Program

This past academic year, the College of Nursing at Brigham Young University arranged for several nursing students to complete their clinical rotations in rural locations. These locations provided unique learning for them as they got to experience smaller hospitals, work with various staff, and spend time on multiple units within those facilities' encounters not usually available in more urban settings.

Vaccines are likely the most significant public health initiative the world has ever seen outside of clean water. Vaccinations are relatively inexpensive, minimally invasive, and highly effective against deadly diseases. According to the World Health Organization, regular immunizations prevent between four and five million deaths each year.[1] Associate professor Dr. Janelle Macintosh has been working on vaccine research for over 10 years at BYU, often with Dr. Beth Luthy (BS '03, MS '05), Dr. Renea Beckstrand (AS '81, BS '83, MS '87), and several student research assistants. Dr. Macintosh teaches undergraduate and graduate classes on ethics, writing, research, and interdisciplinary connections for the honors program. This fall, she is also teaching a pediatrics course.

For nearly 30 years, the focus for the College of Nursing at Brigham Young University has been to assist students in learning the Healer's art so they will first, emulate the principles, knowledge, attributes, and methods of the Master Healer, and, second, foster environments and processes to help others to be made whole. No matter what career paths they follow, BYU nurses share a common dedication to improving the health and the quality of life of individuals, families, and communities.

The start of the spring semester is always exciting because it's when we get a new cohort of master's students. This year, we welcome 11 students from Virginia to right here in Provo. We're also welcoming back seven BYU nursing alumni.

In 2017, Atalie Bradshaw was a regular BYU Nursing graduate, excited to apply her knowledge of "the Healers art" in her career. Since then, she has cared for thousands of people in various units, the most recent being in the Covid and Respiratory/Sepsis units at Utah Valley Hospital. Today, because of her confidence, dedication, and passion for nursing she has won the College of Nursing's 3 Minute Thesis competition where grad students present the dissertations they've worked on for the past 2 years in 3 minutes or less with one Powerpoint slide. Dr. Neil Peterson, graduate program coordinator and judge of the 3-Minute Thesis competition says, "Atalie Bradshaw's presentation stood out in a number of ways. Her topic was timely, and she made it relatable to anyone watching. Did you know that nearly 1 in 4 women will experience sexual assault in their lifetime? I didn't either. This study will inform interdisciplinary practices on identifying sexual assault and should improve sexual assault care and criminal justice outcomes for these women." Atalie's thesis is monumental because its different than previous studies on sexual assault injuries. For example, out of the eighty studies she read, the sample populations consisted of 80 to 200 people with the largest consisting of 1,000 subjects. Atalie's sample population consists of 5,400 women, increasing its validity and making it an influential study in the field of sexual assault. Read the rest of the story on our blog at https://byunursing.wordpress.com/2021/03/29/becoming-an-fnp-giving-a-voice-to-societys-most-vulnerable/

Having a degree in nursing can take you in a hundred different directions for your career. One that holds promise and great benefits is that of an Army nurse. ROTC recruiter Jack Sturgeon works with us here on BYU campus to help students receive scholarships and get a jumpstart in the U.S. Army coming from the nursing program.

If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it is that change is not always bad. In fact, if we fail to provide ourselves with the opportunity to slow down and look at how we can improve our programs and institutions, ultimately, it will be to our detriment.