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Nursing requires hands-on training. But research has found that university curriculum often goes light on one of life’s universal experiences — dying. Read more on NPR website.
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Dr. Sandy Murabito, undergraduate program director and assistant professor of nursing, was recently given the Tennessee Nurses Association (TNA) Award for Nursing Excellence at their annual meeting in Murfreesboro. The award recognizes a member of TNA who demonstrates outstanding performance in nursing practice, nursing education, advance practice nursing, nursing research or nursing administration by promoting and maintaining excellence in professional practice, a commitment to the nursing profession and TNA, contributing to professional development of other nurses, leadership which improves the quality of nursing care and professional and community service.
Two Belmont nursing students, graduate student Jaanki Bhakta and undergraduate student Grace Waters, received March of Dimes Nursing Student of the Year Awards at the March of Dimes Nurse of the Year Awards Banquet held on Belmont’s campus today.Waters is the past president of SNA, the Student Nurses Association, a peer tutor and a Bruin Recruiter. Additionally, she serves on the College of Health Sciences and Nursing’s Dean’s Student Advisory Council, is a member of Kappa Alpha Theta and serves on the Sisterhood Committee and is an active member of The Village Chapel. She has also traveled to China where she participated in a mission trip and studied abroad in Geneva.
Associate Dean of Nursing Dr. Martha Buckner said, “Both of these students are true leaders in and out of the classroom. We are so proud of their accomplishments.”
The Belmont University Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students volunteered for Garrett’s Hero Run, a 5K event held each year to raise money and awareness to find a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Each year the students travel to Columbia, TN to participate in and volunteer at the run to support a member of the ‘Belmont PT Family’, a 2005 graduate of the program, Amber Sapp.
Belmont undergraduate nursing students recently served in the National Driver Appreciation Week held by Averitt Express Trucking Company in Nashville.
Assistant Nursing Professor Abbey Holthaus led a group of 28 students to provide free blood pressure screenings to participants. This service learning opportunity is the first time the nursing department has sent students out in the community early in the program to hone their nursing and communication skills.
“Safety regulations require truckers to maintain a healthy blood pressure,” said Holthaus. “Our students were able to provide a meaningful service while honing their skills as new nursing students.”
Dr. Anthony Blash, assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy, recently completed the facilitation of a virtual, 4-part Certified Associate in Health Information and Management Systems (CAHIMS) Review Course facilitated and sponsored by the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS), North America Division.
HIMSS North America positively transforms health and healthcare through the best use of information and technology in the United States and Canada. As a cause-based non-profit, HIMSS North America provides thought leadership, community building, professional development, public policy and events. HIMSS North America represents 70,000 individual members, 630 corporate members and more than 450 non-profit organizations, all working to leverage the potential of digital health to improve both the health status of populations as well as the quality, cost-effectiveness, access and value of healthcare.
Belmont University recently hosted its first Health and Well-being Fair, an event sponsored by the University’s Be Well BU initiative to promote a health and well-balanced lifestyle throughout the Belmont community. The fair showcased over 40 organizations focused on sharing information about a variety of topics with students, faculty and staff in attendance. Continue reading
Earlier this semester, Belmont University Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) students volunteered at the annual Sara Walker Run to honor a 2003 Belmont DPT alumna Sara Pigg Walker. The Sara Walker Run is a fundraising event to raise money for various missions supported through the Sara Walker Foundation that are intended to help spread Sara’s message of hope to others through Jesus Christ.
Sara’s Story
Sara was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in January 2011, on her 33rd birthday. After 16 rounds of chemotherapy and three clinical research trials, Sara’s earthly struggle with cancer ended in August of 2012, at the age of 34. Continue reading
The Belmont University School of Physical Therapy (PT) and the Sara Walker Foundation have awarded the annual Sara Pigg Walker Physical Therapy Scholarship to this year’s recipients Kara Mae Sheft and Meredith Massengale.
Sara Pigg Walker, PT, DPT (’03) was a friend, Belmont PT classmate, alumnus and professional who passed away at a young age, but whose memory and legacy continues to inspire. The Sarah Pigg Walker Endowed Scholarship was established to honor her memory and legacy and is awarded to the rising 3rd year student(s) who demonstrate strengths in leadership, scholarship, service and clinical performance.
Pictured above: Massengale, Dinah Pigg Hall, who is Sara’s sister and a fellow Belmont PT alumna, and Kara Mae Sheft
Dr. Mike Voight, professor of physical therapy, was recently inducted into the inaugural Titleist Golf Performance Institute Hall of Fame class. He was recognized for his lifetime of being a leader in both promoting the game of golf and helping PGA Tour players reach their highest level of performance.Specifically, it was noted that Voight has been a worldwide leader in the development of testing algorithms in order to detect impairments and build treatment programs.
Melissa Moore, a 2006 nursing graduate from Belmont, was recently featured in an article for her work with cardiac services as an Outreach Coordinator for Advanced Cardiac Therapies at UCLA Health. In the article, Moore details the work her team is doing to expand their services to additional communities throughout Los Angeles and the surrounding area to ensure specialized care is convenient and accessible.
“We’re partnering with local cardiologists and primary care physicians to provide comprehensive services to patients closer to where they live and work,” she says.
The article goes on to detail Moore’s team’s work on heart failure treatment as more and more Americans continue to battle these diagnoses. According to the American Heart Association, the number of Americans who suffer from heart failure, an estimated 6.5 million, is expected to rise by 46 percent by 2030.
Belmont University College of Pharmacy raised $2,171 for the Nashville AIDS Walk and participated for the seventh consecutive year, sponsored by Nashville Cares on Oct. 6. Team Captain, Associate Professor Dr. Edgar S. Diaz-Cruz, led faculty and students who joined hundreds of community participants to benefit families impacted by HIV/AIDS in Middle Tennessee. Dr. Diaz-Cruz celebrated the outstanding efforts of his team noting, “This type of event provides a great opportunity for our students to be advocates in the community. I was proud to see dozens of students walking, and many of them volunteering in different capacities at the event including HIV testing.”
A highlight of this year’s event was witnessing the remarkable 1st place female runner medal win by one of our team members, Assistant Professor Dr. Kendall Shultes. The AIDS walk serves as a launch for multiple HIV prevention events including the HIV Testing and Counseling Certificate Program from the Tennessee Department of Health sponsored by Belmont College of Pharmacy and Nashville CARES.
Event efforts collectively raise more than $1 million for student support
The Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame inducted its 2018 class, made up of seven health care legends from across the state, at a luncheon and ceremony in Belmont’s Curb Event today. Hosted by Partner at DVL Seigenthaler John Seigenthaler, Jr., the Hall of Fame seeks to recognize and honor the pioneers and current leaders that have formed Tennessee’s health and health care community and encourage future generations of health care professionals. Continue reading
During the recent annual congress of the International Society for Hip Arthroscopy and Hip Preservation held in Melbourne Australia, Belmont University School of Physical Therapy Adjunct Instructor Dr. Ashley Campbell along with Professor Dr. Mike Voight showcased a research poster presentation.Attended by over 600 surgeons from around the world, the annual ISHA congress brings together the world’s best professionals who assess and treat hip injuries. During the closing ceremonies, ISHA President Dr. Chuck Cakic from South Africa and Dr. John O’Donnell from Australia recognized Campbell as having the best physical therapy research poster.
Professor of Physical Therapy Dr. Mike Voight recently spoke at the International Society of Hip Arthroscopy annual congress held in Melbourne, Australia. Serving as co-chair of the physical therapy programming, Voight was also invited to serve as an invited lecturer at the event.
Throughout the four-day congress, he gave several presentations on the management of hip injuries and on the emerging use of orthobiologics. In addition to invited presentations, Voight had two research platform presentations accepted for presentation. Attended by over 600 surgeons from around the world, the annual ISHA congress brings together the world’s best professionals who assess and treat hip injuries.
Recent 2018 Belmont Doctorate of Physical Therapy graduate Alicia Bowden completed a unique experience while in school when she traveled to Arequipa, Peru for one of her clinicals. While there, she worked with “Work the World,” an organization that coordinates international clinical internships tailored to a variety of healthcare backgrounds. With the help of Gail Bursch, associate professor of physical therapy & director of clinical education, Bowden was placed in the physiotherapy department at Hospital Goyeneche, one of the oldest and most respected medical institutions in southern Peru, where she spent six weeks working in acute and outpatient care.
This true Spanish immersion clinical experience was fast-paced, challenging and very rewarding. “Working in the hospital was a bit of a culture shock at first,” she said, “but by the end of my placement, I truly felt that I had become part of the team.” Continue reading
Three Belmont University College of Pharmacy students recently competed at the The American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) Clinical Pharmacy Challenge. The challenge is a team-based competition where teams of three students compete against teams from other schools and Colleges of Pharmacy. The competition features teams answering questions in a quiz bowl format.
A total of 112 teams from across the country and a variety of institutions competed in this event’s event. The Belmont University College of Pharmacy team consisted of Nate Berger, Olivia Pardue and Kevin Nofi, all of whom are in their fourth year of pharmacy school. The team made it to the third round of the competition.
Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Dr. Anthony Blash and 8 other experts in Clinical Informatics met this summer to form the 2018 Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Jobs Analysis Workgroup. Using data gathered from hundreds of participants, the group met over two days in June at the HIMSS Global Center for Health Innovation in Cleveland to begin the process of updating the scope and content of the HIMSS Certification Examinations.
In order to keep pace with changes in the industry, the content representing the standard for HIMSS certificate holders must be updated every few years. The Certified Associate in Healthcare and Information Management Systems (CAHIMS) and Certified Professional in Healthcare and Information Management Systems (CPHIMS) are designed to bridge the IT and clinical roles that come together to leverage technology solutions for improved clinical outcomes and business operations. To learn more about the HIMSS Certification programs, visit the HIMSS website.
Belmont University recently announced the inaugural group of the Lettie Pate Whitehead scholarship recipients, a gift given to six students from the College of Health Sciences and Nursing. These six nursing students will participate in 32 hours of community service and will participate in high-impact leadership development in both curricular and co-curricular spaces through the University’s new Office of Leadership Development.
Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans was a generous philanthropist and accomplished businesswoman. She was the wife of Joseph B. Whitehead, one of the original bottlers of Coca-Cola. At his death, she assumed management of his business affairs, establishing the Whitehead Holding Company and the Whitehead Realty Company and leading the Coca-Cola Bottling Company in Atlanta. She also became one of the first female directors of any major U.S. corporation when she was appointed to the board of The Coca-Cola Company in 1934, a position she held for nearly 20 years. To those who knew her well, Mrs. Whitehead’s greatest legacy was her genuine concern for others. Continue reading
L to R: Keynote speaker Joseph Telfair
stands with Dr. Jennifer Hicks
Dr. Jennifer Hicks, a Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) at Belmont alumna, recently received the Excellence in Public Health Nurse Award at the Tennessee Public Health Association’s annual meeting held in Nashville last week.
This highly competitive award recognizes a nurse who is respected by co-workers and peers in the community and demonstrates clinical excellence in supporting public health goals and objectives.
Hicks is a May 2016 graduate of Belmont’s DNP program and currently works as a Family Nurse Practitioner at the Rutherford County Health Department.
To kick off Healthcare Simulation week, Belmont University and The Tennessee Simulation Alliance hosted the documentary “To Err is Human” on Monday, September 17. Created to bring patient safety back into the national discussion through the power of documentary storytelling, the film aims to showcase solutions that are easy to implement and would dramatically improve the quality of health care. Continue reading
In August, Professor of Physical Therapy Dr. Mike Voight participated in the Warrick Medical Consensus Group that serves to establish world-wide guidelines in the diagnosis, management and rehabilitation of hip injuries. Most specifically, the Group works closely with the UK National Health trust to establish treatment guidelines.As one of 18 invited experts from around the world, Voight provided insight in the rehabilitation of the hip following surgery. he proceedings from this group will be published in an upcoming issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Dr. Mike Voight, professor of physical therapy, recently served as an invited speaker at the Sports Hip 18 Congress held in the UK. With more than 300 hip surgeons and physical therapists from around the world in attendance, Voight who was one of 20 invited world-wide presenters (and represented the United States) who spoke on the importance of taking a good history in the diagnosis of hip pain.
Rising second-year Belmont Physical Therapy students, Lauren Addison, Beau Kovach, Hannah Burkhart, Alex Tucker, Bella Zizzi and Katelyn Thies devoted part of their summer break to finding ways to get involved in the Middle Tennessee area. The class, as a whole, agreed in their first year on the importance of getting involved and giving back to the surrounding communities. Physical Therapy itself is a service profession and while the coursework of the program can be demanding, the class agreed it was important to find time to stay true to the service aspect as well.
Associate Professor of Physical Therapy Dr. Christi Williams reminds students within their first few weeks in the program, “It’s not about you, it’s about who you were put here to serve.” The now second year class has bought into this idea. There are several service events built into the program already, but these students wanted to find ways to serve even beyond those in which they were already participating. To do this, a new position within the class was established, the community service chair, and student Lauren Addison quickly volunteered to fill this role given her passion for service activities and mission trips. Continue reading
Recent graduate of Belmont’s physical therapy program Barbara Parks recently completed a unique clinical experience. With a life-long love for horses, Parks began volunteering at a PATH (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship) International Premier Accredited Center after finishing her undergraduate degree. It was that opportunity that sparked her interest in physical therapy.
“I went there to be around the horses, but once I started to get to know the kids and saw the incredible impact the horses had on them, I was hooked,” she said. “I saw children speak their first words and take their first steps after hippotherapy sessions. Hippotherapy is what made me decide to go back to school to become a physical therapist.” Continue reading