Launched in 1975 out of a nurse research collaboration, the Midwest Nursing Research Society (MNRS) has grown to become one of the premier nursing research organizations. Each year, nurse researchers from across the country travel to the organization’s annual conference. From the opening keynote to the poster awards, the College of Nursing was well represented at this year’s conference, held in Indianapolis, Indiana, March 26-29.
Dr. Karen Dunn-Lopez, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, College of Nursing professor and director of the Center for Nursing Classification and Clinical Effectiveness, opened the conference with her keynote address, “Technology augmented decision making, team science, and shaping the future of nursing informatics research.” Dunn-Lopez is a globally recognized leader at the forefront of nursing informatics and has dedicated her career to improving health outcomes through innovative decision-support technologies.
My favorite part was all the support I got from the faculty during my research project poster presentation. The dessert reception was also a lot of fun!
--Jacob Osten, BSN Student
Research & Implementation Interest Groups (RIIGs) are interest-based groups within the broader MNRS community, designed to encourage networking, mentorship, research collaboration, leadership skills, and professional growth. RIIGs recognize their members with awards at the conference.
RIIG Awardees from the college this year include:
Wen Liu, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN, Mid-Career Award, Gerontological Nursing Science RIIG
Young-Eun Cho, PhD, RN, Early Career Award, Physiology, Behavior, Genomics & Society RIIG
Sena Chae, PhD, MSHI, RN, Research Publication Award, Health Systems, Policy & Informatics RIIG
MNRS recognizes distinguished abstracts that represent exemplary research that advances nursing science and practice. Fourteen abstracts were selected this year, including “Predictors of spiritual distress in polytrauma patients,” authored by PhD student Nanle Gusen. (Faculty mentor, Karen Dunn Lopez)
I attend MNRS to stay up-to-date on innovative nursing research, share findings of my research, and connect with valued colleagues and friends.
The University of Iowa College of Nursing was a leader and role model for research dissemination at MNRS. I received several compliments and questions about how we are so productive in research in the college.
-Chelsea Howland, PhD, RN, assistant professor
An important part of the student MNRS experience is the opportunity to showcase their research in the Student Poster Competition. Fifteen College of Nursing students presented posters at the conference, and four won poster awards.
I enjoyed getting to see people’s different paths to becoming a nurse researcher.
I learned that there truly is something for everyone in research, and so many of those topics were presented at MNRS. There are countless opportunities to dive into!
-Elizabeth Edwards, BSN Student
Annika Ellis, 1st Place, BSN category, “Profiling Mealtime Verbal Interactions Between Nursing Home Staff and Persons with Dementia” (Faculty mentor, Wen Liu)
Alaa Harb, 1st Place, PhD category, “Longitudinal Profiles of Allostatic Load Biomarkers Across the Cognitive Continuum: Insights into Alzheimer’s Disease Risk” (Faculty mentor, Juliana Souza-Talarico)
Kyuri Lee, 3rd Place, PhD category, “Factors Associated with Resistiveness-To-Care of Nursing Home Residents with Moderate to Severe Dementia” (Faculty mentor, Wen Liu)
Jaewon Bae, Honorable Mention, PhD category, “The Wound Microbiome and Inflammatory Gene Expression Associated with Abdominal Surgical Site Infection” (Faculty mentor, Sue Gardner)
Faculty and postdocs also had a strong presence at the conference, giving 11 podium presentations and seven poster presentations.
I attend MNRS for the networking opportunities, Gerontology Research and Implementation Interest Group, presentations by faculty and students, potential collaborations, and shared passions.
There is an incredible energy among nurse researchers and students. The energy was intense and exhausting, but in a very good way.
-Kim Bergen-Jackson, PhD, RN-GERO, LNHA, FAAN, associate clinical professor