College of Nursing contingent represents UAH at national conference

The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) was well represented at the Southern Nursing Research Society (SNRS) Conference held this past February in Saddlebrook Resort in Tampa, Fla. Six faculty members and two students attended the 29^th annual event, whose theme was "Conducting Research in Difficult Times: Come Revitalize Your Research Spirit."

While there, almost all shared their current research with a poster and/or oral presentation:

Clinical Assistant Professor Dr. Lenora Smith delivered a presentation on her research project entitled "Home Health Nurses Beliefs or Perceptions of Suffering and Artificial Nutrition and Hydration in People with Late Stage Dementia."

Clinical Assistant Professor Dr. Rita Ferguson presented her research project with a poster entitled "Ways of Knowing Experienced by Nurses Working in Hospice Agencies."

Assistant Professor Dr. Azita Amiri presented two research projects: "Race, socioeconomic status, tobacco smoke, and fetal growth biomarkers" and "Volatile Organic Compounds and Formaldehyde Levels in Ground-based Simulated Spacecraft Cabins and the Comparison of Two Analysis Methods: EPA/TO-15 (GC/MS) and NASA (GC/Gerstel Thermal Desorption System)."

Nursing student Elizabeth Bailey, this year's recipient of the College of Nursing's Doctor of Nursing Practice Student Honors Scholar Award, gave a poster and oral presentation entitled "Pain and Agitation in the ICU: Integration of a Clinical Assessment Bundle Leading to Optimal Patient Outcomes."

And undergraduate nursing honors student Eddie Damron gave a poster and oral presentation entitled "Analyzing the Presence of Bacterial Colonies Within a Neonatal Suctioning Device: The Blue-Bulb Syringe," which ultimately earned him the top prize in the Student Poster category.

Both Associate Professor Dr. Pam O'Neal and Associate Professor Dr. Ellise Adams assisted the students with their posters and presentations. "Mr. Damron's award was the first national award that has been given to a UAH College of Nursing undergraduate student," says Dr. Adams, who also serves as the director of the Nursing Honors program.

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