Janet H. Davis, PhD, RN, CNE, MBA, an associate professor of Nursing at Purdue University Northwest (PNW) has been awarded a U.S. Fulbright Faculty Scholar award for the 2024-25 academic year. She will work at the University of Colombo in Sri Lanka to enhance nursing leadership and teaching.
During her time in Sri Lanka, Dr. Davis will focus on using evidence-based practices to improve nursing leadership and practice in academic and applied settings. She will also collaborate with the Sri Lanka Nurses Association to provide continuing education for nurses in the country.
This achievement has resulted in Dr. Davis being recognized as the Nurse of the Week by Daily Nurse for her work in evidence-based nursing and leadership education in Sri Lanka.
Dr. Davis expressed her gratitude for the opportunity, highlighting the valuable training and experience she has received and her excitement to share her knowledge abroad.
“I am honored to be selected for this opportunity to engage in impactful scholarship and collaboration abroad,” says Dr. Davis. “The training I have received in the College of Nursing in evidence-based methodology and the experience of teaching our students have truly been gifts. I look forward to this opportunity to share our PNW accomplishments abroad.”
Her scholarly background focuses on evidence-based practice for minority registered nurse (RN) workforce development, health disparities, community health nursing, and community-engaged education.
The Dean of the PNW College of Nursing, Amy Fry, commended Dr. Davis for her achievement and expressed confidence in the positive impact of her work abroad.
“We are so proud of Dr. Davis receiving the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Faculty Scholar honor, as it is a recognition of the high-quality teaching and scholarship occurring at PNW’s College of Nursing,” says Fry. “She will be a great resource for the University of Colombo, bringing knowledge in evidence-based-practice nursing and leadership education. We look forward to seeing the positive impacts through this international exchange.”
The Fulbright program, administered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), is among the most prestigious exchange programs supporting international research and partnerships between higher education institutions worldwide. Fulbright scholars build connections and collaboratively address challenges, sharing expertise to benefit their host institutions and their own upon their return.
Nominate a Nurse of the Week! Every Wednesday, DailyNurse.com features a nurse making a difference in the lives of their patients, students, and colleagues. We encourage you to nominate a nurse who has impacted your life as the next Nurse of the Week, and we’ll feature them online and in our weekly newsletter.
Call it divine intervention or being at the right place at the right time, but cardiac nurse Lauren Huyvaert saved the life of a University of Notre Dame football fan last year during a game against UNLV. Recently, the two were reunited.
Daily Nurse honors Lauren Huyvaert, RN, a cardiac nurse at the Memorial Leighton Heart and Vascular Center in South Bend, Indiana, as the Nurse of the Week for jumping into action, performing CPR, and saving the life of Mike Brown, 77, when he became unresponsive at the football game.
Like most survivors of sudden cardiac arrest, Brown does not remember what happened when he lost consciousness at the game.
The day of the game in South Bend, Brown was seated with his daughter, Christa Brubaker, when she noticed his hand was cold and clammy, and when she felt his wrist, she didn’t feel anything. Her dad became unresponsive, so she called her husband, seated in another section, for help. That’s when she experienced divine intervention.
On the way to her seat, Huyvaert noticed an older man who had dozed off, and she thought to herself that he didn’t look very good. Huyvaert’s boyfriend asked if everything was okay, and Brubaker explained her dad was tired from having dental work done the day before. But minutes later, she overheard something alarming.
“I can’t wake Dad up,” she heard someone say.
Huyvaert didn’t waste any time. She climbed over some people and calmly but confidently approached the family. “I’m a cardiac nurse. How can I help?”
She positioned herself directly in front of Brown and tried waking him up, but he did not respond, so she started firing questions at Brubaker.
“Does he have any health conditions?
Is he a diabetic?
Has he had any cardiac issues?
Has he had anything to eat or drink today?“
Not feeling a pulse, Huyvaert grabbed the man by the shoulders, laid him on the bench, and started CPR.
“I need EMS right now,” she told the ushers, who had also rushed over.
Noticing how terrified Brubaker looked, the nurse hollered over to her family. “Help her,” she instructed them. She remembers how surreal it felt to do all this during a football game.
“It’s loud noisy, and the game doesn’t stop because things like this happen. The players on the field, the coaches, the refs, people on the other side of the stadium don’t know what’s going on,” says Huyvaert.
After first responders arrived, took over, and transported Brown to Memorial Hospital, Huyvaert sat beside her family.
Huyvaert emphasizes the importance of being CPR-certified.
“We see with this story that it saved a life, and we saw it last year in the NFL with Damar Hamlin,” she says. “Quick action saves lives. You’ll never know when you’ll be in this kind of situation. Even if you’re not a trained professional, you can still save lives. You can do what I did, too. Any life that is saved is a life lived.”
Huyvaert wondered if Brown survived and what had happened to him. Until they recently met again.
Christa Brubaker, Lauren Huyvaert and Mike Brown are reunited. Photo credit: Beacon Health System
Brown is grateful to have been alive this past year for the two great-grandchildren who were born and to be attending his granddaughter’s wedding.
Does he believe in divine intervention? “Absolutely,” he says, looking at Huyvaert. “I believe in angels.”
Nominate a Nurse of the Week! Every Wednesday, DailyNurse.com features a nurse making a difference in the lives of their patients, students, and colleagues. We encourage you to nominate a nurse who has impacted your life as the next Nurse of the Week, and we’ll feature them online and in our weekly newsletter.
If the nursing shortage is bad now, chances are it’s going to get much worse.
“Hospitals were having difficulty finding nurses to fill positions before the pandemic,” notes Kendra McMillan, MPH, RN, Senior Policy Advisor for Nursing Practice and Work Environment at the American Nurses Association (ANA). “In fact, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 175,900 RN openings were projected each year through 2029, when we factor in nurses leaving the workforce for reasons such as retirement.Unfortunately, the pandemic’s demand on the healthcare system has further exacerbated a long-standing projection that has burdened our nursing workforce.”
Kendra McMillan, MPH, RN, ANA Senior Policy Advisor for Nursing Practice and Work Environment
Doctors and nurses are overworked, thanks to chronic staffing shortages made worse by a pandemic that drove thousands from the field, writes The New York Times. On the West Coast, “the nursing shortage affecting the whole nation is impacting the Northwest region as well,” according to an article in The Bulletin (headquartered in Bend, OR), quoting a Kaiser spokeswoman.
“Finding experienced nurses has always been a challenge in Southern California,” according to Cherie Fox, RN, MSN, CCRN-K, Executive Director Acute Care Services, Providence Mission Hospital, Mission Viejo, California. “Following the COVID-19 pandemic, we are seeing nurses retire, move out of the area, and reduce hours, all of which has amplified our staffing challenge just a bit.” Fox led the initial team that opened the COVID ICU and telemetry units during the pandemic. She recently coauthored a paper in Critical Care Nurse detailing Providence Mission Hospital’s COVID response.
And a recent study found that nurses are reporting large declines in their mental health. More alarming, nurses, especially those who are younger, are feeling less committed to the profession.
Multiple factors, coupled with the pandemic, are influencing the nursing shortage, according to McMillan. These include burnout, work environment stress, workplace violence, an aging workforce that is retiring, and an aging population with comorbidities.
Multiple Solutions
To address the growing crisis, hospitals are pursuing multiple solutions, including hiring travel nurses. “I’ve talked to several emergency departments across the country that are having those issues where they’re having to have temporary nurses come in to the emergency department,” says Ron Kraus, MSN, RN, EMT, CEN, TCRN, ACNS-BC, Emergency Nurses Association president and Emergency Department Clinical Nurse Specialist at Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital.
ENA President Ron Kraus, MSN, RN, EMT, CEN, TCRN, ACNS-BC
Providence Mission Hospital has also made use of travel nurses and offers a referral bonus to current caregivers. Fox notes that nurses are taking time off while others are getting ready for vacations. “While the time off is needed and approved, it does add further to dependence on traveling nurses.”
“Hiring bonuses, tuition reimbursement, and loan repayment are examples of incentives offered to nurses to boost recruitment and retention efforts,” notes the ANA’s McMillan. But, she adds, hiring bonuses don’t support efforts to retain nurses who are already employed in the organization.
“Nurses are facing longer shifts and are working more consecutive shifts to meet the persistent demands on our healthcare system” notes McMillan. The nurses who remain are burned out physically, mentally, and emotionally.”
The ENA, notes Kraus, is focusing on helping hospitals create a healthy work environment. Having a healthy work environment that empowers nurses, while supporting their needs, helps to overcome fatigue and moral distress, notes Fox.
Calling it an “amazing profession,” Kraus would encourage individuals to enter the profession. For a lot of us, it was very trying, but it’s a calling,” he says.
For a change of pace, this Nurse of the Week was on the receiving side of a rescue—and, instead of driving her car to work, she ended up riding there in an ambulance. The off-duty nurses who (in these stories) usually play the role of impromptu first responders were occupied elsewhere that evening, but fortunately, two strangers pulled over and filled in—which is a relief, since sometimes, nurses need to be saved too.
It happened in the blink of an eye. Pendleton, Indiana RN Ericka Cosby was driving to her evening shift, her mind probably on the pending handover. As she rode over a bump in the rural road, the jolt dislodged her mobile phone, which slid to the floor. Without thinking, she reached down to retrieve it before it could become lost under the seats. As Cosby started to lower her arm, her mind cut in and arrested her movement, but it was already too late.
Describing her ordeal to a local news station, Cosby said, “I didn’t even make it to pick it up before I was heading straight into the guardrail. The police officer said I rode down the guardrail for about 10 feet and flipped down the hill two to three times—not sure how many—but I landed upside down, half in the creek and half on the grass.” When her car finally came to a rest, Cosby found herself upside-down and trapped by an inflated airbag. Being tumbled about inside the auto as it fell 10 feet and flipped repeatedly did not leave her unscathed: she broke her nose, fractured an orbital, and suffered various contusions; the airbag did its part by burning her in various places while it trapped her. Cosby was also phoneless, of course, and as luck would have it, she could not reach the button to activate her On-Star service.
A local nurse is thanking two strangers she credits with saving her life after she was involved in a violent crash. https://t.co/PPjsDnnzGp
The injured nurse was able to reach the horn, and—to attract attention on the quiet country road—she pressed down and honked repeatedly at intervals. The upside-down car’s lights were still on, and smoke began to creep out from under the hood. Now, though, luck started turning her way. Two passersby—a woman and a man—noticed the smoke and lights and pulled their cars over to offer help. The efforts of Cosby’s Samaritans, however, were hampered by difficulties posed by unfastening her seatbelt as she hung inside the overturned car. “I was very afraid if I unbuckled the seat belt, I was just going to land straight on my face… because I couldn’t bend my knees to get them out anywhere [and] there was glass,” Cosby recalled.
Ericka Cosby talks to rescuer Robert Wilson. (Fox59, Indiana)
The rescuers were determined, though, and the male bystander, she says, “actually crawled into my car on all fours and acted like a tabletop for me. That man didn’t know me, and he literally let me fall onto him.” As the man held her, the unknown woman quickly unlatched the seatbelt, and the two pulled her out of the car. Then—in one of those Hollywood moments that no one wants to pop up in real life—while they helped her away from the auto, it burst into flames (Really. Take another look at that Twitter photo.).
Now recovering in the hospital, Cosby expects to be discharged soon (so she can go to work in her preferred fashion). She told local reporters that the two strangers were her “guardian angels.” The male angel, Robert Wilson, said, “I don’t feel like I did anything that someone else wouldn’t do. I was brought up to help people.”
For more details on this story, go to Fox 59 in Indiana.
Every year, tens of millions of Americans avoid the flu vaccine. During the 2019-2020 flu season, fewer than half of U.S. adults got the shot.
The Latino population is more reluctant than most other groups to get the flu vaccine and often pays a high price with their health. An analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of 10 flu seasons showed the Latino community had the third highest flu-related hospitalization rates of any demographic group.
Here are a few reasons: Latinos worry about whether the shot is safe. They wonder if it works. They question whether it’s actually needed. Confidence in the vaccine is a major predictor of influenza vaccination among Latina women.
Getting a flu shot not only stops the spread of the flu. It might also be an indicator of who is willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine – and conversely, who is not, and why. So it is more important than ever to understand why large groups of people are reluctant to get vaccinated – and what might be done to earn their trust. We think our experience at a clinic in rural Indiana might shed some light on this important issue.
Historically Low Rates, Despite High Rewards
Reports from the 2019-2020 influenza season say that 38% of Latino adults were immunized, compared to 41% of Blacks, 42% of American Indian or Alaska Natives, 52% of Asians and 53% of whites. However, when children are included in the calculation rates, numbers for Latinos go up; Latino children are typically immunized with greater frequency than their parents.
Those receiving the shot have fewer lost work and school days. They reduce the risk of seeking medical intervention by 40% to 60%. That includes visits to crowded emergency rooms. In communities with known influenza virus circulation, vaccinations decreased pediatric hospitalizations by 41%. For adults, vaccines reduce the likelihood of admission to an intensive care unit by 82%.
Those with the lowest influenza vaccine rates are also disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Since both illnesses show some of the same symptoms, testing is needed to distinguish one disease from the other. This will divert health care personnel from other tasks. Hospitals already crowded with COVID-19 patients will be asked to make room for those with severe influenza.
This is particularly important this year, as health care providers scramble to prevent the possible “twindemics” of influenza and COVID-19. Even during normal times, the Latino community may be at increased risk of exposure to the flu virus; many have jobs in crowded work environments, like meat packing plants, warehouses and agriculture enterprises.
The Family Health Clinic in Monon, Indiana, a rural community in White County, Indiana, has worked to build trust with the local Latino population by taking some relatively simple steps. The clinic, recognized by the U.S. government as a place that provides high-quality care to a traditionally underserved population, is staffed by nurse practitioners. Partnering with the Purdue University School of Nursing, the Family Health Clinic serves a clientele that is 52% Latino.
One important part of gaining trust was in making sure the staff were bilingual. Other strategies the clinic used to establish relationships with the Latino population included sponsoring community activities and inviting Latino participation on the clinic board. Perhaps of most importance was generating a reputation for providing a secure, affordable and respectful place for excellent health care in a setting where staff listened to and responded to questions about vaccines.
Brenda Andrade is one of the many who recently received her influenza shot there. She has five children, ranging in age from 4 months to 9 years. Andrade was willing to receive a shot because she wanted to “make sure her family is protected.”
Two more local residents, Juan and Elidia Miranda, also made the flu shot a priority. “We’ve gotten colds every so often, but not influenza,” said Juan Miranda. After talking with clinic staff, they realized the benefits of staying healthy for themselves and their families.
Community health centers like the Monon clinic have long been a trusted source of care for those who don’t otherwise have health care access. They are more than equipped to handle the reasons often given by Latinos as to why they don’t get the shot. But will this willingness to receive the flu vaccine from a trusted source translate to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine when it’s available?
The answer is likely yes. A history of having taken other vaccines is a significant predictor of future behavior, as is a vaccine recommendation from one’s trusted health care provider. Monon clinic staff have already initiated discussion of the rationale for being vaccinated, sharing available safety and efficacy data with patients.
In a year in which so many nurses displayed bravery, suffered hardships, and shone in countless ways, DailyNurse might easily have featured a “Nurse of the Day” instead of a Nurse of the Week.
Nurses have always gone the extra mile to communicate with patients and make them feel more comfortable and cared for, and we all know former patients who were so inspired by their nurses that they decided to enter the profession themselves. As 2020 raised the curtain on the Year of the Nurse, though, no one could have anticipated it would be a watershed year in which nurses became global icons of hope and courage.
Whether You’re a Hero, or Merely Awesome, Take a Bow…
Boston HCWs celebrate arrival of Covid-19 vaccine in December.
The public has long admired nurses, but this year, the world has watched nurses brave the pandemic to work in seemingly impossible conditions, act as stand-ins for patients’ absent families, and leave home to speed to the relief of overwhelmed hospitals all over the US.
Nonetheless, many of our 2020 Nurses of the Week (NotW) eschewed the word “hero.” If you glance at remarks from our 2020 Nurses of the Week, you might note that while they take pride in their work, few sound like they are ready to accessorize their mask with a Superman cape. Naturally, they are happy to see their work recognized, but nurses constantly go out of their way to make patients feel less frightened and alone. As frontliner Tabatha Kentner said, “This is what we do. This is why we’re here.” Nurses save lives—and when they cannot, they comfort patients in their final hours and console distraught families. It’s not an occasional phenomenon; it is an everyday occurrence. The name and photo in Wednesday’s NotW feature could easily be your own because your expertise and empathy make you a Nurse of the Week every day of the year.
On the last Wednesday of 2020, DailyNurse salutes the Nurses of the Week who made their mark during the Year of the Nurse!
Great (and Caring) Communicators
RN Emily Fawcett, Lenox Hill Hospital, NYC.
A recurring theme is nurses who use their unique talents to raise patients’ and staff members’ spirits. Some, like Marc Perreault and Lori Marie Kay, shared their musical gifts. At Lenox Hill Hospital during the height of the New York City outbreak, Emily Fawcett helped boost morale in her ICU by meeting with staff for positive-thinking “hope huddles” before starting their shifts.
Danielle Fenn applied her language skills to comfort non-English speaking Covid patients. Others, like Tabatha Kentner, have been acting as “angels” (the word angel comes from the Greek angelos, which means “messenger”) and facilitating virtual visits so patients and their loved ones can commune even in isolation (and when necessary, say their final goodbyes).
Advocates and Public Servants
RN Andrea Dalzell on Good Morning America.
2020 was a year in which nurses stepped forward, spoke up, and got involved in public and civic health. Expect to see more of this in 2021 and years to come (we hope!). Metastatic breast cancer survivor Stephanie Walker is tirelessly advocating for cancer patients and patient education in North Carolina. Another indefatigable advocate, Andrea Dalzell, is on a mission to invite wheelchair-bound people to enter the nursing profession.
NYPD’s new Special Victims Unit head Michael King is a veteran SANE—and he is determined to improve the treatment of rape victims by police and other first responders. American Academy of Nursing (AAN) “Living Legend” Mary Wakefield is sharing her public health expertise and experience in the Obama administration with the Biden-Harris transition team.
Another AAN “Living Legend,” 85-year-old Marie Manthey, is promoting frank, open dialogues between Black and White nurses, and calling upon all White allies to combat structural racism and unconscious bias.
Frontline Troopers
Anna Slayton, BSN, RN-BC
Tens of thousands of nurses this year packed their bags and took off to lend a hand in the nation’s hotspots. Reports on horrific conditions in hard-hit city hospitals were a virtual Bat-Signal for many nurses. They stashed extra masks in their suitcases, said goodbye to their loved ones, and flew to the most dangerous hotspots in the country (even nurses who had never been on a plane before!).
Texas nurse Anna Slayton, who parted from her family to spend 77 days on the New York frontlines, felt compelled to help, telling DailyNurse, “I ultimately knew it was my duty.” And in April, after flying from Tennessee to a desolate—but noisily grateful—NYC, ED nurse Kirsten Flanery declared, “I made the right decision on coming up here. I’m ready to make a difference!”
Difficult Takes a Day, Impossible Takes a Week
LPN Felicia Shaner and daughters.
Many nurses combine massive multitasking efforts with hard work to pursue their studies, and some fight to overcome dire health and financial obstacles in their quest to start a nursing career. Felicia Shaner was so drawn to the profession that she embarked on her nursing studies while living in a homeless shelter… with a toddler and a baby on board! degrees while working as hospital custodians. Rebel NurseJalil Johnson (of Show me Your Stethoscope fame) had spent his last $5 when he enrolled in an LPN program. And Brianna Fogelman had a lung transplant in her junior year of nursing school and took her nursing finals with a tube in her chest.
Is There a Nurse in the House?
Former CCN/Cardiac Care nurse Hollyanne Milley and spouse.
2020 was also a year in which nurses acted as first responders in unexpected times and places. Pamela Zeinoun saved the lives of three premature infants after the devastating August 4 explosions in Beirut. Indiana trauma nurse Colby Snyder rushed to the assistance of two people who collapsed in public within a 3-week period: the first had a seizure at her grocery store, and the second fell while Snyder was volunteering at the polls on Election Day.
Former CCN/cardiac care nurse Hollyanne Miley (whose husband is Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley) is also a good person to have at hand when out-of-the-blue seizures occur. And VA nurse Maria VanHart impressed “official” first responders by her swift, efficient, and empathic treatment of survivors at the scene of a fatal highway accident.
DailyNurse salutes all of its readers, and all nurses. If you know of someone who warrants a Nurse of the Week nod, send your suggestion to [email protected]. Best wishes for a happier, healthier, evidence-based New Year!
