running around a crowded gym carrying paper money and wearing a nametag detailing the role they were given, nearly 100 Belmont College of Health Sciences and Nursing (CHSN) faculty and staff filled the Sports Science Center on Wednesday, April 25 to participate in the Community Action Poverty Simulation (CAPS). Booths representing community agencies (social services, school, the bank, a pawn shop and more) lined the walls as participants assumed their roles. Some were experiencing homeless, others represented single parents and even more participated as families with many children — all simulating exactly what it is to live in poverty across America. Continue reading

Health Sciences and Nursing Faculty, Students Attend Conversations on Health in Nashville Event as Invited Guests

Faculty and students from Belmont’s College of Health Sciences and Nursing were recently invited guests for a presentation and small group discussion at the Metro Health Department. As part of the new ‘Conversations on Health in Nashville’ speaker series, Senior Vice President of Healthy Communities at The California Endowment Dr. Tony Iton spoke about the impact that where you live has on individual health.

More information on this event can be found here

Image (from L to R): Dr. Cathy Taylor, dean of the Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences and Nursing; occupational therapy doctorate students Karon Uzzell-Baggett (Class of 2019) and Leah Carlisle (Class of 2018); Dr. Iton and Dr. Sanmi Areola, Metro Public Health Department deputy director

Social Work Students Win Annual Day on the Hill Event

social work studentsEach spring, Belmont sends its junior social work majors to compete in the annual Day on the Hill event, which allows a chosen representative from the group to present a summary of a bill that is on the Tennessee Legislative Assembly Agenda. This year, under the guidance of Dr. Jenny Crowell, instructor in the department of social work, the team won the event.

The competition consists of social work students from across the state. The Belmont group, with Lauren Barnhart as their speaker, discussed the importance of the bill the allow the creation of recovery high schools. The bill was recently signed by the governor.

Team Hosts Inter-Professional Event Focused on Faith & Healthcare

In Fall 2017, an inter-professional team consisting of faculty from Pharmacy, Occupational Therapy, Nursing, Social work, Physical Therapy, Public Health and a staff member from University Ministries designed and delivered an event addressing how personal spirituality can influence interactions with patients. Student feedback from the event was positive overall, with suggestions to provide additional events addressing spirituality, add perspectives from other health professions and lengthen the event to allow for more questions and discussion. Faculty added that including an alumni panel might be of additional interest to students and placing students at tables rather than rows of seats might further facilitate group discussions. Continue reading