Daily Archives: August 28, 2020

Public Health Major Akia Thompson Receives BlueCross BlueShield Power of We Scholarship

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Akia Thompson headshotSenior public health major Akia Thompson is a recipient of BlueCross BlueShield’s 2020 Power of We Scholarship. The scholarship is funded by BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Foundation and grants $10,000 to its recipients each year.

The organization awards minority students pursuing degrees in health care in order to “reduce health care disparities by improving workforce diversity.” This year, the organization decided to double the number of recipients from 3 to 6, Thompson being one of them.

Thompson first developed her goals for post-graduation through an internship at Meharry Medical College in Nashville. “Shadowing health professionals in multiple roles was so educational, and now I’m pursuing a career as a family nurse practitioner,” she said. “I like that I’ll get to spend time with patients, get to know them and deliver hands-on, holistic care.”

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Dr. Laura Gray shares about her recent research project

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Dr. Laura Gray, Assistant Professor of Nursing, answers questions about her recent research project.

What is your research topic? Why did you choose it?
Sleep in children with ADHD and their families.

What are some of your most interesting results?
Parent ADHD symptoms can impact children’s sleep hygiene and some objectively measured sleep parameters such as sleep onset latency (time it takes the child to fall asleep) and wake after sleep onset (waking up during the night).

What is the importance/application of your research?
Since about half of children who are diagnosed with ADHD will have a parent with ADHD, it is important for clinicians to recognize the shared behaviors and how they impact child sleep. This may point to a need for specifically tailored sleep education with structured schedules, sticker charts, checklists and other concrete supports.

Where have you presented your research?
Presented at the Southern Nursing Research Society meetings. Published in Pediatric Nursing. I am working with researchers at Vanderbilt to expand sleep education to families of typically developing children.

MSOT Alumna Presents at Tennessee Occupational Therapy Association Conference

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Whitney JoyBelmont alumna Whitney Joy, Master of Science in Occupational Therapy class of 2018, co-presented at the Tennessee Occupational Therapy Association (TNOTA) Virtual Conference on Wednesday, August 26.

Joy’s workshop was titled Strategies for OT Practitioners to Elevate Cultural Humility & Cultural Responsiveness.